Exile

[Identity Crisis Ahoy!]

Exile on main street'. I feel this album needs it's own thread. Especially in summer. Fuck, this is the summer album. Rocks off is a fucking bine fide classic, rip this joint & shake your hips are the perfect NIGHT BEFORE & MORNING AFTER combo. Tumblin' Dice needs no build up, but the real highlights of the album need to accentuated.

'Happy' by Keith Richards. Sublime recording. He captured THAT moment when EVERYTHING is going your way (his bride just told him she was expecting.) It''s that once-in-1,000-lifetimes moment where everything is right.... he is happy, and fuck, purely by association, so are we... and glad for it..

'Let Loose'. The ultimate Lyrics vs Singing song. Brilliant, despite the lyrical flaws*.



*Not flaws. Just not your simple love song, which the Stones do well, but no, this was bitter and agressive... a love song about a one-night-stand.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Yeah - all that and more.  Its my favourite album of all time and has been since I was about 5, when I stumbled across my dad's lovely old gatefold copy and LOL'ed at the fact there was a track called Turd On the Run on it.  Plus, it had this guy on the front:



which was all I needed to pretty much fall in love at first sight.  25 years later, that love remains undiminished.  

I go through major Stones jags every 5 years or so where they're practically all I listen to, and I'm deep into one just now, cause I'm off to the Isle of Wight in 6 weeks for my second Stones gig in 12 months.  If I had the cash I'd go to the O2 as well, but Michael Cohl has made it his life's work to bum Stones fans and there's no way I'm paying the hundreds of quid (thousands, in fact) it costs to get a decent seat.

But...back to Exile.  If I had a gripe about live Stones, it would be that, Tumbling Dice aside, they seem to ignore most of this album in favour of the warhorses.  Every time I see them, I cross all outlying extremities in the hope that I'll get a Rocks Off or All Down The Line.  Instead, the just play Satisfaction for the umpteenth time.  Having said that, I did almost die of pleasure when they did Sweet Virginia at Wembley in 1995.  And Happy in 1990 - so I suppose I shouldn't moan too much.

I mentioned on the favourite albums thread that Let It Loose is going to be the first dance at my wedding.  Let's hope my fiance doesn't listen too closely to those bitter and aggressive one night stand lyrics, eh readers.  Though, joking aside, its her favourite song and she's heard it 100,000 times, so I assume she's cool with it.  Anyway, that's the one I'd want to hear live.  There's a thread on IORR campaigning for it to be played in Europe this year.  You might think that makes no impact, but someone in the Stones camp obviously reads it, as their previous 'campaign' was to get Sway played, which the band then did.

And, yeah, there's no doubt it does sound better on sunny days.  But last night we had a whisky and poker night and it sounded pretty damn good then as well.  Casino Boogie!

[CaledonianGonzo]

BTW -- have you heard Pussy Galore's cover of the album?  Its funny the first time.

My Windows Media Player has filed it under Rolling Stones, so when I cue up Exile, I never know quite which version I'm going to get.  Though the one that sounds like it was recorded in a sock usually only lasts a couple of tracks before it gets switched....

[trotsky assortment]

I've always wanted to hear Pussy Galore's version, since I have a liking of Jon Spencer.  I just convinced myself I never would, since the vinyl run was just 500 copies.

[CaledonianGonzo]

It's all over the net like a tropical disease, so to speak.

I can post samples if you're sufficiently interested.  It sounds exactly like you'd imagine - demos, always on the edge of just falling apart -more something to listen to out of interest than to actually enjoy without reservations.  The only reason I could even sit through it in the first instance was of my affection for the original, even though sometimes the relationship to the original song is pretty tenuous.  

btw, trotters, I believe, though I may be wrong, that it was never out on vinyl.  Cassette only.

[trotsky assortment]

I'm sure I saw a vinyl once.  It was from a punk and hardcore dealer and it had an extortionate price tag.  Of course, that may have been bootlegged.  

Speaking of other things never on CD, all of the vinyl pressings of Bad Religion's second album seem to be bootlegs, despite sellers insistence on them not being.  Easy way to tell - whenever you see one, the cover will have a blue tint.  The tint should be red.  Never seen a red one myself.

[non capisco]

"And at the bar you're getting drunk/I ain't in love, I ain't in luck!"

I adore Exile On Main Street. It's rightfully garnered a reputation as being an album that's more than the sum of its parts, and as true as that is it kind of does a disservice to how consistent it actually is for a big, sprawling double album. It's more song-rich than its reputation suggests, and I'd much rather hear them play 'Lovin' Cup' than blummin 'Start Me Up' again live. Even the fillers have a certain, uniquely sleazy something to them. 'Turd On The Run' is generally considered the runt of the litter but I think that 'I've lost a lotta lurrrrve on yoooooou' bit is a great hook.

