Bob Clearmountain's Digital Reverb on 'Out of Tears'

The hardest part of making Voodoo Lounge was convincing the Rolling Stones they could still do a modern ballad. Enter mixer Bob Clearmountain, who had already shaped the sound of the Stones’ 80s hits with Tattoo You. For “Out of Tears,” Clearmountain leaned on one of the era’s signature tools: the Lexicon 480L digital reverb unit.

He dialed in a lush, gated hall sound that wrapped Mick Jagger’s vocal in a misty, spacious decay—something the band’s earlier, more raw recordings never had. The effect gave the song a radio-friendly, mid-90s pop sheen without drowning the grit in Keith Richards’ acoustic strum. Clearmountain later said his goal was to make the Stones sound like they belonged on adult contemporary charts without losing their soul. The digital reverb was his secret weapon, and it worked: “Out of Tears” became their highest-charting ballad in years, peaking at No. 60 on the Billboard Hot 100.