Beggars Banquet

Super enjoyable

I know they were the blueprint for this sort of thing, but they sound like every blues rock bar band that has spent the last several decades playing in your local dive bar trying to sound like this era of The Stones. If that's your thing, you'll at least like this record. If not, it's fine, not great. "Sympathy For The Devil" is a fantastic song.

underwhelming

nice enough

“Sympathy for the Devil” is an all-time classic and one hell of a way to open an album. After that, though, the Stones mostly get back to what they do best: blues, country, and that dirty, loose rock sound that would fit right in with what became Southern rock a few years later. It’s a pretty big change from the psychedelic direction of their previous couple albums. Instead of trying to sound strange or experimental, they sound much more comfortable just leaning into American roots music. “No Expectations” is a great example. That slide guitar sounds like it could’ve been recorded with Brian Jones sitting on somebody’s front porch. This feels a lot more like the Stones I think of when I picture the band. Rough around the edges, bluesy, a little sleazy, and not overly polished. They experimented with psychedelia for a while, but Beggars Banquet sounds like them figuring out where their real strengths were. Favorite song: “Sympathy for the Devil”

"It's very American for a British album" was pretty much the only thought going through my head as I listened to this the first time. Like a couple albums I've listened to recently, I think it gets carried by one or two songs whilst the others just make up the numbers and don't really contribute much. I can see the appeal, I can see why it's got a plethora of positive ratings. I don't get it myself really. I think it's less well-formed than later albums they released; this is more experimental in the sense that it is testing of the waters of appeal of Americana blended rock on their audience. I don't think it's particularly earth-shattering or unique in it's content. Jagger's voice gets annoying at times. Keith Richard's guitar work isn't what it is in the next couple albums yet; the album as a whole is produced well but good production can only do so much. It's nearly there. What a great song Sympathy for the Devil is though. Wow. I could listen a million times and not be bored. I will say on my second listen through I enjoyed it more. Sitting somewhere between a 3 & 4, but closer to 3 for now.

I would have originally titled this one "Sympathy for the Devil and 9 Other Songs." Nothing, and I mean, NOTHING, tops that all-timer of an opener. There's a reason every band worth their salt has a cover of "Sympathy" in their back pocket. It is perhaps the most rock-and-roll rock song of all with its invitation to listeners to listen to the other side of the story of history's most maligned figure. It remains a remarkably literate piece nearly 6 decades later, with lyrics so contemporary they were changed as history unfolded before it ("I shouted out 'who killed John Kennedy'" had to be changed to "the Kennedys" when news of Robert Kennedy's assassination broke out in June 1968.) What I'm saying is that "Sympathy for the Devil" is quite possibly the sole reason Beggar's Banquet is considered among the Stones' noteworthy. No other rock song has come close before or since in fusing tradition with modernity, timely lyricism with historical perspective, progressive structures with conventional songwriting...in short, no other song in the Stones' vast catalogue even comes close to its brilliance. Admittedly, I might have been a little dismissive when I said there were "9 other songs" on here. Truth be told, many of are actually quite good. They would fit very well on any album that didn't feature "Sympathy" - that song's shadow casts too wide for any other song to really "shine" in a traditional sense. It doesn't mean that the other songs all disposable nothings though: "Street Fighting Man" is a belter of a track that really communicates the dangerous element the Stones were so hellbent on putting forward. Nothing else on the album really captures the same sort of raw power as that track. "Jigsaw Puzzle" progresses slowly and steadily as it jams along its 6 minutes, and "Stray Cat Blues" is gritty Delta riffing played to a T. It's a shame its lyrics aged as horribly as they did. Those 3 are probably the best tracks on Beggar's Banquet after "Sympathy." The rest of the songs don't do much for me as they're a little too mellow and acoustic outside of "Parachute Woman." I guess the band was going for a more authentic blues rock sound on this one, but their greatest strengths lie in the rock half of that equation - the acoustic songs work best for them when presented in small doses (and sung by Keith Richards, if you ask me.) Going in, I had assumed Beggars Banquet was nothing more than a display case for "Sympathy for the Devil." After the 2 spins I gave this album, I can confidently say that the other songs also have a lot to offer. This is a strong entry in the Rolling Stones' discography, and it's definitely an essential listen in understanding the myth of the world's longest-standing rock band. Key Tracks: Sympathy for the Devil, Parachute Woman, Jigsaw Puzzle, Street Fighting Man, Stray Cat Blues

Though I knew "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Street Fighting Man", I'd never heard the album in full before. Overall very good, more country/honky-tonk than I expected. Apparently a return to more straightforward rock after the mess of Satanic Majesty's Request.

