Exile On Main Street (Remastered) [Original recording remastered]

Following an album like 1971's magnificent "Sticky Fingers" was always going to be a tall order, but The Stones did it with swagger and panache. "Exile On Main St" was released 12 May 1972 as a 2LP set on Rolling Stones Records COC 69100 in the UK and on COC 2-2900 in the USA. It reached the coveted number 1 spot on both sides of the pond - and like The Beatles "White Album" before it - is a flawed and sprawling thing, but considered by most to be a masterpiece nonetheless.

This 17 May 2010 reissue (18 May in the USA) is the 2CD expanded version of that double on Rolling Stones/Polydor 273 429-5. Disc 1 has the full compliment of 18 tracks at 67:18 minutes, while Disc 2 is a new 10-track mixture of previously unreleased outtakes and alternate versions at 41:12 minutes. All songs are by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards except "Ventilator Blues" which is co-written with Mick Taylor, while "Shake Your Hips" and "Stop Breaking Down" are Slim Harpo and Robert Johnson cover versions. As with "Sticky Fingers", the additional musicians and producer (Jimmy Miller) added hugely to the power of almost every song and should be noted for it - Bobby Keys on Saxophone, Jim Price on Trumpet, Nicky Hopkins, Ian Stewart and Billy Preston on Piano and Organ with lady-soul veterans Clydie King and Vanetta Fields on Backing Vocals. Dr. John also sang backup on "Let It Loose".

SOUND:
As with the 2009 reissues STEPHEN MARCUSSEN (over 1000 mastering credits to his name including the "Alfie" soundtrack with Mick Jagger) and STEWART WHITMORE of Marcussen Mastering have remastered the original tapes and the sound is glorious throughout. "Loving Cup" followed by "Happy" are beautifully clear and "Tumbling Dice" is at last full and in your face. Most every track is improved - the instrumentation in your speakers with a fabulous live and shambolic feel. The acoustic and harmonica opening of "Sweet Virginia" and the drums of "All Down The Line" are superb. To me it's a huge improvement, a balls-to-the-wall triumph. Downsides - the hiss level on "Shine A Light" that was there in the first place is now more accented as it is on the frantic "Rip This Joint". Some despised the 2009 remasters, so this will be more of the same for them, but most I suspect will absolutely love it. Wish I could say the same about the presentation...

PACKAGING:
Very poor I'm afraid. The front flap and rear of the original 2LP cover are produced on the outside of the digipak (as they should be) with the inner LP photo spread reproduced on the inside of the digipak, BUT the original vinyl double also had two fantastic inner sleeves and a set of fold-out postcards (only came with 1st pressings and they're now very rare). Only 1 of the 4 sides of the two inner sleeves is reproduced! That the idiots would not bother picturing the 'postcards' seems to be par for the course for Stones reissues these days, but that great shot of Mick & Keith at the mike with whiskey bottle in hand is missing - as is the "I Don't Want To Talk About Jesus I Just Want To See His face" quote on the other side - unbelievable! The supposedly exclusive 12-page booklet is different to all other issues, but turns out to be just black and white photos of the session and no liner notes whatsoever - none! The track-by-track details are now only bland black and white printed listings, which lose all of the inner sleeves magical artwork. It's an insult that this supposedly 'deluxe' reissue cavalierly misses out on crucial visual elements of the original release - it's hugely unimaginative and workmanlike at best.

BONUS DISC:
Although the 10 bonus tracks have the same original backing band - and despite what the track-by-track credits 'don't' tell you - it's obvious that the first 5 have had 'treatment' of some kind - vocal tracks added on/redone recently.

