Line #3 Music/BeggarsBanquet


1	[[quoteright:325:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/therollingstones_beggarsbanquet12_3wfw.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:325:''"Please allow me to introduce myself / I'm a man of wealth and taste..."'']]
3	[[caption-width-right:325:[[labelnote:Click here to see the "toilet" cover originally intended for the album, rejected by Decca and used on post-1986 reissues.]]\
4	https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/beggars_banquet_1057.jpg[[/labelnote]]]]
5
6	''Beggars Banquet'' is the seventh studio album (ninth American album) by Music/{{The Rolling Stones\|Band}}, released in December 1968 on Creator/DeccaRecords in most of the world and its subsidiary London Records in the US and Canada. It is considered a return to their old rebellious and subversive roots, compared to their previous albums, the psychedelic ''Music/BetweenTheButtons'' and ''Music/TheirSatanicMajestiesRequest'', both from 1967. ''Beggars Banquet'' is best remembered for such tracks as "Sympathy for the Devil", "Stray Cat Blues", and the hit single "Street Fighting Man", and is ranked among the band's best albums.
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8	Music/BrianJones, who halfheartedly showed up to the recording sessions, was playing a far lesser role in the band by this point and had his judgment marred considerably through drug abuse. While Jones contributed a few minor instrumentals, most notably the slide guitar on "No Expectations" and sitar on "Street Fighting Man", Music/MickJagger and Music/KeithRichards largely conceived of an album which would return to a {{Blues}}-inspired, [[CountryMusic Country]] sound heavily associated with the working conditions of the poor. Achieving unity in structure even while exploring such diverse topics as underage groupies, [[PoliceBrutality chaotic riots]], and religious symbolism, the Stones sought to reconcile these complex ideas to represent the political restlessness of the era through [[ThreeChordsAndTheTruth a more simplistic sound]].
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10	The album's release was delayed considerably due to the [[ExecutiveMeddling ongoing conflict between the Stones and their record label]], which despised the original "toilet" cover art and forced its replacement. While the original cover was eventually reinstated on reissues, this conflict speaks to the band's rapidly shifting role from a group of talented musicians to a mouthpiece for a generation. From the introductory track, which is the TropeNamer to SympathyForTheDevil and ManOfWealthAndTaste, to the largely SelfDeprecating indictment of [[SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll debauchery of their lifestyle]], the songs both implicate society and defend the people largely undercut by privilege. Fitting for an album heavily influenced by the violence and politics of the 1960s, the cover and the album's themes are now viewed as a celebration of [[ArmyOfThievesAndWhores cultural rebels and impoverished people]] disenfranchised by society.
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12	In any case, the influential recording sessions to some songs of this album were filmed in Creator/JeanLucGodard's ''[[Film/OnePlusOne One Plus One/Sympathy for the Devil]]'' from 1968. A documentary about the creative process behind the making of this album can be seen in the ''Series/ClassicAlbums'' TV documentary series.
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14	In December 1968, the Stones made the TV special ''Film/TheRollingStonesRockAndRollCircus'' to promote this album, though the special did not see the light of day till 1995.
15
16	----
17	!! Tracklist:
18
19	[[AC:Side One]]
20	# "Sympathy for the Devil" (6:18)
21	# "No Expectations" (3:56)
22	# "Dear Doctor" (3:28)
23	# "Parachute Woman" (2:20)
24	# "Jig-Saw Puzzle" (6:06)
25
26	[[AC:Side Two]]
27	# "Street Fighting Man" (3:16)
28	# "Prodigal Son" (2:51)
29	# "Stray Cat Blues" (4:38)
30	# "Factory Girl" (2:09)
31	# "Salt of the Earth" (4:48)
32
33	----
34	!!Principal Members:
35
36	* Music/MickJagger - lead vocals, harmonica, percussion
37	* Music/BrianJones - guitar, harmonica, mellotron, sitar, tamboura, vocals
38	* Music/KeithRichards - guitar, backing and co-lead vocals, bass
39	* Charlie Watts - drums, percussion, vocals, cowbell, clave, tabla
40	* Bill Wyman - bass, vocals, maracas
41
42	----
43	!! Please allow us to introduce these tropes...
