Reviews (page 13 of 14)
The album had four good songs with the rest of the album being crappy blues songs. After listening to this and “The Santanic Majesty’s Request”, I can see why The Rolling Stones wanted to go back to their roots after that experimental album did not work out the way they planned. I seems to me that they over corrected.
After Sympathy for the Devil and Streetfighting Man, the rest is pretty disposable.
Not my favourite Stones release. A bit too country for my taste. Still has 2 of their biggest bangers on it, though. 2/5
Sleeper
One great opening track and then a bunch of cringy takes on country rock. 2.0/5.0: Disappointing
Dreary at times with the acoustic backing, seems like a regression in 1968 for the Stones.
Not really a fan, buuuut there was a couple of good ones at the end.
This was bound to happen with a large number of these albums - but I didn't feel particularly strongly about this album one way or another. There were some decent songs, and it was largely inoffensive, though the vocals do start to lose some of their appeal by the latter half of the album. I would rate this a 2.5 if I could.
A lot of rock with country influence which I personally am not a fan of, but I wouldn't totally discredit it just for that. I at least appreciated the variety here, with every track trying something a bit different.
3eme album des Stones proposé par le générateur. Celui-ci contient 'Sympathy for the devil', mon morceau préféré des Stones. Mais je suis plutôt déçu par le reste de l'album qui ne contient pratiquement que des morceaux plus lents et/ou trop blues. Je n'y reviendrais pas. =>2/5
★★¼
I tend to prefer the stones when they are being funkier/groovier but even more so than that, seeing the movie sinners the other day really affected my enjoyment of this. Listening to the literal white colonizers attempt to sing the blues without any of the actual pain behind the music really fell flat for me.
I got nothing from this, maybe it's harsh but I just don't see the appeal. Sympathy for the Devil is pretty good though.
я опять слушаю ролинг стоунз, и у меня в голове возник какой то парадокс. я всегда думал что это какие то мощные звери с песнями по типу crazy, а тут чето какой то базовый нормисный рок-н-ролл 60-х годов
Sounded like I was in a back bar in key west with old sun dried tatted up ppl dancing and heaving cigarettes in front of a skanky pool. Oh and add in the smell of vomit but maybe a good burger too.
Didn’t love it with weird vocals and song concept.
I think I hate this band. This album starts off with what is unquestionably one of their greatest songs ("Sympathy for the Devil") and then inexplicably surrounds it with a bunch of honky tonk bullshit. In a vacuum, it almost feels like they must have sympathy for the devil because he gave them a good deal for that song. It gets a little better in the second half but not anywhere near redemption.
Not really my vibe
One song was great, but not my thing
Like anyone, I like a bunch of the Stones stuff. Country rock though?
Boogers banquet What stands out in this whole project is that superstar artists/bands do not necessarily sound as good as the rest of the pack. This checks out here, its cool but cmon it's the rolling stones, everyone knows their name i expected more. 2
I listen to the intro: "WOW, this album isn't a disappointment like the others. A new sound and a lot of experimentations" The second track starts: I get disappointed. Just a blues album, nothing more and nothing less. Sympathy of devil really catfished me. I dunno, maybe a 5/10
Some bright sparks, but otherwise quiet one dimensional
they walked so that laibach might run
Liked a few songs but overall not super exceptional
Second album i’ve gotten by them and i still dont like them.. well
Pretty boring. I don't really "get" The Rolling Stones
Rolling Stones have always felt very unbalanced to me. Some killer tracks on the record though
Nothing about this album makes me believe it deserves a place on this list other than the huge single 'Sympathy For The Devil' (which admittedly is a highlight) and the fact that it has the name 'The Rolling Stones' on the front cover. How can you open with such a great track and follow it up with such bland crap. 'Salt Of The Earth' which closes the album is the only other highlight in my opinion. It's pretty stale and didn't excite me despite having a variety of music, including rock and roll, blues rock and even a bit of country at times. I forgot it almost as soon as it ended. I also didn't realise until listening to this album that Mick Jagger's voice is very grating and actually just not very good. It just seems like he's shouting over the music at times. I'm not even a fanboy but please, let's not compare these to The Beatles ever again, there's no competition.
I don't like the Stones, I never liked them! I like the Beatles, prejudice confirmed? But I have to admit I like "Sympathy for the Devil" a really great performance by Mick Jager, hard to top. The drums and the piano are also a perfect fit. Keith Richards sounds more like he's stumbling into the number, I can do without that. Hey, but woo woo, woo... it really pulls it off. And we pass the gloves on to the other piece that I like, of course, "Street Fighting Man" and even the guitarist here. Is that really Keith? And the rest of the album, a kind of "blues trash" so I'll give it a miss and throw it in the bin. So two out of 10, that's not much, 2 stars. Both songs deserve more
Nothing bad. Just boring.
tbh kinda boring - i guess it has some historic significance but its just not a very exciting album
Not a stones fan
I was a little underwhelmed with this one, I was expecting more from my first Rolling Stones album. It ventured a bit too close to country at times for my liking. And the vocals tended to be a bit shaky at times and made my wince. They went a bit too haywire on the Honky Tonk piano for me throughout the record which I ordinarily don't mind but it went a bit too far this time. I mean, I literally have nothing to say about it other than it was what it was; and what it was was just OK. Still though, I'd be willing to give the Stones another chance. At this moment in time, I still think the superior Stones are the Roses.
Wow, apart from the big hits, Rolling Stones were surprisingly weird and boring
After the first song the album sort of falls flat. It may also be because I'm still scarred from Culture Club yesterday, but the whoo whoo's at the end of Sympathy did start to wear thin
Maybe I'm just sick of The Rolling Stones at this point, but this album, especially compared to their others, just ain't it.
Three very good songs on this record, surrounded by a lot of flak. Where Sympathy For The Devil, No Expectations and Street Fighting Man shine in originality and drive, the rest of the record falls into a lull of bland country rock confusion. Best Tracks: - Sympathy For The Devil - No Expectations - Street Fighting Man Worst Tracks: - Parachute Woman - Prodigal Son Rating: 5/10
Cowboy Music, or Everyone's Favourite American (yet somehow British) Band. Didn't do much for me.
