On a rainy day, the Rolling Stones said goodbye to the ’60s.
Composed during one of the worst times in the band’s history with founder Brian Jones losing his place in the band and dying a month later, Let It Bleed sounds just as tumultuous as the circumstances it was recorded in. Raw. Gritty. Desperate.
And it sounds heavenly.
In 1962, five British boys formed a band because of their love of the electric blues. For months, they remained unknown and unnamed, deciding because of a Muddy Waters track laying around.
In 1964, the Rolling Stones released their first album.
In 1965, they changed rock music forever with “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and soon the Stones started to live up to their bad-boy image.
In 1969, after they became more myth than man, five became four.
Who are the Rolling Stones? Show anyone this album and they’ll know from the opening notes. Forget about Their Satanic Majesties Request. That was the Stones doing the Beatles. Let It Bleed, now that’s the Stones.
Chaos drives this album.
From those beginning notes as Keith Richards finger picked a dark minor chord, Richards managed to capture the feeling of a storm picking up as he watched the people scramble to get out of the rain.
“Gimme Shelter” is a warning. Look out cause it’s gonna get ya.
Written as the Vietnam War raged on and the sexual revolution led the scene, this track represents the ’60s. “See the fire is sweepin’ our streets today. Burns like a red coal carpet.” Jagger sings of danger while Merry Clayton wails, voice cracking with emotion about how “rape, murder” is all closer than you think. Even after being woken up last minute four months into her pregnancy to record, it’s Clayton who steals the show, impressing Jagger himself.
The Stones do fall back on their blues roots with “Love in Vain.” Originally by legend Robert Johnson, this track is a tribute to the Godfather of Blues and the Delta blues. Twangy 12-bar blues updated with a country sound using the electric slide- a noticeable difference from the original.
Keeping with the Southern theme is “Country Honk,” the original “Honky Tonk Women.” While musically impressive, tracks like this and title track, “Let It Bleed,” drain the album of all the energy it’s built. It’s not folky Johnny Cash country and it’s yodeling Hank Williams country.
It draws clear influences, but creates an amalgamation of something that isn’t decipherable anymore.
“Country Honk” uses the fiddle incessantly, drowning out Richards’ rhythm and licks while the steel guitar (played by a teenage Mick Taylor) gets lost to pop back up for brief moments. “Let It Bleed” has a stronger case for instrumentation (spoiler alert: no fiddle), but the melody is forgettable and Jagger’s country drawl gets laughable at times. Maybe that’s the point?
Let It Bleed’s strong points aren’t within these tracks, but whatever they lack is made up with tracks like the “Midnight Rambler” and “Monkey Man.” Loosely inspired by the Boston Strangler, Jagger once again warns of danger, making it the darkest track on the album rivaled only by “Gimme Shelter.”
Richards was right when he called it operatic. The track moves from a steady 4/4 to a frantic pace to a breakdown featuring just Jagger’s ominous words (“He’ll leave his footprints up and down your hall”), guitar and harmonica. It’s the blues done originally by the Stones.
Now “Monkey Man” exists as part of the top 10 best songs written by the Stones. Indescribable.
Another standout track is “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” Featuring the London Bach Choir, it’s the Stones battling the Beatles and their latest release, “Hey Jude.” Like “You’ve Got the Silver,” the Stones’ get introspective about their relationships- a far cry from the “Midnight Rambler.” Gone is the rock-star image and all the roughness that makes up the other tracks, reminding everyone that, though we’ve made them gods, they remain human. An acoustic guitar, a kick of the drums, lyrics of love and a send off to the ’60s.
Wistful, but warm.
If there’s any album that I would last want to listen to, I wouldn’t hesitate to choose Let It Bleed.
Just give me two skips.
