- Audio CD (July 19 1994)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Label: EMI Music Canada
- ASIN: B000000W5L
- Other Editions: Audio CD | Audio Cassette | LP Record
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (269 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #25,308 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Product Details |
Track Listings
| 1. Rocks Off |
| 2. Rip This Joint |
| 3. Shake Your Hips |
| 4. Casino Boogie |
| 5. Tumbling Dice |
| 6. Sweet Virginia |
| 7. Torn And Frayed |
| 8. Sweet Black Angel |
| 9. Loving Cup |
| 10. Happy |
| 11. Turd On The Run |
| 12. Ventilator Blues |
| 13. I Just Want To See His Face |
| 14. Let It Loose |
| 15. All Down The Line |
| 16. Stop Breaking Down |
| 17. Shine A Light |
| 18. Soul Survivor |
Product Description
From Amazon.co.uk
Before Keith Richards' bad habits took over for a time in the mid-'70s, his work ethic was quite high. Stories abound of the long, if somewhat off-schedule, hours he spent working on this classic album in the basement of his home in France. Hanging together as much because of great songwriting ("Rocks Off," "Soul Survivor") as its fabled grungy atmosphere, Exile caps the Stones' great 1968-'72 run with a force that belies their supposed spiritual tiredness. What some of these songs are about is anybody's guess--Keith claims "Ventilator Blues" was inspired by a grate, while the song plays like an ode to a pistol--but that's just part of this album's hazy game. --Rickey Wright
Amazon.com essential recording
From the swaggering frustration in the first song ("I only get my rocks off while I'm sleeping," Mick Jagger sings in the hyper "Rocks Off"), the Stones speed through familiar neighborhoods of country, blues, and R&B on Exile. They never even bother to stop when they've crashed into something. They don't leap into new worlds so much as master the old ones, turning Slim Harpo's blues obscurity "Hip Shake" into a harp-and-piano steamroller and setting spines a-cracking in "Ventilator Blues." Both "Tumbling Dice" and Keith Richards's "Happy" have become hits, but the 1972 album is most notable for its overall murky adrenaline. --Steve Knopper
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
Typical Blues, Gospel, Country, Boogie, Rock album
Jan 12 2001
Format:Audio CD
Sandwiched between "Sticky Fingers" and "Goats Head Soup" this album is hard to explain. But why explain it? Just enjoy it.
You get the feeling that the Stones went into the studio and just let it rip. In a way, it can be compared to the Beatles' white album in its eclecticness, but it is much more coherent. While there are different styles, ranging from blues to country to gospel, the record is unified by its uniquely grungy atmosphere. There is a tired, world-weary darkness to the album, "Torn and Frayed," some moments of Tom Waits' rolling-around-in-the-dirt grossness, "Turd on the Run," with moments of shining light, "Let it Loose" and "Shine a Light."
1&2) Rocks Off/Rip This Joint - The album starts with a bang, from the weird, rockin' "Rocks Off" to the Richards gem, "Rip this Joint." You won't find a better Richards tune. Mick's gargling break in the middle of "Rock's Off" mars an otherwise spectacular opening.
3) Shake Your Hips - An eery, murky blues cover. One of the weaker tracks, but it sets the mood for the rest of the album.
4) Casino Boogie - Can't understand most of the words. Keith is particularly nasal on this one. But it introduces the horn section in an upbeat rhythm number.
5) Tumbling Dice - It got radio play, but see how well it fits into the context of this album.
6) Sweet Virginia - A gritty, soulful country number with a memorable scatalogical refrain featuring some great backing vocals. It also features a Tom Waits-ish vocal by Mick.
7) Torn and Frayed - A countrified anthem to exhaustion.
8) Sweet Black Angel - A murky, bluesy ode to a Black pin-up girl. Unfortunately most of the lyrics are indecipherable.
9) Loving Cup - Great piano intro. One of the more joyful songs on the album. "I'm the man who brings you roses when you ain't got none." But a little dirt still sticks, "Do you want to push and pull with me all night?" The rousing ending foreshadows the glorious "Let it Loose."
10) Happy - A Richards gem. Who doesn't "need a love to keep me happy"?
11) Turd on the Run - A Tom Waits-ish roll in the mud. Sounds as if it was written after a visit to a whorehouse. "Dirty hands, vaseline, you give me disease." Perhaps Mick gives us a glimpse into a dark soul.
12) Ventilator Blues - A dark, ponderous, blues number. Another mood piece.
13/14) I Just Want to See His Face/Let it Loose - Gospel was never like this. Man's greatest desire, to see the face of God, "Don't want to walk or talk about Jesus/ I just want to see his face," expressed in a low, rumbling, reverberating, rhythm number. The track features a muffled Jagger vocal with suitablly soulful black backing vocalists. The somber mood lays the ground for the glorious "Let it Loose."
The pent up emotion and desire for redemption explodes on "Let it Loose," a glorious gospel-inspired explosion. The most hopeful, soulful song on the album builds to a glorious crescendo featuring a wonderful chorus and full-tilt horn section. There is no other Stones song like this. Oh, what might have been.
15) All Down the Line - A straight-ahead, no frills rock number. A great one.
16) Stop Breaking Down - One of the mood-creating rhythm tracks. Starts slow but builds to a rollicking end.
17) Shine a Light - The coda to "Let it Loose." "May the good Lord Shine a Light on You/ make every song your favorite tune." Amen brother Jagger.
