The epic musical career of The Rolling Stones, now well into its fifth decade and still showing no signs of ending, is for many defined by the sprawling double LP "Exile on Main Street" released in May 1972.
Though hammered by critics at the time as a lazy and incoherent piece of work, the record has gradually come to be appreciated as the band's greatest, a stunning mixture of blues, soul, rock n'roll and country that left an indelible mark on the history of rock music. Future Stones albums never quite matched the sloppy brilliance of "Exile", try as they might, and its influence is obvious in the music of bands such as Aerosmith, Guns N' Roses and The Black Crowes.
Last of the Classics
Exile was the fourth in a classic series of records that the Stones produced during their late '60s-early '70s creative peak. Preceded by "Beggars Banquet" (1968) "Let it Bleed" (1968) and "Sticky Fingers"(1971) "Exile" was the natural summation of everything that the previous records had been working towards.
By the early 1970s Mick Jagger and Keith Richards had perfected their replication of the Delta blues they grew up listening to, and on tracks such as "Ventilator Blues" and their cover of the Robert Johnson classic "Stop Breaking Down" they sound like real bluesmen instead of callow impersonators.
Stoned in the South of France
The album was recorded in a series of seemingly endless recording sessions at Nellcote, a ramshackle villa near Nice in the south of France. Keith Richards rented the house, which was used as a headquarters by the Gestapo during World War II and still had swastikas painted on the floor vents.
Here, in the cramped humid environment of the villa's basement in the middle of a sweltering July in 1971, the band began the painful process of creating Exile on Main Street.
The Influence of Gram Parsons
Working conditions at Nellcote were far from ideal, as the band were surrounded by hordes of groupies, hangers-on, journalists and celebrity cronies that came and went as they pleased. One notorious visitor was Gram Parsons, the short-lived American country singer who formed a brief but productive songwriting partnership with Keith Richards. Parsons' country influence can be heard on tracks such as "Torn and Frayed" and "Sweet Virginia", though he does not actually play on the album.
Blues, Soul, Country and Rock'n'Roll
Despite the chaotic atmosphere and tensions within the band, the Stones still managed to crank out some of their best music. Jagger switched roles effortlessly, singing blues, soul and country with equal conviction, while the band had perfected their tight-but-loose sound and were complemented by any number of extra musicians (even the Stones themselves are uncertain who played on every track).
Highlights include the glorious mixture of soul and barroom blues "Tumbling Dice", the gospel "Shine A Light" and the Keith Richards confessional "Happy" , in which the guitarist 'sings' with an edgy yelp as the band clatter away behind him. Horns dominate the record, lending the record a swinging downtown New Orleans feel that contrasts strikingly with the murky production.
Given the chaotic circumstances of Exile's recording, the muddy mix is hardly surprising and band members recall having to drag semi-paralytic sound engineers from beneath their mixing desks and bribe them to work with promises of food.
Creative Decline Post-"Exile"
Following the release of Exile on Main Street, the Rolling Stones were left with few musical ambitions to fulfil. Having achieved all their goals, their only option was to repeat the formula or experiment with other forms of music such as funk, reggae, punk and disco.
In the following decades they tried all these things, with decidedly mixed results, but never again managed anything closer than a reasonable facsimile of the blues-infused majesty of Exile.
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