Remastered "Exile on Main Street" out today

[raisindot]

Several new remastered CD versions of the Stones' classic double LP "Exile of Main Street" are being released today.

1. The original album itself
2. Album with extra unreleased tracks
3. Big, expensive package with CDs, books, DVDs, etc.

Many critics called "Exile" the best Stones album, if not the best rock album of all time.

I would not necessarily agree with this assessment. To me, "Beggars Banquet" is their ultimate masterpiece since there's not a wasted track on it, unlike "Sticky Fingers" and "Let it Bleed," each of which mixed amazing songs with some filler.

The best songs on "Exile" are some of the best played and hardest-rocking stuff the Stones ever did. Nearly all songs on side one ("Rocks Off," "Rip This Joint," "Tumblin' Dice," etc.) and side four ("Soul Survivor," "Shine a Light," "All Along the Line") are fantastic, but sides two and three are more iffy, with great songs ("Happy." "Loving Cup") mixed in with weirdness and throwaways ("I Want to See His Face").

Some people call "Exile" a concept album, since a lot of it is about decay, debauchery, and the search for redemption. But it really isn't, since it combines what were then newly recorded songs (the muddily mixed stuff, particularly on sides 1 and 3) with a lot of songs left over from earlier recording sessions. Even the Stones themselves didn't think it deserved the hype when, years after its release, it was regulary put in "top 10 albums of all time" lists.

Still, its best songs are some of the greatest songs in rock and roll, and the playing by the band (particularly Keif's Telecaster chops and Mick Taylor's leads) has never been better.

It will be interesting to hear what they've done with the remaster. I've listed to some snippets on Amazon, but they don't really give the full audio flavor. Will they move Mick's vocals to be more prominent so you can potentally understand them? Will they do better separation?

I did listen to snippets of the 'unreleased' tracks. None of them sound even remotely as good as the best tracks of the original album. In fact, a lot of them sound more like the Stones of the 80s and 90s, when the arrangements became totally simplified and it was all about Mick's preening. Still, I'm probably going to pick this up anyway, although I'd much prefer to see a similar remastering of Beggar's Banquet and Sticky Fingers.


Jeff in Boston

 

[Gatsby]

Sweet post, Jeff.

I agree. Exile is a fantastic album and, of course, in the top tier of the Stones' catalogue. But is it the best? No.
As you already pointed out, Exile suffers from the same problem that other double-albums endure: there's too much and, consequently, the album sounds tired or bloated or both.

Of course, Exile has incredible tracks, my favorite being "Torn and Frayed" and "Happy"--along with the others you mentioned.

What I love about Exile, however, is that it's the Stones' giving the big-finger to the music press. When it was released, Rolling Stone magazine blasted the album. Now, you'd be hard-pressed to find any "best albums of all time" list without Exile in the top ten.
Exile, in a way, feels like "Blonde on Blonde": it brings you into a smoky, hazy, "anything goes" atmosphere where the only traction the listener gets is a heavy dose of the blues.
And, as a guitar player, I love all that wacky tunings Keith employed.
Exile is a testament to the genius of the Stones when they weren't concerned with writing hits.

Will I buy one of the remasters? Yeah. I'm thinking the vinyl since I just bought a new turntable.

For the record: Sticky Fingers is my fav Stones' album and I was born in 1983, I'm a Gen Y kid who, among other types of music, loves classic rock.

 

[The Nid Hog]

Over the years, I've drifted away from the Stones. I loved them when I was a kid, and I stuck it out through Some Girls. After that, their determination to exist as a caricature of themselves made it impossible for me to listen to them and I think that the recordings they released were an insult to their fans. Age catches up with us all, but there are few things that I would care to do less than see the current incarnation of the Stones in concert.

And yet, when I began to hear the tracks from the release of Exile, I remembered how good they could be. Like raisindot said, Beggars Banquet started it all off, and for four years they produced some unforgettable music.

I've let my Stones collection lapse. Right now, I think that all I have are old CDs of Get Your Ya-Ya's Out and Hot Rocks. My vinyl is long gone. Maybe it's time to pick up this reissue of Exile (although I think I'll pass on the new tracks) and throw a copy of Beggar's Banquet into my basket while I'm at it.

