Exile On Main St.
by The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones, shacked up in a French estate, dressed like pirates and loaded, produce a double album that reveals something new every time you listen to it. Maybe not my number one album ever, but without a doubt one of the coolest.

Here it is, the greatest rock'n'roll album ever. It's a blurry masterpiece. The first two tracks, rocks off and rip this joint, come at you so fast it feels like you're taking off in an aeroplane. Tumbling dice is my favourite stones song of all time. Other standouts are the stunning loving cup, the beautiful gospel ballad shine a light, Keith's giddy happy and the mellow country of sweet Virginia. There isn't a weak track here, although to get the best out of the tracks you have to listen to the whole album in one sitting. Where as later albums such as voodoo lounge and bridges to Babylon go on for about the same length, exile just flies by while those albums feel like they go on for three months. This is an essential album in any music fans collection.

From Nowhereman1965 09/21/2018 20:18 | #221410 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

Up there in my top 5 albums of all time. Didn’t think much of it when it was first released surprisingly! It grew on me and I now think it’s The Stones best ever album. It’s got a groove of its own and they have struggled and failed to match it since. Not for everyone, but I love it.

I consider the Rolling Stones to be one of my favorite bands of all time even though I would argue that their strength lies in their individual songs rather than in their full albums. Having said that however, this album completely blows that line of thinking out of the water. This album is essentially a string of songs that on their own May not be some of the greatest Rolling Stones tunes, but when placed together create one of the greatest rock and roll albums of all time. The songs evoke feelings like nostalgia, adrenaline-fueled fun, and pleasure. The album is also sonically different from most of the Stones most popular songs. On this LP you'll find influences from folk, country, 50s origin Rock, muddy blues, and even gospel. Exile on Main Street may not have Sympathy for the Devil, Gimme Shelter, or Satisfaction, but it does help to prove that often times the sum is greater than the individual parts.
Best tracks: Rocks off, Sweet Virginia, Tumbling Dice, Rip this Joint

For a bunch of white British guys they really nailed the dirty, gritty sound of American southern blues and rock and roll. This is a masterpiece.