This is the album that ruined the old Stones and created the new Stones, stronger than ever. According to the band's members, founder Brian Jones did not initially show a lot of interest in the songs. Drug problems, law problems and problems with women have made Jones unmotivated and partially functional to work, which made the recording of the record prolonged and torturous. Plus, The Rolling Stones could not perform because of Brian for about a year and a half. It is not easy to fire a man who basically created the band. I will add - long live the nihilism and hedonism Stones have brilliantly described on Beggars Banquet.
After a year of unsuccessful artsy attempts and conceptual album Their Satanic Majestic Request, and after years of drug abuse, the creative juices started boiling again. Producer Jimmy Miller came up with a sonic matrix that never before sounded so sinful and attractive. Jagger showed his interpretative skill on Sympathy For The Devil, while Jones revealed his swan singing on No Expectations. It was probably the last track on which Brian was 100% present. Keith Richards proved that guitars can sound noisy and powerful even when they are not plugged in (Street Fighting Man), while Stray Cat Blues stands as a hedonistic manifesto. Ok, Stray Cat Blues is basically a porno, but, man, what a drum section!
Troubles emerged related to the album cover that showed WC, which additionally delayed the release of the album. Their record label stated how the cover is too controversial, even though it previously released Tom Jones' album with bomb explosion on the cover. The album came out with a different cover, and it went on to become one of the albums with the most covered rock 'n' roll songs. Who knows, maybe it will also be the most reviewed albums of all time in the distant future.
