THE ROLLING STONES - LET IT BLEED @ 55

 

Celebrating 55 years on the shelves today is the eighth studio LP from The Rolling Stones, Let It Bleed, which was released on November 28th, 1969, in the US, and December 5th in the UK. While the record contains some of the band's most iconic staples, the period of its creation was fraught with turmoil as founding member, Brian Jones, spiralled towards his ultimate demise.

The album continues the group's move back to revitalizing its blues roots after its dalliances with psychedelia and baroque pop on albums like Between the Buttons & Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967). Their previous LP, Beggars Banquet (1968) had adjusted the band's trajectory back to the basics of the blues, though with this album, they were also dabbling in other forms of traditional Americana, including gospel and country influences. And while the majority of the group were on point with their contributions, Brian Jones was on his last leg.

Issues with Jones had come to the fore during the Beggars Banquet sessions, with Brian often showing up to the studio heavily inebriated, and grossly unprepared for the work ahead. He had become disillusioned and disconnected from the group, and by the time of the Let It Bleed sessions, he was nearly incapable of contributing at all. He only ended up participating in two of the LP's nine tracks before he was fired from the group. It was only a month later that he was found dead in the swimming pool of his home. It was a horrifyingly tragic and controversial end to the wildly creative spirit who had been responsible for getting the band off the ground in the first place.

After the dismissal of Jones, Mick Taylor was brought in to fill his slot on 2nd guitar, though his contribution to this album was also limited. As he had done for the previous album, Keith Richards stepped up as the band's workhorse to provide nearly all of the guitar parts. In addition to the rest of the band, who were also involved in nearly every track, guest musicians included percussionist Jimmy Miller (who also produced the album), keyboardists Nicky Hopkins and Ian Stewart (himself a former member of the band), and Ry Cooder.

As already mentioned, the focus was back to basics, with a heaviness and darkness pervading the overall mood. Journalist Jann Wenner described the lyrics as "disturbing" and the scenery as "ugly". When asked if the Vietnam War played a role in the album's worldview, Jagger said: "I think so. Even though I was living in America only part time, I was influenced. All those images were on television. Plus, they spill out onto campuses". Of the album's songs, the standouts include Gimme Shelter, Midnight Rambler and You Can't Always Get What You Want, all of which became staples in the band's live sets going forward, and though there were no hit singles, those songs received regular rotation on the radio, helping to establish them as mainstays of the band's repertoire.

For the LP's packaging, Mick Jagger originally asked surrealist illustrator, M. C. Escher, to design a cover, but he declined, so Robert Brownjohn was approached instead. His design displays a surreal sculpture with the image consisting of the Let It Bleed record being played by the tone-arm of an antique phonograph, and a record-changer spindle supporting several items stacked on a plate in place of a stack of records: a film canister labelled Stones – Let It Bleed, a clock dial, a pizza, a bicycle tire and a cake with elaborate icing topped by figurines representing the band. The reverse of the LP sleeve shows the same "record-stack" melange in a state of disarray. The artwork was inspired by the scrapped working title of the album, "Automatic Changer". The album cover was among the ten chosen by the Royal Mail for a set of "Classic Album Cover" postage stamps issued in January, 2010.

Upon its release, it was generally well received by critics and shot to the number 1 slot in the UK, and peaked at #3 in the US. In a contemporary review for Rolling Stone magazine, music critic Greil Marcus said that the middle of the album has "great" songs, but Gimme Shelter and You Can't Always Get What You Want "seem to matter most" because they "both reach for reality and end up confronting it, almost mastering what's real, or what reality will feel like as the years fade in." Robert Christgau named it the fourth-best album of 1969 in his ballot for Jazz & Pop magazine's annual critics poll. In later commentaries, he has said the album "still speaks to me with startling fullness and authority", with the quality of the "playing" alone "fantastic", and that despite some "duff moments" on side two, every song "stands up". Contextually, it is at the centre of what many feel is the band's high water mark of classic albums, from its predecessor, Beggars Banquet, through to the two LPs that followed, Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street.

