Their Satanic Majesties Request
The Rolling Stones' psychedelic experiment and response to Sgt. Pepper.
Their Satanic Majesties Request is the sixth studio album by the Rolling Stones, released in December 1967 on Decca Records in the UK and London Records in the US. It was the first Stones album to have the same version issued in both countries. The title twists the phrase "Her Britannic Majesty requests and requires" found inside a British passport. The band explored a psychedelic sound here, using Mellotron, sound effects, string arrangements, and African rhythms. The lyrics feature dreamlike imagery and science-fiction themes, touching on lost identity in a futuristic world, space travel, distance, loneliness, and alienation.
The album was self-produced after manager and producer Andrew Loog Oldham left. Recording dragged on, disrupted by drug use, court appearances, and jail terms for band members. The cover, by photographer Michael Cooper, originally used a lenticular three-dimensional image. After this album, the Stones dropped their psychedelic style and returned to a stripped-down blues-based sound.
Initial reviews were mixed, with critics calling it derivative of the Beatles' *Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band*, even noting similarities in the cover art. In later decades, the album has been viewed more favorably.
Recording started just after *Between the Buttons* came out on 20 January 1967. Because of court dates and jail time, the whole band rarely worked together in the studio, making the sessions long and disjointed. Band members often brought guests, further slowing things down. Bill Wyman, more level-headed and wary of psychedelic drugs, wrote "In Another Land" as a parody of the band's situation. In his 2002 book *Rolling with the Stones*, he describes the studio chaos.
The Stones tried new instruments and effects, including Mellotron, theremin, shortwave radio static, and string arrangements by John Paul Jones, later of Led Zeppelin. Oldham, frustrated by the band's lack of focus, pulled away after their drug bust and quit, leaving them without a producer. This became their first self-produced album. Mick Jagger later said that wasn't a good idea and expressed dislike for some tracks. Brian Jones, in another interview, noted that the band was trying to do something different from their usual sound.
Quick Facts
- Artist
- the Rolling Stones
- Released
- 8 December 1967
- Recorded
- 9 February23 October 1967
- Studio
- Olympic, London
- Genre
- Psychedelic pop / acid rock / experimental rock / psychedelic rock
- Length
- 44:03
- Label
- Decca
- Chronology
- The Rolling Stones UK
- Prev Title
- Between the Buttons
- Prev Year
- 1967
- Next Title
- Beggars Banquet
- Next Year
- 1968
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Recording of Their Satanic Majesties Request began just after the release of Between the Buttons on 20 January 1967. Because of court appearances and jail terms, the entire band was seldom present in the studio at one time, making recording of the album lengthy and disjointed. Band members frequently arrived with guests in tow, further interfering with productivity. One of the more level-headed members of the band during this time, Bill Wyman, wary of psychedelic drugs, wrote the song 'In Another Land' to parody the Stones' current goings-on. The Stones experimented with many new instruments and sound effects during the sessions, including Mellotron, theremin, short wave radio static, and string arrangements by then-future Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones. Their producer and manager Andrew Loog Oldham, already fed up with the band's lack of focus, distanced himself from them following their drug bust and finally quit, leaving them without a producer. As a result, Their Satanic Majesties Request would be the Stones' first self-produced album.
Reader's Guide
Their Satanic Majesties Request initially received mixed reviews. It was criticised as being derivative of the contemporaneous work of the Beatles, particularly their May 1967 release Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, with the similarities extending to the LP's cover. In subsequent decades, however, the album's reception has been more favorable. The album reached No. 3 in the UK and No. 2 in the US, but its commercial performance declined rapidly. It was soon viewed as a pretentious, poorly conceived attempt to outdo the Beatles and Sgt. Pepper, often explained by drug trials and excesses in contemporary musical fashion. Following the release, the Rolling Stones abandoned their psychedelic style for a stripped-down return to their roots in blues music. The production came in for harsh criticism from Jon Landau in the fifth issue of Rolling Stone, and Jimmy Miller was asked to produce the Stones' subsequent albums. The album's legacy includes its elaborate lenticular cover design by Michael Cooper, which featured a three-dimensional picture of the band. The inner-cover collage has dozens of images, including reproductions of old master paintings, Indian mandalas, astronomy, flowers, and world maps, and contains a maze that cannot be completed.
Did You Know?
- The working title of the album was Cosmic Christmas, or The Rolling Stones' Cosmic Christmas.
- The original LP cover featured a lenticular image by photographer Michael Cooper; later editions replaced it with a photograph due to high production costs.
- John Lennon and Paul McCartney provided uncredited backing vocals on 'We Love You', recorded during the album sessions.
- The album was released in South Africa and the Philippines as The Stones Are Rolling because of the word 'Satanic' in the title.
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