The Rolling Stones were pretty much unstoppable when it came to the streak they enjoyed in the late ’60s and early ’70s. One album after another brimmed with blues-rock menace and sneaky but heavy helpings of heart. Let It Bleed, released in 1969, came right in the middle of this halcyon period.
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Even as the Stones were transitioning in terms of its personnel, there was no letdown at all when it came to the quality of the music. Here are the five songs we feel are the best on Let it Bleed.
5. “You Got the Silver”
We’ve come to expect Keith Richards’ multiple lead vocal performances on Stones albums. But that wasn’t always the case, especially back in the day when the running times were much more constricted. “You Got the Silver” was one of the first times Richards sang lead, and it set the template for all the wonderful songs to come from the lead guitarist. Many of those tracks had to do with rocky love affairs, just like this one did. The wounded humanity Richards brings to his vocal helps make a seemingly simple song cut awful deep.
4. “Monkey Man”
Let It Bleed was the first Stones album to feature Mick Taylor, who replaced Brian Jones. (Jones died in 1969, not long after he was fired by the band.) But Taylor is only featured on a few tracks on the album, as the recording process was already underway when he joined. What’s interesting is this is one of the hardest-rocking Stones albums, and a lot of the heavy lifting on guitar came from Keith Richards. Taylor’s bluesy precision would certainly add a lot to the proceedings in the future, but on songs like “Monkey Man,” the pure force of Richards’ playing is undeniable.
3. “Love in Vain”
“Love in Vain” gives Keith Richards a chance to show off the softer side of his playing. His acoustic arpeggios seem to dangle in the air, while his slide work feeds into the bluesy vibes of the track. With that in place, it allows Mick Jagger to play the soulful lead in this sad little story. The Stones’ debt to Robert Johnson is massive, so their choice to cover one of his most devastating songs was a wise one. But instead of simply mimicking the master, the Stones fill the song out with their instrumental expertise and chemistry to take it another level.
2. “Gimme Shelter”
This is one of the Stones’ 10 finest songs of all-time, but it’s only No. 2 here because there’s another all-time classic on the record. (More on that in a moment.) Nonetheless, “Gimme Shelter” managed to capture the tenor of the times without speaking too specifically to any one issue. The fierceness of the rhythmic attack is a big part of it. Merry Clayton’s backing vocals also make a big difference, as her soulfulness and abandon memorably supports Mick Jagger’s lead. The lyrics do a great job of capturing the knife’s edge between love and violence on which society seemed to be teetering.
1. “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”
In much the same fashion as “Gimme Shelter,” “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” was very much a song for the times, even as it goes about differently. A kind of clear-eyed wisdom pervades, the kind you get after an exhausting quest that mostly leaves you empty-handed. When you reach that point, you take whatever you can get as consolation. Even amidst that, there are moments of elation, most notably when Mick Jagger lets out a whoop when he hears the exquisite combination of Al Kooper’s piano, Charlie Watts’ snare fills, and Keith Richards’ spiraling lead guitar.
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