Customer Reviews

Exile on Main St. [Super Deluxe Edition]

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Let me start by saying this is one of the greatest rock albums in history and quite possibly my favorite by a phenomenal rock and roll band at the peak of their powers. So now that you're asking yourself why I gave this package only three stars allow me to explain. The point is simple-it's too much money and all of the individual components of this set are available separately with what amounts to less money than the whole enchilada.

In this set you get the remastered original album on disc one. As with all of the 2009 Stones remasters, this version is somewhat clearer but louder and compressed. I do not feel the minimal increase in clarity is worth suffering through the loss of dynamic range. In addition, the first thing I noticed was that certain instruments and Jagger's voice appear to be a little too high-ended in parts. The vocals are more upfront than before and, in effect, brings a different sound to the entire mix that makes the entire recording seem out of place from what I am used to. The 1994 Virgin remaster is a much better product so I do not feel the CD upgrade is necessary. In fact, upon listening, the '94 Virgin sounds much closer to the vinyl version enclosed in this package.

The vinyl, if you aren't aware, is 180 gram quality virgin vinyl and it sounds stellar!! The remastering really brings a special clarity to the recording without sacrificing the dynamic range, which is my main problem with the CD.

The second disc are what most fans are interested in and after one listen I can tell you that these are worth it. Yes, there were overdubs and lyrics added to songs that previously had none and contain modern day Jagger vocals. Someone familiar enough with the sound of Exile will be able to pick out which parts were recently overdubbed and which parts are from the original Exile sessions. That may sound like a problem but it really isn't because otherwise, the songs chosen would have been mostly instrumentals if left in their unfinished state and more importantly, the songs are good. As good as these new songs are the real gems are the original alternate versions of 'Tumblin' Dice' titled 'Good Time Women', alternate 'Loving Cup' and an alternate of 'Soul Survivor' with Keith on lead vocals and different lyrics. Hearing these three songs makes you wonder why they didn't put more alternate versions on this disc as I'm sure fans like myself would love to hear them. However, we have waited this long so now I'm simply nitpicking. These new songs are very welcome and a pleasure to listen to. As of this writing I have only listened to the outtakes disc one time but 'Plundered My Soul', 'I'm Not Signifying' and 'Following the River' appear to be the standout tunes.

Another problem with this set is the DVD. It is not the complete 'Stones in Exile' DVD but a promo containing snippets of that, 'Sucker Blues' and 'Ladies and Gentlemen.' It runs for 30 minutes and the 'Stones in Exile' DVD to be released in June is 151 minutes. You do the math. Hence, this DVD will become useless in a few weeks for a diehard fan.

The four postcards are cool and the 65 page booklet is interesting with some rarely seen photographs, but not necessary, in my opinion.

The reason's I feel this set is too expensive and only gave it three stars are as follows:

If you purchase each item separately, excluding the postcards and book (which are not available separately to my knowledge) this set gets a lot cheaper.

The vinyl - $33

Remastered Deluxe set - $20

Stones in Exile DVD - $13, released in June

That is a total of $66.00 so unless you feel the book and four postcards make up for the remaining $70 of the cost, this set is not worth it as a whole. Additionally, Target is selling the outtakes disc as a separate disc for $10 as of this writing and, as previously mentioned, the DVD is not the FULL 'Stones in Exile' DVD.

I'm sure people will comment on my giving one of the greatest albums ever made only three stars when this should easily be a five star set. Based on the material here it comes close if you take each piece of it and judge it on it's own merits. As a boxset, however, you must take the entire package into account and in this instance, the whole does not equal the sum of it's parts, as sorry as I am to say that. 'Exile' is a classic and the outtakes are enough to make any Stones fan salivate and, as a fan, I love everything here. But as a consumer, it's simply too much money for what you're getting, when everything included here, minus the book and postcards, can be found cheaper than this entire set combined.

I hope I was able to save some of you some hard-earned cash because I certainly wish I knew then what I know now in regards to this set.

Enough already with the remastered, repackaged, rereleases of the Stones catalog. As a collector for many years it's getting hard and maybe a little pointless to keep up with all the repackaging of the same old stuff. Sure, the bonus tracks are nice but who wants to listen to a 40 year old instrumental track with vocals from just this year? It just doesn't work on the five or so tracks given this treatment. The true almost untouched demos like Loving Cup are good, however.

