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

Ladies and Gentlemen is absolutely superb. I love it too! Those '72 shows are just fantastic in every conceivable way for me. The version of "Love in Vain" on there is sublime. Mick Taylor on there...wow. I also love "Sweet Virginia" with that amazing Bobby Keys solo and "Midnight Rambler" is practically performance art. Dead Flowers...Rip This Joint..JJF...Not a wasted moment and everyone is in top form. I would kill to have been able to see them live in '72. The World's Greatest Rock n Roll Band and they earned it.

I can't say how it ranks among all shows. I'm not a bootleg collector, but I have most of the officially released live documents (And I don't have Brussels Affair because I missed it. Hoping for a wide release on that.) I'm partial to '72 and '81 myself. I grew up with a VHS copy of Let's Spend the Night Together, thus explaining my soft spot for '81 shows. I'd put Texas '72 at the top of what I've heard, along with 10/30/2005 (the second time I personally saw the band and the best concert I've been to ).

 

I can’t recall anyone ever saying that Hyde Park was their best performance. Ladies and gentlemen is as good as it gets. It’s not entirely honest (a bit of sweetening and mixing-and-marching took place) but it’s close enough. Some people think that the 69 band was better (and less cluttered without horns and piano), others like ‘73, especially Brussels.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if, before they remastered the album, spruced up the 'bonus tracks' and did the Stones In Exile doc in 2010, Mick hadn't actually sat down and listened to Exile On Main Street for twenty years or something. He probably forgot what was on it, heard the thing and realized, "Hey, this isn't such a bad album after all!"

 

Sorry, I bought this album when it came out. And I have it now on CD. Every once in a while I try to listen to it to understand what the big deal is all about. All I hear is a bunch of drunks making sloppy, amateur music. It is the most overrated album in the history of music.

 

Dice
Angel
Original

 

I'm one of those "some people" that feel the '69 live band was the summit. To me they were still hungry at that point, the set list was at it's nastiest (Stray Cat, Sympathy, Live With Me, Little Queenie, etc.), Keith was three years fresher, Mick Taylor seemed to be more focused and not tend to overplay (imo), etc. In '69 The Beatles were still a band, The Who was at the top of their game, Zeppelin was coming out, Hendrix was still shaking things … the Stones had to bring their A game, and they did. Between Get Yer Ya Ya's Out and those live clips from the Gimme Shelter film, imo it gets no better. '72 Stones were great, no doubt, but there is an edge to the '69 live band that seemed to wain as the band got more comfortable with there fame.

 

If you have followed the Stones over the years, you know that Mick is one of those rock musicians that is fairly easily influenced by the critics. Similar to McCartney, his view of his own work seems largely shaped by reviews. Critics were not entirely behind Exile upon release and his comments over the years reflect those reviews. Fans, on the other hand, have loved it since day 1. It took a while, but the critics came around, and when they did, so did Mick. But fairly recently he made this preposterous comment (in a video; which one I cannot recall): he said that he doesn’t understand why the fans like it as there aren’t “any hits on it.” It’s amazing. He still doesn’t get it.

 

"Drunks"? More like, high outta their brains on pink Marseilles smack and pure Merck pharmaceutical cocaine! The booze was secondary, I'm sure...

Don't matter, Exile isn't going to be everybody's cup of tea

Nah, I don't follow the Stones, can't stand 'em

Seriously, though, Doc, yer right- when it comes to critics, Mick is, as John Lennon would put it, "sensitive as sh-t". But I don't think we need to waste our energy trying to explain the overall merits of Exile On Main Street to Mick Jagger...I mean, if he doesn't get it by now...

We get it. That's all that really matters.

 

I've heard Get Yer Ya Ya's Out has some overdubs. It says on Wikipedia:

"Overdubbing sessions were undertaken during January 1970 in London's Olympic Studios. The finished product featured an edited lead vocal on two tracks, and an overdubbed guitar on songs "Little Queenie" and "Stray Cat Blues." However this album is widely recognized as one of a few actual 'live' albums during this era."

Although, it says those particular sentences still need a citation. Do you know which two tracks had an edited lead vocal, and to what extent were the edits?

The recordings for Get Yer Ya Ya's Out was taken from their two night stay at Madison Square Garden in Nov. '69, and "Love In Vain" was from their stay in Baltimore. I'm fairly certain Jimi was at the Madison Square shows, and that helped to give them more of a reason to play tighter. There's footage of Jimi hanging with Keef backstage, which is cool. Do you know of any good shows to check out from their' 69 tour? I'm obviously aware of Altamont, Get Yer Ya Ya's Out (I've never checked out the actual shows), and Hyde Park.

 

They played Gimme Shelter live earlier in the 1969 tour but it was dropped from the set list by the time of the MSG shows.

 

Below is an in depth analyses of the overdubs on Ya Yas, followed by the source link to all things '69 tour. The conclusions were drawn from comparisons of the boots of those concerts versus what's on Ya Yas. Is below definitive, probably not, but someone did their best and took the time to be as accurate as they could be. The fact that Midnight Rambler and Sympathy have no overdubs show that they were smoking, and the rest of the overdubs were just to polish it up a bit. Check out the link, lots of good info!

A Summary of Sources and Overdubs on "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!"

Opening words - Sam Cutler: MSG 11/27/69, 11/28/69 1st, and ?

• - Opening words - Jagger: "watch it", overdubbed.

1. Jumpin' Jack Flash: Music MSG 11/27/69, vocal overdubbed.

• - Spoken Words: MSG 11/27/69, edited.

