On this, the 50th anniversary of Let It Bleed, I declare that "Gimme Shelter" was the Stones' best.

I've often thought that the Stones "most perfect tracks" are (in no order)

Sympathy for the Devil
Street Fighting Man
Gimme Shelter
Jumping Jack Flash

Everything just seemed to come together perfectly on those four cuts, but I don't know if I could pick a favorite from among them.

Interestingly, "Live With Me" might be my favorite track on Let it Bleed, but "Gimme Shelter" is more perfect.

 

Mick Jagger, that’s who. I love Keith, but Gimme Shelter needs Mick. In this case it really needs him.

 

Correcto Mundo...not only is GS the Stones best but it is the greatest song Rock has ever created...

If you omit the silly "SFTD" then Beggars Banquet has been my favorite Stones record since 1968 but GS is hands down the zenith of the bands career...

From the ominous opening guitar to the perfect juxtaposition of Jaggers pleading for mercy & the relentless rhythm of the band refusing to give any, GS perfectly encapsulated everything we loved & feared about the infamous 1960s Stones & add to that the harrowing banshee wails of Raaape! Murder! from Merry Clayton & you have all the proof you need as to why GS remains the greatest of all rock songs.Period.

 

Gimme Shelter is a special track, but, after a lifetime of listening to the Stones, I find their greatest moment on record to be the one-two punch of Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker) and Angie on Goat’s Head Soup.

 

That’s a stretch. Brian Jones is nearly inaudible on the two songs he is credited on.
And Mick Taylor is chugging along on rhythm guitar, but it could be anybody.
To claim Jones and Taylor has put their big mark on Let It Bleed is pure hyperbole.
Both made way bigger contributions on other records, but not this one.
Let It Bleed is Keith’s album.

 

"Gimme Shelter" is the Rolling Stones' landmark single. A great song perfectly realized through great performances and great production. The uncharacteristic guitar fade in, Merry Clayton's haunting vocal, and lyrics delivering an appropriate eulogy for the '60's...and a warning for the '70's. Listening to it today, I hear helicopters flying over Vietnam, riots in Chicago, Watts and Detroit, gunshots in Dallas, Memphis, Los Angeles, New York City, and Nixon reaching out to the "great, silent majority".

No offense to the Beatles, but in 1969 all you needed was shelter, not love.

Goosebumps...every damn time.

 

Gimme Shelter is my favorite Stones song, closely followed by Street Fighting Man

 

Bzzzt.Wrong. Gimme Shelter was never released as a single.

 

The greatest is in the eye of the beholder.
‘Gimme Shelter’ is indeed among the band’s best songs and for me in the top 5. Some days it is no.1, other days it is 2nd or 3rd.
Only The Rolling Stones could have made this track, which are so defining and personal to the band’s sound and ethics as possible.

 

No argument here, but I'd qualify it this way - Gimme Shelter is the Stones' best studio recording. The live versions just don't hold up. Gimme Shelter without Merry Clayton isn't Gimme Shelter.

 

OK, but it’s not my favorite Stones song. And you can’t make it be.

 

can't you hear me knocking, telling you you're wrong?

 

I'm glad they decided to stick it on Hot Rocks anyway...but for the sticklers in the crowd, let me revisit my point to say "It's the Rolling Stones' landmark album cut that although never released as a single, remains a cornerstone of their compilation albums and highlight of their live shows"

 

I did think this when I was a kid. It was the first rolling Stones song that attracted me and I guess there's something in that. Now I still like it and I do understand those Neil Young chords that make the world go round.

 

Altamont Speedway, Livermore, CA December 6, 1969....



This is still my favorite live version. And yes, I've heard *many* from all eras from 1969 to the present. This one beats 'em all. You won't convince me to believe otherwise.

