Why is Exile on Main St. held in higher regard than Sticky Fingers?

I love both albums. Both have an "aura" to them, and I tend to gravitate to the aura and subject matter of Sticky Fingers more. Every song is strong and the album is a textbook example of what a Rock and Roll album should be - all killer, no filler.

Now, I've never heard anyone say that SF is bad or even so-so. It's generally well liked by fans and critics, but apparently not enough to be called a masterpiece. Why? What makes EOMS the better album?

 

As David Briggs would say, it's got the spook.

 

Depth.

 

Because I like it more..

 

Is it?

 

Maybe because it's a double album?

 

my favorite work from any particular artist is nearly always the album immediately preceding or immediately succeeding the critical darling/sacred cow of their discography.

Thus:

Stones: Sticky Fingers
Zeppelin: Presence or III
Rush: Permanent Waves or Signals
REM: Out of Time or Reckoning
Bowie: Diamond Dogs or Station to Station
Yes: Going for the One
ELP: Trilogy
Jethro Tull: Benefit or Heavy Horses
Iron Maiden: Killers or Somewhere in Time
Neil Young: On the Beach
The Clash: Give Em Enough Rope or Sandinista!
Talking Heads: Fear of Music
Van Morrison: Hard Nose the Highway
Genesis: Wind and Wuthering or Trespass

.. and the list goes on ..


nearly none of the above are the critical darlings of each band's respective catalog. But each one is my fave by said artist.

 

Cuz its awesome in general. Even if it only had "Ventilator Blues" and "Loving Cup" followed by 65 minutes of Keith burping into a microphone it would still slay with those two tracks alone.

 

its not as good and has more filler ,even if its still excellent it doesn't have any Wild Horses or a track that good on it that would stick out ,its all about the same (all excellent that is) not to mention no Can't you hear me knocking

 

Time of No Reply is the "cast aside" Nick Drake songs, and its bloody brilliant!

 

But I probably like Aftermath and Beggars Banquet more than Sticky Fingers From a guitar perspective, Sticky Fingers rules all though.

 

no

 

[QUOTbothE="GodShifter, post: 11548558, member: 32355"]Maybe because Exile is an actual album whereas Sticky Fingers is an album of leftovers ?

Isn't that the story ?[/QUOTE]

No, Exile is more of an album of leftovers than Sticky Fingers.

I say they are both masterpieces.

 

is it really?
I think both are masterpieces.

 

Because hep cats and critics think it's cooler to favor albums that don't have the biggest hits on them.

 

Not by me it's not so i can't really answer the question. I probably shouldn't even be commenting. I'll be off. No-one's posted in The Beatles 1964 Bootleg Recordings thread for at least half an hour. I'm gonna see what's happening. Gimme a shout when the deluxe Sticky Fingers is out. I'll probably be on the other thread still waiting for my Beatle fix.

 

Sticky Fingers is indeed a masterpiece. Exile is the best rock album ever made.

 

so twice as good

 

I always assumed that it was because it was a Double Studio Album in an era when Double Studio Album meant Really Big Artistic Statement. That and the fact that Exile has a sort of arty vibe about it, with the eclectic range of styles and the very earthy takes on the blues and gospel sounds. I've given it a lot of thought (and listening) over the years and I can't think of anything that I'd cut from Exile, but I still consider Sticky Fingers to be a far better album. It's highs are higher and there ain't no lows. It's a large step away from the Beggars/LIB era. By contrast, the sound of Exile isn't that far afield of SF. There's just a lot more of it, and presented a lot more casually.

 

Both are excellent...

 

It seems to me that Exil has risen in stature over the last decade or so. When I started getting the Stones like 15 years ago or thereabouts, I remember seeing Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers and comps of early singles at the top of the recommended lists. Now it seems to be Exile.

I think Exile is favored a bit because it's grimier and messier, which has come back in style with the prominence of indy/alternative rock in critics' mindsets. Also that Sticky Fingers has more hits.

Me, I do prefer brevity, "hits," all that lame stuff. Exile is a fun record but Sticky is my fave.

 

both are awesome

 

It's not even the best Rolling Stones album ever made!

 

i don't think sticky fingers has to worry much about it's place tin the rollings stones canon....i think it gains in stature while exile wanes just a bit...also exile has had deluxe edition type releases while SF just kind of hangs out in the shadows.

 

Exile is the Stones in all their ragged glory.
The greatest Stones' album and also probably the greatest rock 'n' roll record ever made.