Exile On Main Street

I never could get into The Rolling Stones. But this has swayed all my opinions about them. I absolutely loved this album, the mix of genres blues, rock, gospel and more all comes together incredibly to form an engaging listening experience. You get tired of hearing of hearing guitar and here comes a brass section, you get tired of brass and here comes a choir. I bet the band had a great time recording this and it really shows, very upbeat album with not one bad song. The lyrics are incredible too, I haven’t properly looked into them but Mick Jagger is extremely gifted and he’s giving it his all on this album. Every time I tried to listen to a Stones album I was bored almost immediately, but this is right up my street. I think the production is a bit middy at times and makes it kind of straining to listen to but I can excuse that because the music is just that good. I found it really difficult to choose a favourite song because all of them make you want to get up and dance. Right now it’s between Tumbling Dice, Torn and Frayed, Loving Cup and All Down The Line. I’m going to have to go with the last one there. All Down The Line has me absolutely ascending. From the guitar solos to the choir singing it just does something to you and you want to listen over and over again. Absolutely fantastic but won’t be getting five stars. I feel like the production is lacking and the album drags on a touch too long, and some of the songs are lacking the drive that All Down The Line has, but other than that I love it.

gran album, desgraciadamente me hubiese encantado que me vuele el bocho

Jamais écouté avant. Décidément, je ne suis pas fan des Rolling Stones. D'autant plus sans Brian Jones, qui avait au moins l'avantage d'ajouter un peu d'inventivité et de nouveauté dans le pastiche de blues excessivement révérencieux dont Mick Jagger et Keith Richards semblent incapables de transcender. Résultat, c'est un album compétent mais répétitif et chiant, ce qui est particulièrement problématique pour un double album interminable... Je ne vois vraiment pas comment Exile on Main Street peut être considéré comme un immense album, et même comme le meilleur album des Stones. Top : Tumbling Dice Flop : I Just Want to See His Face

I had listened to this before, but liked it a bit more on this occasion. I don’t think I will ever be a massive Stones enthusiast though.

Exile on Main St. is the Rolling Stones at their most complete as a musical collective—not necessarily their most disciplined, polished, or consistent, but perhaps their most convincing. The album's genius lies in the way its styles reinforce one another. Blues provides the foundation, country supplies warmth and melancholy, gospel creates emotional release, and rock ’n’ roll gives the entire record its physical energy. These are not separate influences taking turns. They are different parts of the same musical personality.

8.7/10 ⭐️: Let it Loose and All down the line

Number: 283 Familiarity: 3 Rating: Moderate (3) Before: ======= Never been a huge Rolling Stones Fan, except for maybe a brief period during my early teen years. I do have one song from this album on my 1972 list. After : ======= I believe this one could have been left off The List. Or maybe not. Apparently it's considered by many to be their best album. I guess I'm just not that much of a Stones fan.

This was the last of four great albums that took the Stones from the late 1960s into the 1970s. It's perhaps a little long, but I guess they were on a bit of a roll.

The Rolling Stones are overrated. Good, but not the best of all time.

Probably my favourite Stones record. Love the raw sound, love how many sounds it touches while still sounding cohesive. Has the classic White Album effect of even the songs that kinda suck still fitting. "Rocks Off" is my fav song of theirs,"Tumbling Dice" is really pretty, "Shine a Light" is a masterwork. Great album!

idk man. stones are a greatest hits band for me, and this album goes further to prove it, works of absolute genius next to dross.

One of the best albums of all time

It's just a collection of good, well thought out, compositions. Mick's voice is obviously distinct and appealing to the ears, and the accompaniment from his bandmates is legendary. Their soul, their funk, their groove, it all fits so harmoniously together. There's a reason these fellas were and are so popular. Long live The Stones!

Good/solid

I love this era of the Stones but this record is my least fave of the four with Taylor. I get the appeal it has for some people, but it’s all a bit of a mess for me. Some great tracks on here still, but some of the second half always felt like filler.

