"Exile" is one of those rare records where every year or two a different song on it will become a special talisman to be played when I really need a fix of something deep. This list explains why this 18-song masterpiece deserves every bit of praise it gets.
The Stones always put extra effort into the packaging, and Exile ranks with Sticky Fingers and Some Girls as the best. Dominique Tarlé basically lived with the band for 6 months, painting the mystique with his black-and-white candid photography. Many of his best shots aren't even on the album packaging, but their usage in marketing materials, the "Stones in Exile" documentary, and various books just builds the legend even further. Here's a link to a gallery that does them more justice than I do here: http://www.snapgalleries.com/?page=collectionview&itemid=10028&itemID2=20005
The deluxe reissue has a 10 song bonus disc of outtakes. As a lifelong collector of bootlegs, the news that these tracks (the vast majority of which have NOT shown up on bootleg) were coming out was roughly equivalent to unearthing the Dead Sea Scrolls. Still, I've learned over the years that outtakes are almost always a letdown - and pleased to report that these definitely are not.
I'm not going to say these are phenomenal - Mick recently overdubbed vocals to 4 of the 10 tracks. While I'm guessing it was due to necessity - the vocals were probably never finished as they already had enough tracks for a double album, and while the Stones have been known over the years to go back to unfinished tracks years later, most notably for "Start Me Up" - it would be impossible for him today to nail that decadent '72 vibe. But the tracks themselves are quite solid and do fit said vibe - with the full horns and pianos treatment - and it's obvious Mick did the best his further-down-the-line self could. My favorite new track so far is "So Divine (Alladin's Story)" - clip attached. Not surprisingly, this is one of the non-overdubbed ones. That said, "Plundered My Soul" and "Following The River" are excellent tracks even with the overdubs, and all the new songs are worth a listen.
In addition to 7 unheard songs there are also radically different versions of "Loving Cup" and "Soul Survivor" that are quite the treat, as well as the previously-bootlegged "Good Time Women" (a really early, very different version of "Tumbling Dice"). Ben Ratliff in the NYTimes states that the "Loving Cup" outtake (in this case recorded a few years earlier at Olympic Studios in London) "seems to me the best thing the Stones ever did", and he tries to make a case that the "recorded in French Exile" aspect of the album is overrated. While his article is an interesting read, I don't agree with this assessment http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/arts/music/23stones.html. I think the album version of "Loving Cup" is a ragged masterpiece, but then again I like my ragged.
(Under this banner I include Mr. Jack Daniels and Sir Cabernet)
Many great records in rock history have been written or recorded when most of the key elements in a band were under the influence. One could make a very strong case that there is a window of time when this works, and then the rot (or even death) sets in as it almost-inevitably goes too far. But that is another list for another time.
It's safe to say that just about everyone in the Stones' circle was partying, hard, during the making of this album. This has been chronicled at length and through legend, most notoriously in a book "Up And Down With The Rolling Stones" by Keef's personal assistant/drug dealer the late "Spanish Tony" Sanchez. http://www.amazon.com/Down-Rolling-Stones-Tony-Sanchez/dp/0905846915/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274652352&sr=1-1
A careful examination of the credits on the album reveal "Marimbas - Amyl Nitrate". Etc.
On "Exile", like Neil Young's "Tonight's The Night" or Derek And The Dominoes "Layla", the altered states of the players seep into just about every note. The reel-to-reels captured a very real level of emotion that would be impossible for these players to replicate ever again.
Much has been written about the Stones being tax-exiled to the south of France.
Much of the album was written and recorded in a basement of the home Nellcôte in Nice that Keef was renting at the time. This conjures images of some dreary dungeon if you haven't been to the south of France, or maybe even if you have.
Not exactly.
See aerial photo of Nellcôte - the place is steps from the ocean.
Everyone was out of their element and unable to "go home" so they just hung out at this mansion. And partied. And jammed. And partied.
There were casinos very close by, a novelty in those times, and they were James Bond casinos, not today's rows of slot machines filled with sad fat people pulling levers mechanically.
The beaches in the south of France are topless.
The pace is not fast.
etc.
The south of France is not quite like anywhere else in the world. This was a different kind of decadence than you could get in London, or LA, or anyplace else for that matter. And it seeped into the grooves.
This just-released documentary is a true FILM, not just some VH1-to-DVD talking head chop job. Lots of interesting footage from Nellcote. A must-see for any rock fan.
Many rock fans have a negative opinion of Phish, founded on some or all of:
-hearing a mediocre studio song -their goofy lyrics -their sometimes deodorant-challenged "Phans" -the very name "Phish" -a loathing of hippies in general
I understand all these prejudices, and can't say there isn't an element of truth there.
But Phish are MONSTER players, pound-for-pound as talented as any band alive. Give the attached "Loving Cup" just 90 seconds or so, ye haters. . .
And they also know and respect their rock history. Long before the concept became widespread, when Phish played a Halloween show they would don a "costume" and cover a classic album - often a double. Prior costumes:
-The White Album -Quadrophenia -Remain In Light -Loaded
August company indeed. In 2009 the costume was "Exile On Main Street", and I was fortunate enough to see it live.
Justice was more than done: http://www.ranker.com/list/phish-festival-8-set-by-set-review/clark-benson
Maybe because this record didn’t have much in the name of hit singles (and thus avoided classic-rock overplay burnout), the lyrics on Exile have stayed with me over the years as much as any record I own. I don't really appreciate them in the daylight, though.