The general murkiness and Jagger being so low in the mix reward repeat plays more than any other of the Stones' records. I initially considered 'Casino Boogie' skippable but over the years it's become one of my favourite Stones songs. It took me about 200 listens before I realised Mick and Keef were harmonising 'kissing cunt in Cannes'.

[Identity Crisis Ahoy!]

I find Casino Boogie & Turd on the Run to be the most skippable too, but like you said, still decent songs. I posted this on another forum;

Anyone else consider 'Rip This Joint' and 'Shake Your Hips' to be a fucking great one-two combo, but not so great on their own? I mean, having the raucous, energetic Rip This Joint placed directly before the still sultry, but slowed down, mellower 'Shake Your Hips'. To me it's essentially The Night Before - The Morning After. Lovely stuff.

However, as stand alone songs, yes they're fine, but they suffer a little not being paired together.

[trotsky assortment]

"It took me about 200 listens before I realised Mick and Keef were harmonising 'kissing cunt in Cannes'.

You're not the only one.  I hadn't realised until someone here pointed it out.  I reckon that must be the earliest use of that word on a mainstream rock album, surely?

[CaledonianGonzo]

Yeah.  I've got the It's Only Rock'n'Roll songbook and some of its attempts to disguised the swearing in the 70s output is pretty amusing:

You're a Starbucker
She's got you by the boards
Kissing caught in Cannes, etc. etc.

And while I agree about Rip This Joint/Hipshake* being a great one-two punch, Rip This Joint has worked great as a live song on its own since the 70s.  See Brussel's Affair for details (I can post it if anyone's sufficiently interested).

Incidentally, there was a minor ripple in Stones fandom a few years back when Anita Pallenberg mentioned she'd been talking to Keith about an Exile On Main Street show.  However, the concensus was pretty much that Mick'd never allow it.

*Still prefer the inner-sleeve track titles.

[Identity Crisis Ahoy!]

Please post whatever 'Brussel's Affair' is and why wouldn't Mick allow an Exile show?

I'm relative new to this whole Rolling Stones thing.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Well, Brussels Affair is this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brussels_Affair

The legal problems mentioned are the contractual difficulties with Allen Klein/Abcko that prevented them releasing live albums of any tours between 1969 and 1976.

Many Stones fans think it’s even better than Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out, though I think that's debatable.  It’s usually easily sourcable on the torrent tracker or p2p network of your choice, but I can sort you out with a couple of samples should you wish.  The whole things is also hosted on IORR along with most other notable bootleg shows (Handsome Girls, from 1978, is another acknowledged classic).  If you haven't got GYYYO, though, head to that first.  It's ace.  Little Queenie is my favourite piece of live music ever.  Mick Taylor is the dogs.

As for Mick, while no-one's got him on record about these things, its widely assumed that he's adopted a sharklike keep-moving-forward-or-you'll-die philosophy.  Which, so far, has lead to the Stones vaults remaining resolutely closed.  No Beatles-style Anthologies here - save for the recent Rarities set, which was a misnomer as nothing on it was really that rare (or, crucially, all that good).  There's much better stuff under lock and key somewhere in Redlands or Stargroves.

Its also probably part of him knows that archive stuff from the 70s will show up the band as it stands just now, and he'd prefer not to be reminded of just how good they were up until about 1978 or so.

This is the reason that yet another 4 DVD box set will be released of the current tour, but classics like 'Ladies And Gentlemen, The Rolling Stones', 'Lets Spend The Night Together', 'Charlie Is My Darling', etc remain unreleased.  Hell, even Gimme Shelter is only region 1.

So - as it stands - current Rolling Stones tours will feature a couple of more obscure tracks - if Rocks Off, for example, can be considered obscure - and the rest will be drawn from Licks.  For the fairweather fan, that's probably what they want, but it means that for the hardcore fans, fantasy setlists and Exile On Main Street shows remain the stuff of idle fantasy.

Sorry - the Stones - I could talk about them all day.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Oohh....look what I've found.  Interesting stuff for Exile fetish-ists, even if there's no great insights.



Andy Johns, Mick Taylor and Anita Pallenberg reminisce about the long, hot summer of 1971 in Villa Nellcôte, Villefranche-sur-Mer:

[boki]

Every time I see this thread, I expect it to be about Tim Exile and soon as I've clicked on the thing I remember that it's not.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Sorry, boki.  More Stonesy-shenanigans again.

Colour me surprised (and a bit sceptical) about this, an apparently leaked excerpt from Keith's autobiography.