"Sympathy for the Devil" is an incredible song whose influence may not have been immediate but would completely change the face of british music in 20 years or so. Pretty much all of 90's british rock music can be traced back to it. And then we a have a pretty good b-side in "No Expectation" to top things off. And that's it. Wait a minute... There were eight more songs on this album? And they were all very dull american cosplay? But why? Key tracks: Sympathy for the Devil No Expectations
wow this needs a cw for misogyny and child abuse :( wish we got to hear the artists who inspired these guys more than them. ofc the singles are classics but....do they need to be?
MOST OVERRATED BAND EVER. 2/5
Banger of an opening tune. Rest is okay. High 2s
**An ok album. Most tracks sound alike.
I've always sorta hated Sympathy for the Devil... it's too long-winded, and the background woo-woo absolutely grates after the millionth time... My hangups with that particular track aside, I found the rest of the album (save for the rebellious rock classic, Street Fighting Man) to be very... dirty country diner... which I suppose is what they were going for based on the cover art... I guess if I'm being fair and honest, it was a slightly less than middle-of-the-road experience...
Mhe.
they shouldve been turned into beggars for making such a trash album
I really wanted to enjoy this more than I did. Favourite Tracks: Sympathy for the Devil, Jigsaw Puzzle Least Favourite Tracks: Stray Cat Blues (fucking ew)
I'm finding that I enjoy a few tracks off of Stones albums and the rest is just ok. Not bad, just..fine.
I like Sympathy For The Devil but god this band is overrated.
Do not like this. Why do they sound like they do? They are british
Never been a big fan
I didn't realize the Rolling Stones were so twangy and country sounding on this album.
2.5
I can't pretend to be excited by rock and roll
Sympathy for the Devil is an excellent track. But that’s about it. Just another blues rock album from the stones.
Not a fan of the band, but I recognise their relevance and importance. The album has one, maybe two well known songs. The rest are absolutely forgettable. 4/10
Starts off iconic, and I can’t remember the rest it was so dull.
i didn’t care for it too much
not my type for real. and is this only gonna drop rock albums??
Fine dad-rock. Nothing special though, Sympathy for the Devil is the best song and the rest of the album is pretty tame.
Never been a fan of the stones. Besides sympathy for the devil and a few moments here and there this album is grating more than enjoyable. Find Jagger's talk-singing, ballady style annoying. wtf is jigsaw puzzle.
sorry for this one but apart from sympathy for the devil just not for me
Not mearly as good as the last one. This is countryish and simply not flowing appropietly. Micks voice sucks
Way worse than any of the other Rolling Stones albums I've had so far.
not fot me
mir passiert zu wenig. Viel Gitarre und viel ähnliche Harmonien.
Sympathy For The Devil is a good start. Dear Doctor was painful to listen to, just bad. The album is quite CCR Fortunate Sun-like which is not a compliment. Overall pretty boring.
The music has a good vibe, but I don't enjoy Mick Jagger's vocal approach at all. I don't think I'll understand this band, I just can't get past it!
Sympathy for the devil is good everything else is very meh
I’m assuming this isn’t their best work, but I was unimpressed. Especially with how famous The Rolling Stones are in general. Nothing really made the album stick out to me. A lot of the sounds/instruments reminded me of SpongeBob oddly enough.
Really wasn’t expecting such a country sound from what I know about the Stones. Starts off strong with Sympathy For The Devil, but there wasn’t too much worth mentioning after that. This is probably the first time I’ve listened to entire album of theirs, but so far it’s solidifying me being more of a Beatles guy. Kinda feel bad about my rating but I don’t think this is their best.
its fine, maybe a little less. I cant figure out why they're such a classic rock group. I could see initially how different they were was probabky refreshing and cool, but overall I just cant get into the Stones. Sympathy for the Devil is fun, so is Prodigal Son. but man, most of this is just humdrum bluesy rock with sleepy Mick Jagger voice.
Ok this list has made me listen to 3 Rolling Stones album and honestly… I do not get why they are so highly regarded. They’re a 3 star band AT BEST. The first two songs and Street Fighting Man are all you need off this album. The rest is awful and someone needs to sue Jack White because he based his entire solo career on the song “Dear Doctor” and that was a terrible mistake. That’s right I dislike the Stones so much that Jack White is catching strays
I can really see how this was a precursor to a lot of the music I like, but as it is, it doesn't really excite me.
I think there is a reason that sympathy for the devil is the only track that still gets remembered.
Nothing like a bunch of British dudes pretending to be country musicians. Couple good songs.
not for me
Starting off with "Sympathy" is such a bold choice, there is no way the next track can live up to that standard, ironically the next track "no expectations" lives up to its name - way too boring and country-coded to be a pleasing follow-up; and unfortunately most of the album continues this trend. Street fighting man is still a cool stand out track, and stray cat blues has something fiesty kicking in the tangy chord progressions. Overall, this album is so bland, it hurts my inner stones fan.
Most songs sound the same, not much originality between songs sound
Exactly how I feel about every other Stones on here. It's fine, but with how much praise is shoveled onto the band, I expected it to grab me more. And that may be because I'm so desensitized to 70's-80's classic rock with a touch of country thanks to this list, it all just blends together at this point into a tepid mush.
I liked this less than I thought I would. There's some hits here and the rest is deservedly obscure these days. I did kind of like "Salt of the Earth," though.
2.5 stars - I'd pay it cover to cover in the background. Didn't find the music particularly engaging.
Once again, I'm sitting here wondering why the Stones are so well respected. The woo woo's are only slightly less insanity inducing than the "electric jug" in 13th Floor Elevators. I'm also sitting here wondering how Townes Van Zandt isn't anywhere to be seen on this list, but these schmucks get to pretend to be country for an entire album and I'm supposed to accept that just about every album of theirs is necessary listening. I do like Street Fighting Man though.
