‘Their Satanic Majesties Request’: From Critical Punchline to Psychedelic Cult Gem

When the Stones dropped Their Satanic Majesties Request in December 1967, critics mostly hated it. Compared to the snarling R&B of Aftermath and Between the Buttons, this druggy, orchestral detour felt like a pale copy of Sgt. Pepper’s—too weird, too soft, too self-indulgent. Rolling Stone called it “navel-gazing” and NME dismissed it as the band “trying too hard to be clever.” It notably flopped against the Beatles, and the Stones themselves later badmouthed it as a “lapse in judgment.”

Over the decades, however, the album shed its reputation as a misstep. Critics now point out that it’s actually a lot darker and weirder than most psychedelic records of the era—more drone and paranoia than flower power. Tracks like “2000 Light Years from Home” and “She’s a Rainbow” are now considered adventurous high points, and the album’s influence on neo-psychedelia and space-rock is regularly cited. It’s still uneven, but today’s consensus sees it as a fascinating anomaly rather than a failure—a bold, flawed leap that only the Stones could have made.