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

Exile is the sound of the best night of your life, including the come down and hangover.

 

I tried, couldn't get into Exile on Main Street.

 

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

"Exile ..." fans post more.
Either one is fine listening and comparing the two is to compare apples and oranges.

If you want the album that gets to the heart of the matter where the lyrics match
the zeitgeist, grab the chair at the head of the table of the "Beggars Banquet".

 

I don't hold it in higher regard.

 

I personally don't think Exile is anywhere near as good a whole as Sticky Fingers. Exile has many great tracks but for me has been over glamorized.

 

Except Exile was probably the least Stones-ish of the classic Stones albums in terms of line-ups on the individual tracks. Keith was nocturnal, Wyman wasn't, Charlie lived 3 hours away and only came to Nellecote a few days at a time. You have very few instances of all 5 Stones playing on the same tracks, and even when you do it wasn't all 5 of them live (overdubs, etc). You also had Mick and Keith pulling in two different directions: Mick wanting to be more current and in keeping with modern trends, and Keith wanting to get back to more rootsy, blues-based stuff. In that way, as well as the other ways you mention, I feel it *IS* their White Album.

 

I don't play SF all that much (though I do really enjoy it) but Exile never ever comes off the Pono/iPod. It is my go to driving down the highway with the windows down/road trip album.

 

I hold Sticky Fingers in a higher regard. Even Let It Bleed, honestly.

 

I always thought Sister Morphine and You Gotta Move as sort of filler, whereas Exile has this sound to it across the whole album that the Stones never really duplicated anywhere else (sort of unique like Dylan's Blonde On Blonde sound). Plus Torn And Frayed is amazing...all those guitars remind me of Some Girls lol.

I just broke down and bought my first SHM...Exile On Main St

 

I never liked Exile all that much, and I'm a Stones fan. Too many songs I didnt like. Sound wasnt great either.

So sue me.

 

It's the fleeting perfection of the gospel sound on "Exile" that the Stones played with on "Beggars" with "Salt of the Earth" and on "Bleed" with "You Can't Always Get What You Want." "Let it Loose" and "Shine a Light" are the pinnacle of this sound that was all but gone on "Sticky."

And right now, with all the extra goodies, "Sticky" is my favorite Stones album again.

 

I think this is the main reason.

At some point in the 70s, being able to come up with a strong double album was the final test to achieving "major band" status

 

Because Keef and Bobby and some others were doing so much heroin. Everybody knows you make a better album on heroin. SF is good but ExMS is just a f****d up MESS. Like R'nR should be.

 

I think Sticky Fingers is the best Stones album. Exile isn't in my top 5.

 

I personally can't separate Beggars, Bleed, Sticky or Exile apart, this is the band pretty much at their zenith for me. Although listening to Goats Head Soup makes me realise that is an underrated gem.

 

Wow. There's an identical thread going on at iorr.com. Wonder if it's the same person asking why Exile is so highly regarded. Some interesting posts here. I don't regard SF and Exile as apples and oranges - to me, they sound like two parts of the same album, with the core band expanded to include Keys, Hopkins and Price. I also don't hear any difference between Mick and Keith musically - it's not the White Album. I certainly don't hear any "new directions". It all sounds old and timeless. And the sound - I would just point out that roughly half the tracks are narrow stereo, almost more mono, and half the tracks are wide stereo, with lots of air and detail. if you listen, for example, to casino boogie right after shake your hips, you'll see what I mean.

 

Good board! I got booted there 'cuz there's some thin nerves residing, which is
odd 'cuz I've seen some old timers post much worse than I ever did. Nonetheless,
if you love Taylor and "Exile ...", you'll have plenty in common with the posters there.

I still lurk.

 

Well, I love Taylor and Exile, as well as Taylor and Sticky Fingers (and Taylor and Goat's Head Soup, FWIW!).

 

Both Sticky Fingers and Exile are great. Sticky has some songs, and production quality, that are catchy and easy to get into quickly. Ex. Brown Sugar and Wild Horses.

Exile is denser, product quality not as good as Sticky. It took me more listens to get into. Over the long haul (35 years I've been listening to both), Exile's density has held it up better to repeated listenings..going deep into the nooks and crannies.

Another difference is Sticky Fingers seemed like the next evolution of sound and style for the Stones (following Beggers Banquet and Let it Bleed). Exile seemed like a summation of all the styles the Stones had moved through, and dipped in southern bourbon.

 

Too short? If I recall correctly it's running close to 50 mins!!!

 

Sticky Fingers was about surrendering to drugs, drink, sex, whatever excess you can think of, it was about the life. Exile... was still about that, but it was also about the fallout from that life. Not just the morning after, but what comes after, if anything. It's about trying to find some kind of salvation. I grew up with both albums, love 'em, but Exile... moves me in ways that Sticky Fingers can't.

 

I agree with Ralphb, but would add that Goats Head Soup is more about the fallout from the life. Sticky is the pre-excess, Exile is the excess, and Goats is the turning blue in the bathroom, being sick down the loo come down album.

 

Interesting points to address the OP's question. I don't know if it's been said in any posts here, but over the years it seems many rock musicians - especially in the 80's and 90's - seem to have proclaimed it as their favorite Stones LP.
And I guess in certain circles, as soon as an acclaimed guitarist cites his influences, others tend to jump on it also. Then Critics will swarm onto it, too.

Pete Buck once said something to the effect of it's a great LP of drunken expatriot tax-dodging Brits recording Bluesy American rock in France....
But don't quote me on that. Maybe someone can find what exact words he said.

 

Good point, I can't say that I've ever been fan of that album. What I get from it is, it's like, having gotten a glimpse of being free from the excess, they decided it wasn't worth the bother and just slammed the door shut.

 

I think Exile it's a better album, covering more genres and in some ways, musically, more sophisticated