Some great tracks on here, really start to hear the stones 70s sound come through

The Rolling Stones were at their peak in this era of their career. This is just one of their 4 albums of their generational run where there are no skips only bangers.

For me it’s edged by Let it Bleed and Sticky Fingers due to the more standard acoustic blues tracks Dear Doctor, Parachute Woman and Factory Girl just not standing up against the dynamism of the likes of Sympathy For The Devil and Street Fighting Man. but it’s still a great album. 4.5

4.4/5.

A really strong record with two standout tracks. Songs like stray cat blues have not aged so well but other than that, its one of the stones better albums. But not their best.

If you like the Stones, it's hard not to like this one. Much tighter than some of their records.

Boring would be generous and "bluesy" is euphemistic. I do not see the appeal of the Rolling Stones.

Some classic sones stuff Sympathy for the Devil

Opening track was certainly a highlight. Not much of a fan of the Rolling Stones in general, but overall this album was good. I'm sure there are worse albums to have started with, but I'm also sure there are better. 3/5.

Sympathy for the Devil

Sympathy for the Devil slaps, but oof stray cat blues is disgusting. Just has not aged well.

Niet zo memorabel

Super tof, kende de meeste zelf niet

The bluesy acoustic vibes are fun but run tired apart from the hits. I'm not really a Stones fan but I can see why people are. Rating: strong 6/10

One of their best. A bit more bluesy than some but that doesn’t distract it.

This may just be their best album. I really like their earlier stuff, but this is when they started playing their more Blues / Country-esque sound and really caught on. It's solid as an album and really feels like their first commercially successful attempt at an album, rather than just some hit singles and filler stuffed together. They sound angry too, unlike anything beforehand really. My favorites on here are probably Jigsaw Puzzle with the twangy guitar and the angry Street Fighting Man.

Mick Jagger has a great voice. The instruments are good but kinda unremarkable. The straight-up blues songs are underwhelming and knock the rating down a peg but the rock songs are often great.

It was just ok. More folk/blues than what I expected.

Cool, and I enjoyed the album a fair bit. Started out with its best track and kind of trailed off from there. Didn't really realize when some tracks had ended and the next had started, makes me feel that it wasn't all that interesting of an album, at least to me. Left in a weird place though because I didn't want to skip any songs. faves: Sympathy for the Devil, Jigsaw Puzzle, street Fighter man Rating: 6.9/10

Actually a really good album, a breath of fresh air and took me by surprise

3/5. The opener to this album “Sympathy for the Devil” is one of the best songs of the 60’s, sung from the perspective of the Devil himself as he recounts how he’s interfered in many historical events, backed by a great instrumental with those infectious background “woo woo’s.” Most of the rest of the album unfortunately doesn’t live up to the greatness of that song. There’s a few other highlights like “Street Fighting Man” or “Dear Doctor” but a lot of it is just kinda standard bluesy rock stuff. Theres also “Stray Cat Blues” which is about someone having sex with a 15 year old. Even if sung from the perspective of a character, it’s still a bit concerning considering the long history of early rock and roll musicians and that sort of thing. A few highlights for sure but I’ll admit I’ve never really been a big Stones kind of guy.

the album that more or less defines the sound of the Rolling Stones to me

Good album, 2 absolute bangers

Good album overall. The blues influence is really felt and the piano often steals the show. After an incredibly high, but early peak with Sympathy, the A side can feel a little dull, up until the amazing musical outro to Jigsaw Puzzle, leading into a stronger B side, starting with Street Fighting Man and riding a new high all the way to the end.

classic opener not my favourite rolling stones album but actually quite pleasant is it their most country one? or are they just more country than i remember? bit boring, bit too mellow it's okay

Meh. Never went much for The Stones Country twang. Sympathy for the Devil gets annoying after two minutes. Some decent stuff on here but nothing captivating. 2.5 out of 5

Solid album. Some big hits, some good b sides. The album has a lofi sound permeating throughout.

This was good. Highlight was of course the opening track but that was about it for me on this one.

Solid rock album coming from the same era as the Beatles. It may not seem special by today’s standards, but for music coming from the late 60’s, this was special. No low points. Just great music throughout.

No sé qué pensar de los RS, se clavaron demasiado en el blues y cuando salen d ahí son geniales. Por que no lo hicieron más?

6.5/10

On the way

This album is just so boring. Every single track is extremely repetitive and gets stale after the first 30 seconds. There's certainly some great poetry on here, but there's also some pretty bad lyrics on this album. The shrieking lead guitar doesn't add either. It's just such a beige record that doesn't offer much. Tracks like Jigsaw Puzzle are quite nice, but the song structures are just so static. Yawner album.

