Exile on Main St.

I haven't heard anyone praise "Happy," which is, probably, the giddiest Stones song of the seventies and the last Keef song until "Before They Make Me Run" which doesn't sound like he's slurring from underneath a pile of cig ash.

I've been listening to this a lot in the 18 months. Usually side two first. "Happy" is my favorite Keith song. I like it just about anytime. I prefer it to people some saturdays.

-- Trip Maker, Tuesday, July 31, 2007 2:52 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Link

"She Said Yeah" is faster than "Rip This Joint" IIRC (don't know "Flip the Switch" offhand)

YES BUT I WANT HEARTS, FLOWERS, UNICORNS, AND CANDY PILED IN ITS HONOR

(xpost)

Charlie sounds fierce on "Flip The Switch," like a drum machine, and for all I know there's one in there too, since it's one of the Dust Brothers-produced tracks.

I kind of like Jagger's Dylan impersonations in "Sister Morphine" ("Pleeeeaaase, Sister Morphine...")

off-topic a bit, but "Jigsaw Puzzle" might be my favorite Dylan rip ever

Those drum fills Charlie does at the end of Rocks Off are divine. He just kills though out the whole record.

I haven't heard anyone praise "Happy," which is, probably, the giddiest Stones song of the seventies

this is actually the song that made me get Exile on Main Street, cuz I saw the Replacements do a cover version of it

I R A DORK

this is, btw, Mick Jagger's least favorite major Stones album.

Is there a EOMS song poll? I can't imagine any song leading.

xxxp [re Dylan]
I agree that "Jigsaw Puzzle" is better--and probably "she smiled sweetly" too.

I haven't heard anyone praise "Happy," which is, probably, the giddiest Stones song of the seventies

yeah, it could almost be called "Giddy" that song, esp. that four-note repeating high guitar line.

(I think there was an Exile poll, wasn't there?)

linked at the top of this thread

(results unsurprising)

boy, I am not AT ALL on my game today.

I have a few bootlegs of the Mats doing "Happy". Drunkenly.

Of all the late-early-mid era Stones albums, i'd place Exile... in a solid fourth; excepting, of course, if your definition of the late-early-mid era includes titles earlier than 1970's Get Your Ya-Ya's Out! then, i would entertain the possibility of exalting other late-early, early mid, and even late-mid-early titles.

This album fucking sucks.

Nah, it rules.

what a great album! like some other peeps on this thread it doesn't have my fave Stones songs, but as a collection it might be the best one. Used to not be all that into the sides 3 & 4, but i've come around to loving the whole damn thing. the murk rules! it really is a great headphones record -- all kindsa stuff going on beneath the surface.

One of the four or five greatest English-singing albums ever recorded and released. At the time, the way it confounded categories of fatigue and energy, young and adult suggested a beguiling future for rock. Unfortunately, those same confounded categories would prove insufferable as the 1980s rolled around.

Sprawling and messy and just huge. This album takes a long time to digest, and listening to it all at once can be a major undertaking.

As I tend to move back and forth b/t Stones albums depending upon the mood of the day/time of day, EOMS CAN be the greatest. It certainly ain't always the greatest.

And it doesn't have Moonlight Mile, which is my favorite Stones song. But it does have Ventilator Blues, which is my second favorite Stones song.

Great album.

Side 2 of Exile = possibly the best album side ever by anyone.

love it

I've been thinking about Sweet Black Angel. I didn't know it was written for Angela Davis. I wonder what she thinks of this song?

Keith's harmonies on that one are unearthly, aren't they?

Yes, Keith's contribution to the song really uh brings it on home.
See, I can listen to this album first thing in the morning at work.
But I started with side two! I'll go back to Rocks off after Soul Survivor.

'Shine A Light' has the best guitar solo on any record, anywhere.

You can almost guarantee that it's Mick Taylor's handiwork, then.

(The REAL fastest Stones record is "I Just Wanna Make Love To You" or "Surprise Surprise", surely?)

I've always been a bit lukewarm on "Exile" too, because of the couple-three absolute dead spots. I've given "Casino Boogie" 21 years and still think it sucks. But Side Two just kills.

perhaps of interest to those on this thread:
Peter Whitehead's '66 Rolling Stones film "Charlie Is My Darling"

Well I never kept a dollar past sunset,
It always burned a hole in my pants.
Never made a school mama happy,
Never blew a second chance, oh no

I need a love to keep me happy,
I need a love to keep me happy.
Baby, baby keep me happy.
Baby, baby keep me happy.

