Let It Bleed

Description

Product Description Remastered classic 1969 album produced by Jimmy Miller & recorded at London's Olympic Sound Studios. Includes "Gimme Shelter", with Merry Clayton's unforgettable backing vocal & "Midnight Rambler", two songs that have long been a part of Stones live repertoire for decades now. Also includes their blues cover of Robert Johnson's, "Love in Vain" & the unique "You Can't Always Get What You Want" featuring the London Bach Choir arranged by Jack Nietzsche, Al Kooper on keyboards & French horn & Jimmy Miller filling in for Charlie Watts on drums. This album was the first to include guitarist Mick Taylor on several tracks. desertcart.com One of the Stones' most beloved albums, 1969's Let It Bleed was a benchmark for several reasons. First, founding guitarist Brian Jones died during the recording process. Second, the Stones take their last significant look at pure blues (Robert Johnson's spooky "Love in Vain") and country ("Country Honk," the two-stepping alter ego of "Honky-Tonk Women") before folding both styles into a cohesive rock & roll vision. Third, it contains some of the band's most eerie hits, such as the flame-enveloped "Gimme Shelter," the drug-reality anthem "Monkey Man," the epic "You Can't Always Get What You Want," and Mick Jagger's menacing "Midnight Rambler." --Steve Knopper Review: Truly Essential Stones - First things first: the great majority of 1-star reviews here seem centered around the fact that some peeps are unfortunately having issues putting this disc on their computer to download to mp3 and import to their portable mp3 player. I had no such problem at all nor have most reviewers here, so I think these folks need a new computer or perhaps a little help using it. Either way, I think we can easily disregard over half of the 1-star reviews since they aren't commenting on the MUSIC here. So discounting that issue, we have 180+ 4 or 5-star reviews (so far) and maybe 15 or so that rate it as 1, 2 or 3-stars. The majority of course isn't always right, but in this case, they ARE. Simply put, everyone has their opinion of what the "best" Stones album is, but for anyone who's heard it all, this album absolutely has to at least be on the short list of titles that can realistically be nominated for Best Stones Album Ever. I personally have it at #2 behind "Sticky Fingers" and 1 spot ahead of "Tattoo You," with "Some Girls" at #4. This is of course the 2nd of 4 consecutive albums generally considered to be among the very best the Stones ever delivered, starting with "Beggar's Banquet" (1968), followed by "Let It Bleed," then 1971's "Sticky Fingers" and then the much (over)-hyped "Exile On Main Street". Personally, I find Sticky Fingers and Let It Bleed the best of these 4 classic Stones albums, but everyone has their own opinion. Forget the comparisons though and just look at what's here: classic cuts even non-Stones fans will have heard (and most likely enjoyed) include "Gimme Shelter," "You Can't Always Get What You Want," "Monkey Man," as well as the title cut. That's half the album that has featured prominently on rock radio for 40+ years now! And these songs are surely the strength of the album, but the rest of the less popular cuts are what propels this release to the ranks of "undeniable classic": the superb take on blues-master Robert Johnson's "Love In Vain" is Mick and Co. at their bluesy best. "Country Honk" is a country-fied version of the better-known "Honkey Tonk Women," and while I might agree with Stones label-heads who were disappointed that this version was selected for inclusion on the album instead of the single version, we are fortunate in that we don't have to choose: the more popular single version is available on multiple compilations ("Hot Rocks," "40 Licks," etc.) and the country version here is an interesting display of how country the roots of the Stones could truly be while still delivering the overall sound and attitude that made them famous to begin with. Next up is "Live With Me" which kicks off with a driving Bill Wyman bass-line and Charlie Watts thumping a straight and solid beat that propels the hardest rocking song of this album (which also features outstanding sax by Bobby Keys and piano by studio legend Nicky Hopkins). The excellent sound quality makes it sound like this was recorded in 2009, not 1969. My perhaps favorite cut is next, the title cut, "Let It Bleed". I knew the song, but I didn't know the title until I bought this album and I was truly thrilled to have found this song as it's a gem! It could almost be a Grateful Dead song, but the Stones make it sound better than the Dead ever could. "We all need someone to lean on, and if you want to, you can lean on me...". Not sure if that's "rock," "blues" or "country", but I like it. Superb. Also included is "Midnight Rambler," but buyer beware: this is the studio version, not the more popular live version lifted from "Get Your Ya-Ya's Out!" and featured on "Hot Rocks". A great song is a great song and this is definitely