Deconstructing Gimme Shelter︱Isolated Tracks (The Rolling Stones) 

Sorry if some tracks fade out and some do not, they end rather abruptly so I tried masking it with the fadeout. Not doing it again in the future ✌ 0:00 - Percussion: drums, güiro, maracas 4:20 - Bass 8:36 - Rhythm guitar 13:09 - Lead guitar, harmonica, and piano 17:34 - Vocals

Merry Clayton, at 2AM, pregnant, with her hair in curlers managed to blow the walls off that studio. Gives me chills...

Frightening, menacing, thrilling perfection. I was 21 when this song came out. At 71 yrs. young, it still makes the hairs on my neck stand up when I hear it. Timeless piece of music.

Best part is hearing Mick shout "whew!" when Merry's voice is cracking. She really had him goin. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

it always seemed to me that Merry was momentarily distracted by Mick going "WOOOO!" after her voiced cracked on that high note as she paused a microsecond afterward as if listening

The bass part is a master class in keeping the groove while avoiding repetition..

This convinced me that Gimme Shelter is their master piece. The sound, the details, and the best vocal performances... (also all my respect to Merry Clayton. As a musician and in general)

The best female backup and lead vocals in the history of Rock music.. hands down!

The way her voice cracks as she goes along sends chills up my spine. Some background vocals are so worth listening to on their own later.

Nobody is doing anything too fancy, they're all just bringing a small piece of themselves to the track and the result is shear beauty and power. That's why the Stones will always be the best.

Jagger and Merry Clayton's vocals - wow! One of the greatest tracks, period.

Bill Wyman is truly amazing and beautiful to hear. Incredible ♥️

Merry Clayton’s singing whilst not ad lib was unrehearsed and spontaneous. I don’t think it would have been so incredible if it wasn’t done the way it was. A late night call she turned up in pyjamas.

Love isolated tracks! I never even noticed the piano in this song before. And hearing Merry Clayton isolated is, dare I say, a religious experience!

17:34 - That is truly one of the most haunting, amazing things I've ever heard.

A rare photo of the talented and tragic Nicky Hopkins. An underappreciated keyboardist who shows his chops more on tracks such as "Shes A Rainbow" and "Sympathy For The Devil".

Merry Clayton is amazing.

The high water mark of rock and roll music .

Even listening to each of the parts played separately, this song is still a haunting, timeless masterpiece. We are so lucky, those of us who were alive when this music came out. The music then was really special.

That bass line gets me more than the haunting vocals of Clayton.

This is so cool. I never clocked Merry's voice starting to break on "shot" and "rape" before the famous crack on "murder." Also the additional "woo"s from Mick--you can faintly hear one on the final cut after the aforementioned "murder" but it's amazing to hear others--it really takes you inside the studio during the creation on an iconic work of art.

The vocal at 19:33! Wow!

I cried a littlel when Merry started singing with Mick.

Amazing performances , I fell sorry for today’s generation who probably won’t be able to truly appreciate the level of talent required to make this kind of music. We were so privileged to live through the greatest era of classic rock.

A basic 3 chord song transformed into a timeless Masterpiece, accomplished by mere musical geniuses. Thanks for the Track breakdowns!

My God, Merry Clayton, you are a living legend

It’s so surreal when you hear these great, iconic rock n roll songs broken down and you find little…mistakes, dare I call them? Or in the end, maybe there are no mistakes

Amazing how tight Charlie is on the drums. Nothing fancy but tempo is perfect throughout. Stones had the tightest rhythm section around back in the day. Everything else was built around that.

Oooooh, the drums and percussion are so amazingly groovy! RIP Charlie Watts

Certainly among the greatest, if not the greatest, R&R song ever recorded. Amazing how so many parts come together into a single unit.

Charlie laid down the groove. Bill drove the tune. Keith interwove two guitar parts with subtlety and voodoo. Mick lays down one of the great and dark vocal tracks of all time. And Merrie Clayton just blows the roof off of the studio. One of the great rock songs ever.

