Customer Reviews

Exile on Main Street

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3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Rolling Stones are one of the most important rock bands ever, and the 1971-72 period (covering "Sticky Fingers" and "Exile on Main Street") was their musical peak. Together, these two albums represent the very best of British blues-rock. Essential listening.

Sometimes when you're too close to the source of something (in this case American music -- blues, country, gospel, rock and roll, jazz), or too much in its thrall, you don't recognize all the wonder and the beauty that it is made of. The Rolling Stones -- addled by tax problems, drugs, love, celebrity, politics, death and disolution -- laid themselves bare on the altar to which they had dedicated their entire lives. Anyone who actually listens to, and tries to understand the beauty contained in the slurry vocals, the jam-like quality of the recording sessions, and the sticky and dank producing-style will be rewarded. This was a group of really smart and talented people attracted to an imperfect America that was caught in the grip of Nixon, race riots, Vietnam, addiction & etc. Anyone who compares this to "Tattoo You" is nuts and lacks any sense of context, or not listening in the right frame of mind. Rather than "Tattoo You," "Exile on Main Street" comparable to Sly & The Family Stone's "There's A Riot Goin' On" or to Hank Williams or to Robert Johnson. (It's hard to compare to any other Rolling Stones album because it's more rootsy yet less studied, and more sincere.) Sometimes it's hard to take in, but if you can listen through the slurry vocals, it's among the most beautiful and thoughtful rock and roll out there.

Sometimes when you're too close to the source of something (in this case American music -- blues, country, gospel, rock and roll, jazz), or too much in its thrall, you don't recognize all the wonder and the beauty that it is made of. The Rolling Stones -- addled by tax problems, drugs, love, celebrity, politics, death and disolution -- laid themselves bare on the altar to which they had dedicated their entire lives. Anyone who actually listens to, and tries to understand the beauty contained in the slurry vocals, the jam-like quality of the recording sessions, and the sticky and dank producing-style will be rewarded. This was a group of really smart and talented people attracted to an imperfect America that was caught in the grip of Nixon, race riots, Vietnam, addiction & etc. Anyone who compares this to "Tattoo You" is nuts and lacks any sense of context, or not listening in the right frame of mind. Rather than "Tattoo You," "Exile on Main Street" comparable to Sly & The Family Stone's "There's A Riot Goin' On" or to Hank Williams or to Robert Johnson. (It's hard to compare to any other Rolling Stones album because it's more rootsy yet less studied, and more sincere.) Sometimes it's hard to take in, but if you can listen through the slurry vocals, it's among the most beautiful and thoughtful rock and roll out there.

It is understandable that because the Rolling Stones are, well, the Rolling Stones, there are going to be some highly uptight and stingy critics out there. But I am not one of those critics! I have been listening to this album since I was 4 years old, with a childlike interest that has grown into fullblown adult appreciation. You cannot go wrong on this record. Every track is a raucous, sonic blend of bluesy riffs, wailing vocals, and an overall theme of spontaneity and fun. Songs like "Tumblin Dice" and "Rocks Off" are great songs on their own, but when listened to in sequence with the likes of "Loving Cup" and "Happy" (with Keith on vocals, I believe) this album is a full blown sonic masterpiece that will pump you up and brighten your mood within the first seconds of hearing it. Largely underrrated in its day, this album is a unanonymous top 20 album of all time for hundreds of critics, and millions of rock music listeners. If you enjoy the Stones, it is simply impossibe for you to not be enamored with this record. A classic that everyone should own in their collection.

This is the album that captures the Stones at their most prolific, taking advantage of various musical styles and filtering it through a drug-induced haze.

This album sways, staggers and stumbles through some of the best songs ever written, i.e. it rocks and it got soul ! 'Nuff said !

I missed this first time around and caught up with it as the recent remastered issue. But the 1972 virgin version is more coherent and I am pleased I bought it. It arrived in mint condition even though said to be used. An all round 5 star buy.

