1966--1972-- End Of An Historic Album Run, "EXILE ON MAIN STREET" POLL:

Exile on Main St.


Wikipedia:

Studio album by The Rolling Stones
Released 12 May 1972
Recorded October 1970, June 1971 – March 1972
Studio Olympic Studios, London; Nellcôte, France; Sunset Sound Recorders, Los Angeles

Length 67:07
Label Rolling Stones
Producer Jimmy Miller
Singles from Exile on Main St.

• Singles from Exile on Main St.
  1. "Tumbling Dice" / "Sweet Black Angel"
     Released: 14 April 1972
  2. "Happy" / "All Down the Line"
     Released: 15 July 1972

Exile on Main St. is a double album by English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 12 May 1972 on LP by Rolling Stones Records. It was the band's first double album and tenth studio album released in the United Kingdom. It was primarily recorded in a rented villa in Nellcôte, France while the band lived abroad as tax exiles, and is rooted in styles such as blues, rock and roll, swing, country, and gospel. The sessions included additional musicians such as pianist Nicky Hopkins, saxophonist Bobby Keys, drummer Jimmy Miller, and horn player Jim Price, and were completed at Los Angeles's Sunset Sound.

Personnel:

The Rolling Stones

• Mick Jagger – lead vocals (all but 10), backing vocals (1, 2, 5-7, 9-11, 14, 15, 18), harmonica (3, 6, 8, 11, 16), electric guitar (5, 16), tambourine (1), percussion (4)
• Keith Richards – electric guitar (1-5, 7, 9-12, 14, 15, 18), backing vocals (1, 2, 4-11, 14, 15, 18), acoustic guitar (6-9, 12), bass guitar (4, 10, 18), electric piano (13), lead vocals (10)
• Bill Wyman – bass guitar (1, 3, 6, 8, 9, 12, 14-17)
• Charlie Watts – drums (1-7, 9, 11-16, 18), percussion (8)
• Mick Taylor – electric guitar (1, 3, 4, 12, 15-18), acoustic guitar (6, 8), bass guitar (5, 7), backing vocals (6)

Additional musicians

• Nicky Hopkins – piano (1, 2, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 18), electric piano (4, 10, 13)
• Bobby Keys – tenor saxophone (1-6, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15), maracas (10, 11)
• Jim Price – trumpet (1, 2, 5, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15), organ (7)
• Ian Stewart – piano (3, 6, 16)
• Jimmy Miller – percussion (8, 9, 13, 15), drums (5, 10, 17)
• Bill Plummer – double bass (2, 11, 13, 15)
• Billy Preston – piano (17), organ (17)
• Al Perkins – pedal steel guitar (7)
• Richard Washington – marimba (8)
• Clydie King, Venetta Fields – backing vocals (5, 13, 14, 17)
• Joe Green – backing vocals (14, 17)
• Gram Parsons – backing vocals (6)
• Chris Shepard – tambourine (11)
• Jerry Kirkland – backing vocals (13, 17)
• Mac Rebennack, Shirley Goodman, Tami Lynn – backing vocals (14)
• Kathi McDonald – backing vocals (15)

Technical

• Glyn Johns – engineer
• Andy Johns – engineer
• Joe Zaganno – engineer
• Jeremy Gee – engineer
• Doug Sax – mastering
• Robert Frank – cover photography and concept
• John Van Hamersveld – layout design
• Norman Seeff – layout design

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards during the 1971 recording sessions for Exile on Main Street.

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Saw the poll below for picking one song off Exile so I decided to make a pick all your favorites poll.

Best Song on Exile on Main St

Enough has been written and said about this album. Yes I know another Rolling Stones thread but after listening to the highly disliked 2010 vinyl Exile reissue last night I had to do this poll. My brother would see the Stones 2 times on this Exile tour 1972. Lucky dude.

Always a murky album with its recording process it has made any future or most remixes of this album hard to like. A hot basement in France didn't help much as the Stones were tax exiles. The Stones at this time were like a tribe more than a rock group. Guest musicians would help the Stones execute one of their crowning achievements. Drugs run amok but what music that encapsulated on those tapes during these tumultuous sessions has resonated vibes and passionate feelings to its listeners old and new for over 46 years.

