Wow, where do you start with such an iconic record?

On its release it was lambasted as being too loose and disjointed to have any longevity - pah, what did they know, eh? Considering it was released in '72 it still sounds like a giant amongst records that have been released since; when TV indulges in the 'best album' of all time and comes up with some right flavour of the month drivel they often bypass 'Exile..', why you might ask. Well it's usually trendy types who would be better described as imbeciles! Philistines! Or, closer to the truth, haters of real music!

Anyway, it was only a matter of time before this album got the 'Deluxe' treatment and there has always been a wealth of bootlegs from around this time that could have accompanied this release, like some of the fantastic gigs they played but no, not a live track in sight (not that that should put you off buying this masterpiece). Lets examine the gatefold edition then which is pound for pound the best value for money version, unless you are a bit mental and can afford the £99 supa doopa version with the vinyl and DVD, but hey that's about 99% of us out of the equation right there. Unless someone from Polydor wants to forward on a copy I guess that version is going to have to wait before it graces my collection.

The remastered disc one of this package is the complete original double album version that hit the shops back in '72. It featured a cast of many and is regarded as 'Keith's album' where the swashbuckling Richards took the lead and led his band of merry men through a breathtaking set of songs that is hard to imagine any band being able to recreate considering it follows such a brilliant album as 'Sticky Fingers' or for that matter 'Beggars Banquet' and 'Let it Bleed' before that. This is probably the peak of the Stones' powers. 'Rip This Joint', 'Loving Cup', 'Shake Your Hips', 'All Down The Line', 'Shine A Light' through to 'Happy' - this really is an iconic album and one you could wax lyrically about for hours on end and, considering it was a double album, it is of such a high standard it's unbelievable to imagine how creative the band were at this time, seemingly able to walk on water if they only put their minds to it. 

From '69 through to '79 it's hard to imagine a band today being able to release so many amazing albums in succession with so many great songs and do it whilst living the kind of lifestyle they are well documented as living. Pressure? What pressure! 'Exile On Main Street'  with a cast of extras from Nicky Hopkins and Bobby Keys, Billy Preston, Gram Parsons and  Ian Stewart present along with many more backing singers and extra musicians, saw a band who no longer had to do as they were told and look for a hit single. This was the Stones doing everything on their terms and that might have been why it was a double album. They were now in charge of their own destiny and only answerable to themselves. This has since been regarded as a band at the peak of their game and an album, in one form or another, that should grace any self respecting music fan's collection.

The part of this release that will get most people interested is the inclusion of the extra disc of lost songs or outtakes and alternate early versions of songs. The sleeve in all its iconic majesty is intact in the gatefold and it also includes a booklet with 12 pages of pictures that document the sessions that made up 'Exile.' As a geek fan of all things Stones I can't help but think the booklet could have been so much better than what is quite frankly a 'Workmanlike' effort but hey, there you go, that's record companies for you. But there are loads of great books out there from this period that document the Stones in '72 and some well known films that are available and damn fine they are to, it's just a shame there are no Jagger or Richards notes to go with this release.

'Plundered My Soul', (issued in April as a limited edition Record Shop Day 7" single in the USA and UK) which is fantastic, is included in this 10 track collection which can best be described as typically Stonesy. 'I'm Not Signifying' is a good example of how the band would jam ideas around and see what they would turn into but also understandable why it never made the final cut. Next up is the ballad 'Following The River' complete with the girls giving it some soulful backing vocals - a hidden gem no doubt about it and amazing how a band could have discarded such an amazing ballad. 'Dancing In The Light' is a mid-tempo song similar to say 'Hide Your Love' off 'Goat's Head Soup'. 'So Divine (Aladdin Story)' has some really interesting sounds going on with Jim Price on vibes and Bobby Keys on some kind of effected saxophone. There follows two "Alternate Takes" of 'Loving Cup' and 'Soul Survivor'. Now these are more in keeping with hidden treasures for the Stone junkies out there - 'Loving Cup' opens with some lovely Nicky Hopkins piano and that shambolic feel to the album that encapsulated the sound of the Stones, especially the guitars of Richards and Taylor who duel like a pair of swashbuckling pirates to the end, yet it works, complimenting each other so perfectly and hearing Richards shouting out the changed lyrics of "Gimme a little taste from your furry cup" is still one of the funniest lines ever in a song and should have been left in the original release.

Another gem sees Keith handling the vocals on 'Soul Survivor' instead of Mick, again with Richards changing the lyrics to "just can't fuck it up", and when that riffing guitar kicks in it's enough to make a grown man weep; not the most gifted axeman but certainly the most recognisable of slingers ever and whilst he might not have had the technical ability of some of his contemporaries he had the empathy with his music and knew how to write a song or two and when to riff it up and when to kick back. 'Good Time Women' is a forerunner for 'Tumbling Dice' and is an insight into how the Stones worked when growing the songs in the studio. 'Title 5' opens with studio chatter of "Take 1" and is a strange little rocking instrumental which kind of fades out and....there you have it, a truly gigantic album given a new lease of life in 2010 with a few titbits to draw in fans old and new. 

Now all we need is the official release of 'Ladies And Gentlemen' and 'Cocksucker Blues' to come out on DVD as the perfect accompaniment to this era of the band so I don't have to watch the grainy bootleg any more. As Keith defies the quacks and carries on riffing into the 21st century it's an absolute pleasure to delve back into a magical time for rock 'n' roll when it was mysterious and dangerous and was all alluring, simply one of the greatest rock 'n' roll albums ever made no doubt about it! 

Don Was has overseen the mixing and there are overdubs on here by Keef and Mick but that doesn't detract at all and, hopefully having gone back to ville Nellcote and Keith's Exile basement, maybe it'll put a rocket under the Glimmer Twins to write some more music of this standard. Who knows eh, strange things happen in rock 'n' roll. Look out for the accompanying DVD that is being released next month - it's of an epic length (ooer mrs) and a must have 'Exile' treasure.

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