Share EXILE ON MAIN STREET – Rolling Stones (Polydor)
Can you improve on flawed perfection? No, so why did they try? For the answer, look at the scoreboard. When you see this deluxe re-issue went into the US sales charts at number-two you’ll know.
So let’s cut to the second disc. Almost every time I buy a so-called “bonus edition” I feel like a ditz. More often than not I have the core release - in this case, on vinyl and CD. The digital version does sound well-mastered (which is to say the bottom-end is more defined and the tops are intact.) So let’s ponder whether the bonuses are worth the outlay. The answer is a grudging: “Yes” - but the caveat is you need to be a fan.
Outtakes are left off albums for a reason and none of these 10 tracks would have made it onto the original LP, maybe with the exception of “Following The River”. Even there, there’s a rub.
You won’t find corroboration anywhere and the “information” was leaked and has made its way around the Internet via various chat groups and social media postings. It seems Sir Michael dipped into his Rolodex and summoned Mick Taylor for a studio session, at which at least three tracks were finished. “Following The River” seems to have a contemporary Jagger vocal and more fleshed-out lead guitar line. Ditto the radio lead-off, “Plundered My Soul”. "Pass The Wine (Sophia Loren)" has received the treatment (current Stones back-up vocalist Lisa Fischer's credit is a dead giveaway.) These aren’t bad songs per se but sound contemporary and slightly out of place.
Of the balance, there are alternatives takes of "Loving Cup" and "Soul Survivor" that have a nice looseness about them but that's about as much as you can say. Instro' "Title 5" is cool but its jazziness was obviously way out of synch with the soul and country-blues references of the final album. And the "exclusive 12-page booklet"? No-one could be fucked putting any context or explanations on paper, so you get a bunch of blurry black-and-whites of everybody looking elegantly wasted. - The Barman
Original album:
Bonuses:
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