Working on music without any pants...

I can’t say that I’ve always been a huge fan of the Rolling Stones. On the contrary, I’ve fallen in and out of love with them at different points in my life. As a kid, songs like “I Can’t Get No (Satisfaction)” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” were in constant rotation on the Oldies stations that always seemed to be playing in my parents cars. As a teenager, I fell in love with “Paint it Black” (thanks, “The Devil’s Advocate”!) and “Start Me Up” (thanks for ruining it, Windows commercials!). In more recent years, I’ve found myself drawn to the more melancholy “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” and “Gimme Shelter”, the latter of which can probably be attributed to the Rock Band explosion a few years back. I marveled at the video for “Love is Strong,” where 100 ft. versions of super models threaten to crush Manhattan and I laughed when Mike Meyers did his spot on impression of Mick on SNL. But I can’t ever really say that I went through a Rolling Stones “phase” like I did with other artists like the Beatles, the Who and even U2. The Stones were always sort of the “also ran” band in my mind. The second place team behind their Liverpool brothers who’d never made as big a splash. So it’s through that lens that I approached my latest assignment “Exile on Main St.” Now I’ll be honest, if it weren’t for Jimmy Fallon and his Rolling Stones Week, I’d still have never even thought to listen to this album straight through. But thanks to a little repetition, I downloaded a copy and listened to it straight through in one sitting, something that I can’t say I’ve done with any album in years.

A Brief Synopsis of “Exile on Main St.”: But before we get to what I thought, let’s quickly review the somewhat nutty circumstances surrounding the recording of the Rolling Stones tenth studio album. A quick search of Wikipedia reveals that “Exile on Main St.” was released in May 1972 but was recorded over a four year span with two main sessions: one in Los Angeles, CA (home of Beach Boys and asphalt) the other in Nellcôte, France. Why were the English rockers in France, you ask? Because they owed more taxes to the crown than they were able to pay. So Keith and the boys headed to France where smacked out Keith Richards had rented a former Nazi headquarters…you know, as you’ll do. So the Stones, in the throws of Keith’s love affair with heroin and Mick’s first marriage, apparently spent nights recording what would later become “Exile on Main St.” Jagger and Co. would later add to the tracks in LA including some influences from a local gospel church they attended. With all that going into one album, it’s really no surprise that it sounds like a mix of rock, blues, soul and whining about drugs and booze.

Why is it a PCBS? With classic songs like “Tumbling Dice”, “Happy”, “Shine a Light” and “All Down the Line” you can see why this album was panned by Rolling Stone when it was released. (Let’s just take a minute to realize that professional music critics are generally asshats. Seriously.) Of course, with the benefit of hindsight and time to realize that they were generally asshats, most music critics now proclaim that it’s one of the greatest albums of all time ever. It’s on multiple “Greatest Album Ever” lists and was the inspiration for a bunch of other artists including, most famously to my generation, Liz Phair’s album “Exile in Guyville” (another album that I should probably get my hands on at some point in the future). Even Matchbox 20 felt the need to reference it in one of their so-called “songs” so it must be important, right?

For me, it’s a bit more personal than that. <tangent> My music collection has always been heavily influenced by what the influential people around me were listening to at the time. It’s easy to wheel through my iPod at any given moment, stop on a random artist and immediately know exactly who got me into that kind of music or started me listening to a particular artist. I’ve loved everyone from Abba to Zappa all because someone around me was listening to them at the time. A few big examples:

