The upcoming re-reissue of the 1972 masterwork Exile on Main Street gives the rock world a fresh opportunity to collective kiss the Rolling Stones’ asses one more time.
Not that they don’t deserve it when it comes to this lightening-in-a-bottle classic double album. Many consider it their finest effort in one of the longest winning streaks in rock music, and I wouldn’t disagree (though it’s not my favourite, for the record).
When Virgin issued a re-mastered version in 1994 they obviously didn’t have the band’s participation when you see what’s coming on this new edition (set to drop May 18).
Mick and Keith revisited the vaults and found 10 unreleased tunes from the sessions to tack on to this “deluxe edition,” which has all the add-ons suckers readily cough up for.
Though these “recently-discovered” tunes will have fans frothing at the mouth, I would urge lower expectations.
The Stones have never been the kind of band to keep their best work hidden away. If it’s really good, you probably would have heard it by now. Still, this era is commonly considered their most creatively fertile, so I’m just as curious as anyone to hear what hit the editing floor.
To further get your rocks off on the Exile period is a documentary – Stones in Exile – about the album and their UK tax situation that includes never-before seen footage of famous villa Nellcote, Keith’s heroin house/makeshift studio in gorgeous Southern France where the band recorded the majority of the album in his basement. The humid conditions of the mansion its lack of ventilation and air conditioning is often credited for giving the Exile’s its dense, grimy sound.
This doc reportedly lifts footage from Robert Frank’s banned-by-the-band Cocksucker Blues – hands down the best film made about the Stones – which chronicles the Stones’ routinely debaucherous American tour in support of Exile. This is the tour where Mick steals Tina Turner’s dance moves, as well as items from her makeup bag.
There are many reasons why Main Street is so beloved, but foremost is perhaps the case you can make that it was Keith’s most realized vision of what he always wanted the band to be – a vision shared by many fans.
This could explain how Mick’s vocals came out so low in the mix. Jagger, who was flying in and out of the sessions in order to be with his pregnant wife Bianca at the time, is not the star of this album, and it’s no surprise he brushed it off once it came out.
In fact, Charlie’s drums are almost as prominent (think of that snare hit in the first song, Rocks Off) as Mick’s vocals.
Another reason could be much simpler: it has the best songs. Loving Cup, Tumbling Dice, Sweet Virginia, Torn and Frayed, are among at least four or five others that are certifiable Stones classics. At 18 songs, it benefits greatly from its heft. But you have to wonder what’s more of an accomplishment, to record a double album where half is brilliance or lay down a 10-song album like Sticky Fingers or Let It Bleed where every single track is a winner?
In case you caught Jimmy Fallon last night and wondered why Green Day of all bands were covering Rip This Joint, the NBC show is crudely sucking the cool out Exile by slating mostly awful artists to cover the album all week. Can’t wait to see which Exile classic Keith Urban strangles into blandness on Tuesday.[rssbreak]
