It isn't overrated. It was a daring project when the Stones released it, "the rock critics" didn't like it, Jagger wasn't crazy about it, but it stood the test of time. It's impossible (and useless) to try to convince the ones who don't like "Exile" that it is a great @#$%& record.
Rock and Roll,
Mops

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guitarbastard

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Jan Richards
I even think that A Bigger Bang is better than Exile. Exile is just.... a lot of noice... in my ears. I did wash them today yes

eehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. WHAT??? you should not only wash your ears again, but also your mouth after that blasphemic insult! ;-)
but i must admit that you're a brave man......;-)

Well, Jan Richards, you'll have company in this category. It took me a VERY long time to come around to Exile. Just couldn't understand what all the fuss was about it. Then one day something just clicked with me, and I used to throw it on every Saturday morning as I cleaned my apartment. Just put it on repeat and let it go. It was a fantastic Saturday morning album, and it quickly rose up my list of favorite Stones albums, but it still fell far short of my #1, which is rather obvious. And then when A Bigger Bang came out, I listened to that album at least once a day for 3+ months straight, and it very nearly toppled their one true masterpiece (IMO) from its top spot. There were days when I was actually wavering, which is better, which deserves #1. Having battled with this dilemma for a few days, I threw on Voodoo Lounge again, and low and behold, it's place atop my favorite Stones album list was reaffirmed. It's the best damn thing they've ever done, period. ABB comes in a very close second. Sure there are some lyrics that I think could have been better, but musically, I think the band is as tight as they've ever been. And that leaves Exile in the #3 slot.....This doesn't mean that I find the album to be overrated in any way. Just that for me, personally, it is not the greatest album in their discography. It is still a killer album, start to finish, and I agree with those that say that it must be listened to it in its entirety. It's just one of those albums where playing a song or two simply does not do justice to it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-04-02 15:52 by VoodooLounge13.

So let me attempt to understand this - just because Tom Waits likes I Just Wanna See His Face means...it's a great song?

Ha ha.

Right.

The greatest rock album. No question in my mind. I do concede that it doesn't have an opening track that is as strong as the other "big four", but that's the only weakness.

You may want to stay away from the drugs...

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skipstone
So let me attempt to understand this - just because Tom Waits likes I Just Wanna See His Face means...it's a great song?

Ha ha.

Right.

No , its a great song anyway. Tom Waits just has good taste. Shame you don't "get it". There is nothing about Exile that could be changed. It is the most wonderful musical journey ever. A total adventure. I feel sad for those who don't appreciate it. And you call yourselves Stones fans - ha ha right



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-04-02 19:16 by letitloose.

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letitloose

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skipstone
So let me attempt to understand this - just because Tom Waits likes I Just Wanna See His Face means...it's a great song?

Ha ha.

Right.

No , its a great song anyway. Tom Waits just has good taste. Shame you don't "get it". There is nothing about Exile that could be changed. It is the most wonderful musical journey ever. A total adventure. I feel sad for those who don't appreciate it. And you call yourselves Stones fans - ha ha right

I like that song in its context, but for me the previous Ventilator Blues might have go on for some more minutes.

Massively UNDER-RATED! For the longest time, even Mick was not fond of EXILE the way many of us are ! This is a masterpiece, a once in a lifetime collection of songs!

yeah it´s the most underrated stones record for sure.

Exile is the greatest album ever!

Not onlu smusically but then again production wise!
I listened thru the album today again!
It strikes me!
With a minimum of resources and with only analog technology
it's the best produced album ever!

Guess the circumstances made this production available at this high rate!

Not even George Martin would have made it better!

ONE HELL OF AN ALBUM ANY CATEGORY COMPARISON!

Been Stoned since 1964 and still am!

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Fan Since 1964
Exile is the greatest album ever!

Not onlu smusically but then again production wise!
I listened thru the album today again!
It strikes me!
With a minimum of resources and with only analog technology
it's the best produced album ever!

