The Rolling Stones and Philosophy: It's Just a Thought Away by Luke Dick; George A. Reisch

Author:Luke Dick; George A. Reisch
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780812697599
Publisher: Open Court Publishing
Published: 2011-11-07T05:00:00+00:00

Beelzebub’s Bugged-Out Bequest

Thematically, there are two threads that run through Satanic Majesties. One, a hippie-utopian theme, has much in common with Sgt. Pepper and other Pepperist efforts of the time. The other is science fiction. Perhaps because science fiction in late-1960s creative rock music is so emblematic of progressive rock, it has remained obscure in the case of The Stones. But thoughts about science fiction are rampant in progressive rock (see my Listening to the Future). There is a utopian strain of “sci-fi medievalism” (as I call it) in bands like Yes, and a dystopian strain running through Emerson, Lake, and Palmer (especially Tarkus and Brain Salad Surgery) and King Crimson. At that moment when The Stones shared the stage with King Crimson in July 1969, the future of prog rock was poised to go in two directions, to utopia or dystopia; just as rock itself was poised for both the peace and love at Woodstock, the next month, and the death and dysfunction of Altamont later in December.

The “medieval” aspect of Satanic Majesties is plain in the album’s cover, a cover that is perhaps more “out of character” for the band than anything else about Satanic Majesties. The Stones have replaced The Beatles’ military uniforms with the robes of sorcerers and wrapped the whole idea in the mystery of the original 3-D cover. As you manipulate it, you find all kinds of surprises in its nooks and crannies (including The Beatles, if you hold it right, just as The Stones appear on the cover of Sgt. Pepper). But unlike The Beatles’ cover, there is stuff going on in the sky—a Saturn-like planet and a moon in the upper corner.

These traditional icons of science fiction point to four songs in particular: “Citadel,” “In Another Land,” “2000 Man,” and “2000 Light Years from Home.” “Citadel” is a great rocker, and it’s not surprising that it has been covered by many bands, often with a punk feel. The roaring introductory chords on a very raw-sounding electric guitar completely shatter the tone that had been set by the album opener, “Sing This All Together”—though in fact, unlike with “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” (the opening song of the album), “Sing” begins and ends with dissonance. The Stones are of course a guitar band, while “Sing” is dominated by piano and horns and a rough “chorus” of vocals. “Sing” immediately tips us off that Satanic Majesties is not going to be a typical Stones album, because of its seemingly silly attempt at a flower-power vibe. But look what happens when “Citadel” comes erupting up out of the (significantly) dissonant sounds at the end. We’re transported from England’s green fields to a Bastille-like prison. This takes us both to “the rusted chains of prison moons” evoked by “In the Court of the Crimson King” (the final song from the album of the same name) and the Marquis de Sade.

“In Another Land,” is built around a dream sequence in which the central fact is holding someone else’s hand.

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