The Rolling Stones
Exile on Main St. (Deluxe Edition)
One of the Best Albums of All Time.
Why am I writing a review for an album that was released 38 ago? The simple reason is that Universal Music Enterprises has just released a re-mastered version of The Rolling Stones’ sprawling masterpiece Exile on Main St. that includes 10 previously unreleased tracks, in what is hopefully becoming a growing trend (see Jimi Hendrix’s Valleys of Neptune). But the real reason is that this album has had such a profound impact on music, including sparking my own interest in rock n’ roll, that a review of it nearly four decades later is still relevant.
By 1971, The Stones already boasted a couple of #1 albums, including that year’s Let It Bleed, but their commercial success was marred by a growing ‘bad boy’ image, due largely to drug problems, the fiasco at Altamont Speedway in 1969, and being forced out of England due to a large tax debt. It was in this environment, as literal exiles, that the Stones found themselves in the summer of ‘71, traveling to the south of France to record their next album. Once arriving, they continued to encounter problems and, unable to find a satisfactory studio, descended into the basement of Keith Richards’ villa to record Exile, a fitting setting for the devilish outlaws of rock. Despite Richards’ worsening heroin addiction and Jagger’s preoccupation with his newborn baby, the band was able to lay down enough material for what would become a double album, comprised of 18 tracks that would revive rock n’ roll.
“It wasn't a great environment for, like, breathing”
The album initially received lukewarm reviews at best, and was criticized for being too long and dense. However, it has since been recognized as a masterpiece, sitting at number 7 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and serving as inspiration to musicians and fans alike. (continued after the jump!)
