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First, I provide a copy of my review of the original "Exile on Main Street" CD, to provide context and background. Second, some reflections on the addenda to that album.
Original review:
I'll begin by echoing what some other reviewers have mentioned: this is a terrific Rolling Stones album (actually, when released, it was a two album set), but without a lot of great singles on it. But that may be a part of why this is such a good work. There is rawness throughout the set of songs--and raggedness. It has an earthy rock and roll/blues sensibility and it works because of its rawness, as opposed to despite its rawness. One characteristic, too, is how difficult it is sometimes to make out the words to the songs (there is a famous quotation attributed to Mick Jagger that this was intentional at times).
The CD begins with two flat out neat rockers--"Rocks Off" and "Rip This Joint." Jagger growls and the band plays with a hard edge to it. Then, to one of the gems--the Stones' version of Slim Harpo's great blues number, "Shake Your Hips." Jagger sings it differently from Harpo, but he is effective in his own way. The Stones show that they can play blues well (and note a later piece on "Exile," once recorded by Robert Johnson himself, "Stop Breakin' Down").
One of the few "hits" off this work, "Tumbling Dice," well played here. Some interesting features: Jagger on guitar and Mick Taylor on bass. Then, "Sweet Black Angel" which, if my memory serves me correctly (please correct me if I'm in error), was inspired by activist Angela Davis. A catchy hook and tune. "Ventilator Blues" seems to focus on a bad hair day, with one line being "I feel like murder in the first degree." This is a down and dirty song, with some gritty instrumental work.
One of Keith Richards' earlier solos shows up here, the up tempo "Happy," featuring a nice guitar riff to start the song off, presumably Mick Taylor's work. And "Exile on Main Street" concludes with "Soul Survivor," a lively song featuring some guitar work and nice keyboards. Jagger's voice is ragged and, because of this, quite effective in the context of the entire CD.
The Stones near or at the pinnacle of their career--Jagger on vocals, Taylor and Richards on guitar, Wyman on bass, Watts on drums. "Friends" showing up: Keys on sax, Price on horns, Hopkins on piano, Stewart (an old Stone himself) on piano, and so on. A rip roaring rock and roll album.
Addenda:
First, the print of the cover notes for this edition are so small that it's hard to see who played on each cut (it's tough to see one's vision decline with age!). Here are a few observations on some of the ten bonus tracks. Some of these were fragments and the Rolling Stones finished them in 2010. Others were in "the vaults" and reproduced as they were then. Given that "Exile" was not a "great hits" album, these bonus tracks, for the most part, fit in pretty well. Let's take a look at a few of these.
"Pass the wine" is a bluesy song. It fits well with Side 4 of the original 4 sided album. There is an alternate version of "Loving Cup," too. There is nice guitar work here and this is an interesting alternative look at this song. Then, "Soul Survivor." Keith sings vocals. I'm not sure he carries this off as well as Mick Jagger, but it adds an interesting variation to this exquisite song. "Good Time Women"--this starts off with some nice guitar work. Jagger's singing works well here. This is an upbeat song with a raunchy ethos to it. Finally, one last example--"Title 5." Only three people play: Keith Richards, Bill Wyman, and Charlie Watts., It's as much a jam session as anything else. It is laid back and kind of fun to enjoy (although nothing special). Watts' drumming is awfully good. . . .
Do the new cuts add anything? On the one hand, no. The original "Exile" stands on its own. On the other hand, it is interesting to hear some of the songs that did NOT make the album or to hear alternate versions of songs that did appear. For historical interest only, this makes the additional cuts worth listening to. However, some of these are also interesting musically. . . .
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This review is not about the quality or content of the musical product which is excellent. This review is based on the fact that I received the product damaged. It was for my husband's Father's Day gift and we wanted to present it so we won't be returning the product because the disc inside is working but the jewel cover is completely destroyed there's no way to even use it It's just broken in pieces.
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