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

occasional brilliance with a lot of rubbish, much like the career trajectory of the Rolling Stones.

 

Well the 2 are my favorite Stones records. Exile used to be my favorite, Sticky Fingers is now. It's a pretty close call. Both are totally great, both should get full credit.

 

Exile: ' Raw ' Rock.

"Rocking Raw, sweat and all."

And recorded in a sweltering basement in France.

Google: Nellcote Rolling Stones

And... it's the history behind the album and recording, while they were in Exile from England. Exile is a masterpiece. One of the top of the very 'very' best top rock albums of all time. * Forever *

Sticky Fingers? I've heard it at least 140 times. Outstanding tooooo. Also a masterpiece! I must confess though, I've heard it so many times that I really haven't played it in 5 or 6 years now. Fantastic album.

 

Yep. Double-album, double the goodness.

 

This is like fighting over what's better, going out with Scarlett Johanssen or going out with Jennifer Lawrence.

 

I have always found it interesting that people who like the Stones universally like Sticky Fingers whereas this is not true for Exile.

 

Hard to say. Sticky Fingers is every bit as good from an artistic and musical standpoint. It is a tremendous album in its own right, quite possibly more melodic and versatile. That said, there is something very special about Exile On Main Street. You can't necessarily put your finger on it or easily define it, but much like The Beatles' White Album, Exile On Main Street is a messy, inconsistent, substantive, inspired, mind-blowing rock and roll album that sounds like nothing else of its kind.

 

I love 'em both...

The style/tone of Exile best represents the Stones during their first 15 years (and they way most people seem to remember them): loose, murky, raw, decadent, depraved, dark, even sinister. This isn't an album that nice, happy, clean-cut people are meant to enjoy. This an album for people who would've stood at the crossroads with Robert Johnson and made the same deal he did.

Also, it seems to be the largest collection of songs on a Stones album that haven't been covered by other artists (just a guess off the top of my head), making Exile more uniquely the Stones' than the albums containing more of their biggest hits.

 

The only thing I don't like about Exile is its concluding with 'Soul Survivor", kind of generic riff more than a song. After 'Moonlight Mile" you don't want to hear another song because you know its a sweeping, devastatingly majestic statement. After 'Soul Survivor" you want to hear a better song.

 

Maybe most like Exile better than Sticky Fingers but not me. But then, Sticky Fingers came out my senior year in high school. Is there ever a more formative time in someone's life than their late high school years? Sticky Fingers will always be my favorite Stones record.

 

To me the two albums are quite different. Sticky Fingers continues the heavy, lead guitar-oriented style that the Stones had embarked on around the the time of Beggars Banquet. With Mick Taylor in the lineup, the Let It Bleed LP had excellent guitar, and they hit new heights on the live LP Get Yer Ya-Yas Out. On Sticky Fingers, Mick Taylor played in the studio like he played on stage and that album features some of the Stones best songs.
For me, Exile on Main Street is a big departure from Sticky Fingers. Where are the guitar solos? Did they get angry with Taylor and cut him off the album? Exile is all sloppy riffs, twangy slide guitar and has a murky sound. On the track Rocks Off they faded the song out just as a guitar solo seemed to be coming in.

 

Count me in that group. Exile is twice as long as it needs to be, IMO. BEGGAR'S BANQUET, LET IT BLEED and STICKY FINGERS get played here all the time. Then comes AFTERMATH and HOT ROCKS. Exile remains in relative exile.

 

You either get it or you don't, but for me "Exile" is the greatest LP of all time by anyone. Already elaborated at length on the reasons why in the long-running Stones catalog thread - as well as why I don't think "Sticky" quite measures up - depth, continuity, scope, consistency...etc., al...

 

"Exile" just transcends everything. Why? Because if you're interested at all in how a band like the Rolling Stones ever came to exist in post-war England; what they were listening to and how it influenced them musically, and how the cultural impact of the USA played a huge part - this is the album that tells the whole story. It isn't just a collection of songs, or a series of covers and hit singles, or even a great rock record. It's a wide-screen masterpiece of genres and styles, magnificently tossed together in a haphazard way that somehow covers EVERYTHING that was great about the band. If you don't think so, just keep playing it and it all makes sense.

 

Blair, treat yourself to a couple of extra chicken wings for that fine, all-knowing submission.

 

Sticky then LIB top my Stones listening.

 

I like It's Only Rock 'N' Roll better than Goat's Head Soup.

 

Each side of Exile has a different vibe. It's like listening to the history of the Stones influences and how they assimilated them.

 

Who needs guitar solos?

 

As do many others John.

 

Because exile is a cooler and more serious sounding word than sticky

 

Because is better

 

I started getting the Stones 15 , 16 years ago also and Exile was considered their best album.

 

Beggar's Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, and Exile On Main Street are four of the finest albums ever recorded in the history of rock music IMO. I cannot and will not ever choose one over the other.