Like It 3/5

Deep, meaningful, narrative lyrics. Exceptional guitar solos, piano and drums. Country roots. Favorite track - Sympathy For The Devil

not bad

Opening track is iconic, having featured in many a film. Love the bongos, over the subdued piano trill. Help me doctor might be my favorite. Disillusioned and forced to conform and the feelings of despondency when you realize you are empty because of the pressure. First real foray into the stones, I love how bluesy it is. Will definitely find more.

Hard to parse as an album when you know the singles so well, but even so this one was a joy to listen to. Dear Doctor and Jigsaw Puzzle were stand outs as a song i'd never heard before,but (1) instantly knew it was a rolling stones song and (2) instantly loved it.

Pretty much a flawless album. Like an epic honky tonk and should be the soundtrack to the best night ever in a smoky 70s pub.

Very nice

не осилил. очень скучно

Please allow me to introduce my review , I’m a man of wealth and taste. I think the Stones are overrated and are a band that makes good singles not albums … can you guess my score .. Pleases doctor followed by Parachute Woman kind of proves me right butSympathy is such a great song ( although I prefer Jane’s addictions version) , and most of the album is quite good.

Listening session: october 17th, while getting ready in the morning Listened to before: heard one song before Thoughts: the opening is a classic and the rest of the album is fine, but I’ll never truly be a fan of the Stones Favourite tracks: Sympathy For The Devil, No Expectations & Salt Of The

I really don't care for the slow bluesy songs by the stones and this album is full of them. I do enjoy the more upbeat songs (e.g sympathy for the devil, street fighting man) I'm going to probably give this a 2 for the 2 songs I liked

I liked it!

Gode greier. Rock og blues i skjønn harmoni. Kjinne det i rockefoten.

Bon album de rock. Pas de coup de coeur mais un ensemble qui est vraiment chouette.

More country influenced and acoustic than I would have expected. Really feels weird when they start singing about girls though.

Bluesier than I thought it would be

just great

Om det var ack-guran som skulle betygsättas. Men som jag nog skrivit tidigare om Stones. De skriver två hits till varje skiva, resten är utfyllnad. Här är iofs första låten en av tidernas klassiker, men det hjälper ju inte när resten inte håller nivån. Stones borde inte framstå som ett one-hit-wonder! Woo-hoo-hoo! En trea

This era of Stones is easily my favourite. Their late 60s - early 70s run is flawless. I love their return to country/blues style music. This album is fucking banging. Sympathy For The Devil is my fav song of the album. Street Fighting Man and No Expectations (my fav first listen) were my other highlights

A very solid stones album. Sympathy for the devil is definitely the highlight but there are some forgettable moments

Listened before? No Familiar with the artist? Yes Thoughts: - I think Sympathy For The Devil is the only song I know here, and I like it a lot... - Unfortunately there's not much else here that really interested me. The second track was good, but then it pretty much went downhill. - This would be the first full Rolling Stones album I've listened to, and so far I don't think I've missed out by not knowing anything but the greatest hits. Favorite track(s): Sympathy For The Devil

pretty basic rock, though I like the congas

The stones albums are, well, surprisingly patchy. A couple of legendary tunes and then filler. The filler here isn’t bad, but it’s still filler

amazing build-up in nearly every song, supercool storytelling, the guitar is chefs kiss and it’s near perfect i’d say a good 96/100

Can't say this did much for me. Everyone knows the opening track. It's great but it's been played to death. The other tracks just went and then it was over. Ultimately, 'Is that it?' 2 stars just for the classic opener alone but as an album, this ain't all that in my book.

This album still sounds great. Edgy, funny and bluesy

I thought the album was good, not great. I knew the first song, and enjoyed the rest, but no takeaways here. I'd say 3.5 territory probably? I expected more out of name recognition, I think 3.75 is the highest I could go, and I feel like that's more catering to the popularity of the band more than anything else.

I'm really enjoying the production, I feel like I'm sitting in the room with them playing each song with how the instruments are placed within the soundstage. Overall I thought this was pretty solid. May not be something I particularly reach for often, but definitely wouldn't be upset if any of the songs came up on shuffle.

Partly heard before Saved 3/10 Top track: Sympathy for the Devil

Impressions of old-time America. Not really a fan of the production/instrumentation choices here.

PRetty good - a few standouts but overall was just okay.

7/10

Sympathy for the Devil dominates everything else on this album for me. 4/5

OK, a bit dated

2 great songs. The rest was mid at best.