Guess the circumstances made this production available at this high rate!

Not even George Martin would have made it better!

ONE HELL OF AN ALBUM ANY CATEGORY COMPARISON!

who are you to judge this is the best production ever?????

strange choice for best ever especially production wise!

it´s more like one of the worst sounding records by a major band ever.

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letitloose
No , its a great song anyway. Tom Waits just has good taste. Shame you don't "get it".

Oh I get it - that it's not a great song anyway - literally. It's just some vibe they recorded and blended in to the album. There's nothing substantial about the song. So in that context, yeah, I don't get it - because there's nothing to get.

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letitloose
There is nothing about Exile that could be changed. It is the most wonderful musical journey ever. A total adventure. I feel sad for those who don't appreciate it. And you call yourselves Stones fans - ha ha right

Whatever dude. I'm not arguing, it's just an opinion that I have stated. And it really means nothing, any opinion for or against Exile. I've actually made a shortened version of it to listen to, which made Sticky Fingers longer, and it's amazingly even better (including the removal of Just Wanna See His Face). That kind of opinion "the most wonderful musical journey ever. A total adventure." is just that. Nothing else. It's good that people feel that way about Exile. If someone said Led Zep's Physical Graffiti is the best double album in rock history I would indeed laugh. Or whoever.

It's obvious that some Stones fans think it's their greatest album or best album but it seems, in general, that Sticky Fingers or Let It Bleed are actually considered to be even higher in terms of the quality of the albums ie better than Exile. Like Keith said, D for down, for double. Had they treated is like any other usual release, would you feel any different about it? What if it wasn't a double album? What if it was just 9 or 10 songs? Just Wanna See His Face may have very well been a B-side. Along with Stop Breaking Down.

Is Exile the best double album ever? Certainly. Is it the best Rolling Stones album? No. Not to me anyway. Is it one of my favourite Stones albums? Yes. Is it my favourite Stones album? No.

Oh but I guess that doesn't make me a Stones fan. Or are you a...collector? What was that rant a while back? That was hilarious.

And this bit here, "With a minimum of resources and with only analog technologyit's the best produced album ever!" - were Sticky Fingers and Goats Head Soup done any better or worse in any other medium? Was recording "only" on analog a drag back then?

I've always loved Exile On Main Street. Just because I think there are a few songs that could have been left off doesn't lessen that. For me anyway. And that's all that counts.

Looks like colonial and Havo are in agreement.

Yes it is overrated, people that believe that it was all done in a deep dark dank basement, with Keith at the controls making his masterpeice. I think its a Keith lovers album, not a Stones lovers album.

In a word NO!!! NOT OVER RATED!A masterpiece of raw emotion, incredible lyrics, awesome vocals ( Let It Loose!), it stands head and shoulders above all the rest.

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skipstone

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letitloose
No , its a great song anyway. Tom Waits just has good taste. Shame you don't "get it".

Oh I get it - that it's not a great song anyway - literally. It's just some vibe they recorded and blended in to the album. There's nothing substantial about the song. So in that context, yeah, I don't get it - because there's nothing to get.

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letitloose
There is nothing about Exile that could be changed. It is the most wonderful musical journey ever. A total adventure. I feel sad for those who don't appreciate it. And you call yourselves Stones fans - ha ha right

Whatever dude. I'm not arguing, it's just an opinion that I have stated. And it really means nothing, any opinion for or against Exile. I've actually made a shortened version of it to listen to, which made Sticky Fingers longer, and it's amazingly even better (including the removal of Just Wanna See His Face). That kind of opinion "the most wonderful musical journey ever. A total adventure." is just that. Nothing else. It's good that people feel that way about Exile. If someone said Led Zep's Physical Graffiti is the best double album in rock history I would indeed laugh. Or whoever.