The album opens up with the greatest Stones song ever. "Sympathy For The Devil" is a super unique, unpredictable song, filled with a great groove, smooth and mesmerizing guitar licks from Richards and a solid vocal performance from Mick Jagger. However, all of the inspiration and great musicianship seems to fade away as the album goes on. No other song has the same level of writing or passion as the opening track. Overall a disappointing record. I'm feeling a 2/5, or Fantano style rating, a light 4.
okay but why did he start singing about banging a fifteen year old the rest was ok though
I don't know it was alright, didn't vibe with it that hard never been a big stones fan, also in a bad mood
Sigh.........The Rolling Stones. Rant incoming. I almost always use Sympathy for the Devil as an example as to why I am not really into the Rolling Stones. The backing vocals man.....the 'whew whews'.....4 bloody minutes of it! Why!? The song is slightly over 6 minutes long and seems jam oriented with not much in terms of dynamics or chord progression so then why put those constant 'whews' on it every few seconds for 4 minutes? Why not just drop it in periodically and take it out sometimes!? For me it overtakes the song and just becomes an annoying focal point. It is maddening every time I listen to it. In fact anytime someone mentions the Rolling Stones I automatically think of those damn whew whews. Look at the contrast with what Quincy Jones did with 'Wanna Be Starting Something'....if I remember correctly that entire song is based around one baseline that repeats for the entire song without changing in verse and in chorus. It builds, breaks down, many different parts drop in and out, instrumentation changes drastically as the song progresses...apexing in 'mama say mama sah ma makusa' all over one consistent set of notes and baseline that never changes. Because Quincy Jones is an instrumentation freak of nature that can simply squeeze out massive amounts of jams and variation from one baseline. Rant over. Again the Rolling Stones have their good songs, but Mick Jagger's voice just doesn't do much for me. I understand they are icons but considering how much music they've put out a lot of it for me is just kinda bleh. This album included.
I had heard "Sympathy for the Devil" before when it was used in the film INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE in the mid-90s, but had not heard anything else off of BEGGARS BANQUET. So, I was excited when this album came up because I was looking forward to lots of unbridled creativity in the same vein of "Sympathy for the Devil". Unfortunately, with the exception of "Factory Girl", the other tracks felt like a melange of Blues/Roots Rock sameness. It feels like everyone in British rock, or hell rock from anywhere at the time was truly experimenting more with music composition and arrangement and pushing the boundaries forward than The Rolling Stones. I have immense respect for Glyn Johns as engineer, but I have never enjoyed ANY of the albums that Jimmy Miller produced. BEGGARS BANQUET was technically recorded well, and the instrumentalists in The Rolling Stones performed well, but at the end of the day it cannot save the album from being boring.
It's surprising the I'm giving an album with the 5 star song, Sympathy for the Devil such a low score, but most of Beggar's Banquet is really bad. I liked Street Fighting Man and Stray Cat Blues but, Dear Doctor and Factory Girl are utter dog shit, some of the most annoying, anger inducing music I've heard since I started 40 or so albums ago. The rest of the songs are pretty crappy too. I can't give this more than 2 stars, frankly it's lucky to get that.
Dreary. Apart from Sympathy for yhe devil
jick magger
This whole album is basically the brilliant "Sympathy for the Devil" stacked on top of nine turds.
One decent song does not an album make. Disappointing.
I agree with another review I read. This album opens with a great song. “Sympathy for the Devil” rocks. But then it’s followed by 9 absolutely forgettable bluesy songs. It’s not terrible, but it is mediocre. 2.5/5
this was actually a Slightly more fruitful revisit then i expected, if only because i do think the songs r a bit better crafted then i remembered...probably part of my ongoing rewiring of my brain in a classic rock direction thanks to years of classic rock radio at work, but in general i would be remiss to deny that there is both tunefulness and creativity on here, and each song is impressively distinct in hook and arrangement. but absolutely no band could survive being fronted by mick jagger, who only comes across worse and worse with every bit of experience i get with the black vocalists he was biting. i can see how he's a very expressive singer esp for the time and place but he covers everything in layers of sleaze and sarcasm that make the intense moments unconvincing, the emotive moments condescending, and the "humorous" moments near unbearable. i think im the only person who intensely hates him as much as i do but So Be It.
Don't really care for the opening track and it's all downhill from there.
Two great hits and a bunch of filler, which is my review of every big Stones album.
It's the Stones, problem is it's the Stones. Never been a fan, and this hasn't changed that. Oh, it's reasonable enough. Just doesn't do it for me. 2
An album of extremes for me. 'Sympathy For The Devil' is one of the greatest songs of all time. 'Strrt Fighting Man' is epic. Liked 'Jigsaw Puzzle' but the rest? Painful Americana Blues which is very tedious. I'd like to give it more than 2 stars just for 'Sympathy' but I can't.
Ehhhhhhhhh, there are some signs there but overall I don’t like it. Too bluesy. Always gonna be a band where I just want to hear their hits, I think.
STANDOUTS: n/a, although there's one I assume I'm supposed to mention. OVERALL: 2/5; this wasn't good by ANY means. For boomers only???
No. Not again.
Sympathy for the Devil and Street Fighting Man are really good--the rest are not.
10 devil - 2.5 2. ezpectationz - 1 3. doctor - 1 4. parachute - 1 5. puzzle - 1 6. ztreet - 1 7. zon - 1.5 8. bluez - 0 9. girl - 1.5 10. earth - 1
Ok die Stones. Größte Rockband ever sagen einige. Aber diese Scheibe ist (bis auf den Opener) uninteressant. Wenn ich da an Led Zep oder Hendrix denke, haben die Stones den Rock mit dieser Scheibe nicht weiterentwickelt.
not my favorite Rolling Stones album. Street Fighting Man and Sympathy for the Devil are obvious classics. The rest of the album has always been meh for me.
Yeah alright it’s got sympathy on it but further not very much for me to be honest.
✅ fine. I don't really get it with the Rolling Stones. I just got sticky fingers a few days ago and thought this was less work to get through... Though the global reviews seem to prefer sticky fingers. Maybe it's the "Seinfeld isn't funny anymore" effect, but so far, I just don't understand why the Stones wind up in all these best album lists.
WTF?! Sounded like country music to me.
Not a huge fan of these guys
The Rolling Stones weren't really built for that 1960s six month album cycle thing were they? Two moments of real inspiration, a bunch of competent stuff with some interesting moments and one awful blues cover they grubbily passed off as their own. It could be a 3 on another day but you have to factor in the Jagger tax.
