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Beggars Banquet Original  cover  by  Released6 December 1968Recorded17 March–25 July 1968Studio, London; , Los Angeles     Length39:44 chronology
(1967)Beggars Banquet
(1968)
(1969)Alternate cover The "toilet" cover, rejected for the original LP but used on CD reissues  from Beggars Banquet "" / ""
Released: 31 August 1968 (US)

Beggars Banquet is the 7th British and 9th American  by the English  band , released on 6 December 1968 by  in the United Kingdom and  in the United States. It was the first Rolling Stones album produced by , whose production work formed a key aspect of the group's sound throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s.

, the band's founder and early leader, had become increasingly unreliable in the studio due to his drug use, and it was the last Rolling Stones album to be released during his lifetime, though he also contributed to two songs on their next album , which was released after his death. (Jones did, however, contribute to the group's hit song "", which was part of the same sessions, and released in May 1968.) Nearly all rhythm and lead guitar parts were recorded by , the Rolling Stones' other guitarist and the primary songwriting partner of their lead singer ; together the two wrote all but one of the tracks on the album. Rounding out the instrumentation were bassist  and drummer , though all members contributed on a variety of instruments. As with most albums of the period, frequent collaborator  played piano on many of the tracks.

Beggars Banquet marked a change in direction for the band following the  of their previous two albums,  and . Styles such as  and a return to the  sound that had marked early Stones recordings dominate the record, and the album is among the most instrumentally experimental of the band's career, as they use  and instruments like the  alongside  sounds from the ,  and , and -influenced  rhythms.

Beggars Banquet was a top-ten album in many markets, including a number 5 position in the US—where it has been certified —and a number 3 position in the band's native UK. It received a highly favourable response from music critics, who deemed it a return to the band's best sound. While the album lacked a "hit single" at the time of its release, songs such as "" and "" became rock radio staples for decades to come. The album has appeared on many lists of the greatest albums of all time, including by , and it was inducted into the  in 1999.

Recording and production

, the album's recording engineer and a longtime collaborator of the band, said that Beggars Banquet signalled "the Rolling Stones' coming of age. ... I think that the material was far better than anything they'd ever done before. The whole mood of the record was far stronger to me musically." Producer  described guitarist  as "a real workhorse" while recording the album, mostly due to the infrequent presence of . When he did show up at the sessions, Jones behaved erratically due to his drug use and emotional problems. Miller said that Jones would "show up occasionally when he was in the mood to play, and he could never really be relied on:

When he would show up at a session—let's say he had just bought a sitar that day, he'd feel like playing it, so he'd look in his calendar to see if the Stones were in. Now he may have missed the previous four sessions. We'd be doing let's say, a blues thing. He'd walk in with a sitar, which was totally irrelevant to what we were doing, and want to play it. I used to try to accommodate him. I would isolate him, put him in a booth and not record him onto any track that we really needed. And the others, particularly Mick and Keith, would often say to me, 'Just tell him to piss off and get the hell out of here'.

Even given this, Jones contributes to every track on the album except the final two, playing  and  on "Street Fighting Man",  on "No Expectations", acoustic guitar on "Parachute Woman", harmonica on "Parachute Woman", "Dear Doctor" and "Prodigal Son", maracas on "Sympathy for the Devil", and  on "Jigsaw Puzzle" and "Stray Cat Blues". In a television interview, Jagger recalled that Jones' slide guitar performance on "No Expectations" was the last time he contributed something with care. Other than Jones, the principal band members appeared extensively, with Richards providing nearly all of the lead and rhythm guitar work, as well as playing bass on two others, in the place of , who appears on the rest. Drummer  plays the drum kit on all but two tracks, as well as other percussion on the tracks that do not feature a full drum kit. Additional parts were played by keyboardist and frequent Rolling Stones collaborator  and percussionist , among others.

The basic track of "Street Fighting Man" was recorded on an early   at London's , where Richards played a  acoustic guitar, and Watts played on an antique, portable practice drum kit. Richards and Jagger were mistakenly credited as writers on "Prodigal Son", a cover of 's Biblical blues song.

Title and packaging

According to Keith Richards, the album's title was thought up by British art dealer . The album's original front and back cover art, photographs by  depicting a bathroom wall covered with graffiti, was rejected by the band's record company, which delayed the album's release for months. Feinstein's photographs were later featured though on most ,  and  reissues of the album. On 7 June 1968, a photoshoot for the album's , with photographer Michael Joseph, was held at , a mansion in , London. Previously unseen images from the shoot were exhibited at the Blink Gallery in London in November and December 2008.

