The Rolling Stones – Their Satanic Majesties Request

Their Satanic Majesties Request is the sixth studio album by The Rolling Stones, released in December 1967. This record marks a deliberate and daring step into psychedelia, with the band experimenting with Mellotron, orchestration, sound effects, and nontraditional song structures as they sought to expand their sonic palette. While the album’s sessions were marked by turmoil—drug busts, legal woes, and internal tension—it still produced standout songs like She’s a Rainbow, 2000 Light Years from Home, and Citadel that reflect the group’s ambition to blend their blues-rooted identity with the late-’60s spirit of psychedelia.

Over time, Satanic Majesties has been reassessed more generously by critics, often seen as an eccentric detour rather than a failure. Its strengths lie in its imaginative textures, bold sonic jumps, and the Stones’ willingness to disrupt expectations. Though it departs from the leaner rock & roll their fans knew, the album remains a fascinating cultural artefact—one where the Stones flirted with the era’s tropes and surfaced something uniquely theirs in the process.

Reviews

“Satanic Majesties remains a singular entry in the Stones’ catalog. It is the strange result of a bizarre set of personal, professional, and cultural circumstances.” — Pitchfork

“No album in the Stones’ vast canon has incurred such abuse as Their Satanic Majesties Request, including from the band themselves … the album was more an acid-fried dispatch from the Stones’ besieged front line.” — Louder Sound

“The result is quite like a ‘hippie freakout’ record … but the result is a good blend of chaotic-yin yet still with enough control-yang to make it more than just the sound of a buncha whacked-out druggies banging away on their instruments.” — Head Heritage (Julian Cope)

“Although The Rolling Stones are a mainstay of rock and roll, their attempt to branch out into psychedelic fare is both bluesy and experimental.” — Far Out