This new year of the Exile on Main Street sessions, 1972, opened upon us in an entirely different shape for the Rolling Stones. We were no longer alone. At our side stood two mighty allies. Gram Parsons and Dr. John were, though for different reasons, irrevocably engaged to provide rootsy Americana in the closest concert with the band. This combination made final recording certain unless it broke in pieces under the weight, or unless some entirely new strain of heroin appeared in Villefranche-sur-Mer. There was indeed a new strain of heroin for which half the band was avidly groping. As it turned out, it was into our already collapsing veins that the blessing of the Burma Brown was destined to fall. A fearful and bloody struggle lay before us and we could not foresee its course, but injection was sure.
The Stones collective had now to face the onslaught of recording "Happy." This had been long prepared, and fell upon Charlie Watts' dignity, if such it could be called, with cruel severity. At no moment could it be conceived that I might be providing vocal duties, but heavy forfeits had to be paid for the privilege, in Nice and other nearby encampments. Jagger, in mortal grip of his newlywed status, suffered only from the marital assault by the diversion of multiple Anglo-American energies in the form of strippers. Watts and I had a long period of torturing conflicts before us which could not affect the final issue but were hard for the band to endure. In the end, producer Jimmy Miller handled percussion duties. To us in the band it seemed that everything was growing worse... although on reflection we knew that the album was done.

Blimey...

Seemingly confirmed by this:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05172007/business/rolling_papers_business_keith_j__kelly.htm

Keith Richards, the Rolling Stones co-founder and lead guitarist, will soon be touring publishing houses to score a little satisfaction - and cart away a $5 million-plus deal for his autobiography.

Richards' London-based agent Ed Victor confirmed the plans to meet with major publishers in New York this summer.

[Identity Crisis Ahoy!]

I cannot understand what Keef is saying.

[Ciarán]

I honestly skipped over this thread until now because I thought it was about Exile, of "Kiss You All Over" fame. Or "fame".

I've never really got Exile On Main Street at all. Maybe I'm crazy. I doubt I've played it more than twic right through. I prefer the Stones' late 60s stuff. To me, "Exile..." is really conservative, a deliberate step backwards. It's all kind of lumpy and a bit grey. Like musical porridge. I know it's an album that's close to many people's hearts and I should give it another go, but maybe I'll just never get it.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Well, there's no doubt its not for everyone, and no matter how often you listen to it, it may still do nothing for you, but non capisco pretty much summed it up near the start of the thread:

The general murkiness and Jagger being so low in the mix reward repeat plays more than any other of the Stones' records.

On first listen (or first four, five or nine, ten listens) there's no doubt that its a bit of a sonic sludge.  There's no 'Gimme Shelter' or 'Sympathy For The Devil' leaping out of it, clamouring for attention.  Rather, its a tapestry, woven of the finest threads, where the picture only comes into focus after you've been staring at it on your wall for a year.

You've got a point saying its 'more conservative' - it absolutely is.  Gone are the hints of exoticism, the post-Satanic Majesties experimentation that crop up in things like Moonlight Mile and Monkey Man.  The only 'fucking with the formula', as Mike Love would put it, are the unconventional mix (downright slovenly) and the warbly effects on Rocks Off and Shine A Light.

Rather, it's pure, untramelled Americana, a love-letter to gospel, blues, jazz and everything else encoded in the Glimmer Twins' DNA.  The sleeve taps back into that nostalgia for pre-war entertainment.  It's no coincidence that one of the songs they cover was originally written in the 1930s by a musician who'd supposedly sold his soul to the devil.

Another barrier to its accessibility are that the songs sometimes don't even merit the term.  Rather, they're grooves.  That's not to say there's no melody on there, but its not a favourite with buskers because it has a sort of dense, complex swing to it that's quite difficult to replicate.  Apparently, the band themselves have only played Ventilator Blues once (the take that's on the album) because it's so difficult to lock down.  Perhaps this could be key to your indifference to it, Ciarán.  As an proponent of pure pop music, and frequent derider of rock music, this one's too close to the latter to tickle your musical taste buds.

That this is the most primal Stones album is also evident in the vocals.  Typical Stones practice is for the band to jam a song and for Jagger to improvise a general sound over the top of it.  Known by Keith as a vowel movement, it allows them to get the basic shape of the song, but in the case of Exile it sounds like they kept the initial improvisation as the finished product.  Peter Buck (or was it Bob Geldof?) said he'd listened to Exile every day for about a 3 year period and still hadn't managed to make out one word of it.  An exaggeration, perhaps, but no doubt there was something there to keep him playing it day in, day out.

I've said before, all my friends love it.  However, none of them did at first.  It's been more a result of me continually battering them over the head with it.  I was the guy who was pooh-poohing Appetite For Destruction in 1987:

You call this rock'n'roll music?  Here - let me show you.....

[Ciarán]

Cheers, I enjoyed that thoughtful response! I might actually give it a spin later to see if I can join some dots together actually.