"Pass The Wine (Sophia Loren)" is an ok opener, but the track that sounds most like a genuine outtake peach is "Plundered My Soul" which is fantastic (it was issued in April 2010 as a limited edition Record Shop Day 7" single in the USA and UK). Best approximation is that it sounds like the B-side "Tumbling Dice" should always have had (lyrics above). "I'm Not Signifying" is ok, but hardly great, but there then follows a genuinely lovely ballad "Following The River" complete with the new girls giving it some soulful backing vocals (Lisa Fischer and Cindy Mizelle). It's far better than you think. "Dancing In The Light" is a jaunty mid-tempo song similar to "Hide Your Love" off "Goat's Head Soup". The opening of "So Divine (Aladdin Story) is closer to Brian Jones Rolling Stones circa "Dandelion" and its really interesting - Jim Price on vibes and Bobby Keys on some kind-of treated saxophone sound. There follows two "Alternate Takes" of "Loving Cup" and "Soul Survivor". Now these are far closer to what we want - "Loving Cup" opens with a lovely Nicky Hopkins piano refrain and suddenly it's "there" - that shambolic feel to everything - especially the guitars of Richards and Taylor duelling to the end yet complimenting each other so perfectly. Now this I will love. And then another gem - Keith carrying the vocals and sloppy stuff on "Soul Survivor" instead of Mick - and it works - and when that riffing guitar kicks in, I'm balling my eyes out and there's chills on my arms. "Good Time Women" is a forerunner for "Tumbling Dice" and is fab - rough and tumble as well. "Title 5" opens with studio chatter of "Take 1" and is a strange little rocking instrumental which kind of peters out, interesting but that's all...

Ok - so there's no live stuff and there should be (legendarily good), the "All Down The Line" Alternate Take that's on the B-side of the "Plundering My Soul" 7" single isn't on here either, which is just stupid - and the 4-track Excerpts 7" Flexi single from the April 1972 NME in the UK with song edits and an exclusive "Exile On Main Street Blues" track is nowhere to be seen let alone pictured either. But overall - I'm kind of shocked at how good Disc 2 is. I'll ignore some of these newer makeovers for sure, but those Alternate Takes are thrilling.

In May 2012, "Exile" will be 40 years old and Mick and Keef will be more Zimmer Frames than Glimmer Twins. But that won't stop this coolest of double-albums from being the absolute business. I suspect the real truth about this 2CD reissue is far simpler - men around the world will see this digital temptress pouting on the shelf of their local megastore, feel a quickening of the pulse and a movement in their trouser area - and be unable to resist.

And you know, you can't help but feel that these two canny English lads already know this.

God bless The Rolling Stones and roll on "Some Girls...
(due later this year apparently)

PS:
HMV in the UK have issued "Exile" with the digipak inside an exclusive card slipcase (Polydor 274 102-3). I've pictured both sides of it for fans.

The Japanese, however, have not surprisingly got the most desirable version of them all; it's inside a 14-disc box set called "From The 70's To 00's" which contains all their 'studio' albums from "Sticky Fingers" through to "A Bigger Bang". They are all on the SHM-CD format (Super High Materials) and each has the original album artwork repro'd on one of those 5" Mini LP sleeves we so love (UICY-91558). "Exile" is included - being the 2010 Remaster version - and is in a gatefold card sleeve complete with its original fold-out postcards and two inner sleeves.

Whether or not "Exile on Main Street" is the greatest Rolling Stones album seems to this humble reviewer to completely miss the point. Good cases can be made for the wonders of "Sticky Fingers" containing some of their strongest songs, the arrogant strut of "Beggars Banquet" with its wonderful cover and then there is "Let it Bleed" an album which opens with "Gimme Shelter" and closes with "You Cant Always Get What You Want" which must have a fair call upon the crown. The point being that while "Exile" has stiff competition from within many of the wider works of the Stones its primary claim is that it is by far the most influential album conceived by the Glimmer Twins and possibly one of the most important rock albums ever. Get hold of a copy of Wilco's "Being there", Whiskeytown's "Strangers Almanac", The Clash's "London Calling" and even Springsteen's "the River" and "Exile" influences are all over them like a rash. That is not forgetting of course albums which are almost pay direct homage to the Rolling Stones 1972 master-work most notably Primal Scream's "Give Out But Don't Give Up", Green on Red's "Here come the snakes" and a large part of the collective output of Aerosmith, Afghan Whigs and a host of other bands.

