What were the reviews of Exile when it was initially released? I've heard that the critics didnt get it, thought it was a lousy album, etc but have never seen any actual reviews.

-Drake

Lots of bad ones, I will see if I can scan some, and send them your way...pretty funny, these.

JR

I remember in Holland that it wasn't received well in the begining

__________________________

Drake I wrote a bit about this in the Serious...1972 thread. Have several zines and sor forth from the period, & btw even the pre-Patti Smith Lenny Kaye wrote a lukewarm review in Rolling Stone. I think for many the album is (or was) hard to hear at first, for many. BTW have you read Bill Janawitz's book about Exile?
Real sharp and well written.

x



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2006-12-06 07:15 by Beelyboy.

Beelyboy you're right I'm sure, but it can easily on early impressions be construed as being what the album itself so brilliantly conveys: murky, literally harder to hear than LIB or SF due to the mix, especially the vocal mix, weary, vulnerable, less cocky about their role in the culture at thirty-ish and with a long wild decade behind them, with all those referances to impotence, cutthroat crews, sinking, jaded near-numbness, drug-addled, etc...For me the power and triumph and clarity was more evident after a few months. The 1st time on WBCN Boston the dj played all 4 sides he remarked about it being underwhelming, that he expected titles like 'Let it Loose' and 'Torn & Frayed' to be rip-roaring rockers. I remember playing it back to back later that year with "More Hot Rocks"...what a different band!

No I have not read Bill Janawitz's book. I may have to pick it up though. Being born in 83 I grewup collecting Stones albums on cd. When I first heard Exile I loved it. As a kid I did skip past certain songs (I Just Wanna See His Face, Let It Loose, Casino Boogie, etc) but overall I loved the feel of the whole thing. I was shocked to learn that it was not well recieved upon initial release.

As far as the mixing goes, I love the buried vocals. There's only one track I wish they had taken more time to mix: All Down The Line. The kick on the drums is a bit of a thud and the bass doesnt have a great tone or is just too rumbly. One of my favorite tracks on the whole album though. I remember coming home from school when I was like 9 years old and hearing this kickass rocknroll blaring from my 8track system upstairs in my room. My dad was in there blasting that at peak volume. Unbelievable feeling hearing that for the first time. Walking into the house from outside I just remember hearing those guitars and thinking to myself, I need to get to my room as quickly as I can to hear that!!!

-Drake

Beelyboy I don't believe a word of it.

EOMS is a rare gem that takes time to appreciate. I hated it when I first heard it and it has taken me years to acknowledge that it is their greatest work.

So please don't pretend you saw its greatness early on.

bianca Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Beelyboy I don't believe a word of it.
>
> EOMS is a rare gem that takes time to appreciate.
> I hated it when I first heard it and it has taken
> me years to acknowledge that it is their greatest
> work.
>
> So please don't pretend you saw its greatness
> early on.


Well, I heard its greatness early on, starting when I first heard Tumblin' Dice on the radio. I got it!. I knew it was great at first listen.

I believe that the initial Rolling Stone Magazine review is still online at their website.

x



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2006-12-06 07:15 by Beelyboy.

i hav 2 reviews ( it take me 4ever 2 find dem ) 1 from Circus mag. ( greatest rock mag ever imo ) & 1 from Creem mag. & dey r both bad. i got Exile on da day of its release & while i new dar was alot of gems on it , i still thought it was a just a ok album ,it has 2 grow on u dats 4 sure , my top 4 Stones albums Exile @ # 4 , heres 1 clip from July 72 , not a review but Whoa (over da hill & mushy ). i wonder if da Glimmer Twins new dey had a masterpiece on dere hands dare , said 2 hav played T. D. 4 like 2 weeks straight durin overdubs ,

just read the dirty work reviews and that petty much tells you what they thought of exile, oh how WRONG they can be

Beelyboy...if you really saw greatness in EOMS on forst listen then I owe you an apology. However, I still suspect your memory is faulty, or perhaps you think everything they do is magnificent.

I don't mean to attack you personally. I just think that this album is something that doesn't jump out at you on first, or 50th listen. For me it took years. Interestingly, Jagger still can't stand it.

I believe the reviews weren't so much down on the album as mixed... a little underwhelmed or nonplussed. The myth has grown that it was a bomb... as bianca's post shows. Not true, really. The chart performance was quite good, I think.

re: the bass on "All Down the Line": is that one of the cuts with acoustic bass?

I wasn't a big fan of the album at first...I was spoiled with Let It Bleed and Sticky.