It's obvious that some Stones fans think it's their greatest album or best album but it seems, in general, that Sticky Fingers or Let It Bleed are actually considered to be even higher in terms of the quality of the albums ie better than Exile. Like Keith said, D for down, for double. Had they treated is like any other usual release, would you feel any different about it? What if it wasn't a double album? What if it was just 9 or 10 songs? Just Wanna See His Face may have very well been a B-side. Along with Stop Breaking Down.

Is Exile the best double album ever? Certainly. Is it the best Rolling Stones album? No. Not to me anyway. Is it one of my favourite Stones albums? Yes. Is it my favourite Stones album? No.

Oh but I guess that doesn't make me a Stones fan. Or are you a...collector? What was that rant a while back? That was hilarious.

And this bit here, "With a minimum of resources and with only analog technologyit's the best produced album ever!" - were Sticky Fingers and Goats Head Soup done any better or worse in any other medium? Was recording "only" on analog a drag back then?

I've always loved Exile On Main Street. Just because I think there are a few songs that could have been left off doesn't lessen that. For me anyway. And that's all that counts.

You shure do ask yaself a lotta questions!

Gud thing you can answer them as well...do you ever argue with yaself?

I play Dirty Work more often than Exile. But Exile would be best if it was on 78RPM

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whiskey
I play Dirty Work more often than Exile. But Exile would be best if it was on 78RPM

Wouldn't Rip This Joint be REALLY REALLY fast then?

lol

Tell Me THiS is overrated:








Appears to be a backstage jam in Montreux.

Greatest album on Mon, SF on Tues, GHS on a Wed, TSMR on a Thur, BB on a Fri, TY on a Sat, etc etc and ALL changes the following week... the beauty of the Rolling Stones

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Havo
i Know, somebody will disagree! Its a great album --for sure. but---where is a song like "Midnight Rambler" Or "Sympathie"?.. Casino boogie--"turd on the run--i just seen his face---soul survivour--are "fillers" --I mentioned "Beggars" and "Bleed"-but what i like most is "Aftermath" and "out of our heads".

One point that must be made is that Exile is very unlike most other albums - including what the Stones had done up to then. Most albums are collections of songs. And we all like great songs. Exile, however, must be consumed in it's entirety to really "get it." It's more than the individual songs, although I love many of them. When listened to as a whole there is a certain vibe that one misses when cherry picking songs. It's it's entirety there's something very unique and special that draws people back once it has slipped into focus. It's hard to describe but I'm betting a lot of people will know what I'm getting at.

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stonesdan60

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Havo
i Know, somebody will disagree! Its a great album --for sure. but---where is a song like "Midnight Rambler" Or "Sympathie"?.. Casino boogie--"turd on the run--i just seen his face---soul survivour--are "fillers" --I mentioned "Beggars" and "Bleed"-but what i like most is "Aftermath" and "out of our heads".

One point that must be made is that Exile is very unlike most other albums - including what the Stones had done up to then. Most albums are collections of songs. And we all like great songs. Exile, however, must be consumed in it's entirety to really "get it." It's more than the individual songs, although I love many of them. When listened to as a whole there is a certain vibe that one misses when cherry picking songs. It's it's entirety there's something very unique and special that draws people back once it has slipped into focus. It's hard to describe but I'm betting a lot of people will know what I'm getting at.

People who don't like Exile because it doesn't contain "hits" or what they consider major songs are missing the point entirely, and I feel sorry for them.

I agree with Bestfour.

However, to be Aristotelian about it: Exile has the most thematic unity about it. Other albums appear disjointed, or just a matter of "Oh well: we better record some tracks for an album".

There's also the vibe of Exile, which you don't get from any other album, with the possible exception of "An Ass Pocket Full of Whisky" by RL Burnside with the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. It's this amazing scuzzy, sleazy, sexy, sordid vibe, that neither the Stones, nor any other band, could ever match. It is why the Stones are legends.

