In 1969, just seven years after The Rolling Stones were formed, they released their tenth album, Let It Bleed. After releasing a hit album only a year before, the Stones came back and did it again with their chart-topping Let It Bleed album.
Despite their musical success, the Stones experienced many difficulties during this time. This album was the last to feature drummer and original member Brian Jones. Along with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Brian Jones was one of the founding members of The Rolling Stones, but after experiencing many difficulties involving drugs and substance abuse he was not focused on the band at all. After only performing on two tracks on the album and missing numerous rehearsals and other recording sessions the other band members were fed up with Jones. After thinking about what’s best for the band, the other members of The Rolling Stones agreed that they had to kick Brian Jones out of the band. Some critics and fans suspected Brian Jones would eventually return to The Rolling Stones after recovering from his addictions but he tragically died shortly after as a result of a drowning incident. After the unfortunate situation surrounding Brian Jones, the Stones held auditions for a new drummer and found Mick Taylor, who is still a part of the band today.
After gaining new member Mick Taylor it was the start of a new era for The Rolling Stones. With this new harmony among their members they could once again focus solely on their music. Let It Bleed was the first album to be released after this change and it symbolizes a new beginning for the Stones. Although this change was for the better, many people were unsure about this new start and how it would affect the success of the band. Let It Bleed was the assurance they needed that The Rolling Stones would still continue to produce successful and beautiful music.
The second this album begins with the song “Gimme Shelter”, listeners are drawn in by the building percussion and opening guitar riff. As soon as the listener hears it they want to hear more, and are immediately engrossed in the album. The instruments create this anxious feeling as if something is coming and the listener needs to get away from it. The Stones use a guiro, an instrument popular in traditional Caribbean music, to create a sound similar to a washboard that is very prominent at the beginning of the song and then fades in and out throughout the rest of it. This unusual sound creates an uneasy feeling and when it fades you think it’s gone for good but then it comes back louder and more aggressive than ever. “Gimme Shelter” starts the album off with a quick pace that sparks the listener's interest, and as the album progresses the tempo of the songs slow down and speed back up spastically, as if the listener is running and changing their pace. The slow songs provide a false sense of security that calm you down and then the fast songs come back in and start the race again. When you listen to this album you are embarking on a journey with The Rolling Stones by your side, guiding you through this intense experience.
The next song on the album is “Love in Vain”. After the intense opening song “Gimme Shelter”, “Love in Vain” slows it down and has a more soothing sound. The song begins with a lulling guitar riff and then Mick Jagger comes in with a raw and pure sound in his voice. The instruments back down while Jagger sings the first few verses and the listener’s focus is shifted completely to the lyrics and his voice. Then the song starts to pick up and the instrumentation builds as Jagger’s voice fades into nothing. This battle between the voice and the instruments continues throughout the song but each element still has the chance to be heard. The lyrics of this song describes this story of Jagger boarding a train and having to leave his love behind, although he doesn’t want to. The song ends with the haunting words “all my love’s in vain” and the trickle of the guitar to end the song with a sense of longing and anticipation for the rest of the album.
The album continues with the song “Let It Bleed”. At the beginning of the song there’s an unsettling sound of a slide piece guitar but quickly after it transitions into a more harmonious sound with the acoustic guitar, piano, and drums. The song has an upbeat tempo and it feels very personal because Jagger is talking directly to the listeners throughout the song. The song contains lyrics like “we all need someone we can lean on//and if you want it, you can lean on me” and “bleed alright, bleed alright, you can bleed all over me”. The Stones establish this easy-going and happy feeling through their reassuring lyrics and upbeat tempo in this song.
One of the last songs on the album is “Monkey Man”. The song opens with a piano solo that immediately draws people in and then the entrance of the tambourine and guitar add a little excitement to it. Then when Mick Jagger enters everything picks up and song builds up to a harmonious clash of instruments and vocals. This song has sort of a crazy sound to it with lyrics like “I’m a fleapit peanut monkey”, “I’m a cold Italian pizza//I could use a lemon squeezer” and “well, I’m just a monkey man//I’m glad you are a monkey woman too”. These unusual lyrics along with unique instruments like the vibraphone really set this song apart and make it different. The quick pace and the appealing sound produce a happy feeling but there is also a sense of confusion from the strange lyrics and instrumentation.
From the beginning of the album, the songs and lyrics create this feeling that you have to get away from something, but in the last song of the album, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, you experience this calming and almost heaven-like ending. The opening of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” features a choir followed by Mick Jagger’s calm and relaxed tone, different from the uneasy and tense tone of the rest of the album. After the journey through the album and this feeling of running away from something, listeners can finally rest and end their long journey. With the nervous feeling in the rest of the album and the nervous feeling listeners in the 1960’s had about the world when this album was released, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, soothes you and somehow makes you feel better about what is going on in the world at this time. With lyrics like “you can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes well you might find you get what you need” you feel content and almost hopeful about the future.
The feeling that this entire album gives off is a sense of impending doom that the band is trying to escape. The spastic change of tempo throughout the album creates a feeling of running from something, or trying to escape something. This album was released in 1969, in the midst of a very violent era. During this time the Vietnam War was going on so the United States were exposed to this frightening war with dangerous oppositions from outspoken protestors. The Stones album Let It Bleed encompasses this feeling of tension and fear using lyrics such as “rape, murder. It’s just a shot away.” in the opening song “Gimme Shelter”. While most of the album contains dark and gloomy lyrics such as these, the tempo and tone of the songs counteract with them so that the album doesn’t feel depressing or grave. The lyrics reflect what was going on in the world and the songs themselves all mimic the feelings of anxiety and doom that people were feeling about the world.
In addition to talking about the Vietnam War, The Rolling Stones touched on other events of the 1960’s. In the sixties psychedelia was extremely popular and the psychedelic rock genre was thriving. Many consider The Rolling Stones to be a psychedelic rock band while some disagree, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that they did allude to this psychedelic phenomena that was happening during this time period. “Monkey Man” is believed to be about an experience involving “acid” or another type of drug. The song contains lyrics that directly reference psychedelia like “all my friends are junkies” but most of the lyrics are so out-there that it’s hard to imagine someone writing them and not being under the influence of drugs. This song reflects the typical psychedelic rock song because it tells a story about love but it is surrounded by strange lyrics and verses that don’t necessarily make sense. When people today listen to this song it might be very weird to hear the lyrics like “I was bitten by a boar//I am a sack of broken eggs//I always have an unmade bed//Don’t you?” but during the 1960’s it was very common because of the popular psychedelic rock genre. It has been argued that psychedelia during the 1960’s was to help cope with the problems in the world during those times and when artists like The Rolling Stones referenced this topic it was familiar to people, and it also helped them cope with whatever they had going on.
When Let It Bleed was released, The Rolling Stones had the odds stacked against them. They had to follow up their previous chart-topping album, they lost one of their own members, and the world was in a time of crisis. Nevertheless, The Rolling Stones continued what they do best, they created a masterful and successful album. The lyrics and sounds of Let It Bleed are exactly what the world needed during this time. Without band member Brian Jones everyone expected this album to be the end of The Rolling Stones' success, but when Let It Bleed was released everyone could see that this wasn't the end, it was the start of a new beginning for The Rolling Stones.
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