a solid track, but to me the definitive version of this song is the live version. Hard to call this studio version a "disappointment" though. Perhaps the weakest cut (imo) is "You Got The Silver," the first song in the Stones catalog to feature Keith Richards on lead vocals. Which is not to say it's a bad cut, but it is the weakest track on an otherwise flawless album. All told, 9 cuts, 4 that almost everyone will know, 4 more that are every bit as good as "the hits" and the one so-so track by Richards. The sum total is an album you can listen to from start to finish time and time again without getting tired of it (and boy are THOSE hard to find these days...). Some earlier reviewers have argued over who the driving force of this album is since this came out when the role of Brian Jones was dwindling but before Mick Taylor was on as a full-time member. The credits show that Jones played on only two tracks (and not even guitar at that...) and Mick Taylor played on only two as well, so I think it's obvious that the driving force of this album is the same as most Stones classics: the songwriting of Mick and Keef, the solid rhythms of Bill and Charlie and the guitar of Keith Richards and whoever else was around! Brian Jones certainly deserves credit for his early role in shaping what the Stones would become, but the majority of their best work was done without him and Mick Taylor certainly wasn't around long enough to put his stamp on this one. Bottom line: if you don't have this and are even slightly intrigued with the possibility of checking it out, BUY IT. Maybe "Sticky Fingers" or another title or two the Stones did at some point is better, but if they ever did a better album than "Let It Bleed," it wasn't by MUCH. Review: The Rolling Stones..."Let It Bleed"...1969 & 2002 Remastered - I originally bought this record in April 1975. Then in April 2013, I decided to buy it again on a remastered CD. I always thought that this album was great. It contains 3 countrified style songs. Now it's time for me to review each song as follows: 1. "Gimmie Shelter"...This is probably the VERY BEST song & MY favorite song, that the Rolling Stones ever recorded. It is very unique & it also had such an eerie feel to it. Though a small hit, however, I really wish it was a much BIGGER hit single, because it's just that GREAT of a song. I also wanted to add that Merry Clayton is the back-up vocalist here. In 1970, she also recorded HER OWN version of "Gimmie Shelter". And she also performed the song "Yes" on the 1987 movie soundtrack "Dirty Dancing". 2. "Love In Vain"...After all these years, it looks as though this song HAS finally GROWN on me. At one time, I really COULDN'T stand this song. But now, I like the softer guitars & the countrified vocals on this tune. 3. "Country Honk"...This is the COUNTRIFIED version of 1969's "Honky Tonk Woman" This is another song that I wasn't too crazy about @ first either, but it grew on me, real fast as compared to "Love In Vain". This song is fun & rather AMUSING to listen to. 4. "Line With Me"...I've always liked this song, quite well. Beat wise, it could almost remind me, somewhat, of "Bitch" from 1971's "Sticky Fingers" album 5. "Let It Bleed"...The TITLE TRACK, which I always got a big charge out of. It's another one of those songs, that I found quite amusing, w/ the music & lyrics @ times. And I really love the drumming & cymbal clashes @ the end of this tune. In the mid 70s, I read that THIS song was either tied in with.....Or.....a follow-up single to the 1970 hit, "Let It Be", by The Beatles. I really couldn't say, in my honest opinion, because BOTH of these songs are ENTIRELY different from each other. "Let It Be" is quite a pretty song, & "Let It Bleed" is a rather comical song. 6. "Midnight Rambler"...On my review of Aerosmith's 1973 debut album, I remember saying that THIS song could remind me of "One Way Street" in certain parts. I always thought THIS was a real DECENT tune. The 8 min. 23 sec. LIVE version of "Midnight Rambler" is also pretty good...& recommended for one's listening pleasure. 7. "You Got The Silver"...Keith Richards performed the vocals here. THIS song could remind me, somewhat, of "You Gotta Move"...also incl., on the "Sticky Fingers" album. But "You Got The Silver" is ten times better, by far. It is also the very shortest cut on this album. 8. "Monkey Man"...This song is also pretty good, I've always enjoyed this one. 9. "You Can't Always Get What You Want"...Another fantastic classic here. It features the London Bach Choir, Doris Troy (of "Just One Look" fame) & etc. Even though, this song was released in 1969, it didn't become a hit single, until almost 4 years later. It was the SPRING of 1973, when I FIRST heard THIS song on the radio. Then I immediately went out & bought THIS 45 rpm record. On the Flip Side, was "Honky Talk Woman" & I remembered it, BIG TIME, from the Summer of 1969. BOTH of these hits singles were great. This Stones album was always one of my favorites. And this album is highly recommended.