After a series of difficulties within the band, The Rolling Stones regrouped and came out of the blocks with the classic `Beggars Banquet'. Their next album, `Let It Bleed', built on the groundwork laid down there and an album of classic country rock is the result.
The album is propelled by Charlie Watts' metronomic and powerful drumming, with Bill Wyman's underrated but essential Bass. Keith Richards puts in some classic blues guitar and Jagger lays down a note perfect, tortured vocal. There are classic tracks here, the iconic `Let It Bleed' and `You Can't Always Get What You Want', the dangerous `Midnight Rambler', and perhaps the greatest ever cover of Robert Johnson's `Love In Vain'. The tempo is relatively slow throughout, but these are powerful songs that will just sweep you along. This is a classic album that I just keep on returning to.
For all trivia lovers, the cake in the picture on the album front was baked by a very young Delia Smith.
Finally the Stone's back catalogue is being given the treatment it deserves in this series of re-mastered SACD hybrid discs. On a normal CD player the sound is excellent, with a great mix that brings out so much more detail than the old, murky, releases. On a SACD system these will just blow you away. You really feel like you're in the studio with the band. My only complaint is the lack of any kind of liner notes. Some recording details and an essay about the band at the time would have been nice, but hey - it's the music that's really important, and that is superb.
Highly recommended to all.