Exile on Main Street
LP by The Rolling Stones
Released	May 12, 1972
Recorded	1971-2
Genre	Rock
Length	66 min 48 s (CD)
Record label	Rolling Stones
Producer	Jimmy Miller
Professional reviews
All Music Guide	5/5	link
Rolling Stones Chronology
Sticky Fingers (1971)	Exile on Main Street (1972)	Jamming with Edward (1972)

Exile on Main Street is a 1972 (see 1972 in music) album by the rock and roll band The Rolling Stones. Initially greeted with lukewarm reviews, the double LP has since been critically appraised and is now commonly considered one of the best albums in The Rolling Stones' entire catalogue. Musically diverse, Exile on Main Street explores influences from country music, blues and soul. The release of the album was supported by a North American tour. It was the first time the Rolling Stones had been to the U.S. since the disaster at Altamont. The tour was documented in Robert Frank's never-released film Cocksucker Blues.

Recording began in September 1971, after the Stones' 'farewell' tour of the UK. The band having gone into tax exile, much of the backing tracks were put down in the basement of Keith Richards' new home in Vellecote, near Nice, in France. Many of the overdubs (including all the backing vocals) were done in December 1971, in Los Angeles. At least one track, 'Loving Cup', was recorded in London in 1969 (the Stones debuted the song at their Hyde Park concert in July that year), while 'Tumbling Dice' began life as 'Good Time Woman', a Sticky Fingers outtake. (Bill Wyman once remarked that the first time he heard the song with its new lyrics was the first time he heard it on the radio.) 'All Down The Line' was also composed circa 1969.

At least two other recordings from these sessions were officially released by the band. An alternative version of 'All Down The Line' was released as the flipside of the 'Happy' single, while the album's title track, 'Exile On Main Street Blues', was given away with copies of New Musical Express in 1972.

There have been at least two answer records to Exile on Main Street. These musical responses to the album include Pussy Galore's cassette only release of the same name (actually a cover album as well), and Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville, which was a song-by-song response to Exile on Main Street.

Exile on Main Street was a #1 hit on Billboard's Pop Albums chart (US). The singles "Happy" and "Tumbling Dice" hit #22 and #7, respectively, on the Pop Singles chart.

It should be noted that while the album lists the song 'Stop Breaking Down' as 'traditional', it was in fact composed and first performed by the bluesman Robert Johnson, as a subsequent lawsuit proved.

In 1998 Q magazine readers voted Exile on Main Street the 42nd greatest album of all time; in 2003 the TV network VH1 placed it at number 12.

Track listing

1. "Rocks Off" (Jagger/Richards) - 4:31
2. "Rip This Joint" (Jagger/Richards) - 2:23
3. "Shake Your Hips" (Harpo) - 2:59
4. "Casino Boogie" (Jagger/Richards) - 3:33
5. "Tumbling Dice" (Jagger/Richards) - 3:45
6. "Sweet Virginia" (Jagger/Richards) - 4:25
7. "Torn and Frayed" (Jagger/Richards) - 4:17
8. "Sweet Black Angel" (Jagger/Richards) - 2:54
9. "Loving Cup" (Jagger/Richards) - 4:23
10. "Happy" (Jagger/Richards) - 3:04
11. "Turd on the Run" (Jagger/Richards) - 2:36
12. "Ventilator Blues" (Jagger/Richards/Taylor) - 3:24
13. "I Just Want to See His Face" (Jagger/Richards) - 2:52
14. "Let It Loose" (Jagger/Richards) - 5:16
15. "All Down the Line" (Jagger/Richards) - 3:49
16. "Stop Breaking Down" (Traditional) - 4:34
17. "Shine a Light" (Jagger/Richards) - 4:14
18. "Soul Survivor" (Jagger/Richards) - 3:49

Personnel

• Mick Jagger - Guitar, Harmonica, Harp, Keyboards, Vocals
• Keith Richards - Bass, Guitar, Piano, Keyboards, Vocals
• Mick Taylor - Bass, Guitar, Vocals
• Charlie Watts - Drums
• Bill Wyman - Synthesizer, Bass, Keyboards, Vocals
• Ian Stewart - Piano, Keyboards
• Dr. John - Organ, Vocals
• Billy Preston - Organ, Piano, Keyboards, Vocals
• Bill Plummer - Bass
• Nicky Hopkins - Piano, Keyboards
• Clydie King - Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
• Jim Price - Organ, Piano, Trombone, Trumpet, Horn
• Bobby Keys - Horn, Saxophone
• Amyl Nitrate - Percussion, Marimba
• Al Perkins - Guitar (Steel)
• Tamiya Lynn - Vocals (bckgr)
• Jerry Kirkland - Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
• Tammy Lann - Vocals
• Kathi McDonald - Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
• Jimmy Miller - Percussion, Producer
• Merry Clayton - Vocals
• Venetta Field - Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
• Shirley Goodman - Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
• Joe Green - Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
• Glyn Johns - Engineer
• Andy Johns - Engineer
• Joe Zaganno - Engineer
• Jeremy Gee - Engineer
• Vanetta Field - Vocals (bckgr)
• Robert Frank - Photography
• Norman Seeff - Design
• John VanHamersveld - Design