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Today: The Rolling Stones – Exile On Main St. was released in 1972 – 41 years ago

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ExileMainSt

More than anything else this fagged-out masterpiece is difficult–how else describe music that takes weeks to understand? Weary and complicated, barely afloat in its own drudgery, it rocks with extra power and concentration as a result.
~Robert Christgau (http://www.robertchristgau.com)

..It’s the kind of record that’s gripping on the very first listen, but each subsequent listen reveals something new. Few other albums, let alone double albums, have been so rich and masterful as Exile on Main St., and it stands not only as one of the Stones’ best records, but sets a remarkably high standard for all of hard rock.
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine (allmusic.com)

Let It Loose:

Wikipedia:

Released 12 May 1972
Recorded June 1969 – March 1972
Genre Rock and roll, blues, soul, R&B,country
Length 67:07
Language English
Label Rolling Stones
Producer Jimmy Miller

Exile on Main St. is the tenth British and 13th American studio album by English rock band The Rolling Stones. Released as a double LP in May 1972, it draws on many genres including rock and roll, blues, soul, R&B, gospel and country. The release of Exile on Main St. met with mixed reviews, but it is now generally regarded as the band’s best album. In 1987, as part of their 20th anniversary, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it third on the 100 Best Albums of the Last Twenty Years. In 2003, the album was ranked 7th on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, the highest a Rolling Stones album ranked on the list.

The 2010 remastered version of the album was released in Europe on 17 May 2010 and in the United States on 18 May 2010, featuring a bonus disc with 10 new tracks.

mick jagger keith richards exile on main st

Loving Cup:

Recording:

Exile on Main St. was written and recorded between 1968 and 1972. Mick Jagger said “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 “Brown Sugar” and “Wild Horses” from Sticky Fingers. Many tracks 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 Rolling Stones owed more in taxes than they could pay and left Britain before the government could seize their assets. Mick Jagger settled in Paris with his new bride Bianca, and guitarist Keith Richards rented a villa, Nellcôte, in Villefranche-sur-Mer, near Nice. The other members settled in the south of France. As a suitable recording studio could not be found where they could continue work on the album, Richards’ basement at Nellcôte became a makeshift studio using the band’s mobile recording truck.

keith richards gram parsons nellcote

Torn And Frayed:

…..it’s their most physically jolting album and, ultimately, their most emotionally inspiring. Mick’s vocals are just another instrument in a glorious rush of high-velocity electric noise, his lyrics barely perceptible in all the guitar, sax, and harmonica; whatever he’s saying, he just wants to plug in and flush out and fight and fuck and feed. Keith channels all his nasty habits and internal chaos into the guitars, from the convulsive opener, “Rocks Off,” to the weary acoustic stomp of “Sweet Virginia.” Charlie Watts’ understated performance in “Shake Your Hips” demands some sort of Nobel Prize.

Exile was the Stones’ biggest musical triumph, but all the decadence was catching up with them. The band lost focus, with Keith’s attention diverted by the pressing concern of stuffing as many toxic chemicals into his veins as possible.

From: The New Rolling Stone Album Guide

Tracks:

  1. “Rocks Off” 4:31
  2. “Rip This Joint” 2:22
  3. “Shake Your Hips” (Slim Harpo) 2:59
  4. “Casino Boogie” 3:33
  5. “Tumbling Dice” 3:45
    –
  6. “Sweet Virginia” 4:27
  7. “Torn and Frayed” 4:17
  8. “Sweet Black Angel” 2:54
  9. “Loving Cup” 4:25
    –
  10. “Happy” 3:04
  11. “Turd on the Run” 2:36
  12. “Ventilator Blues” (Jagger/Richards/Mick Taylor) 3:24
  13. “I Just Want to See His Face” 2:52
  14. “Let It Loose” 5:16
    –
  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

rolling-stones_exile-grn_f

Personnel:

  • Mick Jagger – lead vocals, harmonica, guitar on “Tumbling Dice” and “Stop Breaking Down”, percussion
  • Keith Richards – guitars, backing vocals, lead vocals on “Happy”, electric piano on “I Just Want to See His Face”, bass guitar on “Casino Boogie”, “Happy” and “Soul Survivor”
  • Mick Taylor – guitars, slide guitar, bass guitar on “Tumbling Dice”, “Torn and Frayed”, “I Just Want to See His Face” and “Shine a Light”
  • Charlie Watts – drums
  • Bill Wyman – bass guitar
Additional personnel
  • Nicky Hopkins – piano
  • Bobby Keys – saxophone, percussion on “Happy”
  • Jim Price – trumpet, trombone, organ on “Torn and Frayed”
  • Ian Stewart – piano on “Shake Your Hips”, “Sweet Virginia” and “Stop Breaking Down”
  • Jimmy Miller – drums on “Happy” and “Shine a Light”, percussion on “Sweet Black Angel”, “Loving Cup”, “I Just Want to See His Face” and “All Down the Line”
  • Bill Plummer – upright bass on “Rip This Joint”, “Turd on the Run”, “I Just Want to See His Face” and “All Down the Line”
  • Billy Preston – piano and organ on “Shine a Light”
  • Al Perkins – pedal steel guitar on “Torn and Frayed”
  • Richard Washington – marimba on “Sweet Black Angel”
  • Clydie King, Venetta Fields – backing vocals on “Tumbling Dice”, “I Just Want to See His Face”, “Let It Loose” and “Shine a Light”
  • Joe Green – backing vocals on “Let It Loose” and “Shine a Light”
  • Jerry Kirkland – backing vocals on “I Just Want to See His Face” and “Shine a Light”
  • Mac Rebennack, Shirley Goodman, Tami Lynn – backing vocals on “Let It Loose”
  • Kathi McDonald – backing vocals on “All Down the Line”
  • Engineers – Glyn and Andy Johns, Joe Zaganno, Jeremy Gee
  • Cover photography/concept – Robert Frank
  • Layout design – John Van Hamersveld, Norman Seeff

rolling stones exile on main st back

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Music Calendar

Today: Bono is 53

bono

Music can change the world because it can change people.
~Bono

My heroes are the ones who survived doing it wrong, who made mistakes, but recovered from them.
~Bono

Singer, poet, activist, believer: few icons in the history of rock & roll have created art with the consciousness and passion of Bono, and only a handful have done it as successfully. Whether preaching about “three chords and the truth” or donning ironic personas, the first and only frontman for seminal Irish rock band U2 has always stood unequivocally for hope, faith, and love — and in so doing has touched millions of fans, as well as sold millions of records.
~Jonathan Miller (allmusic.com)

New Years Day:

Wikipedia:

Birth name Paul David Hewson
Also known as Bono, Bono Vox
Born 10 May 1960 (age 53)
Dublin, Ireland
Origin Finglas, County Dublin, Ireland
Genres Rock, post-punk, alternative rock
Occupations Musician, singer-songwriter, activist, philanthropist
Instruments Vocals, guitar, harmonica
Years active 1976–present
Associated acts U2, Passengers
Website u2.com

Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono, is an Irish singer, musician, venture capitalist and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his future wife, Alison Stewart, and the future members of U2. Bono writes almost all U2 lyrics, frequently using religious and social, and occasional political themes. During their early years, Bono’s lyrics contributed to U2’s rebellious and spiritual tone. As the band matured, his lyrics became inspired more by personal experiences shared with members of U2.

bono

One – Live Vertigo Tour (2005/6):

Outside the band, he has collaborated and recorded with numerous artists, is managing director and a managing partner of Elevation Partners, and has refurbished and owns The Clarence Hotel in Dublin with The Edge. Bono is also widely known for his activism concerning Africa, for which he co-founded DATA, EDUN, the ONE Campaign and Product Red. He has organised and played in several benefit concerts and has met with influential politicians. Bono has been praised and criticised for his activism and involvement with U2. He has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, was granted an honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, and, with Bill and Melinda Gates, was named Time Person of the Year in 2005, among other awards and nominations.

