Rolling Stones – Beggars Banquet: 50th Anniversary (180g Vinyl 2LP + 7″)

50th Anniversary Edition of Beggars Banquet Features Album Newly Remastered By Bob Ludwig with Lacquers Cut at Abbey Road: Also Includes “Sympathy for the Devil” Mono 45RPM 12″, 7″ Flexi Disc

The Rolling Stones’ landmark 1968 album Beggars Banquet: 50th Anniversary Edition features the landmark album newly mastered by Grammy-winning engineer Bob Ludwig. To ensure absolute audiophile quality, the disc’s lacquers were cut at Abbey Road and pressed on 180g vinyl. Also included is a bonus 12″ of the album’s celebrated opening track “Sympathy For the Devil” in mono. That disc is cut at 45rpm and backed with an etching of the original “toilet” cover. A replica of the rare Japanese bonus flexi disc which contains a telephone interview with Mick Jagger from 1968 is also included. The gatefold packaging pays tribute to the original rejected “bathroom-wall” cover art and the “inoffensive” replacement wedding invitation art (featured as an overwrap).

Beggars Banquet is the album that changed everything for the Rolling Stones. From the manner it was recorded at Olympic Studios in Barnes, London, to the track selection, a mixture of rockers (“Street Fighting Man”), blues numbers (“Prodigal Son”, “No Expectations”) and ballads (“Salt Of The Earth”), the band truly came into their own, and the Rolling Stones’ music of today is a reflection of what happened in that studio in 1968, they reached their musical manhood. While 1967’s Their Satanic Majesties was recorded after Mick and Keith’s traumatic and unjust, drug bust, it was almost too soon to be reflected in their songwriting. Whereas “Sympathy For The Devil,” and much of Beggars Banquet hint at a defiance at what they’d been through, and a strength from the experience.

The album also marks a change in musical direction for the band. It was the group’s last to be completed by the original line-up and last issued in Brian Jones’ lifetime. It also saw the debut of Jimmy Miller as producer, who went on to collaborate with the band on Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Exile On Main St and Goats Head Soup. Other musicians who appeared on the album are Nicky Hopkins on piano, Dave Mason on guitar and mandolin and a gospel choir from Los Angeles.

Features:
• 50th anniversary 180g LP + Mono 45RPM 12″ +  7″ Flexi Disc reissue
• Original album newly mastered by Bob Ludwig with lacquers cut at Abbey Road
• Bonus 12″ of “Sympathy For the Devil” in mono cut at 45rpm and backed with etching of original toilet cover
• Replica of rare Japanese bonus 7″ flexi disc with 1968 Mick Jagger interview
• Gatefold jacket with a special slipcover, including both the rejected original “bathroom-wall” artwork as well as the white cover that replaced it

LP

1. Sympathy for the Devil
2. No Expectations
3. Dear Doctor
4. Parachute Woman
5. Jig-Saw Puzzle
6. Street Fighting Man
7. Prodigal Son
8. Stray Cat Blues
9. Factory Girl
10. Salt of the Earth

12″

1. Sympathy For the Devil (Mono)

7″ Flexi Disc

1. ‘Hello, This Is Mick Jagger!’ LONDON to TOKYO April 17, 1968