我很喜欢，我会再听一遍。

"Exile on Main St." is the music you’re supposed to blast while riding a chopper into the sunset on Route 66. Problem is, I don’t like motorcycles; and after two listens, I’m not sure I like this album much either. The album has an overall raw and loose feel throughout, giving it a real rock edge. The band pulls extensively from blues and country conventions, which creates a strong “America!” atmosphere. At the same time, it makes a lot of the tracks feel predictable and samey. Most songs have similar energy and tempo and there are almost no real hooks to grab onto. The mix doesn’t help either. At times the vocals sound like they were recorded in a different room from the rest of the band. There’s probably a reason this record has been remastered multiple times over the years. After two listens, I struggle to remember specific moments. I respect the legacy and attitude, but the album didn't grab me. A light to decent 2.

quintessential boomer rock album lol definitely of its time, and probably contains like every classic/blues rock stereotype you could possibly imagine (they had to come from somewhere) but the songs are great so it's hard to complain really the whole album is trying its absolute best to be an opus, from the length of the tracklist to all the grand backing vocals/horns/everything else, and i gotta admit i think it succeeds in doing so favourite songs: tumbling dice, loving cup, stop breaking down least favourite song: torn and frayed

thank you rolling stones

No es para cualquier momento, es dar un espacio para escucharlo y disfrutar.

I have this album, and it’s on heavy rotation. Over 1 hour long but it doesn’t seem it. Opens off strong with “Rocks Off.” “Plug in, flush out, and fire the fuckin’ feed” has a nice verbal flow. I also like the ratatat on “shake Your Hips.” “Casino Boogie” isn’t a fave, but I like Bobby Keys sax on it and also the lyric flow for some reason. “Tumbling’ Dice” is always a fave. I’m thinking, on a whole, the songs on this album are well crafted, the words/vibe/sound work. A rambling, American rambling sound. A sleazy, skeezy America, but it has that vibe. “Sweet Black Angel” I learned at some point was sort of about Angela Davis. Still comes off as fetishization of black women with “Brown Sugar” also released by the same band. “Happy” definitely makes me happy. The band sounds like they’re having a great time. “All down the Line” is a fave of my for no discernible reason. I just like it. I did notice that Keith and Mick were keen on repeating words on the last minute or so of their songs. Works for them, and it’s not like they had done that throughout the songs, so it wasn’t a problem for me. I like the raggedy, jaggedy album sound.

Exile On Main St. is my favorite Stones album. I know that’s not an unconventional opinion these days, as it’s widely considered one of their best but, it wasn’t always that way. When Exile was released, they had been on quite a run. After dabbling in psychedelia culminating in the divisive Their Satanic Majesties Request, the Stones put out a run of albums that rival the best in rock history with Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed and Sticky Fingers. So, when the Stones released this lo-fi, dirty, bluesy, rambling, shambling double album, reviews and reception were mixed but, over time, it has become considered one of the best, if not the best, Stones album in their discography. The album was recorded in the basement of Keith Richard’s villa in South France, acquired to avoid the heavy taxes in the UK, with the use of a mobile recording studio. The proceedings were unorganized, debaucherous and around the clock. Keith was apt to sleep all day and work all-night fueled by drink and drugs and his new best friend, Gram Parsons, who most certainly inspired the country tinged songs on the 2nd side of disc 1. The rest of the album is a mix of music styles inspired by black American music blues, gospel and soul. Deconstructed rock and roll. It’s brilliant and fun listen. For me, it never gets old and my favorite songs vascillate every time I listen to it, which must be in the several hundreds at this point. It is messy, but it’s also undeniably great. I’ll knock off a few 10ths of a point just because I might be biased and it might take a few listens for the average person, but if you don’t like this… what’s wrong with you? Seriously. 4.9

Nice

A double album, we are not off to a great start. Rocks Off is great classic Stones though. Shake Your Hips is a classic blues song...I prefer ZZ Top's La Grange though. Tumbling Dice is the hit and one of the best Rolling Stones songs. You got to roll me. Sweet Virginia is another great album cut. The Rolling Stones might have the best album tracks of any band ever. I know that's a function of the era, FM Radio playing entire album sides rather than just singles. Loving Cup is another great song. Maybe it's not double albums that are the problem, maybe it's the bands doing them so far. Happy isn't my favorite song and it was the other single. Gospel Stones is not my favorite. Shine a Light is amazing.