Always took candy from strangers,
Didnt wanna get me no trade.
Never want to be like papa,
Working for the boss every night and day.

I need a love to keep me happy,
I need a love, baby wont ya keep me happy.
Baby, wont ya keep me happy.
Baby, please keep me

I need a love to keep me happy,
I need a love to keep me happy.
Baby, baby keep me happy.
Baby, baby keep me happy.

Never got a flash out of cocktails,
When I got some flesh off the bone.
Never got a lift out of lear jets,
When I can fly way back home.

I need a love to keep me happy,
I need a love to keep me happy.
Baby, baby keep me happy.
Baby, baby keep me happy.

did nothing for me the first time i listened (borrowed from a video store i used to work at). hated the murk, wasn't really that deep into stones fandom at that stage either so it just passed me by. went back to it years later and it made much more sense.

i wish 'shine a light' went on longer. always seems like it should be one of those big stones epics.

<i>sticky fingers</i> is more fun, i would be more inclined to put it on at a party. it's like <i>the idiot</i> vs <i>lust for life</i>.

oops.

god i don't get the 'murk' complaints about this album. makes it sound more like vu to me, but like a better version.

Watts' work on "Casino Boogie" and "Tumbling Dice" = best ever.

OTM. Most amazingly, he overdubbed himself on "Tumbling Dice," right down to matching every fill and still swinging like crazy.

I've been thinking about Sweet Black Angel. I didn't know it was written for Angela Davis. I wonder what she thinks of this song?

Damn, I never knew that! Pretty strange since "Street Fighting Man" was seen as a counterrevolutionary act by the underground press at the time.

any audio geeks, or sound experts, notice any major differences in the CD reissues of this? I still have my vinyl version and an early CBS issue of the album. My hearing is lousy enough that I've never noticed anything shockingly different. But I've been told it's been remastered and brightened, whatever that means. Does that mean the beloved murk of the record is sacrficed any?

I alays thought teens might not get into this as much as older folk because of the world-weary feel it has. It's easily my favorite album. "All Down the Line" and "Soul Survivor" are the only songs I'm lukewarm about. The first 3 sides flow flawlessly.

I've only got one of the ancient CD versions of this but I plan to get a remastered one. I'm acquiring the Stones remastered catalogue bit-by-bit.

I picked up this in the late 90s I think, and only just got into it in the last year or so. The problem was I kept trying to cherry-pick tracks, but it works better when you let it play as a whole album. (Maybe that's too Geir-like - but there it is)

so are there other albums from this time period that have the 'exile' feel?

Derek and the Dominos

The Gilded Palace of Sin by the Burrito Brothers or Bob Dylan the Band - Before the Flood maybe?

thanks...on a mad stones kick today

The Gilded Palace of Sin by the Burrito Brothers

http://elmanzo.blogspot.com/2006/10/rolling-stones-brussels-affair-1973.html - awesome bootleg

pussy galore's version is better.

yer crazy.

try some Doug Sahm / Sir Douglas Quintet

so are there other albums from this time period that have the 'exile' feel?

Sly's Riot, of course. Donna Summer's Once Upon A Time... from a little later. From way later, Prince's "Strange Relationship."

There's (yet another) storied boot from the time called Philadelphia Special. But as with 99.9% of boots, it's nowhere near as special as so many claim.

THE SUNSHINE BORES THE DAYLIGHTS OUT OF ME

there's a riot goin on in agreement to q above.

at what point in this one does Dave Grohl appear

Same question as applied to Johnny Depp and Dick Cavett.

I thought c******* blues was the exile doc

There's another, "Official" one called Stones In Exile that accompanied the expanded reissue of the album back in 2010. I imagine this is the one being discussed? It includes some footage from CSB.

always love hearing how hard hit they were by taxes that they had to flee in their private jets to their Riviera chateaux

(xp) That's it.

Things like this make me agree with Mick Jagger that nostalgia sucks.

Should he read this message board, he should know we don't want him working with Aaron Dessner.