Consider that all of the folklore around Exile On Main Street wouldn’t mean shit if the album didn’t rock. But rock it does, to the point where that lived-in, make records with the Mobile feel is that sixth instrument here, the nadir of decadence that’s now referenced endlessly when bands get a little too frisky with their vices.Exile might also be the last example of the Stones accidentally stumbling into genius, the document where the smack, booze, and ladies actually contributed to the creative process without destroying it. Beyond this point you’d find a band that was unable to attain the same apex and unable to shake more creativity from their demons.
Goat’s Head Soup? It’s Only Rock & Roll? Black and Blue?
All of them hint at greatness, effectively replicating the swagger and nod of old, while Exile exudes every bit of grime that it portrays.
What’s even more amazing is how the Stones had already come off of three….count ‘em….three certifiable classic records that should be in everybody’s record collection PERIOD and they follow that impressive showing with this, their fourth no debating landmark offering.
They didn’t reinvent the wheel with Exile, they merely steered their sound into new directions, typically streets on the wrong side of town, and they sound wonderfully authentic and comfortable in their new surroundings.
The sprawl of this double l.p. means that you’ll be continually finding new treasures with repeated listens. The obvious ones come first: “Tumbling Dice,” “Rocks Off,” “Happy,” but only because AOR radio attached their playlists to them, leaving a plethora of other incredible tracks to examine later.
I remember being drawn to “Shake Your Hips,” “Ventilator Blues>I Just Want To See His Face,” and “Sweet Virginia” after the initial listening, but now I’m stuck on side four. That’s the beauty of the album, it’s always growing alongside you, reminding you of its greatness along the way and assuredly acknowledging that yes, at one time, the Rolling Stones were indeed the world’s greatest rock and roll band.
Exile On Main Street was released today in 1972.
1 comment:
Today, I was at a client fixing someone's computer in the server room. When the lady whose computer I was fixing came in and saw just the title Exile On Main Street, she said to me, "Oh, I just saw them in concert." Me: "Really? You just saw the Stones??" She looked a little more closely, and said, "Oh, I thought that was Matchbox 20 he was writing about. I thought that said Exile On Mainstream." Ah, critical difference. I gently told her that they probably paid tribute to the Stones title. She shrugged, and said, "I'm not much of a Stones fan." I told her that neither was my wife. This lady is maybe in her late 30s, but it stuns me just how little of the general, non-music loving population even knows that the Rolling Stones released an album called Exile On Main Street, let alone know how wonderful it is. My wife confirmed that she had never heard of that album title, either. She couldn't give a fuck, and said, "I'm not a fan of the Stones." As far as she was concerned, she just dismissed them forever and then some. Just like that. Well, I'm not the hugest fan of the Stones, either, but even I know the brilliance of how great the Stones could be when they set their mind to it: Exile, Beggars, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, and Some Girls. Even though it's a short list, they'll still have the tiniest bit of respect from me going forward, just because they made those LPs.
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