More about the repackaging - as far as I know this set is available in a multitude of different packages. Deluxe, Super Deluxe, Bonus Tracks Only, Vinyl, CD with T-shirt (Target exclusive), CD with bonus interview disc (Best Buy exclusive), and the little known McDonald's release that includes a #2 value meal (with or without cheese). Enough already! I thought Decca/Europe beat this to death in the 70's and 80's - the constant repackaging of the same old music. My head is spinning just trying to keep up with all the versions of this release. Of course, as an avid collector I'll eventually buy them all. Just good marketing by the Stones camp I guess.

In fairness, this Super Deluxe edition is really nice. Everything is first class and sounds good but not better than the original 70's vinyl in my opinion.

The (vinyl) LP mix is excellent, as is the disc mastering. The CD's however, are over-compressed. While this makes them sound louder and heavier at first, it makes them tedious to listen to all the way through.

The DVD is OK, but it's not the complete film -- I'm not sure what was left out, and maybe it's not worth including, but for the price being charged here, it seems that buyers should be able to decide that -- and fast forward through what they don't like.

But what really seems to be a cheat here is that there are only 4 of the original 12 post cards ... what's the story?

Go find the old original 2-LP set with the 12 post cards, and then just get the individual components of this 2010 package when they're on sale at your favorite music vendors. It will probably cost you less, and the sum of the parts will be greater.

The Rolling Stones are obviously one of the greatest rock bands. Exile On Main St. is one of the crown jewels of their discography. So if you are going to do a deluxe package - it should indeed be DELUXE.

Adding a 30-ishmin version of the "Stones in Exile" DVD vs. the later released 151 min DVD is in poor taste and really sort of a ripoff to fans. I bought the box thinking it would be a great DELUXE set and one-stop shop for all things Exile, including the documentary about the circumstances of recorded this great album. Instead I feel like I'd been cheated.

The music speaks for itself. EXILE ON MAIN STREET is the Stones best album and a big piece of rock history. The new material based on leftover session tapes is very good too. It's the best new material from the Stones in years. The alternate takes of "Loving Cup" and "Soul Survivor" aren't that hot, but all of the new titles are SUPERB. The additional production fits in seemlessly and it's sure nice to hear lots of Nicky Hopkins and a number with Ian Stewart one more time.

The picture book has some good stuff in it but where the text is located, it's hard to read. I don't currently have a turntable setup. My question would be, did they record the original album or is it remastered? The video is interesting but only 30 minutes total for all the material, the new documentary, and the two old tour oriented videos. It's nothing special.

All in all, this should be something highly recommended, but when one has to shell out $139 bucks (AMAZON discounted price) or lots more if sold at list, this is a shameless ripoff. There's no excuse for it to cost any more than maybe $80.00 list. Price out what two CD's, two LP's, a DVD would cost and allow for the hardbound book, around $80 list and a selling price around $55.00 would be about right.

Whether this ridiculous pricing is the Stones' idea or Universal's it's a SHAMEFUL RIP-OFF. Only Stones fans with money to burn should even think about buying this. The Video comes out in late June, the "Deluxe" version includes the original EXILE and the new material. That should be enough to satisfy any reasonable fan's appetite.

This is from a fan who has enjoyed the Stones since 1964!!

I know, pricey, but the Stones are worth every cent. The previously unissued material is amazing...Mick Jagger took a bunch of backing tracks from the 'Sticky Fingers'/'Exile' era and turned them into new Stones classics...I had all the cuts on boots previously sans vocals on some-and I have been listening to this non-stop since...The package is nice-book is cool, though I have all the pictures (well, maybe I didn't have 2 or 3) elsewhere...numbered...EXCELLENT. STONES RULE!!!

IF {and it's a very big IF} you had been in your early twenties in 1972 then it was very likely (like me) you had been broke. I got some balance of my three-figure salary and bought the double album. I liked everything about the album ....nostalgia kind of black and white LP cover....and the best songs are Tumbling Dice (superb Charlie Watts drum ending) and Sweet Virginia ... AND it was the right time...Beatles had just splat....If you had this on the record player then you'd also be ready to turn on Santana Abraxas...and John Lennon's Imagine...and Elton John...and Dylan's New Morning.... for many, the world was new in 1972. Buy this super deluxe edition, people, fore keepsake... if you can spare a bit out of your pension funds...

Having been a Stones fan most of my life and owning every album I just can't justify buying this. The last time I upgraded "Exile" was when the 94 Virgin remaster came out and I'm very happy with it. I bought the first release with the mini postcards and replica album cover of all eight albums that were produced at that time and the sound is as close as I think we're going to get to the album's sound. I did want the new tracks from the new Exile and thankfully Target has an exclusive 10 track CD including all the extra tracks included here.