The albums retro record cover and sleeves is truly a thing of physical opulence. The care for Exiles presentation to the record buying public was a thing of brilliance and beauty. Still that magical record package holds up well today.
Exile would end an album run from 1966--1972 that would burn this band out by 1973. I'll always hold this Stones album run with Bob Dylan (1962--1966) The Beatles, The Who or any of the bands with similar successful album runs. This poll is all for fun.

Won't bore anyone about the history of this album most of you Hoffmanites know more about Exile On Main Street than I ever will. Than again that's how I learn more.
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Exile on Main Street

BBC - Music - Review of The Rolling Stones - Exile On Main St.

Exile on Main Street: A Season in Hell with the Rolling Stones
https://www.amazon.com/dp/030681563X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_TPgiBb6VTB7B9



THE ROLLING STONES - EXILE OUTTAKES - SESSIONS & LIVE RARITIES DEFENITIVE EDITION PART ONE

 

The whole record! And it was only a brief pause in great albums, they kept at it after a lapse of a few years

 

Considering it's my favourite album of all time, this was easy for me: the only songs I generally skip are "Sweet Black Angel" and "Stop Breaking Down". "Rocks Off", "Casino Boogie", "Torn And Frayed", "Loving Cup", "Let It Loose" and "Soul Survivor" are my absolute favourites.

Best sounding version? Original Atlantic IMO. Avoid the '86 CBS at all costs- there's a horrible dropout/mastering error on "Sweet Virginia" that will scar you for life...

 

I love every song on Exile. My first CD copy was the CBS release, which I remember being surprised at the sonic errors it had. The only other copy I have is the Virgin CD. I think I'm due for an upgrade, not that I dislike my lone CD copy... but it seems like this album should be better represented in my "collection" (although I snicker to even call it that these days).

 

The Virgin CD's not bad- damnsight better than the CBS, I'll tell ya that for free...from what I understand of the CBS, Virgin and Universal CD issues of Exile, the Virgin's the best. Stick with that one.

 

Virgin CD for me too. It has that perfectly balanced yet ballsy Robert Ludwig sound.

 

Thanks for the confirmation... yeah, I was still pretty young and inexperienced when I got the CBS copy, but even then I remember wondering what source tapes they used to make that CD. Little pitch/speed problems from what sounded like stretched tape... and several sloppy tape splices that made some of my bad edits seem a little less embarrassing. No offense to anyone involved in the preparation of that CD... that was so long ago, and still fairly early in the CD manufacturing game as I recall. Many of those first-gen CD's were probably rushed in completion, and they used whatever master tapes were immediately at hand. No biggie, I'm just glad they get around to releasing better versions eventually.

 

Voted for every song - this is one of those records that's much greater than the sum of its parts, and those parts are pretty damned great on their own. In short, the greatest rock record ever produced.

The optimum way to hear Exile is the original vinyl, and if you can find a Monarch or Santa Maria pressing, well then you've reached nirvana.

If you must go digital, the Ludwig Virgin gets the clear nod.

 

The best rock album ever, bar none. Still an undoubted classic, though I play Aftermath, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Black and Blue, Some Girls and Tattoo You, Voodoo Lounge and Live at the Marquee just as much these days.

 

Perfection. My favorite album ever recorded and an obsession. Every single song. I would not change a single note.

My favorite is "Let It Loose." No other artist has ever made music that affects my soul like the greatest Rolling Stones songs do. They are my great musical love and this album is their highest peak.

 

I watched the DVD Stones In Exile a couple of nights ago, all 145 minutes of it, interviews and all. I came away with the feeling that Exile On Main Street just might be the greatest rock record of all time. With it's eclectic assortment of sounds and textures it just about covers it all; blues, boogie, rock, gospel, acoustic, etc. I can think of no other album that covers so much territory.

 

All the above.
1994 Virgin.