 

No matter, the original studio crushes all others like cockroaches, the spell of magic was only created once

 

Would tend to agree. Certainly one of the greatest openings of time. That Keith riff is a thing of endless mystery.
Of course the original is "the one", in part because of Merry Clayton.
On the other hand, i've always loved listening to where they took the song with Mick Taylor at his peak in the 72-73 tours.
His soloing on GS on those tours is jaw-droppingly spectacular...

 

I’ll call it a tie with “I Got The Blues” for their two greatest tracks. Mick’s lack of irony and his most nakedly emotional vocal, elevate “I Got The Blues” to all time great status.

 

The autoharp on “Silver” is ALL Brian Jones. More important, the THUMP on “Midnight Rambler” is Jones as well. You know the part:

“Well, you heard about the Boston (THUMP!)...”

Jones is the percussive element in that along with guitars and harmonica:

“The one that closed the bedroom door (THUMP!)...”

As always, Brian’s contributions come from his multi-instrumental talent. “Midnight Rambler” would have been less without his presence.

Jones is probably elsewhere in the mix too, just uncredited.

His ghost practically hangs over the entire LP. You can nearly feel his presence, lurking, looming, dooming — bad-trip, bummer Brian Jones. You can almost hear the paranoia and jangled, ruined nerves.

As for Taylor, I don’t know what kind of guitar hero intro you want from the stellar blues player if not slide on “Country Honk.” Oh, and he plays electric on “Live With Me.” That’s Mick Taylor you hear on that rocker, not Keef.

Do we criticize Jimmy Miller because he only played drums on “You Can’t Always Get What You Want?” No! We’re grateful he got behind the kit for that one.

This LP is from a cast of literally hundreds. Let’s not insult Jones last great gasp and Mick Taylor’s fine intro on this fabulous record. We can’t measure their contributions just on the number of tracks on which they perform.

I mean, does anyone even notice Mick was demoted from lead to duo or even basically backup on “Gimme Shelter” to Merry Clayton? And that’s their greatest song! (Maybe) No, we don’t judge Mick badly for not carrying that tune. So, we shouldn’t judge Jones poorly when in fact he contributed all he had and all they would let him.

 

I grew up with the Stones as mainly a singles band, couldn't afford many lps on paper route money. For me Paint it Black is the great Stones track.

 

Wrong. Jones plays congas on Midnight Rambler. And the thump is from Charlie, not Brian. The autoharp gets you confused with the slide-guitar. The autoharp is there but is not as prominent in the mix as the bootleg version with Jagger on vocals.

Taylor’s slide on Country Honk is pretty low in the mix and his contribution on Live With Me is in tandem with Keith. The riff guitar you are hearing is Keith.

I stand by my earlier comment.
Neither Jones or Taylor make big contributions to this record.

If you want Brian Jones-bonanza, then listen to Aftermath, Buttons and Satanic.
Taylor became prominent on Sticky Fingers onwards.

 

I'm not a big Stones guy, but it is one of the handful I really like.

Several years ago, I was visiting some family and they had Rockband - that weird video game/music thing where you play toy guitars or sing karaoke style. I hate that stuff, but they wanted me to play. I quickly saw "Gimme Shelter" and picked it. So, there in a nice family setting we get the full lyrics scrolling across the screen for us to sing.

"War, children!..." and you know the rest. Sorry to my nieces and nephews.

 

It still wakes up my Rock consciousness after all these years. It's one of the few songs that I've never burnt out on. Every time I hear the opening cadenza, I'm gone for the next 4 minutes thirty. Sympathy I love, but the lyrics don't have the wow factor they did for me when I was 15, although Keith's solo and the mood of the music do.

 

I know what I’m hearing. The conga noise is not on every punctuation noise in “Midnight Rambler.” If you don’t want to give Jones, or Taylor, their due, that’s your problem. Like I said, no one criticizes Jagger for not handling essentially lead vocal on “Gimme Shelter.” Sh!t, Let It Bleed IS Brian Jones, and many others.

 

Oh yeah?


(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction > Sympathy for the Devil > Gimme Shelter > every other Stones song

Prove ME wrong.