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The Rolling Stones aren’t the first band one might think of in connection with the Summer of Love and the blossoming sound of psychedelia.  Yet the Stones spent much of 1967, on and off, recording the album that became Their Satanic Majesties Request.  Wholly unique in the band’s catalogue, it fused the band’s gritty sensibility with psychedelic effects, more lavish instrumentation, and experimental sounds.  Underscoring its nature as a conceptual work, it was also the first album by the Stones to feature identical track listings on both sides of the Atlantic.  Now, this landmark – if still-controversial – album is receiving a 50th anniversary box set from ABKCO.  On September 22, the label will reissue the album as a 2-LP/2-hybrid SACD collection featuring both the stereo and mono versions of every song, as newly remastered by Bob Ludwig. Their Satanic Majesties Request – 50th Anniversary Special Edition is appropriately decked out with Michael Cooper’s original 3-D lenticular cover photograph.

Following the departure of Andrew Loog Oldham midway through recording, after numerous clashes with the band, Their Satanic Majesties Request became the first self-produced album from the Stones.  Released in December 1967 as the band’s sixth British and eighth American studio album, it arrived on the Decca label in the United Kingdom and London in the United States.   Though critics were initially lukewarm, it’s risen in stature over the years, and has attracted cover versions from artists ranging from KISS to The Damned and Arcade Fire.  During its recording, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Bill Wyman, and Charlie Watts were joined by guests including a pre-Led Zeppelin John Paul Jones providing string arrangements, plus pianist Nicky Hopkins, and background vocalists Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane of the Small Faces.

Historian Rob Bowman provides the box set’s new liner notes, placing the album into context of one of the band’s wildest periods and making the case for it as a benchmark release as the group transitioned from edgy R&B to pure rock.  “She’s a Rainbow” (a minor hit in the U.S.) and “2,000 Light Years from Home” capture the band at their most potently psychedelic, while “Citadel” anticipated the harder-rocking direction that would soon be embraced.  “Sing All This Together,” “Gomper,” and “On with the Show” showcase a looser, more freeform style of songwriting and playing.  “In Another Land” has landmark status, too, as the only Rolling Stones track both written and sung by bassist Bill Wyman.  He was joined on the song by Marriott and Lane (recording next door) on vocals, Marriott on guitar, Hopkins on harpsichord, Watts on drums, and Mick and Keith on vocals.

Their Satanic Majesties Request – 50th Anniversary Special Edition restores Michael Cooper’s original lenticular cover artwork, and the discs are housed in a fold-out album-style numbered package with a 20-page book including more of Cooper’s photos from the original session. As the album was originally issued in both stereo and mono, the upcoming edition will include the entire remastered album on 180-gram vinyl in stereo, another 180-gram vinyl record in mono, and two hybrid Super Audio CDs (one in stereo and one in mono).  Hybrid SACDs are playable in all CD players.  No additional outtakes or session material has been added to this collection.

Look for the special edition box on September 22 from ABKCO!  Pre-order links are live, below!

The Rolling Stones, Their Satanic Majesties Request – 50^th Anniversary Special Edition (Decca TXS 103/London NPS 2, 1967 – reissued ABKCO, 2017) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada TBD)

Vinyl

Side A (stereo)

1. Sing This All Together
2. Citadel
3. In Another Land
4. 2000 Man
5. Sing This All Together (See What Happens)

Side B (stereo)

1. She’s a Rainbow
2. The Lantern
3. Gomper
4. 2000 Light Years from Home
5. On with the Show

Side C (mono)

1. Sing This All Together
2. Citadel
3. In Another Land
4. 2000 Man
5. Sing This All Together (See What Happens)

Side D (mono)

1. She’s a Rainbow
2. The Lantern
3. Gomper
4. 2000 Light Years from Home
5. On with the Show

Hybrid SACD

Disc 1 (stereo)

1. Sing This All Together
2. Citadel
3. In Another Land
4. 2000 Man
5. Sing This All Together (See What Happens)
6. She’s a Rainbow
7. The Lantern
8. Gomper
9. 2000 Light Years from Home
10. On with the Show

Disc 2 (mono)

1. Sing This All Together
2. Citadel
3. In Another Land
4. 2000 Man
5. Sing This All Together (See What Happens)
6. She’s a Rainbow
7. The Lantern
8. Gomper
9. 2000 Light Years from Home
10. On with the Show