It’s a curse for fans of both albums that in a thread dedicated to The Rolling Stones 66-67 that inevitably the Beatles get dragged into the thread and the album comparisons begin . This seems really unfair to the Stones . Instead of letting their work live and breathe on its own merits, do people always have to jump in to mention the Beatles in comparison to the Stones, regardless of whether it’s a pro or con opinion ? I love both albums but in a Stones thread I’d like to take a break from the Beatles .
I say both songs are brilliant, but "Citadel" would be my top choice. The guitar sound, the drums, and Mick's vocal are dynamite! It almost sounds futuristic. This period of Stones is also my favorite. My top three albums would be Aftermath, Between The Buttons, and Satanic Majesties. I also like what came next, but I love the sound of 1966-1967. Beggars Banquet is right up there with these albums. I was listening to Big Hits and Fazed Cookies when I came across this thread. "Child Of The Moon", "We Love You", "Danedelion", "Sitting On A Fence", etc.. So many great tunes in these few years.
I brought up two of the worst Beatles songs simply for known points of comparison. I like psych Stones. A few songs are great. But it’s not all great and some of it is awful. That’s all.
I’m not blaming you.. or anyone, but I used the three posts as illustrations. In any talk about Satanic there is always someone that has to jump in and say it’s better than Pepper, because Pepper sucks in their opinion . In talking about Sgt. Pepper in other threads inevitably someone will have to jump in and mention that they think Satanic is an inferior Pepper rip off . Then it becomes a battle to defend one or the other . I happen to love both albums, but to me, to ME it’s sort of thread crapping in a Stones thread to dump on Sgt. Pepper when it has nothing to do with the Stones. The same when others dump on Satanic in a Pepper thread . It never ends. It’s like a battle in 16 magazine in 1967. Girls, which album is the ginchiest ? Sgt . Pepper vs. Satanic Majesty ? Cast your vote and possibly win a poster of your dreamy favorites!
I can try. 1965 through '67 the Stones released a number of songs that dealt with existential themes of isolation, meaninglessness, alienation and so on. Some of these were more witty, others very dark. BTW I think the Stones' wittiness is much underrated. Your namesake explored some of the same territory - She Said, She Said and I am the Walrus being the best examples. Which brings us to Citadel. Lyrically it is very impressive, with some great lines and imagery in the surreal/psych vein, eg "Through the woods of steel and glass". The guitar work is harsh and jarring and the solo in the fade is cool. The strange intermittent sound helps that surreal sense of otherworldlines, as does the wild mellotron. I like its moodiness and menace.
I have to disagree, how is it 'unfair' to the Stones? Beatles were contemporaries of the time that were at the peak of psychedelic music...what are we doing on the board other than a microanalysis of every topic giving our 'not too important' opinions. It's what we do! Carry on.
I've just been listening to the Brian Jones years a bit (All in mono, except the Chess stuff), for the first time in a good while. What's really standing out to me is the instrumentation on Aftermath is one of the central features of that album. If it didn't have that it would more or less be the long, somewhat dull pop/rock album I used to think of it as. Now it's a CDsworth of great songs, great performances and great instrumental choices. I see how it inspired Revolver as much as it did.
Because the thread topic is “the Rolling Stones 1966-1967” , not “The Rolling Stones and the Beatles 1966-1967” It’s like the two albums are joined at the hip. Satanic apparently can’t be mentioned without someone feeling obligated to drop in and say they like it better than Sgt. Pepper. Does anyone drop in to say they like, say.. Younger Than Yesterday by the Byrds or Surrealistic Pillow by the Airplane better than Sgt. Pepper? Nope. That at least would be refreshing. Sorry, it’s a minor rant of of mine . I understand your points . It seems like some folks cant resist boosting one album without dissing the other one.
If I’m starting a comp of UK psych circa 66/67: Rolling Stones Dandelion She’s A Rainbow 2000 Light Years We Love You Beatles Rain Strawberry Fields Forever I Am the Walrus I’m Only Sleeping Pink Floyd Arnold Layne See Emily Play Astronime Domine Interstellar Overdrive Zombies Side 1 of Odyssey and Oracle Yardbirds Over Under Sideways Down Shapes of Things Many more I can’t think of right now, but Stones, Beatles and Pink Floyd would be right there in the mix.
Fair enough. Aftermath is my favourite Stones album, they have never been so inventive and diverse. I still think Face to Face and Revolver are a step above, but it's not far from them.
The record is totally unhinged, shambolic , an off the rails sonic mess. I love it. I wouldn’t have it any other way!
