Stones in Exile

Frequently fascinating and exceptional rock-documentary on the Rolling Stones circa 1971-1972 when, in the midst of managerial and tax issues, the group left their native UK for the South of France to record their next album, "Exile on Main Street". The record (the band's first double-album) is a now-legendary mix of rock, blues, and country-&-western, tempered with Mick Jagger's passionate vocals and Keith Richards' astounding lead guitar. The narrative isn't streamlined for coherency, and a North American tour (represented here by live concert footage shot in Nashville) seems to appear out of nowhere (indeed, it is followed by a trip to Los Angeles where more recording is done). The record was trashed by most rock critics upon release, however the caveat that "Exile" is now considered the Stones' masterpiece is too easily delivered (we are not told how long it actually took for the music to garner such a reputation). Aside from a vintage Kasey Casem radio broadcast, we don't even know how well the album did financially. Still, flaws aside, this is a very well-made film on the making of an emotionally-charged musical document, and the recording process--its gestation and behind-the-scenes turmoil--will be hypnotic to most music fans. *** from ****

Great band. Great album. Mediocre documentary.

This is a patchwork of stills, video, and voice overs looking at the iconic album Exile on Main Street.

The beginning was excellent staging the setting of how the Stones were forced out of England due to tax issues. Taking up residence in the South of France would lead them to cut this great album.

But that is when the documentary began to drift. The story was cut with lots of recreations. Truly. Grainy black and white video with actors who are supposed to resemble the Stones are frequently cut in.

What I would like to have seen (heard) is more music. Seriously.

Perhaps gathering the band together, not scattered as they were (save Mick and Charlie) would have permitted more dialogue and insight into the creative process.

It was a surprise to see this on Australian TV. It was unheralded but worth staying up late to see the way that the chaos of Keith Richards life was translated into an album of rare if unself-conscious depth. I am constantly amazed by how good the Stones look in retrospect compared to many of their contemporaries. I think Keith is the key to much of it but the link between his ideas and Charlie Watts drums and Bill Wyman's bass playing is another factor that is highlighted here. Mick Jagger's casual admission of the cut and paste way that the lyrics flowed together is another revelation. Mick Taylor's input is of course a highlight. I would have enjoyed seeing him jam with the the other band members for a contemporary take on a couple of the songs.

I was particularly intrigued to hear the out-take of a song called Exile On Main Street at the end of the film. It seems to be a pastiche of bits of lyrics from other songs on the album.

A delightful peek into a world we all wanted to be part of back in the heady days of the early 70's and into an album that is dense with unexpected rhythms and marvellous slide and saxophone work and a great series of lyrics, made from the detritus of the Stones love affair with America.

The comments made by the band members and hangers on for this 2010 film are worth the price of admission. The Stones now seem to be able to poke fun at their youthful excess and their more preposterous behaviour and all without a taste of regret or pomposity.

The Stones' Exile on Main Street is rightly considered to be one of the greatest rock & roll albums of all time. It is a sprawling, sloppy affair, studded with surprises and moments of brilliance. Much of the album is raw and bluesy, so that is why this documentary of how it was made has some unexpected facts to share. They may have been in exile, but they weren't on any Main Street that I can think of. You might think that something like this was recorded in the American South, or New York City, but no--it was made in the hot, stuffy basement of a rented villa in the French Riviera (that capital of rough-hewn blues rock).

It was not thrown together in a few weeks, something you might imagine given some of the tracks included on it, but in fact took several months of work to complete. Apparently the boys would head over to Keith's house night after night, bringing their drugs and booze, and work on their music, despite at least some of them feeling homesick. The results, which most of us have heard by now, were spectacular.

Where this doc falls short is when they producers decided to stretch out the good material they had by putting in interviews with musicians and show biz people who had nothing to do with this album. Don Was. Benicio Del Toro. Sheryl Crow. What was the point of that? They could have just as easily included interviews with fans, people who really loved the music--that might have been more interesting.

Stones in Exile (2010)

*** (out of 4)

Nice documentary covering The Rolling Stones' 1972 album EXILE ON MAIN STREET, which today is considered one of the greatest albums ever made. We learn that the "exile" in the title was very appropriate as we learn the Stones were pretty much forced to get out of Britain due to the high taxes they were having to pay, which pretty much left them broke. We learn that they took their families to France where they began work on the album. This documentary is pretty much hit and miss but in the end there are enough good moments to make it worth viewing for fans. One part of the good news is that it contains footage from their CO**SUCKER BLUES documentary, which up to this point had only been available from bootleggers. The footage here looks a lot better than we've seen before so hopefully an official release of that will come at some point (even if the film is pretty bad). We also get some footage from LET'S SPEND THE NIGHT TOGETHER, another true gem that needs to be released. We also get about fifteen-minutes or so of new footage with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Billy Wyman and Mick Taylor looking back on this period. We even get to see Jagger revisit the location of where the album was recorded. The biggest problem with the film is that it only runs 45-minutes so there's not too much footage here and one really hopes that at some point an extended edition comes out. The documentary starts and ends with a few thoughts from various fans including Martin Scorsese, Sheryl Crow, Benicio Del Toro, Will i Am and various others.