вЂњRocks OffвЂќ and вЂњShine a LightвЂќ present the essential picture.

The last complete sentence of the album screams this very angst, вЂњYouвЂ™re gonna be the death of me.вЂќ Even such a piece of seeming filler as вЂњCasino BoogieвЂќ reveals itself, once the words come through, to be a picture of the chaotic, draining, scramble of life on the road. The plot charts a rough path from drunken late-night revelry to next-day regret, and thereвЂ™s a profound need for redemption here unique to the Stones, an odd moment of guilt for a band known for consequence-free sexual/drug debauchery. Besides, anything else would make it all too concise and clear, like putting the lyrics on an album cover, which is the most impersonal thing any rockвЂ™nвЂ™roller can possibly do.Д®xile on Main StreetВ was the great step forward, an amplification of the tough insights of вЂњGimme ShelterвЂќ and вЂњYou CanвЂ™t Always Get What You Want.вЂќ A brilliant projection of nerve-torn nights that follow all the arrogant celebrations of self-destruction, a work of love and fear and humanity. Jagger hadВ to sign it that way, in вЂњSwayвЂќ and again in much of Exile,because thats the way his pride and works. On tracks like вЂњSwayвЂќ most of us donвЂ™t get the real words, because at their most vulnerably crucial moments they were slurred and buried in the panache of sexuality.

They are masters without competition at rendering the boredom and desperation of living comfortably in this society. But itвЂ™s the search for alternatives, something to do, something worthwhile even, that unite us with the Stones continuously. A beautiful album, but an ugly, dishonest space in the lives of the band members. Sticky FingersВ was the flashy, dishonest picture of a multitude of slow deaths. ExileВ is about physical and spiritual casualties, and partying in the face of them. What you hear sooner or later is two things: an intuition for nonstop get down bang-outs, perhaps unmatched by anything in their catalog to date besides The Rolling StonesВ self-titled freshman release and a strange kind of humility, love and pain emerging from a dazed and confused indulgence fiasco. ExileВ is dense enough to be compulsive: hard to hear, at first, the precision and fury behind the murk and depth ensures that youвЂ™ll come back. ExileВ is built not on hits but on vibrations, space and the united act of beautifully sleazy, gritty, basement noise. Despite dozens of hits, putting together a cohesive album often seemed to be beyond the Stones. DespiteВ an absence of the bandвЂ™s best-known songs,В the sweaty, grimy Exile on Main St.В has grown into the Rolling StonesвЂ™ most universally acclaimedВ record. That was truly the breakthrough of Exile on Main Street. They are tied to earthly corporeal issues while others dance wildly in other dimensions and heights that feel unattainable to mere mortals. Something that has always set The Rolling Stones aside from the transcendent likes of The Beatles, Hendrix and Zeppelin is that they always had the strength to make you feel that both we, and they are hemmed and torn by similar walls, frustrations and tragedies. Albums that the likes of our generation have unintentionally glazed over, because there is just too much going on today to pay attention to an album that came out 40 years ago. My job is to bring forth outstanding albums from the classic past.

Album Review: The Rolling Stones, Exile on Main Street (1972)

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