2. Carol: MSG 11/28/69 1st, Mick Taylor's guitar piece is possibly overdubbed. (My note: the solo/lead parts of course are Keith's so I guess they are speaking of all those little fills of MT's possibly added)

• - Spoken Words: "Thank You" from MSG 11/27/69.

3. Stray Cat Blues: Music Baltimore 11/26/69, vocals overdubbed. Two musical "markers" were identified. Missing Turnaround Verse #4 ("It's no hangin' mat-tar..."). A lessor possibility: 11/28/69 1st. This is noted due to the "Champaign Variation", which is a close approximation to "Ya-Ya's" lyrics, and therefore a possibility in a live '69 performance.

• Spoken Words: Possibly MSG 11/28/69 2nd.

4. Love In Vain: Baltimore 11/26/69, no overdubs.

• Spoken Words: MSG 11/28/69 2nd, edited.

5. Midnight Rambler: MSG 11/28/69 2nd, no overdubs.

• Spoken Words (Background): - MSG 11/28/69 2nd.

6. Sympathy for the Devil: MSG 11/28/69 1st. Verse #4 is edited out.

• Spoken Words: 11/28/69 1st or 2nd possibly before Satisfaction.

7. Live With Me: Music MSG 11/28/69 2nd, vocals overdubbed.

• Spoken Words: MSG 11/28/69 1st "Aw New York City..." also in the "Gimme Shelter" movie before Jumpin' Jack Flash.

8. Little Queenie: Music MSG 11/28/69 1st, vocals overdubbed.

• Spoken Words: MSG 11/28/69 1st or 2nd. "Well all rights..." also in the "Gimme Shelter" movie after Jumpin' Jack Flash.

9. Honky Tonk Women: Music MSG 11/27/69, vocals overdubbed. Missing the "New York Verse", which would have been Verse #3 in a "Paris Verse" version of the song. Also missing the added chorus that would have separated the two verses.

• Spoken Words: Overdubbed (Note the "electronic noise" that is present). A lessor possibility: 11/28/69 1st or 2nd, or Baltimore 11/26/69.

10. Street Fighting Man: Music MSG 11/28/69 1st, vocals overdubbed. A lessor possibility: Music Baltimore 11/26/69, vocals overdubbed.

The Rollling Stones Get Yer Ya Yas Out

 

Oakland ‘69. Released as LiveR Than You’ll Ever Be. Similar to Ya-Ya’s, but rawer. The CD’s have expanded track lists, but the beat sound is on the original vinyl.

 

Generally I ‘d agree with you, but the most famous quote of him saying he didn’t really rate it was from a Mojo aricle where they did a whole feature on the album saying it was off the scale brilliant.

 

Thanks brotha, I’ll make sure to throw it on sometime today! I’m very interested!

 

Tough to pick a favorite, not because some songs are better than others, but because they all work together as a whole. You take out one song, or even change up the order, and the album doesn't work as well. It really is a whole work, and picking favorites would be like picking a favorite note out of one single song.

For the record, while I think Exile is the greatest rock album of all time, I'm actually not a huge Stones fan, and I really only like Beggars/Bleed and a few random songs here and there. I'm rather "meh" on the rest of their catalog.

 

It's so raw and heavy at Altamont! A very unique sounding live rendition.

 

Raw and unsettling. Amazing Altamont 1969. Stones were hungry before they would become mega worldwide celebrity stars.

 

It’s probably on YouTube as well. It’s an audience recording but a very good one.

Yeah, for me, it’s ‘69 for the pure drums and guitars Stones, and 72-73 for the horns and keyboards combo that, despite the added personnel, was very tight, and still had everyone at the peak of their powers. Brussels is like Thanos with all of the infinity stones.

75-81 was a lot less consistent, but as the various live DVD’s that have been released demonstrate (Some Girls Texas being the best), they still put on a great show.

After that, it becomes a bit slick, but there are still some great shows available.

 

FWIW I happened upon an A/B comparison last night. Every night before dinner I listen to music with my wife (who has a great ear and is able to verbalize differences)). Last night I pulled out my Exile "Pure Audio" Blu-ray (from the 5 versions of this album I have). There are three options, PCM, DTS Master Audio, and Dolby True HD. We felt the Dolby sounded best, at least for this recording … but even it didn't sound right (thin and depthless). I told my wife that SH Forums leans towards the Virgin Exile as the best digital version. I said let's compare them and put the Virgin release on. On those first two open G hammer on chords of Rocks Off our eyes got big, we looked at each other and couldn't believe the difference, it just opened up and filled out, the thinness was gone. I've done a few A/B's in my time but this takes the cake as the most night and day difference. Anyone tempted to get the Blu-ray save your money. The player used was an OPPO 105.

 

The Virgin cd 1994 release is doing well in the poll. Glad I got a copy a few years back.

 

Will spin the 2016 half speed vinyl when I get it in snail mail. Will thoroughly clean it than the inevitable spin on the TT.

 

Get YYY Out: Love in Vain; Lady in the audience: "yes...love Jesus"

I have never noticed that. Will have to listen.

 

"We didn't start off intending to make a double album; we just went down to the south of France to make an album and by the time we'd finished we said, 'We want to put it all out.' The point is that the Stones had reached a point where we no longer had to do what we were told to do. Around the time Andrew Oldham left us, we'd done our time, things were changing and I was no longer interested in hitting Number One in the charts every time. What I want to do is good ****—if it's good they'll get it some time down the road."

• Keith Richards
  

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