Two of their biggest albums – “Beggar’s Banquet” and “Let It Bleed” – reflect a phase in their career that was characterized by confusion but also creative departure. The Stones recorded both albums between 1968 and 1969, during which time they lost a guitarist (Brian Jones), hired a new one (Mick Taylor), filmed the “Rolling Stones Rock And Roll Circus”, toured the USA and gave extraordinary concerts London (Hyde Park) and outside San Francisco (Altamont).
And they were busy coming to terms with the rapid events of the 1960s themselves. In this respect, it was no surprise that “Let It Bleed” was both vehement and disturbing. “It was a violent era for sure,” Mick Jagger said in a Rolling Stone interview. “There was the war in Vietnam, there was violence on the big screen, there was looting and pillaging.” In the US, “Let It Bleed” was released the day before the Altamont gig, which only seemed to confirm the album’s foreboding murmurs .
Also noteworthy: “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” features the London Bach Choir; Keith Richards takes on lead vocals for the first time on “You Got The Silver” (it was also the last track on which Brian Jones appeared); The album was produced in London’s Olympia Studios by Jimmy Miller, who would also oversee “Goats Head Soup” in 1973. But according to Al Kooper, who played keyboards and French horn on “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” “Mick was the actual producer. He had a hand in everything.”
Kooper also has vivid memories of Brian Jones’ role: “He was lying on his stomach on the floor somewhere in the corner, reading articles about botany.” Despite all the hustle and bustle, the Stones didn’t want to forego a certain comfort: “Cannabis and other things kept making the rounds,” said Kooper. “And when it was time for dinner, two vans drove up and served up mountains of things that I had never seen in a studio before: lamb schnitzel, a variety of curry dishes and, above all, exquisite desserts. It was a stoner’s paradise.”