Rolling Stones dust off 'She's a Rainbow' and '2000 Light Years from Home' for 40th anniversary of 'Their Satanic Majesties Request' on 2007 tour

The Rolling Stones have never been big on nostalgia for their psychedelic era. Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967) was a commercial success and a critical head-scratcher at the time, and most of its songs disappeared from live sets after the late ’60s. So when the band kicked off the European leg of the A Bigger Bang tour in summer 2007, it surprised everyone by pulling out “She’s a Rainbow” and “2000 Light Years from Home” — both making their first tour appearances in decades.

The timing lined up perfectly with the album’s 40th anniversary, but the real reason may have been simpler: the band was looking for fresh material to spice up the setlist after a year of playing hits. “She’s a Rainbow” had never been played live until 1997 (a one-off in Amsterdam), and “2000 Light Years from Home” hadn’t been performed since 1968. For the 2007 European run, both songs appeared in a rotating slot, usually sandwiched between “Ruby Tuesday” and “Honky Tonk Women.” Fans who caught shows in London, Düsseldorf, or Amsterdam got a rare peek at the Stones’ flower-power side — complete with Mick Jagger’s mock-hippie sway and Keith Richards’ fuzz-tone riffs