Rolling Stones, the Exile on Main Street ( Half-Speed 2020 remastered vinyl 2LP )

Release date: 27- 06-2020 (Originally released in 1972)

2020 EU reissue 2LP 180g Vinyl Mastered At Abbey Road Studios - Half Speed Mastering –

-Exile On Main St. is one of the most impressive works of The Rolling Stones, which the band sounds rawer and more intense than ever. Greeted with decidedly mixed reviews upon its original release, Exile on Main St. has become generally regarded as the Rolling Stones' finest album.

Part of the reason why the record was initially greeted with hesitant reviews is that it takes a while to assimilate. A sprawling, weary double album encompassing rock & roll, blues, soul, and country, Exile doesn't try anything new on the surface, but the substance is new. Taking the bleakness that underpinned Let It Bleed and Sticky Fingers to an extreme, Exile is a weary record, and not just lyrically. Jagger's vocals are buried in the mix, and the music is a series of dark, dense jams, with Keith Richards and Mick Taylor spinning off incredible riffs and solos. And the songs continue the breakthroughs of their three previous albums. No longer does their country sound forced or kitschy -- it's lived-in and complex, just like the group's forays into soul and gospel. While the songs, including the masterpieces "Rocks Off," "Tumbling Dice," "Torn and Frayed," "Happy," "Let It Loose," and "Shine a Light," are all terrific, they blend together, with only certain lyrics and guitar lines emerging from the murk. It's the kind of record that's gripping on the very first listen, but each subsequent listen reveals something new. Few other albums, let alone double albums, have been so rich and masterful as Exile on Main St., and it stands not only as one of the Stones' best records, but sets a remarkably high standard for all of hard rock. Presented in a sealed gatefold picture sleeve with printed inner bags.

Tracks:
A1     Rocks Off
A2     Rip This Joint
A3     Shake Your Hips
A4     Casino Boogie
A5     Tumbling Dice

B1     Sweet Virginia     
B2     Torn And Frayed
B3     Sweet Black Angel
B4     Loving Cup

C1     Happy
C2     Turd On The Run
C3     Ventilator Blues
C4     I Just Want To See His Face
C5     Let It Loose

D1     All Down The Line
D2     Stop Breaking Down
D3     Shine A Light
D4     Soul Survivor

Is there a better rock n' roll album that the The Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street? Likely not, especially now that the 1972 classic has been remastered from the original master tapes and boasts absolutely extraordinary sound. The double album is universally regarded as one of the five greatest albums in rock 'n' roll history and the most defining in the Stones' legendary catalog.

Upon its release more than three decades ago, Exile on Main Street wove varying musical genres, instruments, and artists into a compelling masterpiece. The 18-track double-album was famously recorded in various stages at multiple locations, including Olympic Studios in London, Keith Richards' mansion Nellcote in France, and in Los Angeles, where the literal 'Main Street' influenced the album's title. Atypical circumstances surrounding the recording process greatly affected the album's outcome, itself highly reflective and influenced by the socio-political turbulence that marked the late 60s and early 70s.

As detected throughout Exile, The Stones nixed the flower-child era's influences and directed their creative process with an edgier, excessive, "more is more" approach. Consequently, Exile reveals a sprawling mix of genres peppered with blues, country, R&B, and gospel, all mixed with lyrics that fervently demand release and liberation. The album also called on an electric array of talent, including Dr. John, the late Billy Preston, and pianist Nicky Hopkins. Guitarist Mick Taylor, who replaced Brian Jones in the band shortly before the latter died in 1969, brings his fervent intensity and bluesy elegance to the table to go along with Richards' landmark riffs.