Stones roll on with re-release

This record should be played loud." At least that's what the Rolling Stones advise you to do on the inside cover of Let It Bleed. And every word of it is true. Quite simply, Let It Bleed is one of those landmark albums that every rock fan should have in his or her collection, from the quality cover of the Stones as birthday candles to what's inside the package itself.\nWith ABKCO releasing a digitally remastered version of the album that was originally released in 1969, adding it to your collection has become that much more of a worthwhile investment. Most re-released albums feature some sort of rare B-sides or bonus cuts. Not this one, and that's the beauty of it. All you get are the original nine tracks, just as the Stones intended you to hear them. \nAnd while the digital remastering does help a bit with the sound quality, that is not the main selling point of this album. It's the songs -- most of which could have been recorded in a tin can and still sounded good.\nWhile many of the tracks on the album have achieved greatness through airplay over the years ("Gimme Shelter," "You Can't Always Get What You Want," "Midnight Rambler" and the title track), it's the lesser known songs that provide a lot of the sonic bliss of this album.\nThe Stones pay homage to their blues roots with a cover of Robert Johnson's "Love in Vain," and though you'll never believe that Mick Jagger will ever have his love in vain, his voice allows you to make it sound realistic enough.\nMost bands cover songs by another band on an album. But the Stones cover their own song on this one, with a version of "Honky Tonk Woman" called "Country Tonk."\nEssentially, this is a nearly impregnable album with only one weak link -- Keith Richards' attempt at singing in "You Got the Silver." At best, he sounds like Bob Dylan on heroin. At least he can still play guitar like no one's business.