Eh. I listened to it as background music in the car and eventually tuned it out. Didn’t care for it that much
Most of the songs are too long and too boring. Imo, this album represents everything wrong with this era of a basic rock. Nothing new or adventurous. Many bands were doing much better things, especially the Rolling Stones themselves. When we get to Aftermath they will earn a much higher rating but until then, 2
i am so sorry but this album was so boring i could not get into it every song felt like it blended together and it was all just bleh and i know this might be strange considering it’s my only low rating so far and i am so sorry but MY GOD i can’t sit through this again i am so sorry
i don't know much rolling stones but they must have better albums than this one right? RIGHT??!
idkkk i liked some songs but i found it weirdly annoying
Not their greatest only two “hits” rest are unknowns and should stay that way
Sympathy for the devil and street-fighting man we’re good. Otherwise felt very bluesy and slower than classic Stones
I’ve never understood the Beatles vs Stones debatt, as The Beatles are hands down superior songwriters and, not least, singers. Street Fighting Man is catchy and rocking, Salt of The Earth is a nice song. The rest is boring and tedious, and I tire really fast from Mick’s vocals. Trying to swag, but later Iggy came along to show how it’s really done
I’m still not sure why they’re still around.
Sympathy for the Devil and Jigsaw Puzzle are fucking amazing songs. Everything else here though, while well played, is just boring old blues numbers that don't at all interest me
I really don’t like The Rolling Stones
It just made me realize how much certain British pop/rock stars have made a career out of copying this. I guess I prefer their earlier stuff so far?
In my experience, fans of The Rolling Stones tend to be really vocal defenders of “what rock and roll used to be,” and really vocal crusaders against, “the shit they play on the radio now.” No one likes these people, but they all seem to like The Rolling Stones. I never really knew why, but their attitude alone convinced me to avoid the Stones at all cost. After listening to the traditionalist wankery of Beggars Banquet for the first — and probably last — time in my life, I now know why those people all really like The Stones.
Maybe I was on drugs I’d like this. But fortunately I am not.
One era-defining song and a bunch of garbage songs.
Not quite what I was expecting, it's really different kind of blues. Not bad, probably not my thing though.
Did they only sell their soul for singles? Why is the rest of this album so terrible yet still come up with sympathy for the devil??
This site loves the stones
Ну нет. woo-woo прикольно (кроме пения, оно ужасно), остальное -- беее. Слишком по-деревенски. Это они и намервались создать, но такой стиль меня отталкивает.
A few good rock songs like SFTD plus lots of blues songs, ho hum. Not terrible but not my thing.
Rolling Stones me tiene suave, se tiran una canción seria y el resto del álbum es again British honky tonk
Musicalmente soso y sin nada que lo caracterice realmente, me pareció muy aburrido. Tienen mejores discos/canciones que le hacen mucho más honor a su legado en la cultura y en la historia del rock, este álbum no le hace justicia a ese legado. Suena como una banda indie panameña intentando ser diferentes intentando sonar like any other band. Debería ser olvidado por la historia. Ya no quiero mi camiseta pendeja de la lengua para afuera. 3/10.
Cha, me aburrió
Beyond the few hits, it’s meh at best.
I’m just not a fan of The Rolling Stones. Sympathy for the Devil was pretty cool and the clean guitars and slide guitar had a great tone and texture, but the lyrics and overall mood of the album was at best kind of boring and at worst creepy. I understand The Stones are very influential, but I’m not giving with them.
1 extra star for the first track, otherwise pretty boring
first song best song. ending of black ops. iykyk
This doesn't have the typical Stones feel in my opinion and I think I liked it better. Maybe I'm not old enough to be a real fan. This album has a way more bluesy, folk-rock feel than I expected but the production is terrible. One great song and then a bunch of ok ones.
Another meh album from the Stones. 2 songs...the rest took a folkie/saloon style I do not jive with at my current age. Cetainly not a must have album but I picked up a beat up copy for a cheap price just for the 2 hits.
It's not bad, but it's also not great. Just another mediocre album from the Stones for me. Sympathy for the Devil is a great opener and the rest of the album is relatively forgettable. Some OK blues rock but nothing I feel the need to go back to. 2.1 stars
First time consciously hearing "Sympathy For The Devil" - boring and repetetive song in my humble opinion. Same for most of the rest of this album. Good Songs: "Street Fighting Man" and "Prodigal Son"
Another disappointing dad rock album. There was virtually no distinction between songs and the album sequencing was subpar. Sympathy for the Devil was obviously the big hit here then the band were comfortable filling the remainder of the album with sun-baked southern guitar and uninteresting content. It wasn't offensive but really not for me. 2/5.
It's getting a 2 and i'm being very generous. 'Sympathy for the Devil' is a banger, but everything else after just bored me to tears, but it's listenable, that's as positive as i can be about it. Maybe you just had to be there, the Stones do nothing for me.
Sympathy for the devil is quite nice, but the rest of the music is okay, but not really my style. Never was a big Rolling Stones fan anyway.
i’m not a big fan of the stones and i think they’re overrated. there’s two ok songs on here and the rest is eh and forgettable
The album was mediocre at best. We got Sympathy For The Devil from it, which just a fantastic single. However, it seems like everything was put into the single and the rest was just a tired attempt at adding fluff around it.
I spent a lot of 1/31/2024 contextualizing Beggar's Banquet. I read reviews from people who were alive at the time of release. I listened to their previous album, Their Satanic Majesties Request, and I listened to The Beatles' Revolver. I do this because I find music more enjoyable when it's contextualized in the culture, period, and politic of the time. I could listen to Beggar's Banquet and say, meh, rolling stones, never liked em. Or I could try to understand why this album was so culturally impactful; listen to accounts of the impassioned fans, understand the history of where the music is coming from, check out the production stories of the album. There is a relationship that forms with the album as research and listening goes on. It's a similar effect to reading through a vinyl cover or CD/cassette insert about the album. You have images in your head of what went into recording in the room, the live shows, the life experiences of the artists. It isn't necessarily a positive or negative one, but certainly a one of curiosity. My favorite account was a RYM user noting his preparation of the tape to bring to the Vietnam War, only for it to be blasting out of every war machine and stereo in the army. This isn't an album that just played on the radio. We are talking about the soundscape of an imperial/colonial war. That's a majorly distinct context for an album to exist in. Beggars Banquet leans hard into the group's original blues inspiration. Songs like Dear Doctor and Parachute Woman follow this traditional blues sound with acoustic guitars and harmonicas. Meanwhile other tracks like Sympathy for the Devil and Jigsaw Puzzle amps the guitars up to accompany a kind of gizzard reminiscent variety of sound. Perhaps, the Stones compositions are a bit more poppy, repetitive, or even flat, but they are certainly the highlights of the album. The flute in Jigsaw puzzle sings in the back, the Factory Girl fiddle yearns for love, the ragtime piano adds to the chaos of Sympathy, and the slide guitar glides around the album. Yet, I just don't care much for Mick Jagger's voice personally. Mick doesn't have the punchy anger of Dylan (who was another inspiration for this album), the charismatic sadness of any of the blues masters, and his elongated whines don't make a lot of the lyrics work for me. This is a shame because the lyrics are about 40/60 hit or fucking flaming miss, on a spectrum from "I'll shout and scream, I'll kill the king" to "It's no capital crime, I can see that you're fifteen years old" (the former song's next lyric is about raping the king's servants.........). Even something more calm and pretty like Factory Girl just doesn't really land for me as a result. Ugh! What a bummer. Mick just kind of seems like an annoying shitty dude, and I say Mick because he is singing most of them! I know Keith Richards helped write both of these songs and that the band was all like this. So I'm not super into this group as a fan really. This was kind of my expectation going into Beggar's Banquet. Shitty British dudes iterating on sounds from other cultures, while heedlessly appropriating it, and just....making something alright. I wish I could say it was awful out of contrarian disdain because I do kind of hate that pedophile stuff. However, there is some alright musicianship, and it's hard to discount the anti-government, anti-boss sentiments throughout the album. That being said, it doesn't really make the sheer fervor for this album make sense for me against all my other critiques. I'm giving this a 2.5 on RYM. I wanted to give it a 3 for it's consistency, but the bad taste in my brain from Stray Cat Blues really got me bad. Almost wanted to give it a 2 because of that and maybe I still will. But for now it remains.
