Let It Bleed Review: The Stones in the Shadow of the Sixties
9/10 — The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed (1969)
Pros
- 'Gimme Shelter'
- 'You Can't Always Get What You Want'
- Menacing atmosphere
Cons
- A couple of minor tracks
Let It Bleed was the last Stones album to feature Brian Jones, who died shortly after leaving the band, and the first with Mick Taylor on some tracks. It reflects the darker mood at the end of the 1960s.
What works
‘Gimme Shelter’ is a masterpiece of foreboding, with Merry Clayton’s searing guest vocal, ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ is epic, and ‘Midnight Rambler’ is a sleazy blues crawl. The band sounds tight and menacing.
Where it falters
The country-flavoured tracks like ‘Country Honk’ are minor, and a few songs are slighter.
Verdict
A dark, powerful album with some of the Stones’ finest songs.
