Beggars Banquet was the prototypical “back to basics” album that follows up another album where the band loses their way, often due to drenching themselves in excess. In the Stones’ case, they “lost their way” with Their Satanic Majesties Request, the group’s middling attempt to create a psychedelic “concept” album in the mold of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The album was a modest hit, but was not well received critically at the time, and it’s an artistic mixed bag. Aside from “She’s a Rainbow” and “2,000 Light Years From Home,” the album is a mess. It’s simultaneously over-cooked and yet under-produced; it was the group’s first self-produced project, and they lacked the initiative and sobriety to tell themselves “no.” Members of the band have since shunned it, saying it was the product of too many drugs, too much experimentation, and no one to reign them in.

Beggars Banquet became the Stones’ attempt to reconnect with their roots. The vast majority of the album is decidedly blue collar, with the group repurposing blues riffs and styles and making them conform to the Stones’ style. However, the album features not only two of the Stones’ best and most beloved songs, but also two of the best and most beloved Rock songs in history.

Beggars Banquet’s release was delayed for six months due to the album’s cover art. The original artwork pictured the top half of a dilapidated toilet in a bathroom located in a Southern California Porsche dealership, the walls of the stall adorned with the scrawls of Jagger and Richards. Apparently, representatives from the Stones’ label found the sight of the toilet offensive and they refused to distribute the album with that version of the cover.

The fact that the cover was a source of such controversy now seems bizarre. It’s hard to believe that a photo of the top half of toilet would be considered grounds for shelving the album, considering what was going on in the world in 1968. Eventually, the band and the label settled on a new cover, resembling a wedding invitation. And regardless, the album’s two biggest hits were pretty controversial in their own right.

“Sympathy For the Devil,” Beggars Banquet’s best-known song and one of the pinnacles of the Stones’ career, leads off the album. It’s one of the Stones most expertly composed songs, opening with percussionists Rocky Dzidzornu on congas, piano-playing by session musician Nicky Hopkins, and brief shouts by Jagger. The song continues to build through its backing vocals and Jagger’s memorable lyrics. Speaking from the perspective of the Devil, Jagger notes his presence during history’s atrocities. It’s easy to forget the Richards doesn’t appear on the song until a little past its halfway point, but his solo is fittingly masterful.

The song drew a lot of negative attention from religious groups, who argued that the group was glorifying the Devil. I assume these groups never actually listened to the song, considering that the song is about humanity’s capacity for evil, and that people do a pretty good job at being awful to each other without the influence of Lucifer. Still, these groups, apparently unable to understand metaphors, believed the group was using the song to try to lure children towards Devil worship.