Why not
I enjoyed the two songs I knew before listening (Sympathy For The Devil and Street Fighting Man), but I somehow had second-hand embarrassment listening to the rest of the album. Something about the songs made me cringe.
The rolling stones are a fake American band who got lucky with a few bangers.
They hadn’t started taking risks yet.
Some highlights- Sympathy for the Devil, Street Fighting Man. Rest was meh. Stray Cat Blues is gross.
It's a Rolling Stones album
Meh
I just find The Rolling Stones so mediocre, and this album is no exception. Even its best song, “Sympathy for the Devil,” drags on way too long. I’ll never understand why they are so well regarded… to some degree, I feel like I’m missing out on something…
Truly one of the most baffling "superstar" bands of all time. For example, I don't like Bruce Springsteen, but the *music* on his albums is dynamite. His voice is shit, but lyrically, at the very least, the man tells an excellent story. The Rolling Stones? Jagger's voice is awful. The music is bog standard basic "rock" at best, and cookie-cutter, cliche "bluesy" at worst. I just do not see the appeal in this band - at all. Now onto the actual album review. Sympathy for the Devil. That song slaps. I might like it because it's in the final scene of Interview With a Vampire, and I absolutely loved that movie when I was a kid. Street Fighting Man is a halfway decent 60s rock song. Not great, but better than what I've come to expect from the Stones. Prodigal Son is *actual* blues! Jagger does something with his voice that sounds different than usual, but fits perfectly as a blues song. Stray Cat Blues - not bluesy at all, but another pretty solid 60s rock jam. Better than Street Fighting Man, and I'd actually go so far as to call it good. And that's it. The rest of the album is filler trash. I'll give it 2 stars because there are two, possibly 3 good songs, and one song that doesn't suck.
I liked most of this album. Not a "Stones" listener generally. Will more often now.
I know this is not a 2 star album, I just don’t really like The Rolling Stones. So I can appreciate what they did and how people love them but they just never did it for me.
wow this was one classic single followed by nine filler tracks. i know the stones have hits but i guess they just put one on each album over 20 years so we end up with entries like this. did this really need to be on the list? favorites: sympathy for the devil
Meh
Typical Stones sound with some heavy hitting classics, lyricism and style aren't for me
Been doing this for 6 days and I've had three Rolling Stones albums. Am I going to listen to 500 fucking Stones records before I'm done?
War schon ok, nicht so aufregend
Dosadno
Makes me want to buy a Hyundai. One good song. The rest kind of blow. The one song may only be “good” because it’s familiar. Won’t listen again to double check…actually I take part of this back: Stray Cat Blues was tight.
A well-known song that is definitely contemporary and listenable. A Otherwise boring 60s music
Sympathy For The Devil - oh god this song (3/5 it is catchy but it is too long) No Expectations - it’s a slow almost second intro. (3/5 different but not better) Dear Doctor - drunken road trip vibe i think (3/5 it’s so middle of the road) Parachute Woman - it’s all just alabama road trip music. the whole album is just alabama road trip music. i think it is all very.. boring. so 2/5 cause everything would have got a 2 or 3
Kinda meh outside sympathy for the devil, none of the other songs reach the same level, and a decent portion of the album is lower mid at the very least. 5/10
Load of wank imo
Tror att det är skillnad om man knullade första gången till denna platta och levde ett allmänt obekymrat liv där man rökte hasch och inte behövde vara så orolig för framtiden eftersom det räckte med en halv termin på Socialhögskolan för att arbetsgivarna skulle kasta jobb på en. Den musik som ackompanjerade den livsstilen kommer alldeles säkert vara kanon resten av livet. Men faktum är att 1) Mick Jagger inte kan sjunga ssk bra. 2) Mick Jagger skriker som en utvecklingsstörd 3) Låtarna är ganska svaga 4) Keith Ricards solon låter som nåt ur ”Min första gitarrbok”. Den första är låter är ju dock en klassiker. Men jag trodde faktiskt att texten var bättre än nån som låstas att han är djävulen. Tvåan som jag ger är helt och hållet denna låts musik förtjänst.
Helt okej. Nästan bra jämfört med tortyren man tvingats genomlida senaste dagarna. Inte min kopp te däremot. Två hyfsade låtar.
It’s going to upset some people but I really don’t get it… it’s just ok, nothing special
Listened to album while sick. Very strong opening track. Tracks seemed too extended and drawn out. Felt like some filler. No tracks matched the first.
Did not enjoy a single song to be honest.
I do not like this album. I don't get the hype around rolling stones at all tbh. Shits just rambly and rolls into each song in a daze, I can barely differentiate each song. Idk if I'm missing something but this is not for me. The riffs are cool ig Fav songs (don't really have any but if I had to pick): sympathy for the devil
First track is a classic, rest pretty forgettable
Sympathy and treet Fighting Man are classics but I thought the rest was just very ordinary bluesy rock. I don't really get the hype with the Rolling Stones to be honest. You probably had to be there
begon wel nice maar toen de kinderboerderij type beats kwamen begon het echt wel te vervelen
Meh
Not my style of music. It really does bore me.