44
45	* AbhorrentAdmirer: In "Dear Doctor", the narrator laments that "the gal I'm to marry is a bow-legged sow".
46	* AlliterativeTitle: '''''B'''eggar's '''B'''anquet'', "'''D'''ear '''D'''octor".
47	* AlternateAlbumCover: The BathroomStallGraffiti cover was meant to be the original artwork, but was replaced with the "R.S.V.P" cover at Decca's insistence. The bathroom cover now appears on most reissues.
48	* AnswerCut: "Sympathy for the Devil".
49	--> ''I shouted out: "Who killed the Kennedys?"''
50	--> ''When after all it was you and me.''
51	* BadassBoast: Most of "Sympathy for the Devil" is a badass boast by someone we could assume to be an UnreliableNarrator.
52	** "''I laid traps for troubadours/Who get killed before they reach Bombay''" has caused much debate over to what it refers; the dominant explanation is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippie_trail the hippie trail]], navigated by hippies to India, who were robbed in Afghanistan or Pakistan by drug-smugglers.
53	* BeliefMakesYouStupid: "Sympathy for the Devil"
54	--> ''I watched with glee as your kings and queens\
55	Fought for ten decades for the gods they made''
56	* BigRockEnding: After the last verse, "Salt of the Earth" slows down for acoustic guitar strumming, then a drum fill signals the band to start up again, joined by the background singers repeating "Let's take a drink for the salt of the earth" over and over, then the tempo speeds up and they jam all the way to the fade, with the piano (played by Nicky Hopkins) dominating.
57	* BourgeoisBohemian: "Salt Of The Earth" is sung from the perspective of affluent liberals who lionize the working class as compliant underclasses who they have never have to interact or deal with personally.
58	* TheCoup: "Street Fighting Man".
59	--> ''Hey! I think the time is right for a palace revolution''
60	--> ''But where I live the game to play is compromise solution''
61	* CoverVersion: "Prodigal Son" (best known for the line "that's no way to get along"), a cover of blues artist Robert Wilkins.
62	* DarkerAndEdgier: This album was a return to their more sleazy, raunchy sound from the earlier days.
63	* DirtyOldMan: "Stray Cat Blues", featuring a man lusting after a 15 year old groupie, reasoning "it's no hanging matter/ it's no capital crime".
64	* DisgustingPublicToilet: Shown on the original cover, with the credits rendered as BathroomStallGraffiti.
65	* DrunkenSong: "Salt of the Earth" sounds a lot like a barroom shanty, even though it wasn't necessarily intended that way. A lot of critics have stated that the song sounds patronizing for this reason, though its intent may derive from the classic view of "salt of the earth" types enjoying a drink at the end of a hard day.
66	* EpicRocking: "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Street Fighting Man".
67	* FacelessMasses: "Salt of the Earth"
68	--> ''And when I search a faceless crowd\
69	A swirling mass of gray and black and white\
70	They don't look real to me\
71	In fact they look so strange''
72	* GenreShift: "Sympathy for the Devil", while now among the Stones' proverbial anthems, is quite different from their usual fare (then and now) of angsty blues songs. Namely for the fact that the lyrics are fairly literary filled with historical allusions. Indeed Mick Jagger noted that it was more suited to Bob Dylan's style than the Stones. The song itself drew on the influences of ''Literature/TheMasterAndMargarita'' (recommended by Music/MarianneFaithfull) and the poetry of Charles Baudelaire. Jagger states that while it's a Ballad, the unusual Samba rhythms and African beats stopped it from departing too much from their style:
73	--> '''Mick Jagger''': It becomes less pretentious because it is a very unpretentious groove. If it had been done as a ballad, it wouldn't have been as good.
74	* GrayAndGrayMorality: The message of "Sympathy for the Devil" ultimately boils down to saying that every human has the capacity for good ''and'' evil, and that morality is not black-and-white as we've all been led to believe. This is illustrated by having the Devil sarcastically take credit for the worst atrocities humans have committed to each other.