THE ROLLING STONES - IT'S ONLY ROCK 'N' ROLL @ 50

Celebrating its golden jubilee, at 50 years old today, it's the twelfth studio LP by The Rolling Stones, It's Only Rock 'n' Roll, which was released on October 18th, 1974. After something of a slump with their previous album, Goats Head Soup, It's Only Rock 'n' Roll was a bit of a refocusing of the band, albeit it would be the final outing for guitarist Mick Taylor, who would find himself edged out by Ronnie Wood.

In fact, the LP title and associated song would all come from Wood's work on a solo album that happened around the time the Stones were gearing up for their next album after completing a tour to support Goat's Head Soup. Ronnie Wood, a long-time acquaintance of the band, began to get closer to the Rolling Stones after he invited Mick Taylor to play on his debut solo album, I've Got My Own Album to Do. Taylor spent some time recording and hanging out at Wood's house, The Wick. By chance, Richards was asked one night by Wood's wife at the time, Krissy, to join them at the guitarist's home. While there, Richards recorded some tracks with Wood and quickly developed a close friendship, with Richards going as far as moving into Wood's guest room. Jagger soon entered the mix and it was here that the album's lead single and title track, "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)", was first recorded. Wood worked closely on the track with Jagger, who subsequently took the song and title for their album. The released version of this song features Wood on 12-string acoustic guitar.

The remainder of the album initially started out as a split concept, with the first side intended to be a set of cover versions of classic blues tunes, backed with a live B-side taken from their recent tour. However, while the band recorded several covers for this conception, only one was actually used for the album. Once they got recording and jamming, they soon found that the ideas for new, original songs were quickly percolating up, so the plan of a covers/live LP was scrapped, and an all new set of recordings was created.

As was the case with the previous album, Mick Taylor had been side-stepped when it came to receiving any writing credits for any of the songs, with all the original compositions being credited only to Jagger and Richards. There has since been conflicting comments from Taylor vs Jagger in terms of the assessment of his contributions, with the latter claiming his input was minimal. This certainly played a part in Taylor's decision to leave the group. The other factor was the band's opting not to tour to support the album, choosing instead to go right back into recording and preparation for their next album, what would become Black and Blue, the record that would debut Ron Woods as a full time permanent member of the band.

Another notable aspect of It's Only Rock 'n' Roll is the fact it was the first to be self produced by Keith and Mick, with regular producer Jimmy Miller stepping down from the role he'd filled since Beggars Banquet in 1968. By this point, "The Glimmer Twins", which was the name used for all future Jagger/Richards productions, felt that they had developed enough prowess in the studio to figure out how to get what they wanted. They had their own ideas about how to approach recording now, and didn't need the guidance of a third party.

The album, once it was released, did well enough commercially, hitting #1 in the US, but it stalled at #2 in the UK, breaking a string of #1 albums that stretched back to Let It Bleed in 1969. The title track and lead single also charted well in the UK, but failed to really catch fire in the US. Regardless, the song has since gone on to become a staple in the band's live sets throughout their career to the modern day. One of the most prominent promotional videos for the band of that era was made for this song, featuring the band in a tent, dressed in sailor suits, performing as the tent fills up with foaming soap bubbles. This is actually my earliest memory of seeing the band as a child.

Critical reception was definitely mixed, though on the measure, somewhat more positive than had been the case for the previous album. In the UK, NME voted the album as the second best album of the year, while in the US, gonzo music critic, Lester Bangs, said of the album, "The Stones have become oblique in their old age, which is just another word for perverse except that perverse is the corniest concept extant as they realized at inception... Soup was friendly and safe. I want the edge and this album doesn't reassure me that I'll get it, what a curious situation to be stuck in, but maybe that's the beauty of the Stones, hah, hah, kid? This album is false. Numb. But it cuts like a dull blade. Are they doing the cutting, or are we?"

Ultimately, the album marks a key turning point for the band as they settled into becoming the establishment entity that would sustain them as industry stalwarts for the next half century. The band became codified in their form and function after this, with the volatility and unpredictability baked out, making them a shelf-stable commodity that could be regularly banked on to provide a profitable tour every few years, and records that would sell enough to keep the machine rolling indefinitely.

THE ROLLING STONES (England's Newest Hit Makers) @ 60

Celebrating its 60th anniversary today is the eponymous debut LP from the legendary Rolling Stones, which was released in the UK on this day, April 17th, 1964. The slightly altered US edition came out on May 29th. While The Beatles were selling a relatively wholesome "mop top" version of the looming "British invasion", The Rolling Stones were digging deep into the grit and grime of American blues & R&B to fashion their "bad boy" counterpoint.

