Their Satanic Majesties Request Song By Song Thread

perhaps more personal than logical but still my all time fave Rolling Stones song.
I could go on for pages about it but I'll just let everyone else give their impressions.

 

The inclusion of the barker suggests we're at a carnival, so the titular character may be one attraction over from the spinning wheel - making her a tent show queen.

 

She's A Rainbow is great. I was surprised to find out it was a hit single because I never heard it on the radio and it wasn't on HOT ROCKS. The first time I heard it was the first time I listen to SATANIC MAJESTIES. This song alone justifies the existence of this album even to those who aren't fans.

 

This. Exactly. And for all the bleating about the Stones' supposed misogyny this song is to me a celebration of womanhood, the sheer delight of having women in your life.

 

"She's A Rainbow" is a stunner of a love song from the guys and captures the times as perfectly as anything else from 1967.
Fantastic piano and strings, vocals, hell everything!

 

She's a Rainbow
Not a huge fan of the song for some reason, but must say it's extremely well done and does indeed seem to capture the spirit of 67 quite well as Purple Jim noted, even if it was a bummer of a year for the group . Didn't even realize there was a mellotron, so kudos to Brian on this one. I hear a tinge of sadness in his playing but realize I may be the only one who hears it this way---I hear it in Child of the Moon as well. Very interesting to think about JPJ's work here in relation his later work on certain Led Zeppelin tracks.

 

Just over half way through the album and this thread has been very enjoyable. Kudos to the OP and everyone who's posted.

 

I've always viewed the vocal effects on Bill's voice to evoke a dreamlike quality. Then Jagger comes blaring in on the chorus crystal clear, "And then I awoke......". I guess the effects worked twofold. Ha, and the snoring is icing on the cake topping off a song about a distant, far away land recessed in the deepest parts of one's mind.

 

So people like us can NOT leave them alone, haha!

 

(SaR) I've always loved the sped-up duo of Jagger and Richards going "Oo-la-laaa...". That's a lovely arrangement gimmick conveying the shared wonderment of two "young boys" before an icon of womanhood.

...I say "I've always...", even though for years and years I used to think this was a real boys' choir!

 

I like She's a Rainbow, always have, but there are a few songs on the LP I like a little bit better.

I recall seeing at least one review back in the day where the writer thought there was too much of "that tinkling piano" ...

 

Very nicely and even expertly said!!

 

I wish that I knew what I know now, when I was younger.

 

"She's a Rainbow" is possibly the most underrated single the Stones ever released, and one of the defining singles of 1967. Just a perfect pop song, with a killer hook, and brilliant work from Nicky and Charlie. The JPJ strings and Brian Jones mellotron are amazing as well. If this wasn't the Stones, I think "She's a Rainbow" would be seen as an all time psych classic single.

 

It's interesting, with each song I've looked on youtube for cover versions. The ones by more mainstream acts have been posted in this thread, but there are many, many others by more indie/local bands or even of just people at home doing the songs by themselves. The reach of this album continues to surprise me.

Anyway, here's a cover of She's A Rainbow by Santo & Johnny:

 

She's A Rainbow is another song from the album that I actually like. Arguably the best song on the album. Nicky Hopkins adds a lot to this album and so much more to come later as well.

There is a promo edit of this that is a little less than 3 minutes long but I couldn't find it on Youtube.

They should have included this track on Hot Rocks to give the Stones psychedelic period some representation on the compilation.

 

There's nothing unusual about the time signature in "2000 Man". It's all 4/4 all the way through. This is yet another example of Charlie either starting on a "wrong" beat, thereby throwing the location of the "1" into doubt until the song really starts going, or maybe it's intentional misdirection. Anyway, there are are no tricky time signatures at play.

 

There was a promotional film made for "She's a Rainbow", very rare, shown only on French television as I recall. The Stones didn't even have a copy of it.

 

Citadel, In Another Land, 2000 Man -- so the Stones really had a very trippy dark science fiction vibe going on here, which suited me at the time because I'd spent the summer reading the collected works of Asimov, Arthur Clarke, Bradbury and Heinlein.

Someone said "directionless"earlier. The Stones were great at that!

 

Really? I thought the verses were 12/8.

 

(re. "2000 Man"...) Not as I hear it. 12/8 implies a triplet feel, and I don't hear that in this song. Between the verse and chorus I hear a pause ("fermata") and then the tempo picks up a bit, but I hear both sections to be in 4/4. The verse time is muddied by Charlie accenting some unexpected beats in the intro, but I still hear it as solid 4/4.

 

Yes! Despite the accusations by some Stones that Brian was out of it and unable to contribute during these sessions, the tapes don't lie - he's only missing from a couple of songs, and his mellotron/flute/sax/etc. musical accompanimenst are what give this album it's unique sonic signature. Gomper and Sing This All Together and 2000 Light Years are where Brian was interested in taking the music, bringing in different instruments and world music influences and rhythms. It seems like a contradiction that although Brian started the band and was heavily into blues figures like Elmore James, Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters, his tastes evolved with the times (and the drugs) and the direction he wanted for the band was essentially "progressive" music and jams like on Satanic. He was actually NOT pleased with what he viewed as a backwards step to R & B and rock and roll that Mick and Keith took with Beggar's.