–

I like U2 a lot, but, well, U2 are actually pretty original. But they’re Irish; they’re Celtic – they’ve got that thing goin’. You’ve gotta get away from America in order to make anything stick. America will just bombard you with too much shit. You have to make a conscious attempt to stay away from all the garbage.
~Bob Dylan (to Kurt Loder – October 1987)

bob & Bono

Love rescue me (feat. Ziggy Marley & Keith Richards):

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Music Calendar, Rolling Stones

Today: The Rolling Stones released Paint It, Black in 1966 [US] – 47 years ago

rolling stones paint it black

Brian Jones plucked the haunting sitar melody at the 1966 L.A. session for this classic. Bill Wyman added klezmer-flavored organ; studio legend Jack Nitzsche played the gypsy-style piano. “Brian had pretty much given up on the guitar by then,” said Richards. “If there was [another] instrument around, he had to be able to get something out of it. It gave the Stones on record a lot of different textures.”
~rollingstone.com

The principal riff of “Paint It Black” (almost all classic Rolling Stones songs are highlighted by a killer riff) was played on a sitar by Brian Jones and qualifies as perhaps the most effective use of the Indian instrument in a rock song. The exotic twang was a perfect match for the dark, mysterious Eastern-Indian melody, which sounded a little like a soundtrack to an Indian movie hijacked into hyperdrive.
~Richie Unterberger (allmusic.com)

Original version:

Wikipedia:

from the album Aftermath
B-side “Stupid Girl” (US)
“Long Long While” (UK)
Released 7 May 1966 (US)
13 May 1966 (UK)
Format 7″
Recorded 6–9 March 1966
Genre Psychedelic rock, raga rock
Length 3:45 (mono single mix)
3:22 (stereo album mix)
Label London 45-LON.901 (US)
Decca F.12395 (UK)
Writer(s) Jagger/Richards
Producer Andrew Loog Oldham

“Paint It, Black” is a song released by The Rolling Stones on 13 May 1966 (7 May 1966 – US) as the first single from the US version of their fourth album Aftermath. It was originally titled “Paint It Black” without a comma. Keith Richards has stated that the comma was added by the record label, Decca.

  • At a book signing in Nashville in 2001, Bill Wyman explained that the comma was simply a typographical error that stuck.
  • The song was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Mick Jagger wrote the lyrics and Keith Richards wrote the music.
  • Bill Wyman claims in his books that the song was a group effort although it was credited to Jagger/Richards.
  • The single reached number one in both the United States and the United Kingdom charts in 1966.
  • In 2004 it was ranked number 176 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In the US and UK, it was the first number one single to feature a sitar.

brian_jones_rolling_stone sitar

Live version:

Musicians:

  • Mick Jagger – lead vocals
  • Brian Jones – sitar, percussion
  • Keith Richards – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
  • Bill Wyman – bass pedals, bass guitar, Hammond B3
  • Charlie Watts – drums
  • Jack Nitzsche – piano

rolling stones paint it black uk

 

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Great albums, Music Travel, Rolling Stones

Today: The Rolling Stones released Sticky Fingers in 1971 – 42 years ago

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The Rolling Stones - sticky-fingers

Sticky Fingers was never meant to be the title. It’s just what we called it while we were working on it. Usually though, the working titles stick.
~Keith Richards 1971

While many hold their next album, Exile On Main St., as their zenith, Sticky Fingers, balancing on the knife edge between the 60s and 70s, remains their most coherent statement.
~Chris Jones (bbc.co.uk)

#1 – Brown Sugar:

Wikipedia:

Released 23 April 1971
Recorded 2–4 December 1969, Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, Sheffield, Alabama; 17 February, March – May, 16 June – 27 July, 17–31 October 1970, and January 1971,Olympic Studios, London, UK; except “Sister Morphine”, begun 22–31 March 1969
Genre Rock
Length 46:25
Language English
Label Rolling Stones
Producer Jimmy Miller