 

[raisindot]

I've let my Stones collection lapse. Right now, I think that all I have are old CDs of Get Your Ya-Ya's Out and Hot Rocks. My vinyl is long gone. Maybe it's time to pick up this reissue of Exile (although I think I'll pass on the new tracks) and throw a copy of Beggar's Banquet into my basket while I'm at it.

You could get the Beggars Banquet, Sticky Fingers, Exile and Hot Rocks CDs and download "Monkey Man" and "Memo from Turner" from Itunes and essentially have just about all the great Stones music you'd ever need.

Jeff in Boston

 

[Obsessed]

Over the years, I've drifted away from the Stones. I loved them when I was a kid, and I stuck it out through Some Girls. After that, their determination to exist as a caricature of themselves made it impossible for me to listen to them and I think that the recordings they released were an insult to their fans.

I saw the Steel Wheels tour in 1989, which was a great show, but I agree with most of what you are saying.

You could get the Beggars Banquet, Sticky Fingers, Exile and Hot Rocks CDs and download "Monkey Man" and "Memo from Turner" from Itunes and essentially have just about all the great Stones music you'd ever need.

I'd add Let it Bleed to the list.

 

[proxymoron]

I would cynically suggest that it's another cash grab for Mick and co., but honestly, I think it's a cash grab for the label. Kind of like the Radiohead 'collector's editions' they put out a year or so back when the band quit the label.

I love both bands but can't honestly imagine what hidden genius yet another remastered edition is going to bring out.

 

[raisindot]

I would cynically suggest that it's another cash grab for Mick and co., but honestly, I think it's a cash grab for the label. Kind of like the Radiohead 'collector's editions' they put out a year or so back when the band quit the label.

I have to admit, I got the collector's (non-video) version of "The Bends" even though I had the original CD, and I love it. Nearly every one of the extra tracks and live cuts are fantastic. During this time, even Radioheads outtakes were better than stuff other bands were putting out at the time.

From what I've heard so far, I don't think the outtakes on the remastered Exile will be of the same level.

Jeff in Boston

 

[proxymoron]

I have to admit, I got the collector's (non-video) version of "The Bends" even though I had the original CD, and I love it. Nearly every one of the extra tracks and live cuts are fantastic. During this time, even Radioheads outtakes were better than stuff other bands were putting out at the time.

The live tracks and b-sides got me too, but my love for Radiohead's on a whole other level. Damn you, EMI.

 

[Ceri]

I've been looking for a pristine copy of EOMS for ages, but the early pressings are were a bit rich for me, so made do with a CD. Of course when the reissue was announced, with a vinyl release, my finger quickly descended on the pre-order button

The vinyl release is excellent, pressed on high-grade virgin vinyl and will be living on my turntable for the foreseeable future.

One quibble tho - double LPs have always had sides 1, 2, 3 & 4, but not this one... it's disc 1, sides 1 & 2; disc 2 sides 1 &2. As I wasn't wearing my reading glasses when I took the second disc out of the sleeve, I had a small panic attack about being sent two copies of the first disc.

 

[honed]

It's a good thing they release it on virgin vinyl.
However, IMHO, this is not the masterpiece that many thinks it is.
Beggars Banquet & Let it Bleed are masterpeices, this is just a good album, that never should have been made a double.
That said, this one still gets some of my listening time every now & then.
Will I buy this release? Nope.

 

[jazzman]

It's been a long time since my vinyl versions of Let it Bleed, Beggars Banquet, Sticky Fingers, and Exile were virgins, but they're still pretty sweet. Good to see that there is some benefit to being around for a while--I won't have to shell out for the new vinyl.

 

[The Nid Hog]

I can't believe the deluge of hype about this rerelease. I was at the gym the other night and I saw CNN advertising Mick's appearance on Larry King (they must be roughly the same age). It kind of got to me and I decided not to get the version with the "new" additional tracks. I used the money I saved by settling for the one with just the original tracks and a discount coupon that my wife produced from somewhere to buy instead "Who's Next," a much more beloved album that has mysteriously disappeared from my collection.

 

[Obsessed]

I saw CNN advertising Mick's appearance on Larry King (they must be roughly the same age).

 

[raisindot]

It's been a long time since my vinyl versions of Let it Bleed, Beggars Banquet, Sticky Fingers, and Exile were virgins, but they're still pretty sweet. Good to see that there is some benefit to being around for a while--I won't have to shell out for the new vinyl.

How do you keep the turntable from skipping when you go out running with it?



