Exile on Main Street by Rolling Stones

This album is long considered the best of The Rolling Stones long career and even one of the greatest albums of the rock era. Like all people born just a little too late to have a first hand appreciation of the Stones in the Sixties I have owned the Hot Rocks collection, first in casette then in CD and now in MP3. The only issue with that collection is many of the Stones songs I enjoy the most now did not make it onto that " Greatest Hits" package.

Songs such as Dead Flowers, Let it Bleed and Love in Vain which to me rank with the best they have done miss that collection. Of course I also understand that as I get older my appreciation of " Country Mick " might be stronger than my appreciation of " Rock and Roll " Mick. Songs like Sympathy, Wild Horses and You Can't Always Get What You Want however hold up as well as any songs from the rock era.

A local radio station here has often introduced the Stones as the greatest rock and roll band of all time and I do not know anyone who agrees with that. We all love some of the Stones music but did you ever notice nobody ever marvels about Sticky Fingers versus Let it Bleed or Her Satanic Majesties Request. We have all heard or taken part in endless debates about the merits of Let it Be versus Revolver. Rubber Soul versus Searganet Pepper. Everyone knows the names of The Beatles albums, many even strong fans of the Stones do not know the names of the Stones albums.

Exile on Main Street being from 1972 would thus be outside of the 64-71 era. Perhaps the reason the Stones albums from the Hot Rocks period are not so discernible is that so many bought the at the time double album greatest hits collections.

In the end what this means is that if anything, The Rolling Stones are underrated in terms of their career.

A review of this album shows for me an album that I clearly did not appreciate as much as I should. Songs such as Loving Cup, Let it Loose, Shining the Light, and Sweet Virginia are classics that most people have never heard. Like Love in Vain on Let it Bleed what is clear is that The Stones too have classic songs most have never heard. Tumbling Dice and the Keith Richards vocal Happy are songs more know but the album is full of great songs.

Albums such as Tattoo You and Some Girls later brought the Stones back to the forefront but this album two years after the end of The Beatles placed the Stones front and center as the biggest band in the world.

Most have heard about this album. Many own it. But if you have not taken a listen in awhile you should. This is a very good album.