Drawn from previous posts, this is not part of my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1).
An infinite number of tracks can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Today, this is THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE!
Standing in the shadows of Sgt. Pepper, or a bold Stonesy step the pop world wasn't ready to take in 1967?
It's been many, many years since I've listened to the Rolling Stones' 1967 album Their Satanic Majesties Request in its entirety, and I owe myself a refresher course in its virtues, vices, lanterns, and gompers. My first copy of the record came a little more than a decade after the fact, a used reissue pressing sans 3D cover graphics, but still dripping with the black-light atmosphere of its psychedelic reputation. It was...fine. Good. It was no Aftermath, certainly no Big Hits (High Tide And Green Grass), but really, what was? I kinda liked the hippie vibe of the LP's opening track "Sing This All Together." My proto-punk teen self took to the riff-driven "Citadel," and I paid occasional tribute to the bass player with spins of Bill Wyman's "In Another Land." The rest of the record rarely registered on my Satanic Majesties' request line in 1978.
That said, Side Two does contain a couple of tracks I knew from my battered 'n' cherished copy of Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2): "2000 Light Years From Home" and "She's A Rainbow." Those tracks were paired as a single just ahead of the Satanic Majesties Request LP's release. There's much to be said for both, but "She's A Rainbow" was my favorite of the two, more accessible as a pop song than "2000 Light Years From Home" would wish to be.
When I (belatedly) began watching the wonderful Ted Lasso series last year, I was taken with the fact that one of the show's characters, Leslie Higgins, has "She's A Rainbow" as his phone's ringtone when he receives a call from his wife Julie. Better yet, it turns out that "She's A Rainbow" was the song playing the moment Mr. Higgins first met the eventual Mrs. Higgins. It is, in the popular parlance, their song. And Leslie keeps it as his ringtone because Julie remains his rainbow, even after decades together.
Satanic? Majestic! Coming in colors every day, "She's A Rainbow" is a pristine expression of love everlasting, courtesy of those bad boys the Rolling Stones. Save your sympathy for some other devil. Ooh-la-la-ooh-la-la-lala....
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My new book of short stories Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! Short Stories And Other White Lies is out now, and you can get autographed copies of the new book and my previous book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) directly from me. You can still get my previous previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.
I compiled a various-artists tribute album called Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and it's pretty damned good; you can read about it here and order it here.
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