Resisting reductive definitions is a worthwhile aim on the one hand, and yet, on the other there's a part of me that knows in my bones that I've spent most of my life listening to what amounts to rock music. Variations on a theme in myriad ways but ultimately you can eliminate all nuance, boil it down, strip away genre flourishes and creative malignancies. And sure, if you were drawing a detailed map there'd be jazz lines, classical lines, hip hop lines, world music lines, experimental, avant-garde and music concrete lines. But, c'mon, you know if we counted up all the minutes spent on those paths against rock music and its gloomier but still distillable elements all those other lines would hardly compare. And, in that time, I've met a lot of fans of the Rolling Stones who have extolled their virtues. Who've recommended this record or that record. I've even bought a couple of them. Maybe this one. But try as I might I've never been able to get into this band. There's something about their adoption of the blues and contentment to sit in that pocket that has always bored me. Their career has spawned a new term for me: legazy (lazy legacy). When they decide to rip things up and rock I'm a little more intrigued. Tempo need not be up, they just need to be hitting a little harder (e.g. Ventilator Blues). The record has a lot of things to it that have become cliched and I suspect the Stones and their success are partly to blame but it's not fair to do so. The harmonica, the horn section, the piano, the swagger, the group backing vocals, all stuff available to anyone and certainly nothing they invented. But they certainly seemed to popularize. I like the album's loose vibe and frankly find it more engaging than many of their other records. Since they're no heroes of mine, I also have no trouble saying it also feels kind of mid like all the rest of their music. Were they exiled from the mainstream, self-imposed, maybe, but ultimately they were pulling from and articulating whatever street they found themselves on. So, what's the best thing about Exile on Main St? Probably Liz Phair's reply Exile in Guyville. The album had an impact that's created new turns on the rock road so hey there's that.

Good old rock !

Perfect record. Nothing as raw is as beautiful, nothing as beautiful as raw. Maybe the sound of the mind souring, like a delicious, nutritious yogurt.

Listening session: october 6th, while getting ready in the morning Listened to before: heard one song before Thoughts: a bit boring, I’m not a Rolling Stones fan and this is not even their best album Favourite tracks: Shake Your Hips & Torn And Frayed

One of the few Stones albums that I have, found it late, probably 2000s, but loved it, and I do play on occasions, rock n roll as it should be, my sister recommended it tbf.

Really not what I expected from a rolling stones album but I enjoyed more than I thought I would.

Sound like what you'd expect from the Stones. It was nice to hear something different than the usual hits, but I guess I'm not going to be a Stones fan anytime soon, and that's mainly due to Jaggers voice.

Really cool grooves and vocals, the gospel inspirations pull most of the weight of the album, a bit long though.

The Rolling Stones are so iconic and I appreciate their place in music history. The tinny-ness of the old recording systems was too unpleasant on this album.

very good very good

Decent - probably need another listen to properly appreciate - but quality

2,5 maybe

Great album since the stones are great but no song stood out as amazing, very high 4

Okay album. Still have the nice cheerful Rolling Stones sound but was generally uninteresting. Couple really good songs and a nice vibe in general