Sticky Fingers is the ninth British and 11th American studio album by English rock band The Rolling Stones, released in April 1971. It is the band’s first album of the 1970s and its first release on the band’s newly formed label, Rolling Stones Records, after having been contracted since 1963 with Decca Records in the UK and London Records in the US. It is also Mick Taylor’s first full-length appearance on a Rolling Stones album, the first Rolling Stones album not to feature any contributions from guitarist and founder Brian Jones and the first one on which Mick Jagger is credited with playing guitar.

The album is often regarded as one of the Stones’ best, containing songs such as the chart-topping “Brown Sugar” and the folk-influenced “Wild Horses”, and achieving triple platinum certification in the US.

Rolling stones sticky fingers_spainSpanish Cover

#3 – Wild Horses:

During the tour of the States we went to Alabama and played at the Muscle Shoals Studio. That was a fantastic week. We cut some great tracks, which appeared on Sticky Fingers – You Gotta Move, Brown Sugar and Wild Horses – and we did them without Jimmy Miller, which was equally amazing. It worked very well: it’s one of Keith’s things to go in and record while you’re in the middle of a tour and your playing is in good shape. The Muscle Shoals Studio was very special, though – a great studio to work in, a very hip studio, where the drums were on a riser high up in the air, plus you wanted to be there because of all the guys who had worked in the same studio.
~Charlie Watts in 2003

Recording:

Although sessions for Sticky Fingers began in earnest in March 1970, The Rolling Stones had recorded at Muscle Shoals Studios in Alabama in December 1969 and “Sister Morphine”, cut during Let It Bleed’s sessions earlier in March of that year, was held over for this release. Much of the recording for Sticky Fingers was made with The Rolling Stones’ mobile studio unit in Stargroves during the summer and autumn of 1970. Early versions of songs that would appear on Exile on Main St. were also rehearsed during these sessions.

Rolling stones sticky fingers back

#9 – Dead Flowers:

To my mind the things that Ry (Cooder) plays on have a kind of polish that the Stones generally began to develop around that time. The rough edges came off a bit. Mick Taylor started putting on the polish that became the next period of the Stones out of the raw rock and blues band.
~Jimmy Miller in 1979

In 2003, Sticky Fingers was listed as #63 on Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Track Listing:

  1. “Brown Sugar” 3:48
  2. “Sway” 3:50
  3. “Wild Horses” 5:42
  4. “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” 7:14
  5. “You Gotta Move” (Fred McDowell/Gary Davis) 2:32
  6. “Bitch” 3:38
  7. “I Got the Blues” 3:54
  8. “Sister Morphine” (Jagger/Richards/Marianne Faithfull) 5:31
  9. “Dead Flowers” 4:03
  10. “Moonlight Mile” 5:56

Personnel:

The Rolling Stones
  • Mick Jagger – lead vocals, acoustic guitar on “Dead Flowers” and “Moonlight Mile”, electric guitar on “Sway”, percussion on “Brown Sugar”
  • Keith Richards – electric guitar, six and twelve string acoustic guitar, backing vocals
  • Mick Taylor – electric, acoustic and slide guitar (not present during “Sister Morphine” sessions)
  • Charlie Watts – drums
  • Bill Wyman – bass guitar, electric piano on “You Gotta Move”
Additional personnel
  • Bobby Keys – saxophone
  • Jim Price – trumpet, piano on “Moonlight Mile”
  • Ian Stewart – piano on “Brown Sugar” and “Dead Flowers”
  • Nicky Hopkins – piano on “Sway”, “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking”
  • Jim Dickinson – piano on “Wild Horses”
  • Jack Nitzsche – piano on “Sister Morphine”
  • Ry Cooder – slide guitar on “Sister Morphine”
  • Billy Preston – organ on “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” and “I Got the Blues”
  • Jimmy Miller – percussion on “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking”
  • Rocky Dijon – congas on “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking”
  • Paul Buckmaster – string arrangement on “Sway” and “Moonlight Mile”
  • Engineers – Glyn Johns, Andy Johns, Chris Kimsey, Jimmy Johnson
  • Cover concept/photography – Andy Warhol