Exile On Main Street was originally released May 12, 1972. Numerous polls of greatest rock albums rank it in the top 15 of all time, but I've never been able to see what everybody is so excited about. Sure there are famous Stones cuts like Tumbling Dice, Happy, Sweet Virginia, and Sweet Black Angel but all their albums have famous songs on them.....most have more and often individually better songs as well. The blues is serious and typical of the band.....Son House's Stop Breaking Down, Shake Your Hips, Torn and Frayed, and Ventilator Blues....and there are some solid rockers too.....Rip This Joint, All Down The Line, Casino Boogie.....I find0 myself getting tired of listening to the album as a whole.....somehow it just doesn't have the depth of good feeling and strong emotion that is so evident to me in something like Sticky Fingers, Beggar's Banquet, or Let It Bleed.

Although there were "Exile" sessions (Jul-Sep, 1971 at Keith's Nellcote in France and Nov 71 - Mar 72 at Sunset Sound and Wally Heider Studios in L.A.), the tracks were laid down over a fairly long period of time from June 1970 to March 1972 with nothing recorded during 1971. Here are the details:
Jun 16, 1970 at Olympic in London
.....Stop Breaking Down
Jun 30, 1970 at Olympic in London
.....Sweet Virginia
Jul 14-15, 1970 at Olympic in London
.....All Down The Line
Jul 20, 1970 at Olympic in London
.....Sweet Virginia
Jul 23, 1970 at Olympic in London
.....All Down The Line
.....Shine A Light
Jul 27, 1970 at Olympic in London
.....Shake Your Hips
Oct 17-31, 1970 at Olympic in London
.....Shake Your Hips
.....Sweet Virginia
.....Stop Breaking Down
Dec - Mar, 1972 at Sunset Sound in L.A.
.....Rocks Off
.....Rip This Joint
.....Casino Boogie
.....Tumbling Dice
.....Torn and Frayed
.....Sweet Black Angel
.....Loving Cup
.....Happy
.....Turd On The Run
.....Ventilator Blues
.....Just Wanna See His Face
.....Soul Survivor

This information comes from "It's Only Rock And Roll: The Ultimate Guide To The Rolling Stones" by Karnbach and Bernson and from my own collection.

Talk about a major disappointment!!! After hearing music critics wet their pants over this album, after hearing it praised by Stones fanatics all over the place, and after hearing how it's SUCH a fantastic work of art, I finally got around to buying it.....and they all went bananas over THIS??????? This cheap, shoddy, mostly-filler-filled piece of trash sounds as if the Stones were too--well, stoned--to know how to distinguish the chaff from the wheat. (I remember talking to record store owners who all advised me to pass it over and stick to stuff like "Tattoo You" instead--all said the same thing, "A critic's favorite for some weird reason, trash and a waste of everyone's time and money to the rest of the world." And they were RIGHT.) The sound quality is deliberately shabby--but that's not the problem I have here. Shabby sound quality as part of a concept for a strong musical statement works very well.....provided that the actual SONGS THEMSELVES are strong enough to shine on their own without the help of fancy studio equipment, and that's the problem here. These songs would probably work mostly as passable radio filler if treated to studio wizardry with a really strong producer who could inject life into them, but on their own, they just aren't melodic or clever enough to stand with such a basic production style (and, come ON, we all KNOW that The Stones are capable of writing songs that DO stand on their own BEAUTIFULLY in this format, such as "Sway" and "Wild Horses" from "Sticky Fingers", a TRUE classic). Oh sure, there are a couple of good tracks---"Rocks Off" is fun even though its chorus is unpolished musically, "Shine A Light" is a genuinely catchy little ditty, and "I Just Want To See His Face" has the feel of an old blues standard recorded in a deserted old church basement somewhere in the wrong side of town. And the standout track on this album which steals the show, of course, is "Let It Loose", a true diamond in the rough here. As for the rest of the album, it sounds like it's all a show of "look how grungy, unprofessional and untalented we sound, just like dem guys blowin' their mouth harps on the street corner somewhere, yeah!!!" and no tune whatsoever. If they wanted to deliberately sound like some untalented, moronic bunch of would-be musicians strumming away in a city slum, they sure did a great job. If you happen to hear "Let It Loose" and loved it to death as I did, do yourself a favor and pick up the cassette version of this recording and pass up on the CD (unless you find the CD used for the same price as the cassette or less). Or see if you can find the song on a greatest hits collection. Otherwise, avoid, avoid, avoid. Leaving it on the shelf at your local record store will NOT make you an uncool traitor to the Stones, I promise you.