With roots that go back as far as 1950, when Keith Richards & Mick Jagger first became classmates and friends, the real genesis of the band would come in 1961 when the pair would reacquaint themselves on the platform of the Dartford railway station. Jagger was carrying records by Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters, which revealed to Richards a shared interest. A musical partnership began shortly afterwards, a relationship that was solidified when the pair responded to an ad in the music press from Brian Jones, who was looking to put together a new band after having split from his previous group.

For the next two years, the band would build their following, taking their cue from The Beatles, but self-consciously crafting their image so as to contrast against the "fab four". While they initially dabbled with the whole "matching suit" look, their manager quickly abandoned that approach and realized that the Stones could benefit by cultivating a style and aesthetic that was counter to The Beatles more approachable & family friendly vibe. Instead, the Stones would go for a messy, unkempt and raunchier look and feel, coming off as the kind of lads parents would definitely NOT want their daughters bringing home for dinner!

For their first LP, recording was completed in only five days scattered across January and February of 1964. At this point, the songwriting prowess of the Jagger/Richards duo was barely starting to take root, so only one of their compositions was included, and that was only on the UK version of the LP. There were also a couple of songs from these sessions credited to "Nanker Phelge", which was a pseudonym used by the band from 1963 to 1965 to designate songs they'd collectively written. The selection of covers reflects the group's focus on American blues & R&B classics. The US version had a slightly different track list, plus the subtitle, "England's Newest Hit Makers", which eventually became adopted as the official title for the album on later reissues.

While the group's sense of originality and identity were still developing, their debut LP still manages to stand as one of the best examples of the British blues scene of that era, full of vitality, rawness and edge. It became one of the UK's biggest selling albums that year, holding the #1 LP slot for no less than 12 weeks. And while it lacks the iconic hit singles that would soon define the band, it still represents the group in their early prime, poised to become one of the most important rock bands of all time. 

THE ROLLING STONES - SOME GIRLS @ 45

 

Celebrating its 45th anniversary today is the Rolling Stones' classic comeback LP, Some Girls, which was released on June 9th, 1978. After slipping into a slump in the middle of the decade (they didn't call that "best of" album, "Sucking In the '70s" for nothing), the band regrouped and managed to knock out the most commercially and critically successful album of their career. At a time when they seemed destined to be drowned out by disco, or made irrelevant by punk, they managed to embrace both genres in tandem, harnessing the infectious dance grooves of the former, while embodying the brazen rawness and edge of the latter.

After kicking off the '70s with a couple of solid albums, The Rolling Stones spent much of the middle years of that decade middling around with unfocused studio albums and lacklustre live releases. As a result, the band's popularity had waned significantly and they were in serious danger of becoming relics of a bygone era. The emergence of punk culture in the latter half of the decade was branding old farts from the '60s as "dinosaurs", lumbering about the world on their great big tours and motivated solely by their avarice for ticket and merch sales. Keith Richards was also struggling with legal issues resulting from drug charges in Canada, so the burden fell on the shoulders of Mick Jagger to rally the troops and rescue the band from oblivion. By 1977, Ron Wood had secured himself the position of permanent 2nd guitarist in the group, so they had a solid lineup for the first time in years. With the younger generation's wolves snapping at their heels, the band set about getting back to basics and crafting a lean, mean collection of songs capable of capturing the era's zeitgeist.  

Keith's legal issues ended up soliciting the help of US president, Jimmy Carter, and Richards was able to negotiate release from Canada in February of 1977, securing a visa which allowed him to first detox in the US and then travel to Paris to join the rest of the band in the studio. The severity of the charges for heroine possession with intent to traffic were such that there was a very real possibility of the bad-boy guitarist facing up to seven years in a Canadian prison. This dangling sword over the band's head meant that they could be facing the prospect of disbanding and that this might be their last album for a very long time. The thought that Some Girls might be their swan-song was clear motivation for them to put everything they had into giving their best effort in the studio. With the list of guest musicians kept to a bare minimum, the group turned to each other to create a tight, tough and focused sound, the likes of which hadn't been heard for many years. Richards eventually escaped the prospect of a custodial sentence with an agreement to perform a couple of benefit Stones concerts, but the experience certainly helped get the band's house in order.

