Let It Bleed (Clear Vinyl)

This legendary 1969 Rolling Stones masterpiece includes, among others, the classic “Gimme Shelter,” “Midnight Rambler” and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” Let It Bleed marked the last time the band recorded with Brian Jones who died five months before its release, to the studio entree point for guitarist Mick Taylor. The album served to transition the band from the basic rock and blues feel for which it had been so well known to a whirlwind of hard rocking frenzy. The featured songs are amongst the band’s all time best: “Gimme Shelter,” with its shimmering guitar lines and apocalyptic lyrics, the harmonica-driven “Midnight Rambler,” the druggy party ambience of the title track and the always stunning masterpiece “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” which is a triumph of the early period Stones’ art: epic structure, philosophical lyric, vibrant horn backing and a swelling choral refrain. Also of note is “You Got the Silver” which marked Keith Richards’ first lead vocal and the band’s take on Robert Johnson’s classic “Love in Vain.” Full blown production and down-home acoustic roots all in the same package as only the Stones could offer. Let It Bleed was recorded and mixed at Olympic Sound Studios in London and Sunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles between November 1968 and October 1969. The album was produced by Jimmy Miller and engineered by Glyn Johns. Released in December of 1969, Let It Bleed reached #1 in the UK, knocking The Beatles’ Abbey Road out of the top slot, and #3 on Billboard’s Top Pop Albums chart in the US, where it eventually achieved RIAA multi-platinum status. The album was the Stones’ last to be released in an official mono version and was also sourced from the first generation stereo master tape. The album also features a number of notable guest musicians and vocalists, including Ian Stewart, Nicky Hopkins, Jack Nitzsche, Ry Cooder, Leon Russell, Al Kooper, Bobby Keys, Byron Berline, Rocky Dijon, Merry Clayton, Madeline Bell, Doris Troy, Nanette Newman and The London Bach Choir.