Release and promotion

Beggars Banquet was first released in the United Kingdom by  on 6 December 1968, and in the United States by  the following day. Like the band's previous album, it reached number three on the , but remained on the chart for fewer weeks. The album peaked at number five on the .

On 11–12 December 1968 the band filmed a television extravaganza titled  featuring , , ,  and  among the musical guests. One of the original aims of the project was to promote Beggars Banquet, but the film was shelved by the Rolling Stones until 1996, when their former manager, , gave it an official release.

Critical reception

Beggars Banquet received a highly favourable response from music critics, who considered it a return to form for the Stones. Author  writes of its impact: "[The album was] a sharp reflection of the convulsive psychic currents coursing through the Western world. Nothing else captured the youthful spirit of Europe in 1968 like Beggars Banquet."

According to music journalist , the "political correctness" of "Street Fighting Man", particularly the lyrics "What can a poor boy do/'Cept sing in a rock and roll band", sparked intense debate in the underground media. In the description of author and critic , French director 's filming of the sessions for "Sympathy for the Devil" contributed to the band's image as " heroes of the European  underground", with the song's "Luciferian iconoclasm" interpreted as a political message.

 described the Stones as "England's most subversive roisterers since Fagin's gang in " and added: "In keeping with a widespread mood in the pop world, Beggars Banquet turns back to the raw vitality of Negro R&B and the authentic simplicity of country music."  of  considered that the band's regeneration marked the return of rock'n'roll, while the  declared: "The Stones have unleashed their rawest, rudest, most arrogant, most savage record yet. And it's beautiful."

Less impressed, the writer of 's initial review dismissed Beggars Banquet as "mediocre" and said that, since "The Stones are Mick Jagger", it was only the singer's "remarkable recording presence that makes this LP".  of  found that the album "demonstrates [the group's] primal power at its greatest strength" and wrote admiringly of Jagger's ability to fully engage the listener on "Sympathy for the Devil", saying: "We feel horror because, at full volume, he makes us ride his carrier wave with him, experience his sensations, and awaken us to ours." In his ballot for  magazine's annual critics poll,  ranked it as the third-best album of the year, and "Salt of the Earth" the best pop song of the year. In April 1969, for , he wrote that Beggars Banquet is "unflawed and lacking something".

Reappraisal Professional ratingsRetrospective professional reviews


Review scoresSourceRatingAA10/104.5/58/10

In a retrospective review for ,  called Beggars Banquet "an album flush with masterful and growling instant classics", and said that it "responds more to the chaos of '68 and to themselves than to any fellow artists ... the mood is one of dissolution and resignation, in the guise of a voice of an ambivalent authority." , in his  (2006), viewed the album as "a return to strength" which included "the socio-political 'Street Fighting Man' and the brilliantly macabre 'Sympathy for the Devil', in which Jagger's seductive vocal was backed by hypnotic Afro-rhythms and dervish yelps". Writing for  in 1999,  opined that the same two songs were the "weakest cuts", adding: "Otherwise, the disc is a tour de force of acoustic-tinged savagery and slumming sexuality, particularly the gleefully flippant 'Stray Cat Blues.'" Larry Katz from the  called Beggars Banquet "both a return to basics and leap forward".

In his 1997 review for Rolling Stone, DeCurtis said the album was "filled with distinctive and original touches", and remarked on its legacy: "For the album, the Stones had gone to great lengths to toughen their sound and banish the haze of psychedelia, and in doing so, they launched a five-year period in which they would produce their very greatest records." Author  similarly considers Beggars Banquet to be the first album in the band's "staggering burst of creativity" over 1968–72 that ultimately comprised four of the best rock albums of all time. Writing in 2007, Daryl Easlea of  said that, although in places it fails to maintain the quality of its opening song, Beggars Banquet represented the Rolling Stones at their sharpest.

Beggars Banquet has frequently appeared on professional listings of the greatest albums. It was included in the "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings published in  (1981). In 2000, it was voted number 282 in 's . In 2003, it was ranked at number 57 on Rolling Stone's list of , ranked at number 58 in a 2012 revised list, and ranked at number 185 in a 2020 revised list. Also in 2003, the TV network  named Beggars Banquet the 67th greatest album of all time. The album is also featured in the book . In 1999, the album was inducted into the . Based on such honors, the aggregate website  ranks it as the 39th most acclaimed album in history.

Track listing

All tracks are written by  and , except "Prodigal Son" by .

Side oneNo.TitleLength1.""6:182.""3:563.""3:284.""2:205.""6:06Total length:22:08 Side twoNo.TitleLength1.""3:162."Prodigal Son"2:513.""4:384.""2:095.""4:48Total length:17:42