{"id":2885,"date":"2010-08-09T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-08-09T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2010-10-10T19:23:51","modified_gmt":"2010-10-10T23:23:51","slug":"the-rolling-stones-lemglet-it-bleedl-emg-in-mono-or-not-exactly-mono","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/the-rolling-stones-lemglet-it-bleedl-emg-in-mono-or-not-exactly-mono\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rolling Stones\u2019 Let It Bleed in Mono (or Not Exactly Mono)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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How deep should first musical impressions cut? Is there more in a track that may have first caught my ear? Do I clutch too tightly to the romantic notion that no record should ever sound different than how I first heard it, or more accurately the collective power of the record\u2019s first 100 spins? It\u2019s not like I listen to my childhood vinyl on the same record player I had as a kid, but I run up against such questions any time I pick up a reissue of a beloved album that\u2019s been remastered or released in its original mono form, a German true stereo mix, or what have you. Like my friend who can\u2019t get past any digital remastering of \u201cSatisfaction\u201d in which you can hear the acoustic guitar and piano, which were buried in the rhythm section on the vinyl versions of the song we grew up with, I tend to get a little attached to how records sounded when I first heard them.<\/p>\n

I recently downloaded a rare mono mix of The Rolling Stones<\/strong>\u2019 Let It Bleed<\/em>, my favorite post-Brian Jones<\/strong> Stones album and, from my years of spinning it on vinyl, the best-sounding Rolling Stones album. I\u2019ve never been that much of a purist about mono vs stereo mixes; in fact, any purism I hold in this regard is centered around my personal experience. If I first heard an album in mono, then mono is the \u201ccorrect\u201d format, and vice versa. The mono mix of The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society<\/em>, which was included with stereo version on some CD reissue from a few years back, does not impress me. I continue to hold true to the magic of the flimsy, $2.99 Spanish vinyl pressing I fell in love with after bringing home from the Temple U. bookstore in the early 1980s.
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There have been a few exceptions to my \u201cfeels like the first time\u201d rule of thumb: there\u2019s a German true stereo version of The Beatles<\/strong>\u2019 Magical Mystery Tour<\/em> that allows the mixes to breathe and provides sonic justification for some of the lesser songs, such as \u201cBlue Jay Way\u201d and \u201cFool on the Hill.\u201d Similarly, for as much as I am known to bitch about hearing acoustic guitars and tambourines too clearly in remastered 1960s records, the remastered version of The Band<\/strong>\u2019s self-titled album doesn\u2019t miss a beat – or audible grain of wood and strand of facial hair – from the original vinyl version I rocked myself to sleep to as a 5-year-old boy.<\/p>\n

Before researching the circumstances of this mono mix of Let It Bleed<\/em>, I was more optimistic than I would have expected about playing this version. To me, the original album combines the best of both eras of The Rolling Stones, the concise, dance-oriented, slightly twisted pop structures of the Brian Jones-era singles with the grainy, darker vibe of an accomplished band itching to break free from the pimply, teen singles market. One cool thing about mono mixes is that they usually help gel the rhythm section on a recording, and at its peak the Stones\u2019 rhythm section cannot gel too much!<\/p>\n

I found myself taking notes on the differences between my old vinyl edition (in stereo), my remastered digital stereo version that a friend burned me some time ago, and this mono mix. Days later, when I finally did a little research into the history of this mono mix, I went down a rabbit hole of disputed accounts of the validity of this mono mix. This version I downloaded is not an official release, and as is typically the case with any Stones recording the details are murky. Some \u201cexperts\u201d claim this is a \u201cneedle drop\u201d of a rare, dedicated mono mix, from the final days when record companies released new albums in mono as well as stereo, whereas other claim this is a \u201cfold-down\u201d of the stereo release, that is, someone essentially hit the \u201cmono\u201d button on their stereo and recorded that. Who knows? Regardless, there are differences in the listening experience that are worth dissecting if you\u2019re a rock obsessive, like me. If you\u2019ve heard this mono edition, maybe you have your own thoughts on the matter.<\/p>\n

Gimme Shelter<\/em>
\nGrowing up with this song I was always pulled into this song by the overall vibrato\/underwater rhythm from Keith\u2019s guitar and the percussion, but the space around the drums and vocals in the stereo mixes I\u2019ve always heard are what gave the song the power to be one of Martin Scorsese<\/strong>\u2019s go-to soundtrack selections to cue a character\u2019s turn toward the dark(er) side. The mono mix makes the drums sound smaller (if tighter) and, more damaging, narrows the space allotted to Mick and the back-up singers. The impact of Mick Taylor<\/strong>\u2019s guitar fills is also reduced.<\/p>\n

Love in Vain<\/em>
\nI\u2019m typically not a fan of da blooz<\/em>, and I truly regret the Stones getting too far into this stuff in future releases, but I find the mono version preferable to the stereo version. If a rock band\u2019s going to do olde tyme music like this, why not keep it simple and let the fine, relaxed playing shine through?<\/p>\n

Country Honk<\/em>
\nI\u2019ve always dug this take on \u201cHonky Tonk Women\u201d and find the simplicity of the mono mix preferable for the same reasons as stated for \u201cLove in Vain.\u201d The kick drum drives the mono mix in a more satisfying way, and the snare is nicely buried in the rhythm bed. The acoustic rhythm guitar sounds nice an cheap in mono, as if the strings haven\u2019t been changed in 2 years. Somehow, in mono, the folksy Stones songs from this album sound more like the folksy songs Led Zeppelin<\/strong> recorded for Led Zeppelin III<\/em> – using the Stones\u2019 mobile recording studio, no less!<\/p>\n