75	-->''Just as every cop is a criminal\
76	And all the sinners saints\
77	As heads is tails, just call me Lucifer\
78	Cause I'm in need of some restraint''
79	* HeavyMeta: "Jig-Saw Puzzle"
80	--> ''Oh the singer, he looks angry''
81	--> ''At being thrown to the lions''
82	--> ''And the bass player, he looks nervous''
83	--> ''About the girls outside''
84	--> ''And the drummer, he was shattered''
85	--> ''Trying to keep up time''
86	--> ''And the guitar players look damaged''
87	--> ''They've been outcasts all their lives''
88	* HistoricalRapSheet: "Sympathy for the Devil" lists many atrocities that the titular Devil has been part of, such as being a German General during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, being accomplice of the assassination of [[UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy John]] and [[UsefulNotes/RobertFKennedy Robert Kennedy]], and the French and Russian Revolutions.
89	* HumansAreBastards:
90	** "Sympathy for the Devil" basically has the Devil wonder why he is considered evil if humans have been equally horrid over the centuries.
91	--->''I watched with glee as your kings and queens''
92	--->''Fought for ten decades for the gods they made''
93	** "Salt of the Earth"
94	--->''Let's think of the wavering millions''
95	--->''Who need leaders but get gamblers instead''
96	--->''Spare a thought for the stay-at-home voter''
97	--->''His empty eyes gaze at strange beauty shows''
98	--->''And a parade of the grey suited grafters''
99	--->''[[MortonsFork A choice of cancer or polio]]''
100	* IntercourseWithYou: "Stray Cat Blues", and "Parachute Woman" too:
101	--> ''Parachute woman, will you blow me out?''
102	* ManOfWealthAndTaste: TropeNamer in "Sympathy for the Devil".
103	--> ''Please allow me to introduce myself''
104	--> ''I'm a man of wealth and taste''
105	* NewSoundAlbum: A huge departure from the psychedelia of their previous albums, though there are still some elements of it on this album. The album is mostly acoustic, containing elements of blues, folk, and country music.
106	* NoodleIncident: While most of "Sympathy for the Devil" alludes to obvious historical moments that the Devil claims to have played a part in, to this day no one knows what "I laid traps for your troubadours/Who get killed before they reach Bombay" means.
107	* OneWomanSong: "Factory Girl" and "Parachute Woman".
108	* {{Outlaw}}: The gangster in "Jigsaw Puzzle" is described as "an outlaw all his life".
109	* PackagedAsOtherMedium: The alternate cover makes the album look like a classy record, while it is anything but.
110	* PerpetualPoverty: The protagonist in "Prodigal Son" is a poor boy who goes out in the world, gets offered a job as a swine herder and returns back home where he reconciles with his father.
111	* ProtestSong: "Street Fighting Man", which actually doesn't advocate for rebellion as "compromise is solution". "Salt of the Earth" asks for sympathy for the common man.
112	* RealLifeWritesThePlot: "Street Fighting Man" was released in a very turbulent year, 1968, when globally many college students started rebelling against the system and organizing protest marches in the street. "Sympathy for the Devil" originally only referenced the murder of UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy, but as his brother UsefulNotes/RobertFKennedy got assassinated too in the Spring of 1968 Jagger changed the line from "Who killed Kennedy?" to "Who killed the Kennedys?"
113	* RebelliousSpirit: "Street Fighting Man", which was banned from some American radio stations for possibly inciting violence.
114	* RecordProducer: Music/JimmyMiller, producing the first of five consecutive studio albums for the Stones.
115	* UsefulNotes/RedOctober: Lucifer in "Sympathy for the Devil" was present during the Russian Revolution:
116	--> ''I stuck around St. Petersberg''
117	--> ''When I saw it was a time for a change''
118	--> ''Killed the Tsar and his ministers''
119	--> ''Anastasia screamed in vain''
120	* RefugeInAudacity: Releasing a track named "Sympathy for the Devil" in an era of hippie peace and love, with many parents of Stones fans still active church goers was certainly intentionally audacious!
121	* RichesToRags: "No Expectations"
122	--> ''Once I was a rich man, now I am so poor''
123	* RockMeAsmodeus: "Sympathy for the Devil" may be the first explicitly Satanic song, despite the fact that the content is actually more about mankind denying its own obvious evilness than worshiping the devil. Even Jagger himself has acknowledged this, noting that it was the only real song of the Stones that dealt with the Satanic theme and even then it's more a TakeThat to humanity in general.