• Bruce Springsteen: I love the Boss. I’ve always loved the Boss…except that I haven’t. I came to the church of Springsteen quite late in life (around 14 or 15) when my friend Mike introduced me to his “Greatest Hits” album. But once I got a little taste of Bruce, I was a fan for life. I bounced from that compilation of singles all the way back to “Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ” almost immediately. Because of Mike I have seen the Ghost of Tom Joad, travelled to Nebraska and discovered the most perfect album ever recorded. He’s also to blame for Billy Joel and my obsession with obscure musicals.
• Me First and the Gimme Gimmes: This one’s all the fault of Tracy. For some reason, I got to hang out with rocker chick Tracy and her friends around the turn of the century and was introduced to a local cover band called “Frontbutt” (I’d Google them to see if they’re still around and link to their site, but I’m not Googling that word). One night while waiting to see the band go on, the bar was playing one of the “Me First and the Gimme Gimmes” albums. I had to know who it was and how I could get their music immediately. I’ve always been a sucker for covers but any band that can do a punk cover of “Nobody Does it Better” just plain kicks ass (almost makes me feel sad for the rest).
• Eagles: 150% my dad’s fault. My father owned one of those huge 5-disc changer CD players when they first came out and he started replacing lost LPs with CDs. One of those CDs was this one and once I found it, it was basically on a loop in my head. I imagined driving down the highway with the windows down in a pickup truck listening to “Take it to the Limit,” wrote angsty teenage stories to “Already Gone” and didn’t understand what “Tequila Sunrise: was until many years later. This little gem can also be blamed for my love of the Steve Miller Band and Fleetwood Mac.

The point is, the reason I never really got into the Rolling Stones is because, well, no one around me was really into the Rolling Stones. </tanget> Unlike others people around my age, I didn’t go and see the giant inflatable people they had during the Wheels of Steel tour and wasn’t really impressed by their “Voodoo Lounge” album. So this PCBS was more about trying to discover some music on my own than trying to catch up with something that everyone else my age already loved. Hopefully years from now when I hear “Sweet Virginia” I’ll think of me instead of someone else.

How does it look in the rear view mirror? It’s not really fair for me to criticize an album that’s beloved by many and revered by more. As I was listening to “Exile”, I was suddenly struck by the fear that if I didn’t like it then my ear was more tin than I’d ever imagined. I truly believe the “you are what you like” philosophy of Nick Hornby, so the idea that I’d not like something so close to my wheelhouse was a bit intimidating (not something I’d felt with things like “Nightmare on Elm St.” or “thirtysomething”). Luckily, I can honestly say that I really enjoyed it. In a world where there’s really no such thing as albums anymore (everything’s a single…except for musicals because they have a throughline of plot, but that’s a whole other post), it’s really nice to find something that feels like it was meant to be heard in the order it’s laid out (and not in a crazy way like “Dark Side of the Moon”).

That being said, I know that only a few of the songs will make it into regular rotation on my iPod. “Tumbling Dice” and “Loving Cup” both hit me in that rock/soul sweet spot that I’ve developed around things like Van Morrison and the Stones own “Gimme Shelter” but it was really “Sweet Virginia” that I know I’ll hang on to. Yes, I’m from the commonwealth of Virginia and yes, I’ve recently traveled there and become somewhat sentimental about the state made for lovers, but neither of those are reasons for loving this song. For me, it’s the Johnny Cash/Marvin Gaye/Steve Bassett sound that immediately makes me think of nights that were hotter than the days that preceded them. I’m reminded of standing in line for ice cream that melts as soon as you get it and driving fast with the windows down to try and stay ahead of the mosquitoes. It’s Southern Rock-blues-a-billy music at it’s finest and for me, it’s the anchor for my respect for this album.  Also, it’s better than 99.9% of the crap that’s released these days (suck it, Bieber) so, you know, get off my lawn you crazy kids with you rap music and low rise pants.

Final Thoughts: Since I’ve rambled on for almost 1600 words, I’ll keep my final thoughts brief: I’m glad I gave this album a chance because it’s something that I should have been listening to all along. Hopefully, some of you will give it a chance and when it comes up on shuffle on you iPods…you’ll think of me.

The newly re-mastered anniversary super pack edition of the album comes out in a few weeks. Give it a chance and let me know what you think about the album when you do.  Oh and watch the Rolling Stones week on Fallon. He’s a funny guy.