This is their high water mark...absolutely briliant. What more can I say about Ms. Claytons vocals that hasnt already been said. You cannot replicate that kind of spontaneous magic. I've heard this song hundreds of times for over 45 years and that point where her voice cracks still cuts striaght to the bone

I didn't think it possible I could love this song more than I already did. Wrong! Thank you for this upload.

I've read that critics have called this song the greatest Rolling Stones song, of all time and more. I agree. These isolated tracks are perfect.

The first time I heard the rolling stones on the am radio,, was 1965 at midnight on a Saturday night!!! And till this day I still love there music!!!!!!

The song, the master piece that ends the 60's and leads the way to the 70's.

bass track is rippin'!

Thank you for giving me 4 minutes of Charlie's drumming.I can practice my guitar playing during the pandemic in Sweden!

Charlie Watts the absolute master of less is always more when laying down a drum track to perhaps one of the greatest of all Stones songs ever.🥁

The drums are so funky, what a feel! Nice track! Thanks

strange how this song is so broken and erratic when broken down but fits and is layered when put all together. such an unusual song

Merry Clayton's voice is outstanding!!! She made this song that much better....

Excellent Bills Bass awesome 👏

A lot of engineers today marvel at the sounds that were captured in the 60's & 70's forgetting that most bands, Stones included, played the rhythm track live and together. The microphone bleed present here in the individual tracks shows how when mixed the track has all of this audio "glue" to work with. I know for songwriters/musicians who are performing every part alone can't get that exact feel but you can approximate it. When recording the guitar parts, turn on the drum mics and allow that "bleed" track to be used at mixdown. We have DAW's with countless tracks. Use that real estate to get funky.

Thanks, Alexandra for posting this. People might forget that beyond the fame & fortune & tales of debauchery & living the epitome of the rock star lifestyle, the Stones were also fantastic musicians.

what a stunning performance by Merry Clayton!!!

Mary Clayton's vocals are so bad ass. That vocal break is exquisite in this piece.

Greatest rock n roll song ever recorded

You are an absolute saint for posting this. Truly a person of god

Gimme Shelter is 50% Rolling Stones and 50% Merry Clayton ❤🎤 🎸 AMAZING 🎸🎤❤️

Apart from the obvious chills by Merry Clayton's vocals, geez I'm obsessed with that drum track: such groove and feel with such simple elements... That stronger kick drum on the upbeats on the 1 and 3. And that kick drum hammering in eights under the drum fills. Charlie was the man.

There have been many great duets but I believe Mick Jagger with Merry Clayton is the greatest duet ever.

Freakibg goosebumps still after all these years!

Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman are the greatest rhythm section in the history of rock and roll music, PERIOD.

Incredible! Thank you for posting this amazing deconstruction of this epic Stones tune.

I love the way Merry Clayton's voice get cracked. Seems Mick's the same. To me, Sia seems to be another example of the singer who's blessed with this kind of excellent skill.

Don't apologize for anything. This was an amazing video for an amazing song. I love the isolation tracks. It gives me a whole new appreciation for what they created.

Yo! AB, thanks for ur channel. What a great piece you did here. The Stones are my all time favorite. What a great Rock and Roll Band, basic, real, rather raw and unrefined, but fantastic. They are all together a wonderful phenomena. No one member or musician is greater than the sum of which constitutes the Songs. I would love to have been a fly on the wall during their recording sessions. RIP Mr. Watts, Mr. Jones, Mr. Stewart. Long live the Stones Music. Thanks again AB and keep em coming

Love how everyone in the comments are talking about their favorite isolated tracks

My fav songs 1.gimme shelter 2.brown sugar 3.let it bleed 4junping jack flash. ALL THESE YRS LATER AND WE STILL LOVE THEM THE ALBUMS . THANKYOU FOR POSTING

Holy Bill! John Entwistle and Paul McCartney would gladly subscribe this bass line.