18) Soul Survivor - A gritty end. The album ends on a hopeful note.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Great album! (but this remaster misses the point)
Jan 24 2011
Format:Audio CD
A 5-star album reduced to 4 stars because of the "overdone" (re-)remaster. As the knowledgeable reviewer at [...] said of this latest attempt (IMO) to capitalize on the Stones' legacy," [m]uch of its myth lies in its murk, how its dense, scuzzy sound is the quintessential portrait of rock stars in decadent isolation, the legend bleeding into its creation so thoroughly it is impossible, and unnecessary, to separate one from the other." Unlike Bob Ludwig (who did a superb job remastering Exile in 1994 for Virgin, somewhat cleaning it up, but leaving its essential nature), those responsible for this remaster have missed the point: this originally was a low-def album, probably done that way on purpose, and certainly reflecting the atmosphere under which it was created. The "murk and the scuzz" were part of it - the album could have easily been entitled "Torn and Frayed" after Track 7. But this new 2010 remaster cleans up all the scuzz; granted, you can now hear every instrument clearly, but I for one want that original murky, scuzzy sound. Exile was never about clarity. Unfortunately, many contemporary remasters are often more about the engineers, who end up outsmarting themselves, than the musical legacy they're trying to preserve - for one thing, they inevitably do it too loud (no doubt to grab attention) as this one has been. If you can, try to compare this one with the Ludwig 1994 remaster - huge difference in loudness level for one thing.
Exile received at least as many lukewarm reviews as it did ecstatic ones when it first came out in 1972 - not surprising as it was a double album (the Stones' first) that took a while to get into, like the White Album, Tusk and many others. Now it's considered one of the best (#1 in the minds of many) of the Stones' Big Four (the others being Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed and Sticky Fingers - BB remains my personal favourite, though Exile is firmly #2!).
My recommendation - while you still can, get a copy of the 1994 remastering by Robert Ludwig, who is one of the (very few) truly great mastering engineers working today. Better still, maybe, get a good used vinyl copy (2 records - preferably original pressing), hopefully with some hiss, pops and ticks to enhance the murk and scuzz - remember, folks, this is Exile!
Thanks for putting up with the long review (but this is a long album!)
Exile received at least as many lukewarm reviews as it did ecstatic ones when it first came out in 1972 - not surprising as it was a double album (the Stones' first) that took a while to get into, like the White Album, Tusk and many others. Now it's considered one of the best (#1 in the minds of many) of the Stones' Big Four (the others being Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed and Sticky Fingers - BB remains my personal favourite, though Exile is firmly #2!).
My recommendation - while you still can, get a copy of the 1994 remastering by Robert Ludwig, who is one of the (very few) truly great mastering engineers working today. Better still, maybe, get a good used vinyl copy (2 records - preferably original pressing), hopefully with some hiss, pops and ticks to enhance the murk and scuzz - remember, folks, this is Exile!
Thanks for putting up with the long review (but this is a long album!)
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
The Rolling Stones' Yardstick
July 3 2004
Format:Audio CD
If you've gotten this far, it probably safe to say that you know by now that EVERYONE seems to think it is their best ever, of all time, on the desert island, scrounging for gas money because you bought it once more album. And it surely has a pretty good legend surrounding it (south of france, stoned, ripped, twisted..good people). But is it their Best? That all depends.
Me? I like "Sticky Fingers" a little better for one reason: The good songs (Brown Sugar, Can't You Hear me Knockin', Bitch, Sister Morphine) are Transcendant, whereas here the good songs (Tumbling Dice, Shine a Light)Are only "Damned Good". Yes, it's a very fine line, to be sure, but it must be said. And "Fingers" Wins hands down on opening tracks-I mean "Brown Sugar" vs. "Rocks Off"? There's no comparison. Fun Fact: Keith Richards once listed "Brown Sugar" as one of his favorite all-time songs with this justification "Don't YOU think it's a great song?"
That being said, however, "Exile" is the stronger album of the two. The reason? The rest of songs here are neither as bad or as ordinary as the rest of the songs on any other Stones album. Let me put it this way: It's said that any good song will have a sort of "magic" about it. Well, here most every song has that kind of magic in varying amounts. Put on any single song (with the exception of "Turd on the Run", which just doesn't have the magic) and you will end up liking that song on its own merits. It may not be a religious experience, but you will want to hear that song again. It's that kind of album. The same cannot be said for any other Stones Album in their catalogue, and all but the precious few other jewels in the rest of the history of Pop Music.
Of Course, as with all High-water marks, The Stones were destined to fight against the reputation of this masterwork for the rest of their careers, and always be found just a little lacking. A shame, really, for what remains one of the Great Bands Ever and a consistent hit-making force even now, 30+ years on.
Me? I like "Sticky Fingers" a little better for one reason: The good songs (Brown Sugar, Can't You Hear me Knockin', Bitch, Sister Morphine) are Transcendant, whereas here the good songs (Tumbling Dice, Shine a Light)Are only "Damned Good". Yes, it's a very fine line, to be sure, but it must be said. And "Fingers" Wins hands down on opening tracks-I mean "Brown Sugar" vs. "Rocks Off"? There's no comparison. Fun Fact: Keith Richards once listed "Brown Sugar" as one of his favorite all-time songs with this justification "Don't YOU think it's a great song?"
That being said, however, "Exile" is the stronger album of the two. The reason? The rest of songs here are neither as bad or as ordinary as the rest of the songs on any other Stones album. Let me put it this way: It's said that any good song will have a sort of "magic" about it. Well, here most every song has that kind of magic in varying amounts. Put on any single song (with the exception of "Turd on the Run", which just doesn't have the magic) and you will end up liking that song on its own merits. It may not be a religious experience, but you will want to hear that song again. It's that kind of album. The same cannot be said for any other Stones Album in their catalogue, and all but the precious few other jewels in the rest of the history of Pop Music.
Of Course, as with all High-water marks, The Stones were destined to fight against the reputation of this masterwork for the rest of their careers, and always be found just a little lacking. A shame, really, for what remains one of the Great Bands Ever and a consistent hit-making force even now, 30+ years on.
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