Crazy to read this was already their 8th album? Many bands would be hopeful to even manage 8 albums across their discography. Let alone the career they had past this. Overall pretty forgettable. Sympathy For The Devil is sweet but the rest of the tracks kinda pale in comparison.
Kan i grunn setta pris på Jagger og co, men trur albumet trenge et par gjennomlyttinga til før da sette seg
I dunno what it is but the Stones haven't ever excited me all that much, I find them very samey. There are undeniably some great tunes and interesting arrangements on this, but lots of it felt like generic country rock. 2.5/5 Fav Track: Street Fighting Man
Allright-ish
I listened to this while doing some email admin tasks at the end of my work day. I thought the first song was fun, then at some point I was a bit bored of the vibe. Thems my thoughts. ty. x
Not a lot happened 2
It's rolling stones Better than most of their stuff but still, mick jagger is gross and boring
two rolling stones albums being generated SO CLOSE to each other kinda made me not want to listen to this but i kept going fr 🙏 this album is kinda just there. my favorite, and like objectively the best song, is “Sympathy For The Devil.” everything else kinda just blends together. from the two rolling stones albums i’ve listened to start to finish it seems as if they made great singles and then just gave up for the rest of the album
yeah this really is a rolling stones album and that's about it. not offensively boring but nothing special. best track: sympathy for the devil
There is one good song on this album
Good background noise, but I did not finish bc it got annoying. Very repetitive.
meh
I like some songs from The Rolling Stones. Preferred the Beatles over them tho.
OK. Some nice songs but some not a fan of
Second listen. I think this might be my last Rolling Stones album? I ranked it the highest of them but it still gets a 2.
Nothing special at all
Not as good as the other stones album I rated a 3, so I had to take a star off.
Well. Honestly, after Sympathy for the Devil, rest of the album was kind of a letdown.
Not a rolling stones fan - here's 2 stars for Sympathy For The Devil
Middle of the road Stones. Is this not an album band? A couple giant hits and some meddling blues rock numbers.
OK, to be honest I'm not a stones fan, but the first track Sympathy for the devil is in itself a standalone track. The rest of this album, although good for its time, does lack ingenuity, a lot of it has a deep south USA sound, although I do like the prevelance of acoustic guitar on most of the tracks. It's a fair album, but neither this album or the group ever warranted the hype, in My humble opinion.
Wouldn’t be their best bored me a bit
Meh
Sympathy for the devil gets this a five star rating in the bag. Anything after this can only detract. And bugger me, the rest of the album detracts. "No expectation" is a blues/rock chore. "Dear Doctor" is a blues/country chore. "Parachute woman" is Mick Jagger straight up doing a bad cosplay of John Lee Hooker. White boys can't blues. It doesn't open out to rock and roll again until track 6, "Street fighting man", and even that seems kinda repetitive and whiny somehow. Prodigal Son is an excellent track, but also a cover version of some actual blues. Stray Cat Blues comes around, and like the titular cat is has no home - neither with rock or blues. I feel as if I've heard enough at about the time the drums start to get interesting and am compelled to not skip just to find out where Charlie Watts goes with it. Factory Girl comes up interesting, with some genuinely very good percussion and the fiddles work incredibly well with Jagger's un-Jaggery vocals. Salt of the Earth sounds like the third act opener of a rock opera, rather than the final track of a Stones album. Overall, this album starts with one of the best tracks of the twentieth century and then immediatly falls to shit. It does get better, but other than a straight up cover version and a couple of passable Stones tracks, this album fails to live up to its opener.
sounds like a cliche country album it’s decent just not my taste and i’d understand if country fans like this record just not my cup of tea although there were good songs and favs were dear doctor, parachute woman, street fighting man and prodigal son 2/5 not the best just the kind of album you want to just finish up already
The song selection sounds like its a B-Sides compilation instead of a proper album. We get one inventive, artistic song in Sympathy for the Devil and then some odds n sods blues/country rock tunes. I guess at the time of its release, this album would stand out because of its straight-forward acoustic guitar and piano sounds. I kind of like Jigsaw Puzzle but Salt of the Earth is truly shit.
Not keen on this. It was more country - blues than I was prepared for. I don’t like slide guitar or harmonica. I expected much more.
Weer een stones plaatje waarvan ik te lui ben om er wat van te vinden.
Op Sympathy for the Devil en Street Fighting Man na vond ik het maar een suffe plaat. Veel te bluesy.
Honestly was so excited to get them because I thought it would finally be rock and roll but boy was I disappointed. This was very country in my opinion other than maybe two songs and I was so upset because I just want a rock and roll album. The first song wasn’t bad of course but that’s it.
Is nobody safe from the '60s folksy, country, bluesy sound? I get that this was a popular sound at the time, but I’m surprised that The Rolling Stones went from a song like Paint It, Black to this record in just two years. Don’t get me wrong, it sounds significantly better than some of the albums that came out around this time, but I can only take so much of this music on this list. Obviously, Sympathy for the Devil was great but that’s about it. After the record finished, Spotify decided to play Under My Thumb from one of their previous albums, Aftermath. The 10-second, Crash Bandicoot-esque marimba in the intro was already more interesting than anything on Beggars Banquet.
Ég á erfitt samband við hina rúllandi steina. Inn á milli þess sem fer inn um annað og út um hitt eru gimsteinar. Einn þannig á þessari plötu. Hann hífir hana ekkert rosalega hátt í einkunnagjöfinni samt.
