New reissue of Exile on Main Street

Good NY Times Piece today, particularly Don Was's comments at end about Loving Cup:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/arts/music/23stones.html

"But back to the alternate take of “Loving Cup,” which still seems like the star of the whole enterprise.

I asked Don Was what he thought. “There’s a sound that’s identified with ‘Exile’ that’s become part of the vocabulary for every rock ‘n’ roll musician subsequently,” he said. “And this is the ultimate track of the style that characterizes ‘Exile.’ It’s not sloppiness; it’s width, in terms of where everyone feels the beat. You’ve got five individuals feeling the beat in a different place. At some point, the centrifugal force of the rhythm no longer holds the band together. That ‘Loving Cup’ is about the widest area you can have without the song falling apart.”"

Bought the LP when it came out,,,,loved the songs ,hated the recording!

just read the cover story of rolling stone, which was about the making of exile---very good read. the article spends a good bit of focus on the actual recording and mixing processes, both of which were unusual to say the least and which likely accounts for the strange, unique sounding mix.

This is a surprising statement, Richard:

"One of my favorite Stones albums and roughly the birth of Alt country/ Americana."

And not just because the Stones are pretty darn English, or so I thought. "Alt country/Americana" covers a multitude of sins, obviously, but I'd have thought Uncle Tupelo's "No Depression" (Belleville, IL, USA) a more likely candidate for the original event.

Cheers,
John

actually, according to the same rolling stone article, keith stated that exile was the first grunge record. according to wikipedia "grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song dynamics, and apathetic or angst-filled lyrics. The grunge aesthetic is stripped-down compared to other forms of rock music, and many grunge musicians were noted for their unkempt appearances and rejection of theatrics." now, the stones were rarely stripped down, and never eschewed theatrics, so i wouldn't think of 'em as grungey, but it's interesting to read how they regard themselves.