Exile on Main St.

Just want to add to the praise for Lily's praise for 'Let It Loose'. Definitely one of those Stones tracks that really threw me for a loop the first time I heard it, pre-conditioned to the usual radio singles and whatnot as a kid and not yet intimately familiar with all of the albums as a whole. It's sort of the mirror-'Moonlight Mile', if only because both tracks meander in such a beautiful way musically, yet one is ripe with warmth and yearning to return home to intimacy, while 'Loose' is the dissolution and blurry post-impact of that end. The lyrics are great, even though what I heard/thought they were for years was apparently way,way off to what they were written as, which is usually the case for the Jimmy Miller-era stuff.

Another minor bit of useless trivia is that the basic track for Let It Loose was probably recorded in 1969 during the Let It Bleed sessions, evidenced by the brief bit of Mellotron in the beginning and the sound of Charlie's drums.

There was a tape that surfaced a few years back of rough mixes given to Nicky Hopkins that I thought I'd share a link to, in case anyone hasn't heard it before. Here's a brief rundown of some cool things in it:

-You know that swirling keyboard-esque part buried in the middle of the mix in Rocks Off? That's actually Taylor's guitar part that Keith buried when he put a second rhythm guitar down. You can hear it a lot clearer on this.
-Rip This Joint has Taylor's original slide part, and you can understand why Keith removed it and put a simpler one on as it would've cluttered the mix with vocals
-All Down The Line has somebody hacking a lung before the drums kick in, and Nicky is way up in the mix. It's stereo too, unlike the final version. No vocals but you can hear Mick yelling guide ones deep in the back
-Soul Survivor has Bill's original bassline, which Keith replaced as it was too busy for the song once he put all the other guitar parts on
-Another totally different version of I Ain't Signifying, not the same as the guitar-bootleg version or the Exile Deluxe version
-There's an untitled/unknown instrumental that's really, really good. A long ballad that could've easily been a contender for Side 3.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/oy1bf0acss4kao3/AADtjas2HEDqTuFsAm2cjJLLa?dl=0

I think when we got to Casino Boogie, Mick and I looked at each other and just couldn't think of another lyrical concept or idea for the song. I said to Mick, You know how Bill Burroughs did that cut-up thing - where he would randomly chop words out of a book or newspaper and then try to sort them up? That's how we did the lyrics for Casino Boogie, and that was Bill Burroughs' biggest influence on the Rolling Stones.

- Keith Richards, 2010

“Judge and jury walked out hand in hand” is a pretty Burroughsian line tbh.

Memo From Turner has a more direct nod too - "You're the man who squats behind the man who works the soft machine"

I fell in love with this album as a whole before a started making out individual songs. During my early listens, Tumbling Dice was a problem, simply because it was already familiar from the radio, so it sounded clearer and hookier and broke the soupy flow of riffs and Jagger sneer.

I can't really quibble about individual songs within the sprawl, any more than with Double Nickles or Trout Mask Replica or Tago Mago. The feel is the thing.

I'm in a "vinyl"-themed bar for a work gathering; they're currently playing Exile in its entirety. I ain't complaining!

Perfect soundtrack for drinking, playing pool or planning your next heist.

all three at once the true ideal

otm - Exile yahtzee

I’ve been stuck on this album lately. The guitar part in the final section of “Tumbling Dice” is A+++

...& moving on from there — how do they get that vat-of-syrup feel on “Sweet Virginia”? It’s like you can literally hear the humidity weighing down their strings. (I know it sounds like I’m stoned, tho I’m not)

Really obsessed w/this album. What's, like, the *second*-best Stones album to listen to (for fans of this one)?

my fav is exile, my second-fav is beggars' banquet

i would say sticky fingers is your next stop morrisp

Thanks, y'all...

We only had the Stones' '80s albums at home when I was growing up, and I never really dug in later.

my fav is exile, my second-fav is beggars' banquet

i keep trying to work 'turd on the run' into a techno mix. it's 120 bpm and the drums are straight up motor rhythm.

Nothing tops Exile imho but Sticky Fingers comes closest.

Yeah Sticky Fingers def. it’s like a condensed, tighter version of Exile imo & it comes closest to that same feel.

like, except for maybe Brown Sugar or Wild Horses, almost everything else could slide on over pretty easily.

Some Girls is so much fun, and "Just My Imagination" >>>> "Beast of Burden"

When I ranked'em two weeks ago, I came up with this:

Good to Great

Between the Buttons
Beggars Banquet
Let it Bleed
Exile on Main St
Some Girls
Sticky Fingers
Out of Our Heads (US)
Aftermath
December’s Children
Dirty Work
Emotional Rescue

hot take: the rolling stones are a band with a lot of great albums

alfred -- no ranking for their debut?

hotter take: the rolling stones are a band with a lot of albums

(a bunch of which are totally shitty! some are great though)

They're no Jandek, though.

So they are a bit like Brian Aldiss, Shakey?

you really want me to do that poll don't you

For what it's worth, Exile is my favorite Stones album and my second favorite is probably Let it Bleed, although it's a pretty close race between that and Sticky Fingers.

Probably doesn’t fit the bill for the revive exactly but Some Girls is probably my second favorite (most days)

I love the dead beetle crunch of the guitar mix.

I listened to Sticky Fingers, and now I'm listening to Tattoo You — per absolutely no one's recommendation — but will work my way back to the others.

no joek some days Tattoo You is my 3rd

ok maybe a little bit joking by it really is top tier for me. second side hits just right

but it

second side >>> first side

Yeah, this is one of the Stones LPs I would hear as a kid... some of these songs are great, and the "sound" is enormous (I'm apparently listening to the "Remastered" ed., whatever that's worth).

you really want me to do that poll don't you

Second side of "Tattoo You" all day! "Worried About You" is one of the least mentioned yet absolutely outstanding Stones tunes. Plus the "Waiting on a Friend" 45 sleeve contains one of the funniest Mick & Keith photos ever. Glad to read others prefer the ballads more too.

some girls over sticky fingers is a challop but i like it

/mick jagger's #16-ranked voice

dont agree mind you. but its fun

"Heaven" is my favorite on that TY side: Jagger playing phased shimmery guitar lines and finally willing himself to be a sound effect, Wyman on synth, Watts tapping away.

^^Really needed a extended 12-inch chill out mix.

proto-Balearic, that one

'Well I'm telling you they never got it right / Until they put out Undercover of the Night'

man, was blasting Exile on a highway drive home until I got pulled over by the police and cautioned for speeding. I was considering showing them the CD case as mitigation but decided not to.

Highway trooper's eyes get wide, he breaks into a grin, gives you a little salute. "Ride on, brother"

I’ll take you to the top

Really does feel like “All Down the Line” should be the natural closing track — the final three tracks don’t fit into any “flow” — but I guess you can see that overabundance as just another virtue. The album’s like, “It’s 2am, but I’m having one more drink... you go to bed if you want.”

« Shine a light » and « Soul Survivor » being two of my favourite tracks, I disagree !

shine a light would be the perfect closer imo, the full-throated gospel exhortation at the end of an hour's worth of nihilism.