"Sing This All Together" is a song by the English rock band

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

that appears on their 1967 album ''

Their Satanic Majesties Request ''Their Satanic Majesties Request'' is the sixth studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released in December 1967 by Decca Records in the UK and by London Records in the United States. It was the first Rolling Stones album rel ...

''.

Background

In late 1967, NME Magazine critic Keith Altham went over to

Olympic Sound Studios Olympic Studios was a British independent recording studio based on Church Road, Barnes, London. It is best known for its recordings of many artists throughout the late 1960s to the first decade of the 21st century, including Jimi Hendrix, th ...

and listened to

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

singing, and stayed for a 15 minute recording that spawned "Sing This All Together". and "Sing This All Together (See What Happens)". The instrumentation for "Sing This All Together" was already finished, and the Stones just had to add vocals to the track. The song had a working title of "God Bless You". There was a rumor that

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

sang backing vocals on the track, but that has been debunked.

Reception

Author Sean Egan stated in his book The Mammoth Book of The Rolling Stones that it "suggests, enable us 'to see where we all come from'" and that "Humankind's essential being, no less, is the quest, as the song invokes a mythical state of nature where drums are beaten, where caves are covered in paintings, and where the pictures that emerge 'show that we're all one'". he also states that it "starts as the album means to go on: loose arrangements, introspective pseudo-Taoism and untamed spirits. There's no Beatles-like guarantee that you'll 'enjoy the show', only that an electronically induced sense of time-warp disorientation just might play havoc with your sense of 'the now"

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

critic

Jon Landau Jon Landau (born May 14, 1947) is an American music critic, manager, and record producer. He has worked with Bruce Springsteen. He is the head of the nominating committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and received that institution's Ahme ...

states that it "has a pleasant enough melody combined with its idiotically pretentious chorus."

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine focussing on rare and collectable records, and the bands who recorded them. It was founded in September 1979 and distributes worldwide. It is promoted as "the world’s leading authority o ...

critic Oregano Rathbone stated in a review of the 50th anniversary edition of the album that both versions "preach inclusivity but actually sound curdled, rudderless and sinister: the moment when the acid turns on you.”

Sing This All Together (See What Happens)

The second side of ''

'' features another track from the exact same recording as "Sing This All Together" titled "Sing This All Together (See What Happens)".

Lyrics

The lyrics include various chatter, including

asking "where's that joint" and another person saying "flower power, eh?".

Recording

The song spawned from the recording of "Sing This All Together". "Sing This All Together (See What Happens)" was recorded while under the influence. "Sing This All Together (See What Happens)" includes a choral chant of the Tibetan Om.

Reception

Author Sean Egan states that "we are force-fed another bite of a hardly appetizing cherry. The ordeal continues for eight and a half minutes." Author Jon Landau states that it is the "most annoying cut on the album by virtue of the fact that it includes some absolute strokes of genius which are lost by the totally inadequate arrangement and lack of musical direction."

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

wrote in a review for

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

that "'Sing This All Together (See What Happens)' and 'Gomper' are "supporting evidence for Oldham's thesis that the band was attempting to run out the clock on his dime." and that it "descends into a dry run for Keith's five-string riffing."

"Cosmic Christmas"

"Cosmic Christmas" is a slowed down version of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" that appears near the end of "Sing This All Together (See What Happens)".

Personnel

Sing This All Together

According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon *

– lead and backing vocals *

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership wi ...

– backing vocals, distorted lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass *

Brian Jones Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English musician and founder of the Rolling Stones. Initially a slide guitarist, he went on to sing backing vocals and played a wide variety of instruments on Rolling Stones r ...

– mellotron, saxophone, backing vocals *

Charlie Watts Charles Robert Watts (2 June 1941 – 24 August 2021) was an English musician who was the drummer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021. Originally trained as a Graphic designer, graphic artist, Watts developed an interest i ...

– drums, backing vocals *

Nicky Hopkins Nicholas Christian Hopkins (24 February 1944 – 6 September 1994) was an English pianist and organist. He performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, including on songs recorde ...

– piano * Unidentified musicians – backing vocals, güiros, congas, maracas, tambourine, vibes, xylophone, marimba

Sing This All Together (See What Happens)

According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon *

– vocals *

– lead guitar, rhythm guitar *

– mellotron, flute, vibraphone, jew's harp *

Bill Wyman William George Wyman ( né Perks; born 24 October 1936) is an English musician who was the bass guitarist with the rock band the Rolling Stones from 1962 to 1993. Wyman was part of the band's first stable lineup and performed on their first 19 ...

– bass *

– drums * Unidentified musicians – backing vocals, assorted percussion (güiros, maracas, tambourine, etc)

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * {{The Rolling Stones Rock music 1967 songs Experimental music Songs about music Songs written by Jagger–Richards The Rolling Stones songs