There's also a sense of nomadic mastery of every genre that they record: you want blues, there's Shake your Hips, Stop Breakin Down, and Ventilator Blues: you want soul, check out Let It Loose and Shine A Light. Even rockabilly gets a mention, with Rip This Joint. Gospel - I Just Wanna See His Face. Where, previously, they were aping styles, now they assimilated styles on Exile. They even assimilated the boozy, slurry rock of the Faces on Tumbling Dice. Country also rears its head on Torn & Frayed, Sweet Virginia.

Then there's the sense of the drug use assisting in the creativity, just as it did for Ray Charles' Atlantic Recordings, Etta James' deep soul in Muscle Shoals, Billie Holliday's Lady In Satin, or even some of John Lennon's material on the White Album, and Johnny Cash's speed-fuelled concept albums from the 60s. You wouldn't get recordings like Rocks Off, or Torn & Frayed, without drug use.

There's also a sense of "Let's record before the wheels come off", which is highlighted in the break-neck speed of Turd On The Run, Rip This Joint, Soul Surviver. The albums immediately after Exile highlight the complacency of a band that is safe in the knowledge that the wheels haven't come off, and that they can do what they want as they no longer had to worry. It's a "New car, caviar" attitude of the complacent rock star, yet Goats Head Soup is an excellent album, IORR is a good album, and Black and Blue is pretty fine, pretty great too. Exile, though, is the anomaly in the sense of it's a Stones album, but not a Stones album. It was made differently to Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, and Sticky Fingers.

Beggars Banquet is the come-back album after the psychedelic blind alley of Satanic Majesties. Let It Bleed is the last dying fall of Brian Jones. It also introduces the horns of bobby Keyes and Jim Horn, and the work of Mick Taylor as a session man, not a fully fledged Stone. Sticky Fingers is the Stones letting Mick Taylor work his magic as a Stone, and The Stones beginning to add their brilliance to sleazy rock, Brown Sugar, country ballads such as Wild Horses, and deep southern Stax fried soul such as I Got the Blues.

Are the individual songs on Exile 'better' than the individual songs on Let it Bleed or Sticky Fingers? Probably not.

Are the individual members of the Rolling Stones 'better' than the Rolling Stones? Probably Not.

The beauty of this album, the magic, is of it's wholeness, its "RollingStonesishness"....as is the beauty of the Rolling Stones, the band. The sum of their individual parts is far greater than their individual contributions taken in isolation.

That is the value of Exile, and that is the value of the Rolling Stones, that magic.

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treaclefingers
Are the individual songs on Exile 'better' than the individual songs on Let it Bleed or Sticky Fingers? Probably not.

Are the individual members of the Rolling Stones 'better' than the Rolling Stones? Probably Not.

The beauty of this album, the magic, is of it's wholeness, its "RollingStonesishness"....as is the beauty of the Rolling Stones, the band. The sum of their individual parts is far greater than their individual contributions taken in isolation.

That is the value of Exile, and that is the value of the Rolling Stones, that magic.

What he said.

THose songs are by no means fillers...If you really understand The Rolling Stones you would realize that those filler songs are what a blues based rock band plays. Not every song has the same format. Those songs are part of the formula. Mick & Keith did not write the songs as filler..Artists do not write tunes as hits or filler material. They write songs, find the right groove and record. Hits, filler, etc, are decided by the public.


SOULSURVIVOR

Other Stones albums might have better individual songs, but the sequencing of Exile is perfect. There aren't many albums that flow as beautifully from beginning to end the way Exile does.

Exactly, EOMS is one of those serendipitous events flows with perfection. Every song on it helps create a mood of rock and roll exiles exploring the depths of Americana. Perfect and if anything UNDERRATED!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-02-28 08:16 by whitem8.

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whitem8
Exactly, EOMS is one of those serendipitous events flows with perfection. Every song on it helps create a mood of rock and roll exiles exploring the depths of Americana. Perfect and if anything UNDERRATED!

Having a good look at 'Hip Shake' some posts ago I'm fully willing to agreed...The Rolling Stones 1972 = Rock'n'Roll!

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