What the Stones managed to "bottle" here was taking the double album format, infusing it with a shambolic charm and making their amalgam of country blues rock the template for rock music in the same way that Dylan's "Blonde on blonde" did for a generation of singer songwriters. Indeed both double albums could be distant relatives sharing a timeless quality which is hard to define but which is inculcated with a ramshackle quality and also an authentic experimentation combined with a devil may care attitude.

It is noticeable that most of the bands highlighted above are American and "Exile" is the Stones paying their debts to their musical influences from across the Atlantic with a vibe that seemed to transport a mix of Chicago and Nashville to the lazy and decadent surroundings of Villa Nellcôte in Southern France for recording purposes. The legends and myths which surround the recording sessions that led to "Exile" can be devoured in forensic detail throughout the music journals particularly "Uncut" and Robert Greenfield's patchy book "A Season in hell" . The "Exile" sessions were by any standards the ones which permanently ensured that the Dartford Temperance league particularly with Charlie's Watts's mammoth "Cognac" input would always be on a hiding to nothing. Neither at this time was Jagger the latter day saint we now know so well today and his description of the "party atmosphere of the sessions" takes the art of understating a fact to a whole new level. Indeed it was the introduction of the former Byrd and country genius Gram Parsons into the sessions as Keith's "best mate" which set the tone. It led to both of these iconic figures being pretty wrecked most of the time from a gigantic cocktail of drug taking to plain old booze which was supplied by a never ending cast list of hanger's on. But despite all this "Exile" is very much "Keith's album", he was clearly was the self appointed "King of the court" and it is testimony to his genius that these recordings from a humid recording basement in his rented villa often packed with a challenging coterie of followers, "ne'er do wells" and the notorious "les cowboys", turns out to be some of the Stones best.

As for the music, well you know the score by now. "Tumbling Dice" is my favourite Stones song bar none, "Happy" is one of the best things Keith ever committed to vinyl with its wonderful opening lines "Well I never keep a dollar past sunset, it always burned a hole in my pants" and the pristine quality of the version on here is a pure joy; you can hear the horns properly at last! For sentimental purposes I also still like to think that Gram Parsons might be singing in the background on "Sweet Virginia", love the swinging ballad "Torn And Frayed", the swampy "Ventilator Blues" and the deep gospel of "Shine a light". As for the new songs on this Deluxe Edition they are fascinating. "Good Time Women" is the template for Tumbling Dice, the alternative version of "Loving Cup" is very strong. Plundered my soul" essentially a new song and why "Following the River" never appeared on the original album in the first place is a mystery. That said why tamper with perfection? While the extras are fascinating and very important documents of a band at its creative peak they are not absolutely essential. What counts here is that "Exile on Main Street" has done more than most any other album to steer and condition the musical Zeitgeist for nearly forty years and long may it continue to exhort us in no uncertain terms to get our rocks off.

Here was a chance to follow in the mould of the excellent recent Beatles remasters The Beatles In Mono and cast a spotlight on what many believe to be the Stones' finest hour.

Unfortunately, it just doesn't make the grade. I am sure that this album will sound great to many people listening to it through an iPod or computer speakers. There is nothing wrong with this, as it is a great album and should be enjoyed by many.

However, this is a review of the vinyl, and assuming that most people buying it will be listening through the requisite hi-fi equipment, it simply just does not cut it.

There are many reviews on line by people far more qualified than myself (see Michael Fremer, for example) so I will not repeat the points that they make about the flat, lifeless mastering that completly nullifies the drive and bite of the album. It just sounds so limp and neutered when compared to Bob Ludwig's CD on Virgin, or the original Artisan pressing.

It is a real shame, as the pressing is excellent and has no surface noise whatsoever (at least not to my ears). There is still a large following of people (myself included) who would love the opportunity to get hold of a good quality, clean vinyl copy that retains the dynamism and attitude of the original mix.

If you own any of the Abko Rolling Stones vinyl remasters, this will sorely disappoint. Even the sleeve reproduction is poor. I cannot help but feel that this is a real missed opportunity.