Watch A Rare 1969 Version Of “All Down The Line”

When it came to guitar technique, Mick Taylor was the finest Rolling Stones guitarist ever. He played solos that Keith Richards, Brian Jones, and Ronnie Wood could only imagine playing. However, the band was not a good fit for his attitude, and he left after a short while. Yet, few would argue that his time with the Stones (1969-74) was a prime period for the band. Just below, is a Mick Taylor version of “All Down The Line,” recorded in 1969 during the band’s Let It Bleed sessions.

The Rolling Stones included “All Down the Line” for their 1972 album Exile on Main St., but the recording first started in 1969. Side four of Exile on Main St. kicks off with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards’ “All Down the Line,” a straightforward electric rock tune they wrote together. In 1969, during the recordings for what would eventually become Sticky Fingers, an acoustic version of the song was recorded. “It was the first one that was finished cause we’d be working for months and months,” Andy Johns, a music engineer, explained to Goldmine in 2010. “Mick got very enamored. ‘It’s finished! It’s going to be the single!’ I thought, ‘This isn’t really a single, you know.’ I remember going out and talking to him and he was playing the piano. ‘Mick, this isn’t a single. It doesn’t compare to ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ or ‘Street Fighting Man.’ ‘Come on, man.’ He went, ‘Really? Do you think so?’ I thought, ‘My God. He’s actually listening to me.’ (laughs). And then, I was having a struggle with the mix I thought was gonna be it. Ahmet Ertegun then barged in with a bunch of hookers and ruined the one mix. He stood right in front of the left speaker with two birds on each arm (laughs).”

Still, one couldn’t deny the power that Taylor brought to the table with this song, which is why this gem of a demo can be considered a classic for any diehard Stones fans.