Rolling Stones - Paint It Black -flac-

When you download or purchase the file, verify these attributes using software like Spek or MediaInfo:

The genius of Brian Jones’ arrangement lies in the sitar. Unlike a standard guitar, the sitar produces a complex cascade of overtones and sympathetic resonances. In a lossy format (like 128kbps or even 320kbps MP3), those high-frequency overtones get smeared.

In FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) , the veil is lifted.

“Paint It Black” is not a song designed for convenience. It is a song about claustrophobia, paranoia, and rage. Listening to it in a compressed format is like looking at a Francis Bacon painting through a dirty window. Rolling Stones - Paint It Black -Flac-

Listening to it in FLAC is like walking into the room where the paint is still wet.

Turn off the lights, put on your best headphones, and let the sitar drill into your skull. Just don’t expect to feel happy when it’s over.

Grade (FLAC Version): A+ (Essential Audiophile Test Track) When you download or purchase the file, verify

Do you prefer the mono mix or the stereo mix for 'Paint It Black'? Let us know in the comments below.

Before discussing the digital file format, we must understand the analog beast. Recorded on March 6-9, 1966, at RCA Studios in Los Angeles, Paint It Black was a departure. Driven by Brian Jones’s newly acquired sitar (influenced by The Beatles’ Norwegian Wood), the song eschews standard rock-and-roll rhythms for a hypnotic, Eastern-tinged march.

The lyrics are a spiraling descent into depression following the loss of a lover: “I look inside myself and see my heart is black.” In a lossy MP3 (128 or 320 kbps),

What makes the FLAC version so vital is the dynamic range of the original recording. The track is a battlefield of frequencies:

In a lossy MP3 (128 or 320 kbps), these elements compress into a "wall of sound." In FLAC, they breathe.

When you find a FLAC version of this track, check the specs to ensure it’s a quality rip: