Another Great Offering from ‘Beggars Banquet’

The hit song, ‘Street Fighting Man,’ by The Rolling Stones is yet another timeless rock and roll song that fits perfectly into the mantra of their amazing record, ‘Beggars Banquet.’ What is important to note is that this record really started a trend for The Stones of making hit music a frequent occurrence…a trend that would continue up until present day. By all measures this songs was a political outcry by the band and has been hailed as one of the most politically sensitive songs of all time. Furthermore, Rolling Stone Magazine has even ranked this song at a rather lofty #295 on their list of the 500 greatest rock and roll songs of all time!

When asked about what inspired him to pen this tune, Mick Jagger responded – during a 1995 interview with Rolling Stone Magazine as follows.

"Yeah, it was a direct inspiration, because by contrast, London was very quiet...It was a very strange time in France. But not only in France but also in America, because of the Vietnam War and these endless disruptions. ...I thought it was a very good thing at the time. There was all this violence going on. I mean, they almost toppled the government in France; DeGaulle went into this complete funk, as he had in the past, and he went and sort of locked himself in his house in the country. And so the government was almost inactive. And the French riot police were amazing."

Mick Jagger, 1995

The Rolling Stones (LIVE) ‘Street Fighting Man’ Somewhere in the US Amid the 70s
I think that – based upon all of the varying Rolling Stones footage that I have seen over the years – the tours that the band embarked upon during the 1970s offered up some of their very best life performances. Who really knows why for certain? I am aware that today they have far superior technology, huge video walls, lasers and the whole kit and caboodle. However, perhaps these 70s-era performances are more notable because they offer more entertainment value and more things that the band has to do, as opposed to augmenting performances with light shows and other intricacies. It should also be noted that all of their live performances are amazing. However, I favor these 70s ones because more things could go wrong with live sound, and the Stones were still developing the future of their sound and their image.