I reviewed Eagles eponymous yesterday on my other thread, and this is just a perfect comp to it. Perfect in that they're so similar - I gave Eagles a 3, and this is discernably worse on every dimension. The key similarities are (a) super-famous band (b) with one of their early releases (c) containing exactly two of the hits that made them famous (d) and basically no other noteworthy or really even enjoyable songs (we will discuss "Salt of the Earth") (e) mostly because all of the balance of the CD is super-basic working-class 70s blues rock. "Sympathy for the Devil" is great, and "Street Fighting Man" is iconic (listening to it again for the first time in a decade, it's really kind of a crummy song), but until we get to "Salt of the Earth", basically the entire rest of the CD sucks. Songs like "Factory Girl" and "Dear Doctor" are not just unpleasant to listen to, in the modern context they're really pretty offensive. And the rest of the CD is just a bunch of stale, by-the-books blues rock. Relative the Eagles version of the same, the Stones (a) have much less vocal talent - the Eagles have at least two singers with stronger voices than Jagger's, and also get way more out of their vocal harmonies - and (b) have dramatically worse sound quality, I mean in the sense of how well the sound is recorded. Many 60s CDs have fairly crude recording quality, but typically from earlier in the decade or from less famous bands - I'm surprised at just how poor the recording quality for a world-class band in 1968, I mean if you compare this to contemporary Beatles / Band / Motown is just sounds sloppy and amateurish. "Salt of the Earth" is joyous and fun, and in trying to understand why I liked it so much, when I did not enjoy the rest of the CD, the clear thing it has that the rest of the CD (outside of "Sympathy") is missing is a voice other than Jagger's - it's the female backing vocals that make the song. And while Richards' very by-the-books blues licks and somewhat crude tone works at times (like on "Sympathy", where it provides a real burst of color with a distinctively different sound from the rest of the song), it's kind of a flop relative to how full the Stones' two-guitar attack works on the Mick Taylor-era CDs. All of which is to say - most of what listening to this CD made me wonder is - are the Stones mostly considered good because, shortly after recording this CD and continuing into the early 70s, they recruited as members basically an entirely different band centered around Mick Taylor and a rotating cast of strong female vocalists?
If you didn't know this was the Stones and take out Sympathy for the Devil and street fighting man, tell me your first thought wasn't country music. Sympathy for devil is all time classic. Street fighting man is good, Rage against the machine made it the song great. Those are the 2 songs I enjoyed. All others sounded like country music, which was not what I expected or particularly enjoyed. I'll give 2.5
2 Never been huge on The Rolling Stones. They have some hits that I absolutely love but I consider them that: a hits band. I’ve heard a few of their full albums and there are occasionally some deep cuts that I kind of like but as a whole they rarely impress me. This is no different. I adore Sympathy for the Devil and outside of that I found a few on here that I kind of enjoy but nothing too crazy. I kind of like some of the harmonica musings but as a whole it just didn’t have the same energy as Sympathy for the Devil Favorites: Sympathy for the Devil, Parachute Woman, Jigsaw Puzzle
Didn't expect such a country/blues infused album. Didn't seem remarkable to me except for the classic opener... Oh, and another thing that left a (negative) mark were the disgusting lyrics in Stray Cat Blues... Seriously? Creepy now, creepy then. Foul! .
Pleased to say my uninformed dislike of The Rolling Stones is now a slightly more informed dislike. Although "Sympathy for the Devil" is pretty good.
People say it’s the start of their “Greatest Band” period but I think they hadn’t really grasped the blues sound yet. It would go on to define their next decade, but here it sounds like waffling between blues and pastoral English folk without doing anything interesting with either.
Best Song: Sympathy For The Devil. By far the most adventurous and unique song on the album. Worst Song: Parachute Woman. Jagger can't sing the blues. That's all there is to say. Overall: It's mostly just kind of dull. The Stones seem to have occasional songs that stick out as unique, but the brunt of the album is just cheap, generic rock. Maybe it hits better live, where Mick Jagger's charisma can elevate the performance, but on recording it just falls flat.
First song is decent (Sympathy for Devil). Last one Salt of the Earth is ok. The rest are completely forgettable. I don't understand appeal of this album. Shmeh.
Some highly questionable lyrics. Some catchy songs.
Symphony for the devil and that’s it
Meh.
Heard before: yes The Rolling Stones are tedious and overrated. Especially Sympathy for the Devil. Tiresomely repetitious. And when they rip blues tunes I’d rather hear the originals.
kinda boring not a big stones fan
meh
Really couldnt enioy this one aside from the hits. Just not for me but didnt need to turn it off
I liked a couple songs but otherwise it's too bluesy for me to really enjoy. Favorite: Sympathy For The Devil
Solid album, first time properly listening to The Rolling Stones. Little different to what I knew of them. Is a little more country than what im used to. Favourite song is Stray Cat Blues.
Sympathy for the Devil is a great song. 50+ years does not dim its charms. The rest of the album doesn't even manage to achieve mediocrity, except maybe Street Fighting Man.
Brits doing blues rock. I prefer disco Stones.
A bit too bluesy/folksy for me on some tracks.
really confuses me how one of the most popular rock bands ever sounds like this it’s kinda disappointing didn’t like a lot of it
hat schon ein paar coole ideen in der ersten hälfte wird aber immer schlimmer im verlauf, konnte das im endeffekt nicht fertig anhören
Not great
Hadn't listened to this album before, Sympathy for the Devil is a classic - great opener - then it went down hill from there, next few songs were so lackluster, derailed the rest of the album. Beggars Belief would have been a better title.
Eh, most of it goes over me.
02/24/2022 Charges out of the gate with "Sympathy For The Devil" but then looses steam with (still good) blues rock. Once classic song doesn't make an album a classic.
first song is the only good one
Eh. The bluesy style was nice but the songs themselves were meh
Never will i understand the appeal of this band . . . i tried hard with this one. Parachute Women and No Expectations r p gud Why constantly compared to the beatles ? i dont know
Da la sensación de que este álbum es famoso y reconocido por el simple hecho de que es de los Rolling Stones y que, si no lo fuese, pasaría desapercibido. Parece como si la motivación que tenían a la hora de grabarlo fuese la de intentar ver cómo sonarían si llevasen viviendo toda la vida en Arizona; quizá sea para hacer las delicias de los granjeros estadounidenses o quizá por pura diversión, pero es precisamente eso lo que falta a la hora de escucharlo: diversión. “Parachute Woman” se sale un poco de esta tónica y se agradece. “Sympathy For The Devil” seguro que ha servido de apoyo para alguna que otra canción de Primal Scream. “Street Fighting Man” es pobre en comparación con la versión de Rage Against The Machine. El resto de canciones me invitan a sentarme en la mecedora del porche con mi mono vaquero de tirantes, el palillo en la boca y la escopeta en el regazo. No estamos ante un gran disco de sus satánicas majestades.
Contains some of my favorite Stones tracks (the multi-layered 'Sympathy for the Devil' and rollicking 'Street Fighting Man'), but the good here is greatly outweighed by the gratuitous honky-tonk of the remaining tracks.
