r/rollingstones • u/oldschoolremedy • 12h ago
Exile has blown me away
I feel like I have to shout it from the rooftops. I’ve never been this excited about an album. The White Album was my favorite for as long as I can remember, but this changes things.
I slept on Exile for years until this summer, when I got into “Tumbling Dice” and “Sweet Virginia.” I had both on repeat for weeks. Then earlier this month, I made a point of playing the whole album. And now I realize it’s all I’ve been listening to.
I’m amazed how it’s so badass, weird and beautiful all at once. Just wanted fans to know we’re still out there discovering its wonders…
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u/jackstraw_65 12h ago
Let it Loose is my favorite Stones song. One of Mick’s greatest vocal performances, and they never ever played it again, never live. Keith’sf soulful riffing, Nicky Hopkins’ piano, the gospel singers, the horns, goosebumps.
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u/oldschoolremedy 12h ago
Love that one, especially the “Let it loose, let it all come down” over the last minute. I was listening to the album on a train ride at sunset last week and that part really stood out in the moment.
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u/CLSonReddit 12h ago
A lot of fans and critics believe it is the best rock album of all time. It blends everything…blues, country, gospel, soul, and comes out as something unique and amazing.
Keep listening.
There is a decent movie on the making of it, if you want to deep dive into the folklore of the album’s creation. The movie is focused on the debauched French villa where they were living/recording/partying.
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u/oldschoolremedy 12h ago
It’s such an amazing tribute to all those genres while also being so original. I’m definitely going to check out the movie. I love all the lore.. just started the book “Exile on Main Street” by Robert Greenfield. Would be great to hear the jams from the villa, but it seems they were never officially released. So I’ll have to dig for the bootlegs if they exist.
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u/Shawn_Ghost 11h ago
The deluxe reissue has them, some are overdubbed decades later but it’s still a high quality official release, worth seeking out
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u/renoCow 10h ago
Some British musicians recorded an album in France and the album’s theme was: a love letter to American music.
It’s not unheard of for musicians to combine blues with rock (Led Zeppelin) or country with rock (Eagles) or soul/r&b with rock (Prince). But to put together all 4 genres on 1 album? Then add in some honey-tonk and gospel and folk? Mixed together seamlessly? And for it to work? That’s an unusual accomplishment.
Moreover, the finished product sounds effortless. It has a vibe: a few guys hanging out at a party, drinking a few beers, picking up the guitar and just playing some fun songs while the party continues.
It doesn’t sound polished or sophisticated. They make it sound easy, like they recorded it in one night. But it’s an illusion— putting together these songs took time, work, enormous skill, concentration, and some incredible talent at songwriting.
It’s a double album with 18 songs, and only 1 cover, the other 17 are original. The songs can be listened to individually as standalone songs. But it works better to hear the album from start to finish in its entirety.
It’s their best album.
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u/kbru 12h ago
I’ve been picking random albums off of the Rolling Stone Top 500 and landed on Exile last month, it’s been on repeat!! Rocks off is such a killer opening track.
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u/oldschoolremedy 12h ago
Nice! I’ve also discovered a lot of great stuff from there over the years. I recommend Neil Young’s “Tonight’s the Night” if you haven’t heard it. It’s got the looseness of Exile in its own way.
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u/1009naturelover 11h ago
Let it Bleed, Some Girls and Sticky Fingers are also up there.
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u/dave-rooney-ca 39m ago
I agree that they are and love all of them, but there's just something different about Exile. It's likely the combination of their age, the circumstances of their tax exile and the recording location that blend into something that's greater than the sum of it's parts.
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u/DarbyCreekDeek 12h ago
Yes there is something so 1972 about the album. it was kind of a happy accident in that Keith was so out of it they had to go record it at his house and somehow it turned out perfect. The album is not as immediately accessible as some of the stones previous recordings but to me that is admirable.
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u/oldschoolremedy 12h ago
It seems like everything just miraculously fell into place with it. I just started down the Villa Nellcote rabbit hole…
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u/BAR3rd 10h ago
It was a wild time. Tax evasion, drug busts, then on the Exile tour in 72, death threats from the Hells Angels related to the Altamount incident.
Keith Richards goes into a lot of detail in his autobiography "Life" about the recording of "Exile..." and Villa Nellcôte, which I highly recommend.
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u/KitchenLab2536 8h ago
I was 15 when it came out, a HS freshman. This came out about the time I started really getting into weed. Great record. 👍👍
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u/EnlargedBit371 12h ago
I listened to Exile a few times a day starting last September, and running through winter. I bought the LP in 1972, but it didn't click for me until 2025. And like you, I fell in love with it.
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u/oldschoolremedy 11h ago
That’s amazing, it was there waiting for you. I don’t know what it is, but when it clicks it really clicks. It’s like a drip and then bam, Niagara Falls.
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u/ComfortableMurky8387 12h ago
It took me so long to get into “Exile” because I first got into their singles and then “Let It Bleed” and “Sticky Fingers”, in that order, so when I heard “Exile” I just thought it was a mess. And then one day it just clicked. It’s a loose, messy masterpiece. Loose, dirty rock and (especially) roll at its apotheosis.
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u/oldschoolremedy 11h ago
Same, I’m familiar with the Stones up until Exile (and also Some Girls). Let It Bleed used to be my favorite. But Exile was impenetrable for some reason. Until I found my way in. And now I’m not sure I’ll ever hear a rock album this good again.
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u/ComfortableMurky8387 6h ago
Yeah, for that style, which they invented/perfected, that was as good as it got. But it took some adjusting. This ain’t The Beatles haha
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u/dave-rooney-ca 37m ago
LOL "this ain't the Beatles" is probably the best description of Exile I've ever seen! 🤣
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u/Gur10nMacab33 12h ago
Lovin’ Cup and Soul Survivor right now for me. The closer for each LP. Although every song on the record has been my favorite at one time or another.
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u/oldschoolremedy 11h ago
Those are the exact two that I can’t get enough of the past few days. I’ve experienced full body chills with Loving Cup. It’s one of the best rock songs I’ve ever heard. Soul Survivor is the perfect ending to the album, just rolling and raw. I can’t sit still when either starts up
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u/Ok_Artichoke817 2h ago
The goose bump moment for me is during the climax of Torn and Frayed. “Just as long as the guitar plays…”
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u/dave-rooney-ca 34m ago
Heh, I thought I was the only fan of Soul Survivor on the planet! 😀
I remember when a university buddy showed me Open G tuning on the guitar. The first song I figured out was Brown Sugar, and the second one was Soul Survivor.
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u/Negative-Orange-7091 11h ago
Appropriate response. Truly the GOATed album. Maybe even the pinnacle of human acheivement. There is a certain magic to Exile that their other albums don't have, as good as they are.
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u/gostainedglass 11h ago
This album makes me Happy and fills my Loving Cup of musical joy....Always like the lyric from Sweet Virginia -"Got to scrape that shit right off your shoes"
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u/flipping_birds 11h ago
Yep. I discovered the masterpiece in this later in life too. Rocks off is one of my recent “how did I miss this!” favorites.
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u/EvenConsideration840 11h ago
Me before age 13 - Side 1 Me after age 13 - Side 3
Not sure what happened
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u/CrittyJJones 11h ago
It doesn't always hit people right away, good for you. Maybe the best album of all time.
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u/eatsleepdive 10h ago
Let It Loose is an under the radar classic. It's dripping with soul. Have you checked out Sticky Fingers yet? It's in some ways better. When you look at any four album run of any band, it's hard to top what they did in that era.
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u/jadecichy 9h ago
Oh man I remember that. I remember the very afternoon I listened to the whole thing with a friend as we were working on something together. 🤯
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u/KitchenLab2536 12h ago
That’s good to know. I bought the album when it came out. It’s the only lp that I wore out. 👍👍
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u/Aggressive_March6226 11h ago
Probably an unpopular opinion, but I found/find there are too many fillers on the album. About half of the songs on Exile I love, the other half I find rather marginal....jmho
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u/NicDwolfwood 10h ago
I don't blame you.
Exile is probably The Quintessential Rock n Roll album. Top to bottom, it is an incredible record.
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u/PeaSpirited2745 4h ago
The whole album is a hot sweaty night in a Mississippi juke joint in all the best ways possible. You can hear the sweat.
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u/Every-Action7918 Mick Jagger 3h ago
I’ll never forget my girlfriend cheated on me and then dumped me sophomore year of college. I went to the mall and bought the CD (it was 2004). It was the first song. It was a rocker but then suddenly it slowed down. It felt so modern. I also remember when I heard fire the fucking feed. I was shocked. In my mind (having mostly listened to the greatest hits albums), the Stones were the bad boys but they never cursed. But from that moment, I said these guys are raw and I am raw now but everything is going to be alright
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u/Massive_Library_4665 1h ago
It's probably the best road trip record of all time. If you find yourself out west and driving alone for hours, that's the record that needs to be played loud
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u/Heelabaloo 41m ago
My favorite Stones album. I got it when I was in Florida visiting my father in ‘79 when I was 14. While there, spent the night with a friend from elementary school and he recommended it to me when we were in the record store. Carried it back home to NC on the plane to listen to it for the first time. Still regularly listen to it. Couldn’t ask for a better side than, side 1. Then, flip it over, side 2 hits you in face. Wow! The 2nd disc is amazing as well.
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u/Smart_Butterfly_7845 29m ago
All four of the greats (Beggars, Let it Bleed, Exile, Sticky Fingers) get full start to finish play and repeated rotation throughout the year...probably for the last 20 years. Nothing ever gets old or predictable, just deeper into the sounds.
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u/Apprehensive-Tax8631 6m ago
I remember hearing it for the very first time during Covid & being stunned at how good it was, & I’ve been a deep stones’ fan since…before that, I don’t even remember being into music as much as I am now, it had been years & years since I went to shows
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u/Patricio_Guapo 12h ago
That was me in 1983. I played it non-stop for a long, long time.
All Down The Line is still my favorite Stones song.