Rolling Stones. Exile on Main Street (1972)

Exile on Main St. is a double album released in 1972 by The Rolling Stones. A sprawling album drawing on influences ranging from rock & roll, blues, country, and soul, Exile was initially greeted with lukewarm reviews, but is now widely considered the band's finest work and one of the defining masterpieces of the rock era. In 2003 it was listed as number 7 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Exile on Main St. is an album composed of outakes and tracks written and recorded over the period of four years, from 1968 to 1972. On those earlier songs, singer Mick Jagger said in 2003, "...After we got out of our contract with Allen Klein, we didn't want to give him [those earlier tracks]," as they were forced to do with the songs "Brown Sugar" and "Wild Horses" off Sticky Fingers. Most were recorded between 1969 and 1971 at Olympic Studios and Jagger's Stargroves country house in England during sessions for Sticky Fingers.

By the spring of 1971, the Stones chose to abandon their home country of England to avoid the amount of taxes the British government expected the band to pay. The Stones would have to leave by April 5, or the government would have seized their assets. After much consideration the Stones chose to settle in France at Villefranche-sur-Mer, near Nice, where guitarist Keith Richards had rented Nellcôte, the "Gestapo headquarters during the Second World War," according to Richards, complete with swastikas on the floor vents. It was here that the Stones would begin work constructing their next album.

Track Listing

All songs by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, except where noted.

1. "Rocks Off" – 4:32
2. "Rip This Joint" – 2:23
3. "Shake Your Hips" (Slim Harpo) – 2:59
4. "Casino Boogie" – 3:33
5. "Tumbling Dice" – 3:45
6. "Sweet Virginia" – 4:25
7. "Torn and Frayed" – 4:17
8. "Sweet Black Angel" – 2:54
9. "Loving Cup" – 4:23
10. "Happy" – 3:04
11. "Turd on the Run" – 2:37
12. "Ventilator Blues" (Jagger, Richards, Mick Taylor) – 3:24
13. "I Just Want to See His Face" – 2:52
14. "Let It Loose" – 5:17
15. "All Down the Line" – 3:49
16. "Stop Breaking Down" (Robert Johnson) – 4:34
17. "Shine a Light" – 4:14
18. "Soul Survivor" – 3:49

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