Any rock and roll fan can appreciate this record, arguably the Rolling Stones at their best. (although the Stones’ “Exile on Main street” comes in at #7 on the Rolling Stone magazines’ top 500 list, beating this album out at #32). The Stones were leading a genre here in the late 60s, playing beautifully in the territory that bridges the gap between blues and rock. The album is raw but powerful through-out, from twangy ‘country honk’ to the haunting ‘gimme shelter’, then my own Rolling Stones favorite, the playful ‘You can’t always get what you want’.
And, a major reason for me including this in my little series is simply that this is one of the most fun cover photos I’ve seen on a record, perfectly conveying the Rolling Stones’ fine balance of sloppy decadence and well orchestrated layering of genres.
For more on this album, you can check out a pretty cool book of documentary pictures on the Stones’ 1969 ‘Let it Bleed’ tour, from photographer Ethan A. Russell. ‘Time’ magazine called the book “brilliant”. [http://www.letitbleedbook.com/].