Jeff in Boston

 

[raisindot]

I used the money I saved by settling for the one with just the original tracks and a discount coupon that my wife produced from somewhere to buy instead "Who's Next," a much more beloved album that has mysteriously disappeared from my collection.

Well, see, now you're just being smart. "Who's Next" is a much better album than "Exile," and the two-CD expanded edition is definitely worth it, since you get to hear the "alternative" versions of certain songs recorded in New York (which were far inferior to the final Glynn Johns version) as well as some live recordings of some of them recorded at the Old Vic.

Jeff in Boston

 

[jazzman]

How do you keep the turntable from skipping when you go out running with it?



Jeff in Boston

I bow down to the digital gods, squeeze the vinyl into the computer with my little digital phono preamp, and put the itty-bitty LP into the iPod.

 

[The Knize]

There was a joke back in the day about a certain kind of fan boy whose most fervent wish was to be granted the opporunity to re-mix Exile. If any Stones album needed it, this one and I suppose "Got It Live If You Want It," did. Did Don Was do the re-mix? I like Don Was but I am not sure his work with the Stones has been his or the Stones best. I think they have different sensibilities.

Interesting how this album seems to have gone from the most underrated Stones album to the most overrated Stones album, at least to me. I agree that Exile, at least as originally recorded, was a good Stones album, but not a great one. Still a good Stones album probably equates to a great album. Not as good by any means as BB, LIB, or SF, of which it forms something of a whole. A harbinger in quality for Goat's Head Soap. I really think the Stones were starting to run out of ideas and apparently did not really spend much time in the studio together to work on the album from what I am reading. Not a recipe for a group's best work. Not spontaneous and not refined either. "Happy" is apparently good because Keith wrote it and immediately turned it out with Bobby Keyes and a non-Charlie drummer in two takes. Mick does not sing on it because Mick was nowhere around.

Not as good to me as Some Girls or Tatoo You, or December's Children or 12 x 5, or Between the Buttons, but I may be the only one that likes Between the Buttons. Too bad Gram Parsons was not in shape to contribute more to it. Sticky Fingers was so much on the right track but it sounds to me like they got sloppy after that.

If I recall, it was not very many minutes long. Lots of songs but not really even a double album of material. (I am not sure that Blonde on Blonde was that many miinutes either. Less sure about that one.)

 

[Matt S]

For the record: Sticky Fingers is my fav Stones' album and I was born in 1983, I'm a Gen Y kid who, among other types of music, loves classic rock.

Same here. Born in 1982 and Sticky Fingers is probably one of my five "desert island" albums.

 

[The Knize]

Same here. Born in 1982 and Sticky Fingers is probably one of my five "desert island" albums.

You all have good taste. I really consider BB, LIB, and SF, to be of a piece, and pretty much Exile of the same piece, although one could argue only part of Exile is--for instance, Sweet Virginia, and I would say Tumbliing Dice except for the muddy recording would fit right into SF. All Down Line, too. Ventilator Blues, Sweet Black Angel, not so much.

There was a time when I would probably have put both BB and LIB ahead of SF. And it is just that I am more tired or BB and LIB, but I would give the edge to SF at this poiint. [EDIT: Actually I think as a culture or socieity we have collectively heard some cuts on LIB just too darn many times. I could die reasonably happy even if I never herad YCAGWYW ever again.] More Mick Taylor-Mick Jagger creative interaction on SF. More Gram Parsons and Ry Cooder influence, but the blues is still there, too, as good as on No Expections. [Maybe not as good as Love in Vain, though. Am I the the only one who thinks Robert Johnson hearing Love in Vain would have been really pleased? A more cohesive sound somehow, even though there is a variety of material. Every cut a good one, to me.

Actually, I just had a look at the cut lists for BB, LIB, and SF. I think both LIB and SF edge BB a bit because not every cut on BB is great. I really am pretty sure that if I were not finally tired of many of the cuts on LIB I might give it the edge over SF, but sitting here today SF is the album I would take to a desert island if I could take only one of BB, LIB, SF, and Exile!

 

[jazzman]

...Interesting how this album seems to have gone from the most underrated Stones album to the most overrated Stones album, at least to me. ...

I'm with you on most of what you're saying here. So many great albums in just a few years. But Jagger's vocals on Sticky Fingers are about as good as it gets in rock. Well worth the damage to your hearing to listen with great headphones cranked up.