Ethan Russell LET IT BLEED BOOK.

I wrote this book.  It took me SIX years.  I knew that Altamont - while a defining event - was the outlier of a magnificent tour, the rest of which was unique in a way that was never repeated.  It is a BIG book: 15 1/2 by 12 1/4, 419 pages, almost 13 lbs.   To order (and find out more) see "BOOKS" in menu above. Scroll to the bottom.

"I must have around 150 books about the Stones, quite apart from the now Six Limited Editions. Your book on the Rolling Stones is the best ever. Congratulations and many thanks. CUSTOMER

THE LONDON SUNDAY TIMES
“You think you’ve seen all there is to see of the Rolling Stones. You haven’t. Ethan Russell’s photographs reveal a completely different side to the band - relaxed, unguarded and light years away from any rock-star posturing. The only way you’d get closer would be to join them on tour.” London Sunday Times.

“It is important this work gets to be seen. Ethan was doing something no other photographer was doing at the time.” ANNIE LEIBOVITZ (photographer)

The book is fucking magnificent…. the most comprehensive book I’ve ever seen on a musical tour. JIM MARSHALL
Sometimes hilarious, often enlightening, freque

ntly sobering look at what was going on behind the scenes… a rich portrait for the ardent rock lover. LOS ANGELES TIMES

TIME.COM:  “Brilliant.”

Wonderful....I loved it. BILL WYMAN

In ‘LET IT BLEED’ Russell takes readers on the road.... to a touchstone event in music history. VANITY FAIR

WILLIAM NASH (publisher of the book “Stu”): “The greatest rock n’ roll band in the world now has the greatest book about them.......the images, design, repro, text etc.......it is just staggeringly wonderful. No publisher will be able to to produce a documentary of any band’s tour forever more.”

STANLEY BOOTH (author of The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones.) “The book is beautiful. I am dazzled.”

Lavish...Patience Please A Drug Free America Comes First (is) one of the great rock n roll photos of all time. SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

Stunning..resonating with cultural history... a tour de force of images, onstage and off. POPULAR PHOTOGRAPHY:

Some of the most artful history you’ll ever see. THE DAILY CALIFORNIAN

RICH HAVERS (author): “I have just got a copy of Ethan Russell’s book and it is truly amazing. It is a work of art. It is without question one of the best books not just about the Stones but also about rock and roll. His photography is sensational; his research meticulous, and the sheer size of the book grabs you and envelops you in its grand sweep. Dominic’s (Tarle’s) book ( Exile, Genesis Publications, sold out) is brilliant, but I have to say that Ethan’s Let It Bleed is actually even better. “

JIM SCHMIDT (customer): I just received my copy of “Let it Bleed” and I have to say I was blown away. I’ve bought a number of Genesis Books over the years and always appreciated their level of craftsmanship, but your book surpasses anything they’ve done. The print is great and the book is the best of its kind I’ve ever seen.”

DIANN BLAKELY (poet): I’m quite literally speechless at the monument and grandeur of your book. Who would have thought such a story could bear the weight of epic structure? It’s not as though you elevate the subject to be more than it is, or that the Stones assume more importance than they’d have if represented by…a less-skilled photographer. Not even the Maysles saw what you have: the subject in itself a documentary, and you have made that going through the book mirror that experience, the text working as dramatic voiceovers.”

“I have never seen anything like it before and I believe it is a work of art . And it is certainly the only book on the Rolling Stones that I’d consider buying...” DOMINIQUE TARLE: (author of “Exile”)

Although I VERY rarely post here, I would like to offer up the thought that this book which I’ve had in my possession for the last three years is quite simply exquisite and for me is the one book on the Stones that I would cling onto in preference to any others.

Spanning the years 1968-1969 it’s captures a moment in a way that even “Exile” doesn’t of the Stones rising above difficulties that would have finished off most other bands and focuses on what for many devotees was their greatest tour ever as they unleashed their energies on a series of concerts through North America in late ‘69.

Yes. I’ve been thinking about how to respond. The package was there when I got home last night. Though the box was large and very heavy I figured it was the book. But still...The Internet view and the description of the book and the package do not do it justice; or maybe I just hadn’t paid close enough attention.
Remarkable was the first word that came to mind when I saw the package in the box. I put Get Your Ya Ya’s Out on the cd player and began to examine the contents. First, the print and it’s own binder are gorgeous. Clever, too, and well integrated.

And the book itself; hard to describe. The heft, the paper stock, the volume... like I said, the web view cannot do it justice. But what really, really grabbed me was the content. I’m only about half way through, and that is by moving very quickly, not yet fully appreciating. It really is remarkable. I was 12 in 1969. Didn’t buy my first Stones album until Sticky Fingers a couple years later. Saw them live first in 1975. But became a huge fan, bought the back catalogue, read the history, and so on. Didn’t really recognize the brilliance of Let it Bleed (the album) until I was 18 or so. Started to look past Mick Jagger to appreciate the whole of the band and the influence of Keith Richards.

And you were there and captured the Stones - maybe at their heyday - with your eye, your camera, and your words. The book tells the story of that tour, but it also tells the story of the Stones becoming so much bigger than their recent history. 16 people? The word “innocence” comes to mind as the tour begins. But by the end? Innocence no more, and a microcosm of our country as a whole.

The book is fabulous. Now I see why you so quickly steered me toward it. It should be sold out. Truly remarkable work resulting in a remarkable product.