Still my favorite Stones album, largely because most of the songs were never huge radio staples thus it still sounds fresh to me.

 

oh man, not this again

 

It’s more like a hybrid of a number of different threads that this Forum does over and over. My regular responses:

1. Exile is their greatest album and among the best in history. Lots of people say it has “filler” but no one can agree on what tracks are filler.

2. They didn’t “burn out” in 73. They released an album (Goats Head Soup) that was weaker but today is regarded very highly, and went on tours of the Pacific and Europe that were amazing.

3. Note that their most successful period, commercially and perhaps critically, was from 1978-1981. That’s why the fan base is so strong, At any show, you are as likely to run into fans whose first record was Some Girls as fans whose first record was “Satisfaction”.

 

Yeah, what we need to freshen things up around here is some sort of Beatles thread.

 

Just listened to a few tracks from Exile two nights ago... for the umpteenth time.

For all the tea in China, I am constantly at a complete loss for the love for this (mediocre, IMO) album.

However, I will say the Stones run of "Beggar's" through "Sticky" is probably the best-three-studio-albums-in-a-row of all time (challenged by "Tommy" through "Quadrophenia" and "Dark Side" through "Animals").

.

 

TUMBLING DICE
HAPPY

 

nothing new from me here: IMHO the single most over-rated album ever by the stones.

i still don't get it's popularity.

in my bottom 10 of stones albums. 'sticky fingers' puts it, literally, to shame.

'tumbling dice' and 17 other non-descript songs.

 

Among Stones albums, choosing the favorite to sit down and listen to I am tempted to say Beggar's Banquet. But Exile has so much more to it, obviously. When I take that into account, by that measure, Exile is my favorite Stones album, and after Pepper's my second favorite all time.

 

How are you going into listening to Exile?

It certainly isn’t an album like Steely Dan’s Aja or even like the Stones’s previous studio efforts. It’s not meant to be judged song for song, but rather should be judged for the whole experience of listening to the record. Exile is an album that should be judged for the atmosphere it creates, which is what so many Stones fans (including myself) absolutely love about the album. Each song builds off of the previous in order to create a carefree, good time rock and roll atmosphere.

I think one’s appreciation of the record also can reflect their own appreciation of Americana music. Clearly the Stones were drawing upon old country and blues inspirations, and like their heroes, they were looking for a good dirty/muddy feel, instead of a good clean production. Half of what makes Americana music so great is that it has mistakes in it, which helps to create that good, carefree atmosphere. Another big aspect to the magic of Americana music is community. The music always involved the folk and they would all come together to unwind and just have a good time, which is what Exile is all about. Tracks like “Sweet Virginia,” (which sounds like it was recorded in a barn in the southern states of the U.S.) has extra voices (from probably an audience listening to the band play) that help to sing the chorus. What makes that song such a great tune (besides the music and the lyrics) is that it feels like a collaborative effort. All the “woo!”s and “yeah!”s just add to that feel.

I once felt the same as you, and I didn’t get the record. I was judging it wrong. It’s an album you put on while having some good friends over and just hangout. Some people describe the album as like being in some smoky bar, maybe you’ve had some drinks and maybe you’ve smoked a joint, and things feel a bit hazy, but you don’t want the band to stop playing, cause you’re having such a good time.

The only way I think you could get into the album is if you play it every day for a bit. That’s how I got into it. I played it every single day for an entire summer (which is the perfect time to listen to the album— “I’m the man who walks the hillside in the sweet summer sun”) and I fell in love with album. It’s definitely one of my favorite albums of all time, and certainly is a competitor for best double album of all time. And one of the main things a band is concerned with when making a double album is: Atmosphere. You have to create a great mood to make listeners want to be able to sit through all four sides.

 

This album got me thru my early 70s high school years more than any other LP of the time (w/Rod Stewart EPTAS a close #2)....anyway

EOMS is where the Stones stopped being just British white romancers of black culture & became a full fledged Blues & R&B unit....

The album has everything Stones lovers admire about the band...i.e.