OK album, but not a big fan of the stones - there's about 10 Rolling Stone songs 10 songs from all time I love and therefore I don't dislike the band. None of them on here. Completely agree with the top voted rating of 3/5, it's ok, it's the stones, but is it really their best, does anything really stand out? Generic blues style music while being tax evading holiday makers. For the record the stones tracks on my regular playlist are: Gimme Shelter, Paint it Black, You Can't Always Get What You Want, (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction and Sympathy for the Devil. Maybe JJF, maybe Fingerprint File because the music is fun even if the lyrics are cooked. This album came after and nothing is of that calibre here. Most of it is boring, even if you take the time period into account. Shake Your Hips, Tumbling Dice, Shine a Light I remember well from my younger years but they don't have the same impact as the earlier stuff which I'm still a fan of, and some of this album is poor, eg Sweet Virginia, Happy, All Down the Line, Soul Survivor and the like. I feel they went for quantity over quality (18 tracks, really! But none a stunner) because quantity is easier when you just want to get shfaced on holiday. Not even a 3/5 for me, more like a 2.8 but I'll round up ans maybe ion this 18 track boring album there's 3 good ones. Gimme Shelter.

Heroin and honky-tonks. I got the replacing all my blood blues.

7/10

bit too safe, lacks edge. solid dad rock.

Funny how I get this shortly after getting the White album, which I think is the closest equivalent to this in terms of scope, this is more cohesive, however it suffers from the same problem of filler just not as much of it

I'm not really a Rolling Stones fan, and can't say I've listened to a whole album before. The hits that I have listened to are, obviously, all time classics. This album was very wide ranging, and overall I enjoyed it. I'll listen to it again in future and maybe rethink it (because I know it is critically acclaimed) but for me, for now, it is a solid 3.

I really liked this longer blues inspired album. It felt really cohesive despite the different arrangements. Listened to it twice, and still it kept my attention. Loving cup, and ventilator blues were particular highlights. As was the piano playing throughout (just looked it up and of course it was Nicky Hopkins, which tracks!) An incredibly strong album, a 4.5 for sure.

Yupp

5/5 best stones album cld b my favorite

Too much Stones for one spin for me but it's alright

Sorry, but this album truly confirmed they're just a Greatest Hits artist for me.

If there is a more quintessential rock album, I can’t think of one. I guess the same thing can be said about many Stones albums, but this album feels more raw and less polished than their other albums and makes it feel rock n roll. This sound likely grew from the fact that the album was recorded in a basement over session with different people filling in due to too much partying. Some think this created shitty production, which in some ways it did, but I think it works. There isn’t much that I can say about the album that hasn’t already been said, so I’m not going to bother. I enjoyed it. My biggest complaint is that the album is too long, like most double albums.

Overall pretty enjoyable album. This was the first stones album I listened to and it was an entertaining hour and a bit, and usually if find that a bit too long for an album. I think there were two songs I wasn’t massive on which were “shake your hips” and “I just want to see his face”. If I had to list some standout songs I would definitely say “tumbling dice”, “sweet Virginia”, “Ventilator blues” and “let it loose”. Overall I give it a 4/5 and would listen to it again, enjoyed the bluesy elements of it the most.

No songs I knew, but solid music

“See, white folks, they like the blues just fine. They just don't like the people who make it.” Sinners (2025)

Did not need to be a double album. Lots of fat that could have been trimmed. Still worth listening to.

listened later

Bluesy Rolling Stone, which should be up my alley, but none of the songs captured my attention. 3 out of 5.

This is certainly an enjoyable record, and contains a couple of my favorite Stones tracks: “Sweet Virginia” and “Loving Cup.” I’ve long heard the mythology around this album, and appreciate that it was recorded in a unique manner, but to me it kind of just sounds like…another Stones album? This doesn’t feel like a radical departure from their earlier discography. Also, the idea of them being “exiles” because they rented a French villa to avoid paying taxes is a bit ludicrous to me. Maybe you had to be there… At least now I can listen to Main Street in Guyville!

If an album prompts me to get up, shut the music off and then get my guitar to make music of my own, i usually classify it as a good album. Exile On Main Street is a great collection of strong stones songs that can sometimes feel a bit much. I love how much time on the mic Keith gets though.