It's 3.75

My fifth Stones album on the list. None have been particularly amazing.

All time fave from the best run of Stones records. Oozes with junky sleaze and danger

One of the perennial questions in music is: Beatles or Rolling Stones? It’s never been too much of a choice for me. And now I know why. Although it’s musically interesting that an English band plays around with American Blues, I don’t much like the Blues. “Sympathy” is a classic and I liked “Street Fighting Man” and “Salt of the Earth”, but not much else here.

Perfection. My favorite stones album.

Tried to come up with a reason not to give this a 5. But I love this.

I find the Stones very boring and their swagger quite off putting, but this album has always been a preferred one of theirs, and it has some nostalgia for me so I will look past all that.

nah album not for me but sometimes rolling stones has bangers like paint it black

I dont like

snooze fest

Start of a remarkable run of incredible records that lasted the next three years, but it does have a couple of weak links on my listen today. Hard to knock it a star when it has Sympathy for the Devil, No Expectations, Street Fighting Man and Stray Cat Blues taking up half the record.

Good

4.2

The only song I liked was salt of the earth. Jig Saw Puzzle and Stray cat blues were okay. Lyrics were strange at times, backing vocals were annoying and overall just kind of boring.

This is a record that is very familiar to me. When I first heard the album, I really wanted the rest of the record to sound something more similar to the opening track, Sympathy for the Devil and was disappointed in the rest of the record because of that. Obviously, this is massively unfair to the record. As I was able to listen to the record on its own terms, I really grew to appreciate it. This definitely is the return to a blues based sound after the experimentation into pop and psychedelic music. The music produced by that return is a lot better than the early efforts, where I generally felt that the band had nothing to be embarrassed about but I generally would just rather listen to the originals. This time around the band just sounds more comfortable with the genre and produces something that is more original with it. Part of that is that the process of playing is a lot looser and the band feels comfortable stretching things out, but it also feels like a more original approach to the songs. They are also broadening the types of blues that they are drawing from, bringing in earlier folk blues and even some hints at country. All of that translates into a really fantastic album.

Un bon album, avec une bonne chanson

4/5 : 3/5 pour ce bon vieux orck des rolling stones +1 pour Sympathy for the devil

It was alright, I guess. I wouldn't actively choose to listen to this again, but I didn't hate it by any means.

Still not my favorite Stones album, but I got less bored this time and didn't even hate the blues parts. So I can more appreciate that it starts with a piece as great as Sympathy for the Devil.

day 4 of not rolling Aja by Steely Dan a former student (current UofL student) DMed me on instagram the other day and said "is life cyclical? when you were my age, did you spend sunday afternoons drinking beer and listening to steely dan?" i have no idea where i'd rank this against other Stones albums, and i'm also not sure why i feel inclined to rank them at all. it's really good, and I like the slower, county-and-blues colored sonic profile here. album art is neat too. standout for me is probably "No Expectations"

Carried super hard by the first track, but not bad at all. Just a little forgettable.

I first really got into the Stones when Mick Jagger hosted SNL in 2012 -- there was that skit where Mick is at a karaoke bar with some insurance company coworkers and he plays a boring, shy guy with a bad British accent, and he keeps asking his coworkers if they think he looks like Mick Jagger, and none of the coworkers say yes, but Fred Armisen does a killer version of "Start Me Up," and then Bobby Moynihan is in the background singing "Sympathy for the Devil" and doing a Mick Jagger impression while Mick’s character laments how nobody sounds or looks like Mick Jagger, and Bobby's version just gets worse and worse, and then he starts doing the YMCA dance, and then Bobby keeps repeating "Sympathy for the devil, sympathy for the devil" into the microphone and then Mick looks into the camera and sings a stripped down version of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" because his whining scared his coworkers away, and then the crowd goes nuts for his singing but it’s too slow and he’s still trying to do the fake British accent so it really doesn’t sound that good, and I thought "damn this dude is old and can't act" THAT made me love the Stones, because I listened to "Sympathy for the Devil" over and over trying to get Bobby Moynihan's version out of my head, and I learned that the Stones bang. My dad watched that SNL episode maybe four or five times in a month. It's a bad episode. This is a great album.

"Bob Dylan's Dream" is such a funny song to put in toilet graffiti. Imagine all the times in your life you've wistfully thought back on your childhood friends that you're never gonna talk to again but who played a foundational role in your life. The idea of "yeah, let's write that on the wall of the "Worst Toilet in Scotland" from Trainspotting is genuinely hilarious.

The best Rolling Stones song and one rock's greatest tracks, followed by 9 O.K. ones.