The Rolling Stones: Let It Bleed - 1969
"The album extends the rock and blues feel of Beggars Banquet into slightly harder-rocking, more demonically sexual territory" - Richie Unterberger - AllMusic
The Rolling Stones said goodbye to the decade that devilishly spawned them, the sixties, with another of their "big four" albums that straddled the turn of the decade that had begun so successfully with the previous year's blues rock masterpiece that was the magnificent Beggars' Banquet.
With the emphasis a bit more towards "rock" than "blues" on this album, it is pretty much the equal of BB in many ways.
Culturally, the sixties ended in so many ways with this album and then The Stones' catastrophic decade-ending open-air concert at Altamont, in December 1969, Northern California. The event was the very opposite of that summer's peace and love vibe of Woodstock. Much has been written about it elsewhere, so I have concentrated on the music, which deserves to be assessed in isolation from the event that so blighted it at the time.
Let's choose our favourite flavour....
The Stones were now firmly established a the masters of riff-dominated rock with a bluesy touch and this is exemplified magnificently on the iconic opener, Gimme Shelter. With a mesmeric opening guitar part and some typically drawled vocals from Mick Jagger it is a true tour de force. Certainly one of their best ever intros. A candidate for The Stones' best ever track. For me, though, it has always been a bit blighted by a more muffled sound than features on any of the album's other tracks. Incidentally, backing vocalist Merry Clayton released a memorable cover of the song in 1970.Love In Vain was a convincing return to the Delta blues style of the previous album, all acoustic and wailing, twanging bottleneck guitars and laid back bluesy vocals - "All your love's in voin". One of The Stones' best ever blues, if not the best. Keith Richards' blues from later in the album, You Got The Silver, is from the same mould, but a bit more muscular in its rock drum backing.
Country Honk sees a re-adoption of the country rock, Americana-influenced style used on the previous album's Factory Girl. Here it produces a backwoods fiddle-dominated version of the big non-album hit single, Honky Tonk Women. It was nowhere near as good as the single, I have to say, but it somehow fits the album and, to be honest I prefer it used here like this to using the single version.
Live With Me was a leery song with a thumping drum backing that described "nasty habits" involving hanging up meat for a week and shooting water rats as well as the sexual proclivities of the narrator's house staff. Fancy living with him? No. Neither would I. Or maybe it would be fun...Incidentally, Live With Me saw the first appearance of eventually legendary saxophonist Bobby Keys with The Stones.We got acoustic guitars/piano/drums and a seedy, lazy lust again here on Let It Bleed. Again, Jagger's odd phrasing is to the fore as it was on Beggars' Banquet - "we all need somewowwhn to lean owwhn". His sometimes quite ludicrous voice is perfect though, it wouldn't be the same with anyone else, or indeed anywoh-an else.
The album's big blues rock anthem, Midnight Rambler is a sprawling, menacing offering with Jagger and guitarist Mick Taylor on superb form. Just check out that insistent, rumbling drum-guitar-harmonica intro. It remained a live favourite long after the album's release, ideal for bluesy mid-song live jamming.
The bluesy You Got The Silver was Keith Richards' first proper, unfettered or assisted lead vocal on a Stones recording. It has been performed by him frequently in concerts over subsequent years. Written about Anita Pallenberg, it showcased Keith's passion for authentic-sounding blues numbers.
Monkey Man - or "Mowwan-kayy My-een" - is sung just as it should be by Jagger on another of the album's copper-bottomed Stones down 'n' dirty rockers. That sort of sums this album up - it certainly is down 'n' dirty, axle-grease caked blues rock. Indeed, Jagger refers to "my dirty, filthy basement" in Let It Bleed. It sounds like the whole album was recorded in that basement. I love the piano intro on this one too.
Then there is one more genuine Stones anthem to end proceedings - You Can't Always Get What You Want - an extended rock anthem with build-up shades of Jimi Hendrix's The Wind Cries Mary and an invigorating gospel choir massive, dramatic ending. The choir is used at the beginning and end of the song and remain somewhat detached from the song's sleazily infectious main part. I guess the song could have been done without the choir, but we are all so used to it now that it would sound odd any other way, wouldn't it? Indeed, the single version of the song omits the choir at the beginning but I have always preferred the full monty.
As I said at the beginning, the sixties ended with this album, in so many ways. It would be eighteen months before The Stones were back. Overall, this album was The Rolling Stones at their absolute best. For me, it probably beats all the others - just.
Finally, there is a "mono" edition of the album in The Rolling Stones In Mono box set. After initially thinking that it was stereo all the way for this album I have found my attitude to the mono recording softening considerably. Apparently it was never recorded in "pure" mono but is a fold-down mono version of the stereo, whatever that is. As readers of this blog may know, I am certainly no audiophile. What I do know is the "mono" version of the album actually sounds fantastic - deep, resonant and bassy, thumping out of the centre of the speakers in an incredibly powerful fashion.
Like Jumpin' Jack Flash in 1968, 1969 yielded a corker of a stand-alone single in the cowbell-driven sleazy glory of Honky Tonk Women. The song sounds great in either stereo or mono. Mick Jagger also cut the underrated but highly impressive bluesy rocker, Memo From Turner.
The blues rock of Jiving Sister Fanny and the afore-mentioned Memo From Turner are excellent, but Downtown Suzie, with its airs of Dylan's Rainy Day Women and awful backing vocals, was best left on the cutting-room floor. Their cover of Stevie Wonder's I Don't Know Why is muscular, with a rocking guitar solo and powerful brass backing. They make it sound like a bluesy Stones rocker. The guitar-driven rock of I'm Going Down uses a riff they would apply a lot more in the seventies and eighties.
The 2019 Remaster
It has always been about the music, for me, I am not interested in coffee table books, pictures of Mick Jagger or sleeve notes. I fully accept that £140 is a ludicrous price to pay for the vinyl box set and it is a price I would never, ever consider paying. However, I am prepared to purchase the download remaster ( I am listening to it via a streaming service at present), particularly as it has been remastered by the legendary, respected knob-tweaking fingers of Bob Ludwig.
So, does it sound any different? The previous remaster sounds excellent, so this one would need to go some to match it. In some tiny respects it does and is worth owning, for me. Just. The changes are VERY subtle, however, particularly to my proudly non-audiophile ears. This is what Ludwig has recently said about it -
'"..If you listen on a good set of speakers or good headphones, you’ll hear subtle things in the background that are now much more clear that were somewhat hidden before...".
He is right. I am able to pick up little bits here and there - nuances in the guitar, oomph in the bass or the drums, just small bits that make me think "hold on, that isn't on the previous remaster". I keep listening to the songs side by side and there are a few differences, but they are unfortunately so minute as to render it virtually impossible for me to really describe them effectively. I have listened to it through several times and feel that Love In Vain, Live With Me, Midnight Rambler, Monkey Man and You Can't Always Get What You Want possibly sound better than on the previous remaster, but Gimme Shelter possibly sounds worse. Or maybe I'm just imagining it all? It is that difficult to pin down.
There you go. I am sorry if I have not really provided a concrete answer about the sound. I have tried my best!
