Certain Songs #2041: The Rolling Stones - "Sympathy For The Devil"

Album: Beggars Banquet
Year: 1968

. . .

Delayed for a few months due to record company nervousness over the original cover art — that graffiti-covered bathroom wall — Beggars Banquet came out a full year after Their Satanic Majesties Request, the first time people had waited that long for a new Rolling Stones album.

Needless to say, it was well worth the wait: Beggars Banquet was a quantum leap in record-making, both a retrenchment in their R&B and country roots as well as a departure from what they’d previously done with those roots.

And it of course opens with one of their most infamous songs, the myth-making “Sympathy For The Devil,” which image-wise, picks right up where Their Satanic Majesties Request left off, but musically, blows it into dust.

“Sympathy For The Devil” opens with the sound of a non-Rolling Stone, percussionist Rocky Dijon’s congas — from here on out, the “Rolling Stones” would be as much of a brand as they were a band — followed by Mick Jagger letting out a “yow!” as Charlie Watts plays another rhythm on his snare rims and Bill Wyman rattles a percussion instrument called a shekere. It’s a riot of rhythm, all of which sets up the first verse, Nicky Hopkins joining in with a supportive piano.

At this point, Keith comes in with a bolero-type bassline, jumping on top of the rhythm and dancing — in fact, the whole song is one big dance party — with his bass, but Mick hardly pays him any mind, as he continues.

We know how “Sympathy For The Devil” came about, because legendary filmaker Jean-Luc Godard was there, capturing the song’s genesis in Olympic Studios, as it morphed from a folk song into the devilish celebration it ended up being. The Rolling Stones had always jammed in the studio to flesh out their songs, but — as long as you can fast-forward through Godard’s agit-prop — it’s fun to watch them in action.

As Mick goes in and out of the chorus, there’s so much going on that you might not even notice that there aren’t any guitars, as Mick bring his historical travelogue of his misdeeds straight into the 20th century.

After the second chorus, just when you’ve figured out what the song is going to do — just ride that all that rhythm straight into hell — something amazing happens, a whole chorus of people singing the following.

As sung by the other Stones, engineer Glyn Johns, plus girlfriends Anita Pallenberg & Marianne Faithfull — who also gave Mick the book which inspired the song — those “woo-woos!” are utterly inspired and totally joyful, one of the greatest hooks ever recorded.

Nowadays, they’d just sample one or two of those “woo-woo!” and loop them for the rest of the song, but not in this case, which why if you listen carefully, you can hear when somebody fucks up a little bit or lays out. Unless, of course, you’re singing along, which you damn well should be. I remember the one time my post-high school band played this song for a San Joaquin Memorial dance marathon (yes, I sang “Sympathy For The Devil” at a Catholic High School dance marathon), and after the song was over, you could hear the crowd singing “woo-woo!” for nearly a minute afterwards.

Of course, while everybody is whoo-wooing the devil, he’s still listing his exploits, with no guitars in sight. Was this going to be one of those rare Stones songs without a guitar? Given everything that was already going on, there didn’t seem to be any reason to have one. Who was going to miss it?

I should point out that Mick’s vocal is utterly stellar: he’s shout-screaming the lyrics with just the right amount of smugness. Lucifer getting off on all of the chaos and havoc he’s caused. Which is nothing compared to the chaos and havoc caused by Keith’s guitar solo, which comes out fucking nowhere like a lightning bolt on sunny day. It’s like sparks flying from a cartoon radio, electrifying not just your brain, but your very soul, before you even know what’s really happening.

It really is a thing of beauty, because — as always with Keith’s greatest solos — he leaves so much space between each phrase, so that you never know what and when he’s coming in next until he tamps it down with a massive “whump!”

All of this sets up the final verse, in which much-busted Mick invents ACAB and reveals who is singing the song we’re listening to. In case the title and the previous verses didn’t already let you know.

After the final verse, it’s just a riot of percussion, Nicky Hopkins piano wizardry, Keith’s electrical storm guitar, the “woo-woos!” and Mick — sometimes in falsetto, sometimes not — screaming variations on “tell me baby, what’s my name?” Total and utter craziness until the fade.

This, kids, is how you open a record. With a timeless song that still completely sui generis. Which is why “Sympathy For The Devil” is routinely trotted out as not just one of the greatest Rolling Stones songs, but as one of the greatest songs of all time; an eternal radio staple and fun cover, as well.

“Sympathy For The Devil” Official Lyric Video

The full evolution of “Sympathy For The Devil”

“Sympathy For The Devil” Woo-woos excerpt

“Sympathy For The Devil” live at the Rolling Stones Rock ‘n’ Roll Circus, 1968

“Sympathy For The Devil” lipsynched on the David Frost Show, 1968

“Sympathy For The Devil” live at Altamont, 1969

“Sympathy For The Devil” live in Los Angeles, 1975

“Sympathy For The Devil” Live in Tokyo, 1990

“Sympathy For The Devil” live in Bremen, 1998

“Sympathy For The Devil” live at Hyde Park, 2013

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