124	* RuleAbidingRebel: In "Street Fighting Man" Jagger sings that a poor boy can't do much against street fighting people, or change the system for that matter, except "sing in a rock 'n' roll band". A similar lack of attempt to actually join in to change a dire situation can be heard in "Salt of the Earth".
125	* RunawayBride: In "Dear Doctor", the fiancé is relieved to find a note from his would-be bride:
126	--> ''It read, "Darlin', I'm sorry to hurt you.''
127	--> ''But I have no courage to speak to your face.''
128	--> ''But I'm down in Virginia with your cousin Lou''
129	--> ''There be no wedding today."''
130	* SelfDeprecation: Jagger observes street violence in "Street Fighting Man", but decides:
131	--> ''What can a poor boy do/ except sing in a rock and roll band?''.
132	* ShotGunWedding: The fiancé in "Dear Doctor" is forced to wed.
133	* ShoutOut:
134	** Among the graffiti on the original toilet cover are "Music/BobDylan's Dream" (referencing a song from ''Music/TheFreewheelinBobDylan'') and "Music from Big Brown" (a reference to Music/TheBand's ''Music from Big Pink'').
135	** "Sympathy for the Devil" informs us that Satan was present when [[UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} Jesus Christ]] was being seduced by him, the Russian Revolution, the Blitzkrieg and centuries of bloodshed between kings and queens in name of their religion.
136	** The line ''summer's here and the time is right for fighting in the street'' in "Street Fighting Man" is borrowed from "Dancing in the Street" by Creator/{{Motown}} artists Martha and the Vandellas, replacing the word "dancing" with "fighting".
137	** The independent UK music label Creator/BeggarsBanquetRecords takes its name from this album.
138	** The story collection ''Beggars Banquet'' by Ian Rankin took its title from this album.
139	** The track "Sympathy for the Parents" on ''Music/SmellsLikeChildren'' by Music/MarilynManson is a shout-out to "Sympathy for the Devil".
140	** In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS2E10BartGetsHitByACar Bart Gets Hit by a Car]]", Satan introduces himself to Bart with the words: "Please allow me to introduce myself", in reference to "Sympathy for the Devil".
141	* SomethingBlues: "Stray Cat Blues".
142	* SpecialGuest: Record producer Music/JimmyMiller provides backing vocals on "Sympathy for the Devil".
143	* StepUpToTheMicrophone: Keith Richards sings lead on the first verse of "Salt of the Earth".
144	* SympathyForTheDevil: Trope Namer. Ironically, the song in question is a subversion of the trope, as the Devil spends the whole song bragging about how evil he is. Or rather, sarcastically confessing how evil and horrible he is, when "after all it was you and me" and that the Devil is nothing more than humanity denying their [[NeverMyFault own capacity for evil]]. Lucifer also threatens to "lay your soul to waste" if you don't show him sympathy or respect. Yikes.
145	* ThoseWackyNazis: It shouldn’t be surprising whose side Lucifer was on during World War II.
146	-->''I rode a tank, held a General’s rank
147	-->''While the Blitzkrieg raged and the bodies stank''
148	* VillainSong: "Sympathy for the Devil", sung from the viewpoint of Satan himself. As the lyrics progress it turns out that Satan questions why people call him "evil", as they too have accomplices in his crimes over the centuries.
149	* WhoShotJFK: Apparently ''you and me'', according to "Sympathy for the Devil".
150	--> ''I shouted out: "Who killed the Kennedys?"''
151	--> ''When after all it was you and me''
152	* WorkingClassHero:
153	** "Salt of the Earth"
154	---> ''Let's drink to the hard working people''
155	---> ''Let's drink to the lowly of birth''
156	** "Factory Girl".
157	---> ''Waiting for a girl, she has no money anywhere''
158	* WorldMusic: Music/BrianJones plays sitar and tamboura on "Street Fighting Man". Charlie Watts plays tabla on "Factory Girl".
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Context Music / BeggarsBanquet