Search - Rolling Stones :: Beggars Banquet (Mlps)

Let's Drink to the Hard Working People

Danielle Lane | Horseshoe, North Carolina | 06/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Sympathy for the Devil" is almost a warning. But is it the Devil who is responsible for the wars decried in the song, or is it mankind itself? Are we destined to do battle with each other till the end of time? "Devil" is such a chilling song, scary. That song sets up the record, leaving you with great expectations and they are met in song after song until the celebratory "Salt of the Earth," where Mick sings, "Let's drink to the hard working people, lets drink to the salt of the earth." That's who we are, all of us, the salt of the earth. Now if we could only look the other way when that evil stranger among us pops up and says, "Please allow me to introduce myself.""

One of the Best from the Greatest Group on Earth

Sara Hackett | from the Darkside | 06/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"From the first drum beat on "Sympathy for the Devil" to the last guitar strum on "Salt of the Earth" you are treated to a rock and roll experience with this record. The music is outstanding, the lyrics are meaningful. In my opinion this record marks a turning point for the Greatest Group on Earth. It's with "Beggars Banquet" that they join the ranks of the Beatles and Dylan as poets of a generation. Heck, more than a generation, they're still at it, still writing songs that matter. But this record -- from the wake up call of "Sympathy," to the kind of folksy, bluesy "Parachute Woman, to the mournful violin in "Factory Girl" -- tells you and shows you, or rather showed the boomer generation, that the Stones were a band to be reckoned with, a band that was going to be around for awhile and anybody back then who didn't see it just didn't have her rock and roll head screwed on straight."

Influenced by Dylan

Ophella Paige | Reno, Nevada | 06/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I think if you give a listen to "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Jig-Saw Puzzle" both songs with a story, both over six minutes long, you'll hear the influence of Bob Dylan and that's a good thing, I think, the way the Mick and the boys have melded Dylan with the blues. Music that rocks, lyrics that make a difference. I know there are folks out there who will say I'm an idiot for even mentioning the fact that Dylan influenced the song writing of Mick and Keith, but come on, "There's twenty-thousand grandmas, waving their hankies in the air, burning up their pensions saying it's not fair." That's a Dylan influenced line if ever I heard one and that's a good think. Dylan started rock with meaning, Mick and Keith took it to a whole `nother level and I only have one thing to say about that, "Bravo!""