The Rolling Stones Exile On Main Street Album Review

[stephenpinder]

One of the rare albums that gets better the more you listen to it. A true classic. A true masterpiece. Not muddy once you really consider it.

[nedd.]

Soul Survivor is one of the most underrated Stones songs, and it's definitely my favourite on the album. One of the most solid albums ever IMO.

[darklingeraeld-ridge]

" Truthfully, this is the album that everyone wanted the Stones to aspire to, yet in doing so the Stones far exceeded all possible expectations and rendered the results temporarily inaccessible to many (Rip This Joint) arguably the most spontaneous and uninhibited moments ever to have been captured on a rock record. ... .their magnum opus - an album which not only themselves but their contemporaries have yet to surpass. Never has one collection covered all aspects of rock music with such exhaustive attention to detail. album clearly demonstrates the Stones musicianship which, because of the subtle deployment of instruments and the unorthodox meshing of the mix, may have slipped by those people who prefer to be sledgehammered. Thorough reinvestigation reveals Exile as one of the best double albums ever made." - Roy Carr, NME.

[demonsbutterfly]

Exile on Main St is a state of mind.
Listen to it in full. Kick back.
It doesn’t need a single

[ArmandoMPR]

I was born in ‘91 so I listened to it with in the car with my dad, but I don’t think I really absorbed it until college. It’s the definition of a grower. I remember being knocked out by “Let It Loose” the first time, though. That one helped me nurse a broken heart at the time.

[hallowhitch]

John, great review for an absolute classic album. I appreciated how in depth you went. The longer video format suits you! Hope more are done like this one.

[llewellynGS]

John I only recently discovered this album, and now would say its my fav from the stones along with Emotional Rescue and Some girls. Just very roots based in rock and roll, blues and country. has to be listened to all at once.

[deanwirth]

As a single album with all the really awesome trakcs together it would stand up to Let it Bleed but as a double it shows their weaknesses as a band in the 70's. Soe of their best tracks ever are on this (Rocks off, Tumbling Dice, Happy etc.) but also some weak ones (SWeet Virinia, Sweet Black Angel ect.) But hey ;you can't always get what you want eh?

[leesanna]

John, another fantastic review, thank you for the great work...

[babyfir]

Love the album and the cover. All Down the Line may be my favorite. I wish that track was in stereo, though. I agree with you, album had to grow on me. But it did!

[beatlejames]

Nice review John. Funnily enough I really love the mixing on this record. Too many albums (particularly modern ones) highlight the vocals too much, but on this the vocals are beautifully submerged. It's often forgotten that an awful lot of mixing happened in LA afterwards. That DVD looks really interesting, I didn't know about that.

[davidgena]

Excellent discussion, John. I do enjoy the album immensely but “Sticky Fingers” remains my favorite Stone’s album of all. Have you done a review of that record? If not, please do. Take care, my friend.

[russbroda]

Listened only to Exile over and over again , along with Babylon Bus double live album by Marley, thru studying in Med School. Made it more tolerable sitting there hour after hour ; reading, remembering, understanding.

[rocknrollbarbarossa]

Thank you very, very, very much John!!! Great. The only thing I want to complain about the reissue, is the cut of the some of the right cover pictures and startet again with the left cover pictures. And the pictures are to dark. The original is more beautiful. Thanks again John, you are the real deal!!! Greetings Oliver.

[markfernandes]

I like Exile, it's one of the Stones's best, but I also rate Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed and Sticky Fingers, to me all four albums are equally the Stones at their peak. I agree John, this is one of a handful of double albums from the late 60's/early 70's that justifies being a double rather than a single. Some of the Stones best songs are here: Rocks Off, Tumbling Dice, Happy and Rip This Joint. This album was their first to be recorded abroad for tax purposes, setting the trend amongst other stars to do so, and the documentary on its recording is well worth watching.

[dreamer]

Nice video, and good review. I love this album. It`s my favorite Stones album. Amazing all the way through.

[RickM]

Loved this record on first spin back when I purchased it as a gift for my 8th grade teacher at the end of the school year in 1978. He had lent me each Beatles record in order of release (American versions). So when I gave Exile to him, he gave it right back to me to borrow and record on cassette. Back then I thought Turd on the Run was about poop. I was so young and naive.

[zenvagabond]

Doesn't have any songs which stand out? every song is brilliant. The brilliance is in its inperfection. Stones at their finest, which blends sloppy and tight with the right combo of gospel, blues, bluegrass, country and hard rock with bawdy and at time nonsensical lyrics. It's their masterpiece.

[richeaton]

Favorite Stones record. Other than the occasional tune, like "Waiting On A Friend", all downhill after Goats Head and Mick left...

See the interview on YT of Al Perkins talking about walking into the studio cold, sitting down, and having Mick dance around him, singing "Torn and Frayed" as a duet with his pedal steel. Again cold, right out of the box. Amazing.

[FlipSideCT]

nice job....bringing some insights and your views. We know that this type of review can go in so deep. I never recommend this to anyone wanting to start with the Stones. It is a deeper FAN album, probably 3-4 deep in buying for the beginner. It is nice that we have received so many details and docs about the album in the recent years, but as growing up in the we had were the tunes and our imagination. Good point about Mick and Goat's Head. I will be getting to a deep LIB review in the near future. I did not hear you mention Gram??