With Richards distracted by his legal woes, Mick Jagger became the principal creative force during the writing and recording of the album, taking sole writing credits on a number of tracks. The explosion of dance music culture in the discos became a very big influence and Jagger sought to bring some of that four-on-the-floor vibrancy into the band's wheelhouse. Also, by 1977, punk had made major inroads into the public consciousness. Its sense of urgency and disregard for authority or manners had reinvigorated the rock 'n' roll landscape with a sense of danger, risk and innovation, something which had been lacking since the psychedelic inspired creativity of the previous decade gave way to the MOR "yacht-rock" sounds of the '70s. This time, however, it wasn't all utopian idealism and love, but rather it's inverse, with young artists embracing a decidedly dystopian misanthropy.  

Ronnie Wood securing his full-time position in the band helped bring a fresh energy to the group dynamic, shining a new light on their relationships. This interplay meant that, for the first time since 1968's Beggars Banquet, the group were confident enough to eschew the parade of guest players and lean into their own abilities for much of the recording. The result was a collection of songs which were brimming with renewed confidence. 

When it came time to package the album, the band wanted something extravagant and designer Peter Corriston came up with an elaborate die-cut design inspired by an old Valmor Products corporation advertisements for wigs. The cutouts revealed faces printed on the inner sleeve featuring the band in drag along with celebrities like Lucile Ball, Judy Garland, Farrah Fawcett, Raquel Welch and Marilynn Munroe. Color overlays on the images varied by market. The result was quite striking, but the fact celebrity likenesses were used without permission triggered a barrage of legal threats, including one from Valmor, who did go through with a suit and won monetary compensation. The cover was quickly pulled and the celebrity images were removed (except for former Beatle George Harrison). Where they had been was plastered over with garish punk like phrases like "Pardon our appearance – cover under reconstruction". Jagger personally apologized to Liza Minelli for using mother Garland's likeness when he encountered her at Studio 54. 

Despite the controversy over the album's cover, as well as over certain lyrics (the title track attracted scrutiny with the line "Black girls just want to get F****d all night/I just don't have that much jam."), the album went on to become one of the Stones' best selling releases of all time, garnering near universal critical praise in the process. It spawned numerous hit singles, including Miss You, Beast of Burden, Respectable, and my personal favourite, Shattered. It remains one of the band's most popular albums and helped propel their career well into the next decade.  

THE ROLLING STONES - THEIR SATANIC MAJESTIES REQUEST @ 55

Marking its 55th anniversary today is one of the most controversial LPs by the Rolling Stones, Their Satanic Majesties Request, which was released on December 8th, 1967. It was the band’s one and only full blown foray into psychedelic music, a move which resulted in accusations of them creating a “second hand Sgt. Pepper”, while offering some of the band’s most inventive, adventurous music.

Production on the album stared way back in January of ’67 and dragged on throughout the year thanks to a combination of ongoing legal issues and sheer self indulgent chaos. Various band members were regularly being distracted by court appearances and jail time, which meant that it was rare for the entire band to find themselves working in the studio at the same time. When band members did show up, it was often with entourages in tow, further compromising productivity. One of the most level headed band members, Bill Wyman, had this to say about the album’s production:

“Every day at the studio it was a lottery as to who would turn up and what – if any – positive contribution they would make when they did. Keith would arrive with anywhere up to ten people, Brian with another half-a-dozen and it was the same for Mick. They were assorted girlfriends and friends. I hated it! Then again, so did Andrew (Oldham - band manager) and (he) just gave up on it. There were times when I wish I could have done, too.”

Wyman channeled his frustration into the song, In Another Land, which parodied the mayhem and confusion of the sessions. With the band’s manager bailing, the group were left to their own devices to try to cobble together an album in the midst of all the drug addled madness. Retrospectively, the group has recognized the shortcomings of the experience and the effect on the final product. Jagger stated:

“It’s really like sort of got-together chaos. Because we all panicked a little, even as soon as a month before the release date that we had planned, we really hadn't got anything put together. We had all these great things that we'd done, but we couldn't possibly put it out as an album. And so we just got them together, and did a little bit of editing here and there.”

