by Mott the Dog
***** 5 Stars Rating
The Rolling Stones America tour was the defining moment
to end the Swinging Sixties, taking live Rock ‘n’ Roll to a completely
new level of Sonic Sophistication (a word that most Americans didn’t
think Mick Jagger could spell at the time, little knowing that he was a
good old ex Dartford Grammar School boy). However, as the carnage that
developed at the band’s end of tour free concert proved, the rising
counter-culture had its dark side.
So “Let It Bleed” suited the times perfectly. At
one point it’s rough and aggressive, the next mild and reflective.
Restless and combative, the album expresses the dawning awareness that
came as the sixties drew to a close and the seventies stretched ahead of
us.
Opening gambit “Gimmie Shelter”, more than most of
the songs here, encapsulates the dread that lurks within the excitement.
As Mick warns us that the storms are rising, sung over the slowly growling
licks from the guitars, you can’t help but wonder whether these guys
knew a thing or two.
Brian Jones only gets one credit on the whole album for
percussion on “Midnight Rambler”. To make up for this, a few friends
were brought in to fill out the sound, add depth, light, shade and
variety. Glyn Johns and Jimmy Miller were retained from the Beggars
Banquet Sessions to fill the engineering and production roles
respectively, and the wonderful Nicky Hopkins was persuaded to lend his
nimble digits to most of the keyboard roles. On several tracks the quest
artists nearly steal the show. Ry Cooder’s mandolin on “Love In
Vain” must be some of his finest work ever; Mary Clayton out Jagger’s
Mick on the counter part vocals on “Gimmie Shelter”; and “Country
Honk” (the two-stepping country alter ego of “Honky Tonk Women”) has
some fiddle by Byron Berline that just makes your feet want to tap.
But the absolute masterstroke was bringing in the
London Bach Choir to add their considerable presence to the climax of
final cut “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, closing the album in
all its glorious seven and a half minutes. This song will always remain at
the pinnacle of the Stones achievements. But then every track on this
album is a gem, so perhaps just one track should not be singled out.
It’s the entire concept of the whole of “Let It Bleed” that makes it
work.
It also saw the final swansong to the Stones recording
the blues with their murky version of Robert Johnson’s “Live With
Me”. Although Bill Wyman plays bass throughout the album, it was
actually Keith Richards who plays the amazing bass intro to this track.
“You Got The Silver” is arguably the best lead vocal track that Mr.
Richards ever laid down.
It was eighteen months before the Stones gave us
another single and album (both worldwide number ones in “Brown Sugar”
and “Sticky Fingers”) by which time they had created their own record
label and became tax exiles. Of course, we did get the live album of this
America tour to keep us interested (“Get Your Ya Ya’s Out”), but had
not the Stones rallied over these past twelve months, I doubt very much
that the legend would have continued.
The Stones had many glory years in front of them, and
even now you never know. They still might have a trick or two up their
sleeves, they can certainly still cut it live, in fact they seem to get
better and better. There have been a few casualties, a few ups with the
downs. Mick Taylor left as he required something more productive (well, we
are still waiting for you to set the world alright, Mick) but that was no
sweat as Ronnie Wood fitted in much better anyway. Several sidemen have
gone to the great gig in the sky, Ian Stewart, Nicky Hopkins, and Jimmy
Miller, whilst Bill Wyman retired to run a restaurant. But they are still
out there, the greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll band in the world. Ronnie with
that Benson & Hedges hanging from his lips as he reaches for the
slide; Charlie Watts stone faced as ever with an even more dapper suit on;
Mick Jagger making headlines every time he even looks at a young lady; and
Keith Richards... Well, everybody wants to be Keith Richards, but nobody
can.
As it says at the bottom of the cover to “Let It
Bleed”: This Record Should Be Played Loud. Follow the instructions and
you can’t go wrong.
Musicians
Mick Jagger - Vocals & Harmonic
Keith Richards - Guitars
Bill Wyman - Bass
Charlie Watts - Drums
Track Listing
1. Gimmie Shelter
2. Love In Vain
3. Country Honk
4. Live With Me
5. Let It Bleed
6. Midnight Rambler
7. You Got The Silver
8. Monkey Man
9. You Can’t Always Get What You Want
The
influence of the two country’s religions upon each other’s attitudes
is well explored. Van Der Cruysse writes, “The turbulent history of the
evangelization of South East Asia occupies an important place in some
chapters in this book. They were written with both admiration and
perplexity, as they reveal generosity worthy of the ‘century of noble
souls’ and terrifying intellectual myopia.” Being somewhat cynical, I
tend to lean towards the latter concept. The back cover even describes
this as the startling juxtaposition of fundamentally different worldviews
arising from two distinct religious milieux.
In
November of 1965, Lt. Col. Hal Moore (Mel Gibson) leads 400 young U.S. Air
Cavalry troopers into Vietnam’s Valley of Death. On their first
assignment, his men are drawn into an ambush and trapped for many days in
a forested mountain area, heavily outnumbered. Rather than retreat, or
surrender, they stay and fight. Lt. Col. Moore and his men find themselves
surrounded by over 2,000 North Vietnamese soldiers. The inevitable follows
with the massacre of young men.
Mott’s
CD review: