Exiled with The Stones



Around the time a re-mastering of The Rolling Stones early ’70s work Exile On Main Street was announced, I finally decided to read a book about the period I had picked up a few months prior.

Rolling Stones Exile On Main Street CoverA Season In Hell With The Rolling Stones by Robert Greenfield is the perfect companion to what many Stones fans believe is the group’s greatest album. There’s no doubt it comes from the group’s last great era, and although it’s one of my favorite Stones records, I don’t believe it’s their best.

Nonetheless, it has a fascinating story behind it and the album comes into sharper focus by reading what led up to its making. In short, because of the extreme tax laws at the time in England, much too complicated to recount, The Stones were forced to move to the south of France for an extended period and that would become the site of their recording for Exile.

Having exhausted most possible locations for the recording, The Stones settled on Villa Nellcote, where Keith Richards and girlfriend Anita Pallenberg were staying. The group set up in a room in the basement and with their trusty mobile recording studio outside set about recording a good deal of the album.

It is, however, pointed out in Greenfield’s book that it was a herky-jerky, start-and stop affair at best. What with Richards’ and Pallenberg’s drug indulgences, the celebrity-charged atmosphere that saw among others Gram Parsons settle in for an extended stay and in general an uneasiness between the group’s leaders, Richards and Mick Jagger, it’s a wonder this album was ever finished.

Still, with supplemental tracks and overdubs cut in Los Angeles and previous tracks recorded at Olympic Studios in London, the album was pieced together and remains one of The Stones most interesting, resting comfortably among it influences: blues, R&B, country blues, Motown and rock.

Richards is in all ways the main player in this saga, both in the book and it’s fairly detailed recounting of his life during this period, and the recording, during which despite his drug abuse he was essentially the creative force behind the songs.

How much of Greenfield’s book is strictly accurate is, of course, debatable. But it reads believably as he quotes extensively from people who were there, although he admits he’s skeptical of some of the recounting from the less reliable. When Richards and Pallenburg arrived at Nellcote, separately, they were both clean, having each gone through separate rehabs in London. It was perhaps after a go-kart accident that Richards resumed his extracurricular activities, although given his history it was more likely just a matter of time before he would indulge again.

Rolling Stones A Season In HellThe description of how the band gets together for sessions is any musician’s nightmare, with people showing up late, not at all, or showing up and disappearing. If you’ve been in a group with unreliable types, particularly those on drugs, you can relate.

Richards’ routine seems quite strange, often starting sessions then leaving to put his son Marlon to bed only to really go upstairs to nod out after using. But is this overstated? One wonders. He did, in fact, get enough ideas down and wrote enough material for a double album’s worth of tunes. There is not doubt though that for all involved it was painstaking.

Some of the shady incidents, stupefying anecdotes and sometimes eerie stories, including a confrontation on the waterfront that pits Keith vs. some heavies and the police, with guns involved, and the extended criminal charges for possession, which took more than a year to resolve, are amusing, fascinating and if nothing else dark, menacing and sometimes chilling. How The Stones ever achieved anything is a wonder. The book is a must read.

As for the reissue. The first disc is the original album and there really doesn’t appear to be a great deal of difference in the sound compared with the original CD. It’s a typical Stones mix, that is in many instances more cloudy than clear. But it’s lack of sonic distinction is one of their hallmarks and the feel of each track drives through the haze.

The musicianship is loose but inspired and the songs all lean toward blues and soul, with many reminiscent of earlier Stones compositions. The standouts of the 18 tracks being Tumblin’ Dice, Rocks Off, All Down The Line, Ventilator Blues, Sweet Virginia, Sweet Black Angel, Richards’ vocal feature Happy, Loving Cup, Stop Breaking Down and Soul Survivor. Although truly, there really is no filler on the album.

Disc 2 contains 10 unreleased bonus tracks, which range from excellent to curious. Mick Taylor, who was so integral to this period for The Stones, is on six of the 10 tracks and reportedly recently recorded some overdubs on at least one track, Plundered My Soul. His playing from the original recordings to his recent overdubs show his typically brilliant blues sensibilities, one of the great soloists to come out of the late 1960s British scene.

I commend The Stones on recruiting Taylor back in the fold, using an original player, and would like to see more collaborations in the future.

Other new overdubs abound, including some of Jagger’s vocals. Nothing wrong with that. Even some of the new background vocals provided by Lisa Fischer and Cindy Mizelle are integrated perfectly, keeping with the original atmosphere and feel of Exile. Three of the tunes are augmented by sax player Bobby Keys and trumpet man Jim Price, who added so much to this material in the early ’70s. And the late, great Nicky Hopkins is also on board on piano on three tunes, providing his signature style as he did on Exile’s main tracks.

The first three tracks Pass The Wine (Sophia Loren), Plundered My Soul and I’m Not Signifying are the best offerings here. All solid Stones material from this time period. Pass The Wine has a feel not unlike the instrumental section of Can You Hear Me Knockin’ and burns from start to finish with great guitar interplay and beautiful lead lines from Taylor on slide, his forte.

Plundered features a straining, pleading vocal from Jagger with lyrics on the other side of the love equation, which is a little unusual, and more fine playing by Taylor. I’m Not Signifying, built around Hopkins, is full bore piano-based blues track in slow shuffle mode. More tasty slide courtesy of Taylor.

Following The River appears to be an attempt to capture what The Stones achieved with Wild Horses and Angie, which were both dark, menacing ballads, even though they are essentially love songs. River is a tune lyrically and musically that doesn’t seem to work as a Stones vehicle. It lacks their edge, their attitude and is gussied up with strings to no advantage.

Dancing In The Light is an all Richards guitar outing and has a vintage Stones feel, almost sounds as if it comes from the mid-to-late ’60s. We are entertained by some lead playing from Keith, which is not the norm for this period.

So Divine (Aladdin Story) has an opening riff reminiscent of the opening of Paint It Black but a totally different feel. It’s a song that really grows on the listener with each playing, another ’60s throwback with a moderate slow groove and Jagger’s stylistic vocal drawn directly from his ’60s work and nice harmony from Richards.

The alternates of Loving Cup and Sole Survivor are just that, rejections, although both are worthy additions. Soul features a Richards vocal instead of Jagger, which is much more low-key in attitude and range. Good Time Women is an obvious early version of Tumblin’ Dice but not nearly as developed and Title 5 is about a one-minute instrumental that could easily have been ignored.

If you have the original release of Exile On Main Street and have no interest in the bonus cuts then you’re fine with the original mastering job. If you’re curious about the outtakes, pick up the double CD version. Don’t expect to be blown over by all of it, but there’s enough there to satisfy.

3 thoughts on “Exiled with The Stones

  1. i’m sorry, but i do not believe that Keith is doing harmony on So Divine.
    thats just Mick over Mick

  2. as a matter of fact, the vocals are just recently added to the song (so Divine) which was an outake from somewherearound let it bleed… Richards has not been able to harmonize with mick since around some girls / tattoo you era due to the dope/ smoke/ booze enduced change to his voice.

  3. Dean,

    Just went back to give it a second listen. Yeah, the verse harmony does sound like Mick, the inflection and attitude are a little too thick for Keith. As for the chorus, I’m not as sure, but it’s probably likely that he laid down that low harmony as well.

    The more I hear this tune, the more I like it. Although recorded around Let It Bleed, it sounds like something even earlier.

    Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

    Paul

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