Live With Me<\/em>
\nFor me, this is the transitional Stones song that best combines what I love about snarling singles like \u201cSatisfaction\u201d and \u201cGet Off My Cloud\u201d and the band\u2019s late-\u201960s growth as musicians. One of my favorite 4-on-the-floor Stones stomps can\u2019t lose in mono! It\u2019s all driving beat and bass. Mick\u2019s vocals don\u2019t need to have \u201cspace.\u201d The piano and horns are flattened out in the mono mix to support the song\u2019s kick-ass objectives. There\u2019s still nothing wrong with the stereo mixes I\u2019ve lived with for the past 35 years, but hearing this in mono – whether \u201ctrue\u201d mono or not – is a lot of fun.<\/p>\n

Let It Bleed<\/em>
\nIt\u2019s hard for the title track to go wrong. The Led Zep III<\/em> directness of the mono version fits the vibe of the song. Lacking the space of the stereo mix, Jagger\u2019s vocals sound more powerful and less affected. Mick Taylor\u2019s slide fills are warm and powerful. On the other hand, this is one song where I miss getting a better feel for Charlie Watts<\/strong>\u2019 drumming. In stereo I can imagine every tic in Charlie\u2019s style; in mono Charlie\u2019s quirks are smoothed out.<\/p>\n

Midnight Rambler<\/em>
\nThe bass tones from the rhythm guitar are out of this world on the mono version! I can get off on the rhythm guitar alone. It\u2019s weird not hearing the dynamics of the stereo mix, though, including the intricacies of the guitar interplay and Charlie\u2019s drums. The clarity of those elements in stereo add to the sense of foreboding, doom, and terror that\u2019s at the heart of the song\u2019s story. On the other hand, I\u2019m not a slasher movie fan. There\u2019s something to be said for the more-direct, less-mysterious mono mix, which sounds a bit like Mick Jagger fronting The Yardbirds<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

You Got the Silver<\/em>
\nThis classic \u201cI wish Keith would sing lead more often\u201d numbers also falls into the simple joys of mono category of the album\u2019s other folksy tunes. The band\u2019s entire exercise in acoustic country-blues and folk sound way less precious in mono. I wish they\u2019d have cut all those songs I don\u2019t like on Exile on Main Street<\/em> in mono, without all the studio voodoo. Speaking of studio voodoo, the \u201cwhooshing\u201d slide guitar noises that fade in an out of the song are not as cool in mono, but since I\u2019ve never felt the Stones made much use of studio trickery and since I no longer get high and experience that unexpected buzz from the song\u2019s effect, it\u2019s cool.<\/p>\n

Monkey Man<\/em>
\nThere\u2019s a lot I like about this song, but to me it\u2019s always been a poor man\u2019s combination of \u201cGimme Shelter\u201d and \u201cLive With Me.\u201d The mono version does no more or less to dispel this notion. The added dynamics of the stereo mix are both a good and a bad thing: good in that they provide ear candy and bad in that the added ear candy underlines how cobbled together the song is. I\u2019ll tell you one thing that\u2019s really cool about the mono version that I never noticed on the stereo mix before: there\u2019s a little backing vocal that comes in on the last line of the chorus that\u2019s more than a double-tracked vocal by Jagger, which is how I always heard it in stereo. As Jagger pauses on the \u201cglad you are a monkey woman too\u201d line and \u201cmonkey woman too\u201d backing vocal line is more distinct than I\u2019ve ever heard it in stereo. Like<\/em>.<\/p>\n

You Can\u2019t Always Get What You Want<\/em>
\nLike \u201cGimme Shelter,\u201d this top-shelf song from Let It Bleed<\/em> is worthy of producer Jimmy Miller<\/strong>\u2019s full stereo recording. Most worthy, perhaps, is Miller\u2019s drumming on the song, or at least the song\u2019s fadeout, if stories of him having to take over for a stiff Charlie Watts are to be believed. It is cool, in the mono mix, to be able to better follow the little rhythms of the acoustic guitar. I could see this version coming in handy for any in a Stones cover band.<\/p>\n

Bonus Tracks<\/em>
\nI guess even a bootleg mono edition needs to have some bonus tracks, and this one packs some goodies. There\u2019s a version of \u201cGimme Shelter\u201d with Keith one lead vocals and an alternate version of \u201cHonky Tonk Women\u201d with a different lead vocal by Mick and some alternate lyrics. There\u2019s a version of Exile<\/em>\u2019s \u201cLoving Cup,\u201d which I never listen to enough on the real album to be able to tell you anything about in this version. Mick Jagger sings lead on \u201cYou Got the Silver,\u201d which isn\u2019t bad but only makes me think it would be cool if Keith sang lead a little more often. \u201cSister Morphine\u201d is part of the bonus tracks. I\u2019ve never understood this song\u2019s appeal in any version, not even with the image of a young, buxom Marianne Faithfull<\/strong> in mind. There\u2019s a version of \u201cMemo From Turner\u201d that makes me glad the Stones and Mick solo recorded two more, better versions for commercial release. Finally there\u2019s an honest-to-goodness commercial release, the mono 45 mix of \u201cHonky Tonk Women,\u201d which is a song that is hard to ruin in any format. Even the modern-day Stones still manage to pull this one off.<\/p>\n

I recommend downloading a copy of this mono mix, if you can find it, or hitting the mono button on your stereo the next time you spin your stereo lp. I found listening to this album in mono way more interesting than I would have expected. I\u2019m now curious to hear other late-\u201960s albums, during rock\u2019s transition from a mono singles market to a stereo album market, in this way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How deep should first musical impressions cut? Is there more in a track that may have first caught my ear? Do I clutch too tightly to the romantic notion that no record should ever sound different than how I first heard it, or more accurately the collective power of the record\u2019s first 100 spins? It\u2019s […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[130,65,45],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2885"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2885"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2885\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}