Great opening track:Rocks Off
Out of control barnburner:Rip This Joint
Hits:Tumbling Dice & Happy
Country Soul:Torn And Frayed
Meaness:Ventilator Blues & Turd On The Run
Soul&to die for horns : Lovin Cup & Let It Loose
Counterculture heroine : Sweet Black Angel
Gospel : Shine A Light & I Just Want To See His Face
Great Blues Covers : Hip Shake & Stop Breaking Down
& Finally great Stones originals All Down The Line & Sweet Virginia

What's not to love?

I'm of the opinion that listeners who don't get EOMS don't get the true Rolling Stones....

Simply one of their top 2 LPs.Period.

 

I bought the original CBS back when I was at Uni in 1991. Had nothing to compare to. Then got the deluxe double CD version which I thought sounded too loud, although the extra tracks looked exciting. Some folks on here were praising the Virgin version, so I got that too. Virgin is the best one out of the lot.
I think it is a very good album rather than a great one, though. Yes, it does hang together well. Part of its appeal as others have suggested. The Americana thing is interesting to me as The Rolling Stones do seem a bit fake. Or rather, Jagger's vocals do. Minor criticism as like The Beatles WA, it has its flaws but is just miles better than what most other bands could do.

 

I picked my 9 favourites but could have picked 16 of 18. My least favourites are Turd on the run and Sweet black angel but i never skip them people this is Exile and we must not ruin the gestalt. Best 9 for me in no order: Tumbling Dice, Happy, Loving Cup (Nicky owns this), All Down The Line, Rip This Joint, Shine A Light (why the heck they took so long to play this live god only knows!), Soul Survivor (no it is NOT actually about pirates for those not aware of metaphors!), Rocks Off & Sweet Virginia.
Best is original vinyl UK or US.
Tip: Crank intro to All Down The Line (from said original vinyl) and listen to Charlie, Bill & Mick Taylor start a fire in your house! Oh and pardon me but the classic run had one more installment to add 66'-73' indeed!

 

Used to love it, then got bored of it, which slowly turned in to being irritated by the mock soul rock vibe and sound of the thing... It's all a bit too Leon Russell, Delanie and Bonnie etc for my liking. Too much plastic gospel backing vocals.

Exile is as pretensious as Quadrophenia and Darkside of the Moon (plastic gospel backing vocals blight this too) with little of the originality of those albums. The overstated tales of the basement when most of it was recorded elsewhere, even stretching back to sessions from 1969 at Olympic.

I think part of my Exile fatigue is years of reading all the crap written about it and being TOLD it's 'the greatest rock and roll album of all time'. Meanwhile I'm digging 1965 - 1968 much more. I guess I know how people who are sick of being force fed 'The Beatles are the greatest of all time' feel.

For me, there is just so much more excitement, originality and sense of wonder in the music of the 60's Rolling Stones. The true Rolling Stones are in amongst all that.

...

I voted for Loving Cup as it's one of the few songs on the album that has some of that 60's magic in it.

 

Despite my overly negative post up there, I would add that Exile is very much linked to the original intent of The Rolling Stones. In many ways it's like a perfect bookend and conclusion to that intent and story. They were brought together by their love of black american music and sought to popularise, learn as much about and pay tribute to that music. Exile is the natural conclusion to all that. A love letter to America.

It's all a homage though...

...

My view is that the real truth of anything is not what it seeks to be, but rather what it actually is. They wanted to be black american musicians, selectively of course, but the truth is that they are white, british, europeans and with that comes a whole different spectrum of setting, culture and influences.

So, an album full of Americana features a lot what they love, but in many ways is missing lots of aspects of who they really are.

Something like Aftermath is closer to the true Rolling Stones as it incorporates what they love AND who they are more fully. We see and hear their englishness, the european influences and their love of black american music. No coincidence perhaps that this is the case as it's their first fully self written album. One that was created in a time that was open to allowing english and european influences in to a musical setting that had previously been overly hung up on american influences.

Exile is very selective representation of who and what The Rolling Stones really are.