Beggars Banquet is the seventh studio album by the Rolling Stones. It marked a return to the bluesy roots of the band following the more commercial or "psychedelic" feel of the most recent albums. However, the two standout tracks were a clear departure from the pure blues.

This was the final Rolling Stones LP to feature Brian Jones and be released during his lifetime although he did feature on several tracks released later. The Rolling Stones were aided by top session keyboard player Nicky Hopkins on many of the tracks.

The opening track presented a totally new side to the Rolling Stones. The creation of Sympathy for the Devil is well-documented in Jean-Luc Goddard's film One Plus One. As the film shows, the song evolved in the studio with Richards playing both bass and guitar. Jones was on maracas although he did play some acoustic guitar which was not audible in the final mix. Nicky Hopkins' piano part is very clear and makes a definite contribution to the track. The samba rhythms develop throughout the song and the banshee woo-woo wails give the track a very eerie feel. With Jagger singing as the devil, the song attracted a lot of adverse attention, especially amongst religious people, but for others this added to the attraction of the song. For those who had a dislike of the Stones, this track reinforced it. Nevertheless, the song has become a classic track and remained part of the Stones' live set for many years. It is often quoted as the track the band was playing when Meredith Hunter was murdered at Altamount but this was not the case although the song had been played earlier in the set.

Brian Jones is featured on the second track No Expectations where he plays slide guitar. The track was also available as the b-side to Street Fighting Man in the US.

Parachute Woman also features one of Jones' final performances on both guitar and harmonica. The track has been performed live rarely.

Street Fighting Man was released as a single in the US. After 1967's "Summer of Love" 1968 was marked with political and anti-war protests and this track addressed this. Like Sympathy for the Devil this divided opinion and the single only gained a low chart placing. Nevertheless, it is generally viewed as a very strong Stones track and helped to strengthen the band's image as being non-establishment and even subversive. The song has remained popular over the years and regularly features in live sets.

To be completed

Decca

Original release: 6 December 1968

Essential Tracks