rolling stones leeds 1970

We made (tracks) with just Mick Taylor, which are very good and everyone loves, where Keith wasn’t there for whatever reasons… People don’t know that Keith wasn’t there making it. All the stuff like Moonlight Mile, Sway. These tracks are a bit obscure, but they are liked by people that like the Rolling Stones. It’s me and (Mick Taylor) playing off each other – another feeling completely, because he’s following my vocal lines and then extemporizing on them during the solos.
~Mick Jagger in 1995

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Blues, Music Calendar

Today: Johnny Shines passed away in 1992 – 11 years ago

johnny shines

That’s what I am, a Delta bluesman. And now I’m considered the king of the Delta blues.
~Johnny Shines (1989 Living Blues Interview)

Best known as a traveling companion of Robert Johnson, Johnny Shines’ own contributions to the blues have often been unfairly shortchanged, simply because Johnson’s own legend casts such a long shadow. In his early days, Shines was one of the top slide guitarists in Delta blues, with his own distinctive, energized style; one that may have echoed Johnson’s spirit and influence, but was never a mere imitation.
~Steve Huey (allmusic.com)

Sweet Home Chicago:

Long before becoming a force in Chicago blues, Johnny Shines hoboed with Robert Johnson through Depression-era America. They hopped freights, played on street corners, shared rooms and whiskey, and made it as far north as Canada. Johnson, the Mississippi Delta’s most celebrated blues performer, perished in 1938, and for the next half-century, his spirit haunted the music of Johnny Shines. It echoed in his turnarounds, mournful bottleneck slides, impassioned lyrics, and falsetto moans. At clubs, house parties, and other gatherings, Johnny Shines was just as likely to launch into Johnson’s “Crossroads Blues,” “Terraplane Blues,” and “Sweet Home Chicago” as he was his own “Evil-Hearted Woman Blues,” “A Little Tenderness,” and “Evening Sun.”
~Jas Obrecht (jasobrecht.com)

johnny shines 2

Ramblin (live ~mid 1970’s):

Wikipedia:

Johnny Shines (April 26, 1915 – April 20, 1992) was an American blues singer and guitarist.

Birth name John Ned Shines
Born April 26, 1915
Frayser, Memphis, United States
Died April 20, 1992 (aged 76)
Genres Blues
Instruments guitar
Years active 1932–1992
Labels Chess Records
J.O.B. Records
Vanguard Records
Various

“Shines was that rare being, a blues artist who overcame age and rustiness to make music that stood up beside the work of his youth. When Shines came back to the blues in 1965 he was 50, yet his voice had the leonine power of a dozen years before, when he made records his reputation was based on”.
~Tony Russell

He was born John Ned Shines in Frayser, Memphis, United States. He spent most of his childhood in Memphis, Tennessee playing slide guitar at an early age in local “jukes” and for tips on the streets. He was “inspired by the likes of Charley Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Lonnie Johnson, and the young Howlin’ Wolf”, but he was taught to play the guitar by his mother. Shines moved to Hughes, Arkansas in 1932 and worked on farms for three years putting his musical career on hold. It was a chance meeting with Robert Johnson, his greatest influence, that gave him the inspiration to return to music. In 1935, Shines began traveling with Johnson, touring the south and heading as far north as Ontario where they appeared on a local radio program. The two went their separate ways in 1937, one year before Johnson’s death.

robert johnson johnny shinesRobert Johnson & Johnny Shines

Shines played throughout the southern United States until 1941 when he settled in Chicago. There Shines found work in the construction industry but continued to play in local bars.

Sittin’ on top of the world:

Check out –> Illustrated Johnny Shines discography

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