Beggars Banquet: The Album That Brought The Stones Back to the Blues and Got Killed by a Toilet

After the psychedelic detours of Their Satanic Majesties Request (which the band themselves basically disowned), the Stones doubled down on raw blues and roots for Beggars Banquet. Songs like “No Expectations” and “Prodigal Son” sound like they were recorded in a Mississippi juke joint, and the whole album strips away the studio trickery to just let the rhythm section breathe. Mick Jagger even sang with a rougher, more unpolished voice, matching the slide guitar and harmonica that hadn’t been front and center since Aftermath.

But the real headache was the cover. The band initially wanted a plain white sleeve with a formal invitation to a “Beggars Banquet” — which was weird but fine. Then they changed course and sent Decca a photo of a graffiti-covered public restroom, with the album title and track list scratched onto the tiles. Decca refused to release it, calling it “bad taste” (which is rich considering the band’s entire brand). The Stones refused to compromise, and the album was delayed from July to December 1968. Finally, they settled on the current cover: a brownish, textured sleeve with the title in script, looking like a crumpled placemat. But the restroom photo? It ended up inside the gatefold anyway.