Unless you really want to shell out this kind of money for this so-so release, go to Target pay $9.99 for the extras CD release and buy the upcoming Stones in Exile and The Mick Taylor years DVD's being released soon, you'll save well over a hundred bucks and will probably have more material(at least more interesting)than what you get here on the "deluxe" edition. I love the Stones, but really "do it right or don't do it at all." They didn't even include the alternate version of 'All Down The Line' on this!, which is on an Japanese import version?? So you don't even get it all on this deluxe edition. 5 stars for the classic album and 2 deducted for not giving a complete song set and overpricing.

Let me start by saying that I have been a big Stones fan since the mid-1970's. I saw them live here in Chicago in 1978 and 1981 and am a die-hard as well as a semi-profesional musician. In my opinion, the last time (no pun intended) the Stones were top shelf was 1978, as "Tattoo You" was mostly 1970's outtakes. Having said that, here are my comments on the CD reissue of "new/old" tunes:

-Pass The Wine-Known as "Sophia Loren" on bootlegs. Mick Jagger stopped singing and started barking in 1976 on "Black And Blue" and this 2009 or 2010 overdubbed vocal testifies to that. This is a mediocre backing track dressed up for release. Is that overdubbed Mick Taylor and horns here? Horrible overdubbed Mick Jagger harmonica, if you can call it that! If Mick wants to discuss his vocals and harp over a Gibson's steak on his dime that would be fine with me.

-Plundered My Soul-This is easily the best cut on the "new/old" CD. The Taylor intro, whether from 1971 or 2009, is excellent. Vocal, obviously from 2009 or 2010, is quite good. The Keith Richards rhythm riffs, certainly from 1971, are exceptional in the in-the-pocket "Tumbling Dice" style. Taylor's fine lead riffs are all over the track.

-I'm Not Signifying-Very familiar from boots. Original vocal and overdubbed piano intro. Mick Taylor's blues riffs are exceptional, but the track (and riffs) is/are shortened. Interesting chord progression. Overdubbed harp is obnoxious. Horns on the outro are reminiscent of Elmo Bishop's Alligator work.

-Following The River-Nice ballad, again marred by Mick Jagger's 2009 vocals. Backup vocals and strings also sound current.

-Dancing In The Light-Having listened to this on boots for 30 years, the 2009 vocals seem curious. The lyrics, however, are interesting. Great to hear that rollicking piano again! The barking on the outro is disconcerting.

-So Divine ("Aladdin Story" to Stones heads)-Slightly reminiscent of "Paint It Black"? Another 2009 vocal. Overdubbed Mick Taylor riffs at around 2:30? Did the rest of the boys OK this release?

-Loving Cup-This is the boot version many of us know, with "GD drunk" replaced. Nice guitar interplay, which the band seemingly forgot in later years.

-Soul Survivor-This embarrassing take of Keith's drunken/stoned ramblings over the released backing track should never have seen the light of day.

-Good Time Women-Great Keith/Mick J./Mick T. intro riff familiar to us as an early version of "Tumbling Dice". Unlike "Tumbling Dice", Mick Taylor's lead and riffs are all over this track. Second best on the CD by a long shot.

-Title 5-What is this crap? My wife likes it but I am unimpressed. Why release this?

Also, the alternate version of "All Down The Line" is available on the 45 if you track it down. There are also other unreleased cuts that could have been put on this CD!

every thing about this album is truly the thing of dreams. every thing that went into making it is the type of thing that make up great movies.

the drugs, the settings, the images, the unbridled busyness of the sounds, the levels of the recorded parts in the music so legendarily perfect, an album like Exile happens only once or twice a lifetime, if you're lucky.

it's a band "being all they can be", on and off the mic. who knows how vivid and unforgettable it was to be the Stones during this time? to be having the worst yet most blissful experience a music lover could imagine?

this box set comes as close to recreating those sessions as you will ever find. for such a magical, rare album, this is an artifact that almost lives up to that magic, as much as such a thing could.

the box is heavy, the photo book so BLOODY COOL, the postcards so killer, the vinyl blistering with loudness and mid-range punch. I've got an old copy of Exile and this box set is the museum edition of the old copy's worn out coolness.

this album is great on any format, but you must hear it on vinyl to get a feel for the larger-than-life brilliance of this document.

so, so cool. looks like a million bucks on a record shelf, too

the Stones mean a lot to me, they represent the coolest and most wasted effortlessness a band can achieve. they lived the dream so well that we can get a feel for it too just by watching and listening to their dumb and epic misadventures.

sincerely,

the boyfriend who go this as a Christmas present from my girlfriend.