Beely, you know I always love to read your thoughts and feelings...these posts of yours are no exception...I'm a little younger than you, my gifted cyber friend of written expression, so my ears and heart was still programmed towards crystal clear stimuli........

This album has taken me years to appreciate...my journey is not yet finished ....my favorites from the onset were Sweet Black Angel, Tumbling Dice, All Down The Line and Happy, in that order...and I still crave the ode to Angela Davis the most.

Nice thread, drake.

x



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2006-12-06 07:10 by Beelyboy.

Of course the record went to # 1 - this was the sold out most publicized rock tour of its era, written about in scores of zines & papers, it was the 1st RS tour after the Beatles broke up, so they were now commonly seen as the # 1 band in the world. TD was a # 7 hit in the US (BSugar went # 1)...The buried vocals and general murk did lead me to eventually play the album more than any other Stones album - so dense, so emotionally and musically brilliant. BTW in '72 (not now) Billboard gave every record a good review. The response was mixed, and then various critics wrote essays about how blown away they were after a few months...And this was an era when I was too young to see them, but did read.

>it was the 1st RS tour after the Beatles broke up


But John, what about the 1970 European tour and the 1971 British tour?

NICOS Wrote:
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> I remember in Holland that it wasn't received well
> in the begining


Nicos, you REMEMBER that? ;-)

Jelle

I loved Exile from day one. My first two Stones albums were Sticky Fingers and Exile, and I loved them from start to finish. In fact, in my teens, I liked the flat-out rock of Brown Sugar, Bitch, Rocks Off, Rip This Joint, Happy, and All Down the Line alot better than most of the tracks on Beggars Banquet or Let It Bleed (much less Aftermath). It also didn't hurt that I saw my first Stones show in 1973, and the majority of the songs played were from those two albums.

I will Admit that upon first listen I struggled to get into the album.


I got Tumbling Dice and Happy straight off but I felt the album was disjointed -I just didn't know what the Stones wanted me to pick up on! Over the years after reading many reviews and critics saying it's the best thing since sliced bread, I kept returning to it with an open mind and still stuggled.

Then it hit me one day...don't play the album right through, just listen to one song at a time on different days, different moods etc....and now I appreciate almost every song on it's own merits. Songs i didn't get such as Loving Cup, Torn and Frayed and even Sweet Virgina (please forgive me for I have sinned) are now right up there as my favourites.

Now that I appreciate/understand each song I find I can listen to the album right through and feel all wrm and fuzzy inside upon it's completion and give praise to a Higher Being that we are blessed with this band on our planet.

In summary - I feel that most song's on the album are right up there with the best work that the Stones (or anyone else for the matter) have done but it just doesn't have the continuity of say Bleed or Sticky but no less inferior for it.

x



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2006-12-06 07:10 by Beelyboy.

It took me a long time to appreciate EOMS; one reason may be that I was still listening to BB, SF, and LIB, etc, etc, that it just sort of stayed in the background for a while.

Thank you for all the great discussion! I've gotten a great kick out of it, as well as some good references for me to investigate...

-Drake

From critic Jay Sherman, circa 1972:

"IT STINKS!"

Exile wasn't what I hoped it would be at first. I kept looking for stand alone gems and figured there must be a handful in an album of 18 songs. Tumbling Dice is really the only song that the most casual music fan would recognize. The thing of this album is that I learned that it's one of those start to finish musically melding masterpieces.

Of the 18 tracks, I remember thinking to myself at one time or another that "this one" is my favorite track. I must've done that on 16 of the 18. I listen to this album at least once a week; I make it a point to listen to it start to finish. I find new, little nuances in every song each time I listen.

I love this album even if they don't play nearly enough of the tracks live.
I think anyone can appreciate Sticky, Bleed or Beggar's, but it takes a Stones fan to appreciate all 18 of the EOMS gems.

I know some reviewers of the 1972 shows said the audiences didn't really know the songs and wanted warhorses instead of the new material. Don Heckman mentioned this in his review of NYC#1. I didn't see the '72 show, so I don't know what the level of excitement was in the audience. I wish I could be transported back and see just one of the shows now, to be there and see this mythical group perform seventy-five minutes of pure magic.

"The wonder of Jimi Hendrix was that he could stand up at all he was so pumped full of drugs." Patsy, Patsy Stone

I remember coming home from work the afternoon it was released.. I popped it on my pick-up, lit up a joint and I must say I liked it.

I have to admit When I first got It , I only liked some of the songs. It took time for me to fully appreciate it. But In some ways, thats a good thing. It wasnt just instant gratification. Its music with substance.