Jagger disavowed the album in 1995, saying: "it's not very good. It had interesting things on it, but I don't think any of the songs are very good. There's two good songs on it. The rest of them are nonsense."

Along with Jagger’s harsh appraisal, critics and fans were sharply divided by the album with some praising its risks while others dismissed it as a rip-off of Sgt. Pepper. Personally, I find it one of the group’s most intriguing albums with some of my favorite songs from the band. Citadel, She’s a Rainbow and 2000 Light Years from Home offer a triptych of psychedelic perfection and are worth the price of admission alone. Yes, there are sloppy indulgences like Sing This All Together and On With the Show, but I think it’s unfair to slag it as a “lesser Pepper”. For me, the two LPs are like sides of a coin. Where The Beatles offer the “lighter” side of the LSD experience, The Stones, as was often their role in the dichotomy between the two bands, lured the listener into the darker recesses of psychedelia. The two should be taken together as offering a complete spectrum of the drug culture.

The album’s title and cover were also sources of controversy, comparison and criticism. The title, which was a play on the "Her Britannic Majesty requests and requires..." text that appears inside a British passport, had to be modified for some markets due to the term “Satanic”. The album was released in South Africa and the Philippines as “The Stones Are Rolling” in order to avoid offense to the more religious public. The original cover concept for the album was to have a photograph of Jagger naked on a cross, but that was scrapped as being too crass. They ultimately settled on an idea which, again, drew comparisons to Sgt. Pepper, but AGAIN, if you understand the friendly rivalry between the bands, makes perfect sense as you find numerous references in each to the other band. The Beatles cover had “welcome the Rolling Stones” written on a doll's jumper while the Stones had photos of The Beatles interspersed among the flowers. It was all done in fun and to make light of the supposed rivalry between the bands. Original pressings of the cover featured a “3D” effect, which was intended to be used for the entire front cover, but had to be scaled back because of the expense. In the end, the group photo got reduced and is surrounded by a psychedelic boarder graphic with the photo affixed to the center.

After this album, the band would turn sharply away from any further dabbling with psychedelia & overt experimentation in their music and return to their raw blues roots. It's a move which would define the rest of their career and contribute to the departure of Brian Jones, who's multi-instrumental prowess was largely responsible for driving the groups more adventurous arrangements. With that being the case, Satanic Majesties Request becomes a bizarre detour in the group’s musical canon. Richie Unterberger of AllMusic summed it up thusly:

“Without a doubt, no Rolling Stones album – and, indeed, very few rock albums from any era – split critical opinion as much as the Rolling Stones' psychedelic outing. Many dismiss the record as sub-Sgt. Pepper posturing; others confess, if only in private, to a fascination with the album's inventive arrangements, which incorporated some African rhythms, Mellotrons, and full orchestration. What's clear is that never before or after did the Stones take so many chances in the studio. In 1968, the Stones would go back to the basics, and never wander down these paths again, making this all the more of a fascinating anomaly in the group's discography.”

THE ROLLING STONES - EXILE ON MAIN STREET @ 50

 

Released on the 12th of May, 1972, The Rolling Stones’ Exile On Main Street celebrates its 50th anniversary today! Considered one of the bands all time best albums, it marked a creative peak for the long running band.

The album was a bit of a hodgepodge of songs recorded over an extended period going back as early 1969 during sessions for Sticky Fingers. This resulted in it sprawling into becoming the band’s first double LP set by the time the dust settled. Much of it was recorded in mid-1971 using their mobile studio at the rented villa Nellcôte in the South of France. At the time, the band were living abroad as tax exiles, thus inspiring the album’s title and the collage graphics on its cover, which Mick Jagger described showing the band as “runaway outlaws using the blues as its weapon against the world". The sessions in France were noted as being something of a chaotic shambles with them going basically all night, every night. Unlike previous album sessions, the discipline was lacking as band members tended to show up at irregular intervals, with not everyone being present each day. Part of this had to do with Keith slipping into a daily heroine habit by this time. Bill Wyman simply didn’t like the atmosphere at the villa and sat out many of the sessions there. Yet from all that madness, the band somehow managed to stitch it all together into something that made sense once all the pieces of the puzzle were in place. Final overdubs and mixing were done in LA in March of 1972. This is where most of the vocals and guitar overdubs ended up being recorded.

