don't like EOMS or SG? Wow - now I know why you call yourself an "oustider!"

Very interesting posts, indeed.
IMO Exile is a true classical and masterpiece even if it's hard to put your finger on exactly why. Of course a lots of terrific songs but even some fillers/trifles.
I think it's something with the atmosphere.

Definately an elder. 15 when it came out. After the one-two punch of LIB & SF, EOMS was met with mixed reviews. Tumblin' Dice was at the time an ok single, but not a follow-up to Brown Sugar. Happy was a mystery, good song, fast tempo, but who was that singing, it wasn't Mick!!

As been stated before mixed reviews. I loved Rocks Off & Casino Boogie right away, but there was a lot to digest at first. Took awhile before you realized how good it was. All of a sudden you'd listen to Ventilator Blues & go WTF!!!
This is great!

As for Some Girls, I think it was not just the music, but the whole package (current sound - very punkish - The Stones were back and we were all glad)

It's so very lonely, you're 2,000 Light Years from home

RankOutsider Wrote:
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> I was let down by Exile upon it's release. I'm not
> let down by it now, but, I still don't see why
> it's considered 'the' Stones masterpiece, it was
> NOT a leap forward for the band. But, I guess if
> you hear anything often enough you'll begin to
> believe it, just ask GW.
>

Rank,

The "leap forward" thing was tied more to the fact that many believed the Rolling Stones (or most anybody at that time) could not release a double with any marked success and initially as you astutely point out, the album had no real takers, but it did catch on eventually (as it has all the ingredients for a classic album of its time). BTW- we true Stones fans have made Exile the retro icon it's become... Anyone I know who truly digs Exile On Main Street start to finish is generally a hard core (or at least very close to) fan.

At the time I thought Exile was great. I listened toit a lot. Bit as another person said, It was not as good as Sticky Fingers.

As far as Some Girls, I thought it was OK. Some listenable songs and some so-so songs. Nothing fantastic. This ,to me anyway,was still that shakey 80's / Ron Wood period where the Stones were trying to find themselves.

I'll be 56 in Feb so I guess that puts me in the 'elder' category.

In 1972 I was in the middle of my dope smoking-acid dropping faze so any music I listened to was filtered thru that sort of mind-set. I do recall, however, that it was an exciting album. They were in their post-BJ era & were without a doubt the best Rock-n-Roll band in the world. I saw Exiles as a continuation of the work they had started with Let it Bleed & Sticky Fingers, they were at the height of their creativity.

I felt they continued this thru Goats Head, IORR, & Black & Blue, but by Some Girls I thought they were running out of steam. I recall an interview with Mick where he mentions Chuck Berry & states that no one can keep writing songs at a consistant level for ever, everyone burns out eventually.

By Some Girls I had settled a fair bit, wife, kid, responsibilities, so again my feelings for this album & what followed where most probably tempered by my somewhat older outlook on life. Gone were the days of my misspent youth when everything was rosy & welcome to the world of unpaid bills on the fridge....

Meise Wrote:
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> Hi there,
>
> this is a question addressing the older ones here:
> how did you rate "Exile" when it was released in
> 1972? How did you rate "Some Girls" when it was
> released in 1978?

Too young to remember Exile when it came out, but I had just turned 15 when Some Girls came out, and to that point I only had one stones album (the Arcade "get Stoned" compilation from 1977 - anyone remember that one?)

Bought SG on a friend's recommendation because I liked 'Miss You' and 'Respectable' which were the 2 singles, and it blew me away. It has a lot to answer for.

Dont know if being the album that got me REALLY into the Stones is the reason, but its always been in my top 2 or 3 Stones albums. Just after Exile.

I remember before Some Girls came out the Stones were in many ways written off. Remember ,just before, the first Clash album had been released as well as the Elvis Costello classics My im is True and This Years Model, to say nothing of the first 3 immortal Ramones records. Thats what rock n'roll fans were listening to then, the Stones knew this, that they had to lift there game. I and many others were stunned by the brilliance of Some Girls, still my favourite Stones album.

I was heavily into the blues when Exile came out, so I immediately appreciated the album in spite of, or maybe because of, its rough edges.

Back in the late 60s and early 70s there used to be this thing called a "concept album." Instead of thinking of the record as individual songs, you were supposed to listen to the songs one after the other and let them sort of run together. I believe the Beatles' "Seargant Pepper" was the first concept album.

I thought Exile was a fantasitc concept album, the best ever. I still listen to the record often.

I still don't care much for "Some Girls," and I didn't care for it much when I first heard it. I think "Beast of Burden" is a great soul number, and I love "Before They Make Me Run." The psuedo punk numbers like "Respectable" and "When the Whip Comes Down" are awful.

"Some Girls" is the first full-fledged Stones Ronnie Wood album. It was handicapped at birth.

... Man, the opinions of some of you people regarding Some Girls is downright depressing. As if it isn't already bad enough that it's one of the most underrated albums in the history of moronic journalists and Best Albums of All Time lists.
The only consolation is that it sold well. Not well enough, but well.

I was a kid in the '70's, mostly unaware of the Rolling Stones beyond the greatest hits; I loved Satisfaction though. Tattoo You and the '81 tour changed all that (remember the MTV video for Start Me Up?). My "Stones Absorption Period" lasted throughout the 1980's as I drunkely reveled in all the great eras (Brian Jones, Sticky Fingers, '78, etc.). I love Some Girls, it is probably my favorite right after Exile. Here is a tangent for you:

The complilation I have listened the most to is probably Sucking In The 70's, mainly for two songs: Everything is Turning To Gold (a far better B-Side than anything else to show up on the recent Rarities) and the live version of When The Whip Comes Down from the '78 tour. I have always maintained that WTWCD live from SIT70's is the closest they ever came to punk rock. That version of that song was a main motivator of my headfirst dive into the murky world of bootlegs, looking for soundboards from the 1978 tour.

Here is an even beter story about discovering Exile:


When I was 19 and still learning about the Stones, I found a really beat up and scratchy copy of Exile on Main Street in a bargain bin for a buck. I played it for some college pals that night while we were drinking beer and we all loved it instantly in all its scratch and pop glory. The only song we had heard before was Tumbling Dice. Here's the best part: There was only one LP in the sleeve and I thought that was it. It wasn't until a few months later when I decided I needed a pristine copy of my new favorite record that I realized it was actually a double LP. Rock and Roll nirvana all over again.

Well, without hesitation. Exile : 10/10. Some Girls : 7/10. ABB : 7.5/10

phd Wrote:
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> Well,


Ha! you hesitated!

didn't get exile when it came out....but i bought Some Girls the day it came out....thought it was GREAT!!!...played the hell out of it.....quite a spiritual charge from that gem....'78 was a great music year!

Yeah.Hesitation is something relative for an old person !!! Took me time to think whether I should note 7.0 or 7.5 !!! Gloups. ABB is more in the vein of Exile.Btw, I dislike Miss You, which represents the opposite, to me, of said Tumblin'Dice.