Last Updated on 27 January 2026 by Massimo M.
Let it bleed was released on 5 December 1969 and is the eighth album in the Rolling Stones’ UK discography and also the tenth in the USA discography.
At the time, the labels that handled the discography of some UK bands that were trying to make it in America had the habit of offering different records for that market than those they offered in Europe. This is why we have discographies diversified by market and the Stones, like the Beatles or the Animals, did not escape this custom
Let it bleed is also the second album that contributes to creating, together with Beggar banquet, Sticky fingers, Exile on main street, that quartet of works considered by many to be the pinnacle of the Rolling Stones’ career.
Regarding the sound, similarly to what was done with Beggars Banquet, the album confirms the group’s return to the blues. The main inspiration therefore is early American music with the various Hank Williams and Jimmie Rodgers, Chicago blues, country blues and also country. The band also draws on the Gospel, as seen for example in You Can’t Always Get What You Want.
Let it bleed is the last album in which Brian Jones appears. The latter, who had already been somewhat sidelined by the Jagger/Richards duo, did not actively participate during the making of the album due to an increasingly significant drug addiction. This condition worsened to the point that he was fired from the group. His contribution, even if small, will be officially confirmed on the album for only two songs. As we know, after some time he will die tragically and join the “club 27
As a consequence of Jones’ departure from the band, Let it bleed is also the first album on which Mick Taylor appears. This young and talented guitarist at the time will be one of the main responsible for the quality of the sound of this and subsequent records.
This is the album that ideally closes the sixties and that forcefully opens the following decade. The sounds of the album are extraordinarily fresh and in many cases anticipate records that will be made even twenty years later. The lyrics and the atmosphere perfectly reflect the historical moment in which it was recorded, the fears and disillusionments of the people, the political climate.
Furthermore, Let it bleed establishes unequivocally that Jagger and his associates are a band of the highest level. In fact, the album was released exactly one year after Beggar banquet, the album containing Simpathy for the devil, an absolute masterpiece and, for many, considered unsurpassable. With this new album, the Stones at least equal the quality of Beggar Banquet, managing to surpass themselves, something that even at the time probably only happened to the Beatles and Dylan..
Thanks to all the experiments carried out by the Stones during the ’60s, the band managed to develop a rather eclectic approach to the arrangements in which, however, the slide guitar is in the foreground. This sound, more than anything, is what gives the album an authentic blues feel. The songs born from blues atmospheres are all enriched by the precious contribution of high-quality session men, just think of the mandolin played by Ry Cooder or the saxophone of Bobby Keys. The latter will be present in many of the Stones’ works whenever it is necessary to give a soul or jazz connotation to a particular song.
Speaking of precious contributions, we cannot fail to mention the voice of Merry Clayton, co-protagonist with Jagger in the opening song, Gimme shelter. This song is the representation of the climate of fear and anguish that was felt at that time in the world with the Vietnam War and violent clashes on the streets of half the world. Jagger himself defined Gimme Shelter as an end of the world song. With these premises, Clayton provided a thrilling performance, and one of the most famous moments in the song, after a solo by Richards, is the part where the singer screams: «Rape, murder! It’s just a shot away, It’s just a shot away!», and then produces other powerful high notes.
The next song, Love in vain, is a cover of the song of the same name by Robert Johnson, the famous bluesman who is said to have sold his soul to the devil in order to learn to play the blues. The Stones’ version is revisited and embellished with the mandolin played by Ry Cooder.
The third track, Country honk, is exactly what the title says, that is, a country version of the single Honky Tonk Women published by the Stones in July ’69. According to Richards, in reality the country rock version of Honky Tonk Women would be the original version of the song before Mick Taylor began working on it, making it veer towards decidedly different sounds.
The following song is called Live with Me and is a rock song that seems to describe the decadent lifestyle of the band members. The track is based on an aggressive bass line played by Keith Richards replacing Bill Wyman.
At this point we arrive at the title track. Let it bleed is based on a rhythmic piano piece with a strong country rock connotation introduced by the initial passages of the blues guitar played with the bottleneck and with a text full of allusions to sex and drugs. There are many theories, none of which have been officially confirmed, regarding the title. One says it could be some sort of derogatory allusion to the Beatles’ Let It Be, another says it stems from Richards’ fingers starting to bleed after repeatedly trying to improve the song.
Changing the side of the disc the first song you can listen to is Midnight Rambler. It is a sulphurous blues rock accompanied by horrifying lyrics written by Jagger and Richards. Everything was inspired by the stories of the “Boston Strangler”, a serial killer who had terrorized the American city until a few years earlier by strangling and raping several women.
With You Got the Silver comes Keith Richards’ first moment as the only lead vocalist, something that will happen often from here on out. It’s a romantic blues ballad dedicated to Anita Pallenberg, which Richards had recently stolen from Brian Jones, her previous boyfriend. Curiously, it is precisely this song that marks the last creative contribution by Jones, who played the autoharp on the piece, to a song by the Stones.
Following Monkey man, arguably Let It Bleed’s wildest moment, never became a live staple, although the Stones played it often during their mid-1990s Voodoo Lounge tour 90. The text is most likely largely autobiographical. In fact, Jagger declares that all his friends are drug addicts, also referring to the group’s growing drug consumption, and jokes about the accusations of Satanism made against the band due to Sympathy for the Devil.
The concluding song Let it bleed closes the circle begun with Gimme shelter. You Can’t Always Get What You Want ranks among the band’s top songs. It is characterized by an original and grandiose arrangement, with percussion, angelic choirs, a solo horn and a Mick Jagger in great form. The song, which many critics have accurately described as the answer to the Beatles’ “Hey Jude”, originated with a simple acoustic guitar progression that Jagger later called “one of those bedroom songs”. Although started as a simple thing the track progressively became more and more difficult to record as the band’s ambitions increased. In any case, the final result was definitely of great impact, making You Can’t Always Get What You Want one of the most famous songs in the entire Rolling Stones repertoire.
The album cover is one of the most beautiful and famous in the history of music, the work of Robert Brownjohn, a friend of Keith Richards, who had the idea for the image of the cover inspired by the first name of the album which was “Automatic Changer”. It is a real work of art with the image of a multilayer cake made up of a record, a film reel, a pizza, a clock, a tire and a cake with puppets on top depicting the Stones.
The album achieved extraordinary success, reaching first place in England, dethroning the Beatles’ Abbey Road, and third place in the United States. The album was also very well received by critics and was rewarded by sales, confirming the golden moment of the Rolling Stones. To promote the album, the group began a tour of the United States in late 1969. During the tour, the Stones performed alongside artists such as Chuck Berry, B.B. King, Ike & Tina Turner. Recordings of the performances in Baltimore and New York were later included on the live album Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert released in 1970
Track list
It is interesting to note that the track list on the back cover of Let It Bleed does not follow the exact playing order of the album. According to Brownjohn, the artist who created the vinyl artwork, the tracklist was altered for aesthetic reasons.
A side
Gimme Shelter – 4:30
Love in Vain – 4:19 (Robert Johnson)
Country Honk – 3:07
Live with Me – 3:33
Let It Bleed – 5
B side
Midnight Rambler – 6:52
You Got the Silver – 2:50
Monkey Man – 4:11
You Can’t Always Get What You Want – 7:28
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