Muy bien

I can totally see why this quite edgy for the time, and probably bit of a shock from a big-named band. It's loud, snotty, rambunctious. And this album I can tell was made on a lot of drugs just by my ears, let alone having Wikipedia tell me about it. Musically, it seems to be a continuation of their previous albums with it's country and blues-induced hard rock. Maybe the length is a bit much, maybe not, the album however didn't seem to drag just perhaps it would've benefited from a tighter structure and bit of a shortening. This has been by a long-shot the best Rolling Stones album yet (I've gotten Aftermath, Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed.) I definitely gotten a couple songs from this I'd return to, not sure about the entire album. Highlight Song/s: "Rocks Off", "Tumbling Dice" and "Sweet Virginia"

Loving the blues rock of this album. I got so sick of The Rolling Stones' radio hits that are played constantly, listening to a full album with unfamiliar songs has been refreshing.

Side 1 is clearly a blues album. Side 2 is a country album. For me, I enjoy the blues less and less all the time and my hatred for country burns deeper with every time I'm tricked into listening to it. Torn and Frayed is a 4 minute long song that feels like a 9 minute long song. I can't believe Turd on the Run is under 3 minutes long. Feels like 5. The gospel elements on the album are good and interesting and I often liked the horns throughout but these things can't overcome the monotony or the country blues on the rest of the album

Every time I do a listening list, this album inevitably pops up, and I don’t really get why. The Stones have much better albums. Maybe I just don’t like the blues all that much, and this is balls to the wall that.

Apparently this is one of the greatest rock albums ever made, and I spent 67 minutes waiting to figure out why. Nothing here is particularly bad but nothing grabbed me either. Even the supposed standouts like Tumbling Dice and Rocks Off just sound fine. I really like Gimme Shelter (not on this album), so I know the Rolling Stones are capable of making me give a shit. This album just never did.

Really loose band sound. Love the bluesy guitars and the rhythm.

Definitely listen again and other songs.

I had no clue that Rolling stones started with heavy blues influence, which I hear a lot. Sadly no song stands out to me

I'd give this record a 6 if I could

This is the single most overrated album i've ever know. I come back to it over the years hoping to have a different mindset to enjoy it and understand why it's always ranked as an essential album. It's been over 20 years... it's still just ok. If only the rest of the album were as good as the last 2 songs.

Very good album album, "All Down the Line" was my favorite.

I know this. Dad used to play it. From the reviews, many people don't, and that means they're judging it from one listen. Which is criminal.

What is there left to say about this album? The instrument forward mix, the lyrics like “sunshine bores the daylights out of me” or “you got to roll me and call me the tumbling dice”. If I only had ten albums for the rest of my life, this would be there. Even if the limit was five. Never get tired of it.

Still not big on the Stones, but the childish side of me can appreciate them having a song called “Turd on the Run” in 1972

Sounds like The Rolling Stones. Not bad, just not 100% my thing.

I loved digging into the blues chops of The Rolling Stones, but it stops being interesting after about 10 songs.

Very good album.

Eh, it was fine. Sounded like The Rolling Stones, didn't seem super special or meaningful generally.

Im learning that I like classic rock lmao. Banger. The first song really pulled me in and then I think there plenty of hits with a couple snoozers. Look forward to the revisit on this one

#96 I love the country flair this album has, it's very American sounding for a British album. Great use of steel guitar and horns sprinkled throughout, I especially like the brass parts in Rocks Off. A few recognizable classics appear here, as well as a few tracks that are nothing more than filler. It could benefit from cutting a few songs from the second half, but overall it's good. Highlights: Rocks Off, Tumbling Dice, Sweet Virginia, Torn And Frayed, Sweet Black Angel, Loving Cup, Let It Loose

1064 - "Here's your juice box and orange slice. Thanks for coming."

My first real exposure to the Stones excluding the radio hits, not what I expected to hear, its pretty underwhelming. Since this album doesn’t seem to have any of those radio hits I wonder if it was an experimental album

Probably the best stones album.

