Album of the day (#488): Exile on Main St. - Music

Facetious

Gender: Male
Age: 24
Location: Somewhere you've never been

swedenman wrote:

I listened to a couple tracks from this album and almost fell asleep. Someone's gonna have to convince me that the whole is substantially greater than the sum of its parts before I give this full album a try.

Truth to tell, I always took almost falling asleep to Exile as a sign that the Stones had succeeded in creating the atmosphere that they had intended. Not exactly sleepy, but you know, this confused state at night.

I always enjoy it very much while almost falling asleep too. Maybe I fall asleep in a different way? As in, not getting bored, but got lured in by the sound?

You see, Exile is not like your standard album. Listening to it, either one of two things will happen to you: you will immediately think it's incredibly fun, though pretty hard, or its sound will take a long time to warm up to.

I read somewhere that Exile is not an album, it's a place. And that's true.

In these ways, it is comparable to TMR, Twin Infinitives and other experimental albums. Exile is not experimental, not that much at least, but it is a collection of everything the Stones had heard up till then, and it can be too much to take in.

I realise I sound insane, but I hope you understood.

hairymarx1

Gender: Male
Location: London

Hermes_requite wrote:

Average album. The Rolling Stones have at least 8 albums that are better. Aftermath, Let It Bleed, and Beggars Banquet are far better albums.

How can anybody be so wrong? This is the perfect distillation of the greatest stuff the Stones ever did on one album. No other LP the band made throughout their career can touch this. Its head and shoulders above all the albums you mentioned in terms of the quality of the songs, musicianship and the 'get down and dirty' outlaw attitude of Jagger.

This is the Stones at the peak of their creative powers, the album where everything fell perfectly into place. No BEA member who claims to love rock music can deny the brilliance of this masterpiece. It's sexy, it's wild, its brash, it's decadent, it's histrionic, its degenerate, it's all the things rock n roll should be. One of the undisputed greatest albums ever made. If it ain't in your top 100 lists folks. then shame on you.

hairymarx1

Gender: Male
Location: London

Eggman/Walrus/Taxman wrote:

Truth to tell, I always took almost falling asleep to Exile as a sign that the Stones had succeeded in creating the atmosphere that they had intended. Not exactly sleepy, but you know, this confused state at night.

I always enjoy it very much while almost falling asleep too. Maybe I fall asleep in a different way? As in, not getting bored, but got lured in by the sound?

You see, Exile is not like your standard album. Listening to it, either one of two things will happen to you: you will immediately think it's incredibly fun, though pretty hard, or its sound will take a long time to warm up to.

I read somewhere that Exile is not an album, it's a place. And that's true.

In these ways, it is comparable to TMR, Twin Infinitives and other experimental albums. Exile is not experimental, not that much at least, but it is a collection of everything the Stones had heard up till then, and it can be too much to take in.

I realise I sound insane, but I hope you understood.

I understand where you are coming from Eggman. In many ways, its an extremely complex and multifacited work. It's as though the band upped the anti by saying to the critics and the public, "listen, if you thought we were good, with Exile, we are gonna show you what we are really capable of".

I think it's the introspective elements of the album that some people find difficult to get a handle on - the bearing of souls if you will. Yes, its quite a deep and in many ways a solemn work, but it's also a brash and visceral one too.

The playing throughout is simply stunning - understated at times but wild at others. The band really found their feet with this album. It's a milestone of rock music and as such anybody who bemoans it doesn't really understand what rock music's all about in my opinion.

Facetious

Gender: Male
Age: 24
Location: Somewhere you've never been

hairymarx1 wrote:

How can anybody be so wrong? This is the perfect distillation of the greatest stuff the Stones ever did on one album. No other LP the band made throughout their career can touch this. Its head and shoulders above all the albums you mentioned in terms of the quality of the songs, musicianship and the 'get down and dirty' outlaw attitude of Jagger.

This is the Stones at the peak of their creative powers, the album where everything fell perfectly into place. No BEA member who claims to love rock music can deny the brilliance of this masterpiece. It's sexy, it's wild, its brash, it's decadent, it's histrionic, its degenerate, it's all the things rock n roll should be. One of the undisputed greatest albums ever made. If it ain't in your top 100 lists folks. then shame on you.

Uh, hairymarx1, could you please lower down your "shame on you" tone a bit? It makes you look like a snob. Other than that, though.......

You're absolutely right.

The Stones made many brilliant albums before Exile (and two after Exile) but even then, the only two Stones albums that are nearly as good are Beggars Banquet and Aftermath.

Facetious

Gender: Male
Age: 24
Location: Somewhere you've never been

hairymarx1 wrote:

I understand where you are coming from Eggman. In many ways, its an extremely complex and multifacited work. It's as though the band upped the anti by saying to the critics and the public, "listen, if you thought we were good, with Exile, we are gonna show you what we are really capable of".

I think it's the introspective elements of the album that some people find difficult to get a handle on - the bearing of souls if you will. Yes, its quite a deep and in many ways a solemn work, but it's also a brash and visceral one too.

The playing throughout is simply stunning - understated at times but wild at others. The band really found their feet with this album. It's a milestone of rock music and as such anybody who bemoans it doesn't really understand what rock music's all about in my opinion.

Yup, it is stunning indeed.

I always liked the wild playing in songs like Rocks Off, which is, IMO, the greatest song the Stones ever made.

Guest

Eggman/Walrus/Taxman wrote:

Truth to tell, I always took almost falling asleep to Exile as a sign that the Stones had succeeded in creating the atmosphere that they had intended. Not exactly sleepy, but you know, this confused state at night.

I always enjoy it very much while almost falling asleep too. Maybe I fall asleep in a different way? As in, not getting bored, but got lured in by the sound?

You see, Exile is not like your standard album. Listening to it, either one of two things will happen to you: you will immediately think it's incredibly fun, though pretty hard, or its sound will take a long time to warm up to.

I read somewhere that Exile is not an album, it's a place. And that's true.

In these ways, it is comparable to TMR, Twin Infinitives and other experimental albums. Exile is not experimental, not that much at least, but it is a collection of everything the Stones had heard up till then, and it can be too much to take in.

I realise I sound insane, but I hope you understood.

I basically followed that. Maybe I just need to get the album and listen to it.