Rolling Stones, The ‎– Beggars Banquet

This is a superb release of this classic album, even if it is a DSD mastering.

Undoubtedly one of the finest collections of songs ever carved into plastic.

BEST damn Stones' album. Period.
"Sympathy for the Devil" -- Mick as the devil? I find it quite silly. But the arrangement hooks you from the beginning. Bill Wyman's bass crash is lovely. Keef's rffs tasty.
"No Expectations" -- in my opinion, the Stones have written a country classic here. Wonderful vocal by Jagger and nice slide guitar.
"Dear Doctor" -- more country, this time with some nice white trash humor thrown in.
"Parachute Woman" -- arresting blues and rock number. I've never heard a song that SOUNDS like this.
"Jig-Saw Puzzle" -- apparently written while Jagger sat in jail. Marianne Faithfull would bring Mick jigsaw puzzles to complete. Interesting lyrically, the words honestly tell of the band's sad fate....."the guitar players look damaged"...."they've been outcasts all their lives"..."I've been thrown to the lions".
"Street Fighting Man" -- kind of a reworking of "Jumpin' Jack Flash". The Stones, no matter how many pretensions they may put on, are apolitical. Can't really see Jagger being a 'street fighting man' unless it paid good money! So he opts to be a "poor boy singing in a rock and roll band". Still a bit duplicitous, but what the hell. It works.
"Prodigal Son" -- shame on Mick and Keef for trying to take writing credit for this song. The first issue of "Banquet" lists "Jagger/Richards" as the composers. Later issues rightly credit "Reverend Wilkins" as author. It is amazing how these english lads could assimilate american country music and old blues the way they did. It must be love.
"Stray Cat Blues" -- one of THE underrated Rolling Stones' songs. It is sexy, it is evil and it rocks. Definitely in my top ten Rolling Stones' songs.
"Factory Girl" -- another Jagger pose. One can hardly imagine Mick waiting in the rain for a fat-kneed factory girl. But you know, I can almost see that girl....
"Salt of the Earth" -- this song, along with "Jigsaw Puzzle" is one of the most introspective songs Jagger and Richards have written. At odds with the world and people ("they don't look real to me"), they can still raise a glass to the "salt of the earth". Which truly fits into the theme of this album.
It's a big dose of stark reality, as Mick romanticizes about the devil, his parachute woman, the street fighting man, the prodigal son, the groupies, the lowly factory girl, the common foot soldier. As he sits in jail doing a jigsaw puzzle.
Not a song has been wasted here. There's an awful lot of good music on "Exile on Main Street", and most of the Stones' early albums are overlooked, but I can't think of a record that plays so well as "Beggars' Banquet".