Probably should be a 5. The best stones album.

meh

I was pretty neutral on it. I couldnt catch the lyrics clearly. 3 stars

One of if not the the best albums ever made. Been listening to it once a week since I was 15.

pretty good

My father's favorite The Rolling Stones album has always been Exile on Main St. and ever since I heard the opener Rocks Off I have always been curious to see what it is all about. I don't know why I never got into this album before, but I am doing it now so that is what matters. This album really doubles down on the Blues Rock style the band is so well known for, but makes it feel more jangly and laid back rather than a very exciting and over the top release. This album feels like a kickback with just how charming and lovely it is from front to back. The longer this album goes on though the more I feel it starts to overstay its' welcome a little bit and drag on what should have been a 12 song album into an 18 track project. For the first time in a long time with the stones I feel this album start to wear on me a little bit which really didn't help my overall listening experience. I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with Exile on Main St. but again it's worst enemy is itself and how long it thinks it should go on for versus how long the tracks are able to keep up with themselves.

My dislike for the rolling stones grows

I think the Stones may be wearing out their welcome. 3 Boolean: True?

De Stones spelen op 't gemakkie een dubbel-lp vol, met de vertrouwde rockblues. Maar ja, het is 1972, de heren hebben al het een en ander op hun palmarès staan, en brengen hier weinig nieuws, of ik moet me vergissen. In ieder geval niks groots of opvallends. Maar goed, tussen alle middelmatigheid in de lijst springt een prima Stonesdubbelaar er alsnog positief uit, daar niet van.

Van de eerste tot de laatste tonen verkeer je onmiskenbaar in de wereld van de Stones. Dit is hun herkenbare bluesrock geluid. En dát is raar bij een Stones album. Want de andere albums boden een breder palet. Naast de soms geweldige bekende uitschieters, moesten we ons vaak ook door heel wat saaiheid heen werken. Helaas werkt het onderscheid twee kanten op. Ja, dit album biedt continue een heel prettig geluid. En is daarmee als geheel wellicht het beste Stones album. Maar dit album biedt geen uitschieters, waardoor het album mij na afloop ook wat teleurgesteld achterlaat.

Ik weet niet of ik het al vaker had vermeld, maar in theorie zou mijn voorkeur voor the Stones moeten zijn ipv de Beatles, omdat ze toch meer een bluesy geluid hebben en wat meer rocken over het algemeen. En toch ben ik nooit een fervent luisteraar geweest van de Stones. Misschien omdat de bekendste nummers van die oorwurmen zijn. Ik kondigde bij Beggars Banquet al aan dat dat album wsch de enige 5 ging worden, al stond dit album ook op de nominatie. Exile on Main Street is het laatste van de Stones dat we krijgen als ik goed heb geteld. Het heeft dat fijne bluesy geluid, wat ik tot het betere werk van de Stones reken. De hitjes zijn niet de allergrootste, zoals Tumbling Dice (2014 was het laatste jaar dat dit in de top2000 stond, aldus wiki), waardoor het (nog) geen oorwurmen zijn geworden, maar het juist leuk is om die mindergedraaide hits weer eens te horen. Het had van mij geen dubbelaar hoeven zijn, maar het gaat toch met redelijk gemak voorbij. Ik zit op een 4+, maar ik moet weer even temperen met 5en geven, want ja, wie weet hoeveel ik er nog uit wil delen!

Excellent Album on anyones must listen to list

Stones have never done it for me, but listening to this nos im 45+ years old it sounds better than ever before. Still not great tho

Brash, loose and confident rock and roll from start to finish. Classic.

Not my cup of tea

Sympa juste un peu redondant. Je n’arrive pas à savoir si on a écouté le même musique ou non

Bien. Mais c'est un peu répétitif au final, les nuances entre les chansons sont subtiles. Quelques trucs cools. Shine a light Sweet virginia. 3.5

3.5