Sticky thoughts on the Rolling Stones in Exile
The acclaim already heaped upon the Rolling Stones’ back-to-back albums from 1971–72 is enough to scare off any would-be blogger attempting to say something new and meaningful about them. I don’t hold any such illusions.
But as a listener who appreciates the Rolling Stones without considering myself a fan, I’m interested in the experience of listening to the two albums and how different that experience is for each one. I first picked up “Exile on Main Street” on cassette, for car ride listening, and I think I checked out “Sticky Fingers” on CD from our library. This was many years ago. I haven’t listened much to them since.
So when I added the two albums to my iPhone playlist this week, it was with fresh ears.
And behold, “Sticky Fingers,” a collection of at least nine little rock ’n’ roll masterpieces (the possible exception being “You Gotta Move,” which is a cover of a traditional spiritual and is consciously positioned on the album as a bridge between the two halves).
Every song is so different from each other, and every song can be listened to and appreciated on its own. I was particularly entranced by “Bitch,” for the driving horns and guitar flick that play after the chorus. And also the guitar riff that kicks off “Can You Hear Me Knocking?” In the Stones’ catalogue, there are many candidates for second-most-famous guitar riff. That one is my favorite.
To listen to “Exile on Main Street,” on the other hand, is to appreciate the album itself as a masterpiece rather than any individual song. The impression I get is of a band headlining a roadhouse bar somewhere. You can imagine the crowd starting to stomp and raise their beer glasses as Jagger yells “Gimme little drink from your loving cup!” And everyone sways together and holds up their cigarette lighters as the band kicks off “Shine a Light.”
It’s an album that’s meant to be listened through from start to finish, which is much easier these days on an iPhone. (Flipping four sides of a double LP? Now that’s an experience.)