Other than the regular band members, the sessions in France also featured a large rotating array of guest musicians popping in and out for sessions throughout their time there. These included the likes of pianist Nicky Hopkins, saxophonist Bobby Keys, drummer Jimmy Miller and horn player Jim Price. The resulting musical stew cooked up by all these players crossed boundaries between blues, rock and roll, swing, country and gospel, while the lyrics explored themes related to hedonism, sex and time. Many of the songs contained on the album ended up becoming concert staples for years after the album’s release. It spawned the hit songs "Happy", which featured a rare lead vocal from Keith Richards, country music ballad "Sweet Virginia", and worldwide top-ten hit "Tumbling Dice".

Upon the album’s release, while it shot to the number one chart slot in the UK, US, Canada and other countries, the critics were initially mixed in their reaction. Some found the song quality inconsistent, something to be expected given the fact it was recorded over so many years. Also, as a double disc set, it tended to meander through its palette of genres. But as time has given context to the album, it quickly took on the perspective as one of the band’s greatest achievements and, for some, the high watermark of their career.

THE ROLLING STONES - BETWEEN THE BUTTONS @ 55

 

Released on January 20th, 1967, the UK edition of The Rolling Stones fifth British studio album, Between the Buttons, is celebrating 55 years on the shelves today. The US edition, featuring a slightly different song selection and order, was issued on February 11th. It’s an album that found The Stones in the middle of their most musically adventurous period, largely driven by the wanderlust of founding guitarist, Brian Jones.

This phase of the group’s career had begun with the previous album, 1966’s Aftermath, and was synchronous with the changes taking place among many of the pop groups of the time. Driven by trailblazers like The Beatles, The Byrds and The Beach Boys. They were all looking to expand their horizons and explore new musical territory, each challenging the others to push further with every new album.

By the time Between the Buttons went into production, Jones had almost entirely set aside his guitar, only using it on a couple of songs for the album. Instead, he was indulging in a variety of instruments including organ, accordion, recorder, vibraphone, piano, harmonica, dulcimer, kazoo, tuba, trombone & trumpet! Though the songwriting duties remained with Jagger and Richards, Jones’ sense of exploration drove the group into more challenging styles and arrangements, at least temporarily shifting the focus off of strictly blues based music and into more diverse avenues. This gives the LP a decidedly psychedelic sheen, as is reflected in the blurry album cover photo, which uses a primitive home-made camera filter constructed of black card, glass and Vaseline. It was shot at 5:30 AM after an all-night recording session by photographer Gered Mankowitz.

The first phase of recording began early in August of 1966 in LA while the band were on tour in the US. The group returned to the UK in September to continue work on the album with producer Andrew Oldham, who’d handled the job for the group up to this point. However, tensions would make this his last album with the band. Besides the variety of styles, the music was notably more complex, particularly with the rhythms. In addition to the core band members, most keyboard duties were split between session musicians Jack Nitzsche & Ian Stewart. Recording was done on 4 track systems, which necessitated a lot of bouncing in order to do overdubs, something the band found frustrating as the process inevitably meant sacrificing the quality of the sound each time mixes had to be bounded down to make way for more overdubs. Jagger griped that it all ended up sounding muddy to him and expressed a lot of displeasure with the sound quality of the end results.

The title of the album was something of a mix-up caused when Charlie Watts asked the producer what the title of the album would be. Oldham replied “between the buttons”, not as the title, but as a turn of phrase to say that it hadn’t been decided yet. Watts then went and created a six panel cartoon and poem with that phrase as the title for the graphic which ended up as the back cover for the album. From there, they decided to just let it stick as it was.

Upon its release, it was both a commercial and critical success and has since gone on to be considered one of the groups strongest albums. It showcased them at the peak of their most daring creativity. Jones was bringing a rainbow of sounds to the table and the end results were enough to push their contemporaries to go even further with their own music. For me, this is the prime era for the band, the pinnacle of their powers and the ultimate expression of their musical potential. After Jones’ departure and subsequent death, that sense of adventure seemed to disappear from the band as they returned to more traditional blues roots, something which would remain their status quo for the rest of their career. But there were still a couple of “out there” records to come with Flowers and Their Satanic Majesties Request before they’d pull back into their comfort zone.