Would not recommend, 2/10
Boomer rock just isn’t my thing all that much
3/10
Rolling Stones? More like Rolling Jones. Brian Jones’ influence (and slide guitar) definitely drive this album. That’s not a horrible thing - the country/western/blues sound is cool and definitely drives the rest of what the Stones would go on to do - it’s just clear they (or, at least most of them) were starting to break away from that sound in this album and it seems a little chaotic at times. Plus - I would have thought the production value on a stones album in 1968 would have been a bit better.
Stones can be better
I didn’t know there would be stones songs I actively disliked. I disliked dear doctor. Jigsaw puzzle went on way too long. Factory girl was out of place. The intro to sympathy for the devil is iconic and got me all pumped but the rest of the album was a let down.
the rolling stones never seem to live up to their reputation. this album is no exception, it just feels like an album full of rock n roll that never really reaches the heights of any of its competition
Was looking forward to listening to this, as I haven't really listened to much of The Rolling Stones. Unfortunately, this was rather underwhelming.
Too much of the same thing
I'll say this much, I love Sympathy for the Devil. I had this album on while I was working and breezed through it but don't remember any of the songs. I skipped a few too that bored me but this did not fee like the stadium rock I know from these stones which makes sense since this was one of their earlier albums. And I'll skip out on that bathroom in the cover.
One great song, the rest - meh.
.
Meh
I'm being perhaps a little provocative but...
Meh. Not gonna listen to this actively ever again.
Not their best
Meh
Катящиеся камни из говна
Meh, but rolling stones never were my thing. 2. Still not my thing.
I had one song saved already (sympathy for the devil) I kind of liked street fighting man too, the rest I either didn’t listen to or listened passively.
2
I was enjoying the instruments quite a bit and then I heard the Stray Cat Blues lyrics which stopped my enjoyment.
I've never cared for the Rolling Stones. Some pretty boring, pretty standard rock music.
Oh yay. Another Stones album. Like there hasn’t already been more than enough of them.
I liked a couple songs. More of a fan of The Rolling Stones greatest hits not the obscure songs
Not for me
Not my style
Give me a break. This was the 58th album on my journey, and the third Stones album I got, which is 5%. They don't make up 5% of all good music in the world. Not even 0.0001% actually... Beggards Banquet was bland, uninspiring and boring. The songs really don't go anywhere. To prove my point, I encourage you to do the following experiment: take any song off the album and skip to 1/3, 1/2 and 3/4 of it. It's funny how it's the exact same thing. I've never really been into Mick Jagger, but it took me 3 Stones albums and the song Factory Girl to find out why. The guy actually can't sing. He can't. Listen to how he's trying to struggle his way through that song. 'Hair', 'Anywhere', are waaay off pitch and sound all tensed up. He just does not have the proficiency to pull these lines off, because he can't sing high without tensing up and being off pitch as a result. If this album were from some underground project, I'd give it a 2. However, the Rolling Stones are hailed as one of the best rock bands in the world. When measured against this standard, I gotta round that 2 down to a 1.
Boring ol' blues. 1/5
I wish these fuckers would grow some moss
1968 Really struggled getting through this album. I find Jagger’s voice SO annoying and performative. Not sure if the style of music is my thing, but I’m struggling to listen past the voice to find out. Actually the further I listen, the more it sounds like some rich white guy and his band have heard blues music/annerican rock and roll and have been like “I could do that”. It even feels like an American accent at times. I can see it’s got loads of awards and was something really special at the time… but I don’t get it. Maybe I need to listen more but I don’t want to.
The rolling stones just aren't for me ... I don't get why anyone wants to listen to some British guys doing American rock n roll.. it's like a bad cover band. No thx.
Just a very hard, slow listen for me. I can’t even embellish this review a little. I just couldn’t jam to this..
I don't want to listen to grotty toilet music 😭 Never particularly liked Sympathy for the Devil, so this album had no chance
Very bluesy guitar, reminds me of SRV or Johnny Cash. The slide is wonderful I love the tone of the guitar and how you can hear the slide on the strings in certain pieces of the album. The guitar tone is awful and I love it, it’s so fuzzy and crunchy and sounds like it’s been dragged through 500 feet of mud and hit by a semi-truck. The piano reminds me of the later blues shuffle rock and roll came from and over all it’s a great album. 5/5
holy shit this sucks
Anyone putting the Stones over the Beatles is someone I wouldn’t trust making a bowl of cereal. Should have called this Sympathy for the devil and 33 mins of blue’s filler.
FAVS (top 3): no expectations, dear doctor, prodigal son mençoes honrosas: - pqp nao gente nota final: 1/5
Album started well but with ‘sympathy for the devil’ then moved onto second track ‘no expectations’ unfortunately I did have expectations and this album did not live up to them, by track 3 I was wanting to call a doctor as my ears had heard enough, however I persevered and was rewarded with a nice piano section in ‘jigsaw puzzle’ however by the song ‘stray cat blues’ i was ready to give up completely so I was more than glad when it ended and I hope my 1001 album commitment gets better than this first listen. 1/10 for 1 decent song.
did not listen. oops, maybe i shouldve have signed u for weekend albums.
not for me
i hate the stones, couldn't make it to the second song bro
ngl this only has one song i like and its syympathy for the devil there are other songs that are just alright but nothing worthy of adding to my playlists
fucking insufferable.
favs: sympathy for the devil rating 0.5/5
Definitivamente The Rolling Stones no son para mí xd
Quedó viejo
Drivel. Utter drivel.
To be honest, I didn’t really like the sound of this album. I wasn’t finding myself engaged. The instrumentals were fun, but I was bored. These are not songs that I would want to listen to again.
Harmonica and American country sound were jarring for me. Experimentation is one thing but this felt like dressing up?
хуета и неслушабельный кал. "боже, как же они круты, орут в микрофоны своим скрипучим блядским голосом и на фоне какофонии из звуков прямиком из ссаных и богом забытых ковбойских фильмов." не трогай говно, пока не воняет. трогать эту парашу я, естественно, больше не планирую.
this style of rock music isn’t my cup of tea. i liked one or two songs. the rest aren’t memorable.
קאובוי לא כזהה נורא פשוט פחות התחברתי
country rock huh,,, i dont like it,,,,
kind of astounded by how much I disliked this clatter . I can appreciate a blues-whatever-this-is once in a while but….wow. A grating listen. Namaste