Wow. Nice work. My ear can never separate the bass. Can now.

Thank you so much! I’ve always wanted to know how to play Keith’s lead guitar part on this track, I always felt that the tabs didn’t do it any justice and were slightly inaccurate, I tried to listen to the lead guitar as closely as I could on the original recording but some parts were nearly impossible to make out due to overdubbing. But with this video I was able to learn the entire lead guitar section in just under a couple hours, you did a fantastic job isolating the tracks you can clearly hear every single note being played, thank you!

I recall him saying, in an interview, that this song began as ballad-like, and that he came up with the quicker punchy bass that characterizes it today.

Very well done! I appresiate the song even more!

So love the tom Tom's and loose swinging Charlie.

Can set a watch perfectly to this drum track.

The bass!!!

All performances are great...but Keith is the true star in this. Amazing guitar work...

This song has haunted me for decades. The Stones’ masterpiece. The greatest song I’ve ever heard. Terrifying and beautiful at the same time.

That's absolutely awesome. Only just got onto your channel great stuff 👍

Just came across this true treasure and i am speechless. Thanks Alexandra for showing me something i already knew: Gimme Shelter is the most remarkable rock n roll song in rock n roll history. In one single word: epic!

Without a doubt a work of art! One of the best songs by The Rolling Stones, each part on its own is great, I love Charlie's drums that accompanies great, Bill's bass that is amazing, Keith's guitar is the intro that makes you fall in love with "Gimme Shelter", And nothing to say about the voices of Mick and Merry Claynton, Especially the voice that makes your skin crawl by Merry

One of the more haunting pieces of music to ever hear LIVE. But the nuts and bolts of it are all HERE ^^^

Thanks indeed for posting! Fy favourite rock tune . And best rock and roll backing vocal.....

Charlie and Bill...

I love to hear the individual tracks!

This has became my favorite song of all time. An easy song to play but hard to time everyone to sound right.Also it’s in open E.

And her voice is piercing.

That punch @ 9:25 drives me nuts. Always has.

the production quality of this video is good in general! thanks

Charlie Watts ,the master of Drums. Awesome as usual.

Wonderful video! Thanks for sharing.

Thank you! This is amazing to hear.

Loved this🎉

Charlie Watts was the Odin of rock drumming. I mean, damn.

¡Aplausos de pie! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

Alexandra, I ❤ your deconstructions. Can we please have some more from the Stones?

Obrigado por disponibilizar esta obra-prima ❤

Fantastic! Thanks for posting. 👍

Amazing job ! Merci.

I come back to this video often. I remember the first time I heard this song. I never heard anything as great and raunchy. All my favorite songs were quieter tunes. The harmonies in this song are great

Bill Wyman...superb

wonderful job!

I've got to be honest from the jump. I'm not a Stones fan. I know Mick and Keith but as far as all the band shit, I'm ignorant to it. MERRY CLAYTON THO!! Woke this Queen up, said, 'hey, we need a back-up vocalist.' Pregnant Mommy, with her hair all up in bedtime curlers says 'yep, I'm yo girl.' Proceeds to freakin' kill it! Mick knew it immediately, listen to him respond to that voice crack heard round the world...can't put THAT much passion into a song and NOT have a masterpiece. Again, not a Stones fan but definitely a music fan, and I gotta say, Merry Clayton is what MAKES THIS SONG A HIT! Losing your child to create an immortal tune. Can't fathom those feels. Thank you for posting this! ♥

I love all your content Alex

I love the harmonica it's so great and I didn't even know it was a harmonica for the longest time

19:52 there it is - one of the most iconic moments in music history

This is amazing. Love that it builds up to the vocals tracks as the finale. Merry Clayton & Jagger... a combo for the ages!

Gimme Shelter masterpiece Europe 1973 Mick Taylor guitar in superb