SO many memorable snippets –
I never kept a dollar past sunset, it always burned a hole in my pants
Never wanna be like papa, working for the boss every night and day
The sunshine bores the daylight out of me
I’m the man on the mountain, won’t you come on up
Oh, what a beautiful buzz, what a beautiful buzz
His coat is torn and frayed, it’s seen much better days, just as long as the guitar plays, let it steal your heart away
Got to scrape the s**t right off your shoes
Always in a hurry, I never stop to worry, don’t see the time flashin’ by
May the good Lord shine a light on you, make every song your favorite tune
(thanks to both commenters who pointed out my typos)
On record at least the Stones were never as good as when Mick Taylor was playing guitar.While "Exile" isn't his best moment (that would be "Sticky Fingers"), and Keith truly dominates every aspect of this record, Taylor is still a pivotal part of the vibe on this masterpiece. Taylor's promise drifted off into a spotty career marred by addiction after this album and the world tour that followed it; by all accounts the level of partying took its tool on the young guitarist, but it helped make "Exile" what it is.
Liz Phair's 1993 out-of-nowhere debut, which she stated at the time was "a song-by-song rebuttal to 'Exile On Main Street' from a women's perspective", or something like that. Guyville is indeed a great record and indeed in the spirit of "Exile" - lo-fi, 18 songs, from the heart, and probably mostly written at 2AM under the influence.
Phair may have made a sad turn into pop-shlockdom in the last 10 years or so (I still hold out hope for low-fi-Liz to make a comeback), but when this record came out it was a critic's fave for a lot of reasons, one of which was her murky claim that it was based on the Stones' masterpiece, which over the years had also become "critic gold".
Probably the most badass batch of song titles in history up to that point. Gotta figure Keef had a big hand in these.
There isn't a mediocre one in the bunch - all decadence and swagger.
Some highlights:
"Rocks Off" "Rip This Joint" "Casino Boogie" "Torn and Frayed" "Ventilator Blues"
. . . and I've looked at this album cover time and time again over the years and still find myself wondering how did they come up with "Turd On The Run"
This was probably the last time the Stones - and their extended family - totally got along. You can hear it in the grooves.
And the various players on this record - the core Jagger/Richards/Taylor crew, Jimmy Miller and Andy Johns on the production side, and particularly Bobby Keys and Jim Price on horns, and Nicky Hopkins and Ian Stewart on piano - jelled on this record at the same level as The Band at Big Pink. Truly a "moment in time".
And as much as I still to this day absolutely love seeing the Stones live – and I think they were a better live band in the ‘00s than they were in the ‘90s – one of the things I miss most is Keiths’ backing vocals. Nowadays at a Stones show he gets 2 solo songs, and that’s usually a highlight, but he doesn’t do the backup vocals anymore, they ended after the “Tattoo You” touring cycle. Exile On Main Street is chock full of soulful, high (pitch-and-other-wise), ramshackle Keith backing vox. Even on some the outtakes.
P***y Galore, "scumrock" band from NYC whose main members (Jon Spencer of Blues Explosion and Neil Haggerty of Royal Trux) went on to bigger things, released a cassette-only version of Exile around '86, before they'd even really figured out how to play their instruments.
While I am not a huge P***y Galore fan, and don't own a working cassette player anymore, I am a massive music collector. And as I type this it's starting to stress me out that I DON'T own this, and can't even recall listening to it ever. So I will move on to the next item, and try not to look back (but here's a link for y'all to stream: http://www.xtrmntr.com/pg/exile/ )
I personally think this should have been swapped with "Soul Survivor" to be the album closer, but such minor quibbles are barely worth noting. If this record were perfect, it wouldn't be "Exile".
This would have been a very long list if I thrown each song up as its own entry. Out of an 18 song double album, the only track that could remotely be called "filler" would be "I Just Want To See His Face". But even that track is more of a "vibe break" than wasted space.
Sometimes the hype is real. "Exile" is one of those times.
lizl 18 Reasons Why 'Exile On Main Street' Deserves Its Rep at 3/12/2011 1:52 PM
Great list. Been listening to this album non stop. Most of the lyrics you called out are among my favorites too, so I feel compelled to point out that two of them are incorrect. Take another listen with these in mind: In Rocks Off, it's "the sunshine bores the daylights out of me" (not pours) In Shine a Light, it's "make every song you sing, your favorite tune" (not everything your favorite tune).
"Exile" is Keith Richards' finest hour, unquestionably.
The Stones always put extra effort into the packaging, and Exile ranks with Sticky Fingers and Some Girls as the best. Dominique Tarlé basically lived with the band for 6 months, painting the mystique with his black-and-white candid photography. Many of his best shots aren't even on the album packaging, but their usage in marketing materials, the "Stones in Exile" documentary, and various books just builds the legend even further. Here's a link to a gallery that does them more justice than I do here: http://www.snapgalleries.com/?page=collectionview&itemid=10028&itemID2=20005
(Under this banner I include Mr. Jack Daniels and Sir Cabernet)
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18 Reasons Why 'Exile On Main Street' Deserves Its Rep at 6/05/2010 10:23 PM
The Lyrics at 5/28/2010 8:26 PM
18 Reasons Why 'Exile On Main Street' Deserves Its Rep at 3/12/2011 1:52 PM
18 Reasons Why 'Exile On Main Street' Deserves Its Rep at 3/13/2011 3:31 PM