I don't get it...Exile on main Street-Blue

I thought it was Dolly Madison staying at the Radisson...

@chrisoshea  , Oscar Madison was not majoring in medicine.

I get what OP is saying. Every so often I read some recommendation  of Blue, or I see it's offered on Acoustic Sounds as a 45rpm Ultradisc & I think I  should revisit it & see if like it. Each time I try I get about 3 songs in  & have to turn it off. And I like female vocalists, honestly. But I just can't. And then I wonder why. 

i don't think exile is the greatest ever rock album (that honor, depending on my mood, might go to "ok computer" or "dark side of the moon" or "ziggy" or "the who sell out," among many others). however, i do think it's the greatest double album--except for "rip this joint", which i never cared for, there's not a duff track. "london calling" comes close, while "layla" should have been pared down to a single record.

Lyrics about Maxwell Madison? They were about Oscar Madison...

EOMS was a grounbreaking release for rock music at the time much like Sergeant Pepper was earlier.   Both have some good songs.  SP holds together better from start to finish both musically and thematically.  But I have never been inclined to listen to entire EOMS from start to finish.   It was groundbreaking in its own way back then but not as engaging a listen as a whole anymore.   The production is dirty and murkey...one of the unique things about it at the time, and influences from various musical genres are present,  another unique thing at the time, but not so much anymore these days.  EOMS is more than ever a landmark  release but its overall appeal these days continues to be on the wane.

Borkum Riff??!

Sound like something Mr. Spock would say;

"Captain, we are now entering the Borkum Riff..."

I'm a "fossil unit" compared to many on the forum.  74 trips around the sun for this one.  As a younger listener, when we used to light up the Borkum Riff and strap ourselves down in the "sweet spot" to make sure our heads didn't bobble more than a couple of millimeters, Classical. With a little Beatles, Moody Blues, LZ, Floyd,, Who, etc. thrown in. And, a sampling of various Stones and Joni tunes.  I have to admit that I never felt the compulsion to place the stylus at the very beginning and listen to a complete Stones and/or Joni album from start to finish.  It was just me, being me.

Fast forward a few decades.  Strapped myself into the "sweet spot" with something a little more domestically friendly in hand (wine) and listened to Exile and Blue from start to finish.  Was waiting for that subtle hint from above that reminded me that I was a mere Neadertweak and what I had been missing for all these years...

.. I'm with the OP on this one.

If you like Female vocal.....The best there is.....Is Karla Bonoff IMHO.

@dsrobert absolutely, I understand

@grisleybuter. Appreciate it but yeah I would want a copy with the cover.

thanks for the info though. 

I was class of 72, NO on both the Stones and Joni. We were doing King Crimson, Yes, Jethro Tull. No offense intended. Just the way it was.

Until recently, I spent my life thinking they were saying "She's A honky tonk woman" instead of "All the honky tonk women". 

And up until quite recently I thought there were lyrics about Maxwell Madison, not Maxwell Edison, who was majoring in medecine. 

Until recently, I spent my life thinking they were saying "She's A honky tonk woman" instead of "All the honky tonk women". 

Thecarpathian, I stand corrected. 

Mike

@tylermunns 

"If something doesn’t move you, it doesn’t move you. There’s nothing wrong with that, and it’s entirely possible that at some point in life, it will"

...and it's equally possible it won't, but as the man says, "there's nothing wrong" with this, so why worry about it, OP? 

@dsrobert I don’t have the album cover, just the sleeve. I remembered something was amiss. Otherwise the album is in superb condition.
st-sr-722507-mo / COC 2-2900

message me if you are interested but I understand, without the cover, it's a non-starter. I responded here because I can't add links or photos in the message part.

I love the Stones and Joni..... Hate to say it but my favorite of Joni's is Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm.... So different from any of her other work, which is why I like it.. Very well recorded with some excellent guest stars singing backing vocals....

Hard to beat the Stones' albums Some Girls and Let It Bleed..... Their release of Forty Licks is also very good!

@skyscraper ,

It's 'Honky Tonk Women', not woman.

I'm an annoying stickler about stuff like that.

My 1 cent

  I listen primarily to Classical but I was a huge Stones fan in my teens.  I disliked Exile when it came out and for the most part hated it, and never bought a Stones album again.  I tried streaming it a few months ago and could only get about a third of the way through before boredom set in.  I can still listen to Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed with enjoyment.

  My wife is a huge Joni fan but dislikes Blue

Let is Bleed is the best Stones album in my mind, but best of all? Impossible to choose...

@grislybutter right on, might be interested. Any chance you can share the catalog number?  How is the condition?

I’ve always felt "Let It Bleed" was the Stones greatest album and easily the best Rock and Roll album of all time. Only thing that could have made it better was to have had the original "Honky Tonk Woman" on it instead of that lame "Country Honk" version they include instead. I never could figure why "Exiles on Main Street" was considered by many to be their best.

I do think Joni Miitchell’s "Blue" was a great album though. I now have her entire catalog and still play her records with some frequency. She was an acquired taste though. My sister used to have and play the "Blue" album and I thought it was too girly then. My mistake.

On a related note, many critics point to Sgt. Pepper as being the Beatles best album. I was always a Beatles fan, but thought that record was much too contrived. Like "Exiles" I never could understand what prompted anyone to like it so much. But different strokes for different folks. (By the way, Clapton and Duane Allman’s "Layla" is still the second best album of all time after "Let It Bleed" Accept no substitutes.

Nice thread krelldog,

Mike

@dsrobert I am not a big fan and can sell mine 

Right on, thanks tablejockey!

."im actually looking for an original copy of Exile on vinyl if anyone has one!"

plenty to choose from here, dsrobert:

Rolling Stones* - Exile On Main St. (All Versions) For Sale at Discogs Marketplace

….im actually looking for an original copy of Exile on vinyl if anyone has one!

Ranked by sales volume below (exile 11.24 million ain’t too bad), but they are all good in my opinion.  Hard to say that any albums are bad if you are a true Stones fan.   Emotional rescue follows exile in 11th spot.  But I’m scratching my head, is that a “female vocalist” in that song!?!?   LOL
 

1. Sticky Fingers – 22,431,000
2. Let It Bleed – 22,187,000
3. Aftermath – 20,841,000
4. Some Girls – 18,984,000
5. Tattoo You – 16,897,000
6. Out of Our Heads – 16,734,000
7. Beggars Banquet – 16,217,000
8. Goats Head Soup – 12,493,000
9. Orphan – 11,814,000
10. Exile on Main St – 11,243,000
11. Emotional Rescue – 6,935,000
12. Voodoo Lounge – 6,814,000
13. Between the Buttons – 6,289,000
14. Steel Wheels – 6,284,000
15. Bridges to Babylon – 5,128,000

@asvjerry - always one of my favorite lines (and I agree!).... 

"....the sunshine bores the daylights out of me....:"

@thecarpathian     I'll let these (younger then) women weigh in on the subject, since this was what ..came to mind....:)

I have spouse too.

I know NOTHING between those mistakes in judgement that Work. ;)

@asvjerry ,

Please don't tell my wife...

Sandinista is their best album for me

Yes, great music to listen to in the car. There are quite a few albums I've struggled with until taking them on the road. The albums from Miles Davis's 2nd quintet really landed for me while driving around late at night. Maybe records like BLUE and EXILES are harder to look at straight on, without some kind of distraction? Though, BLUE gets my attention just about anywhere anytime. 

@krelldog

The following may be seem elementary/obvious to you. If so, feel free to ignore it.

I’d suggest appreciating and liking are two different things and when it comes to esthetics, the former does not necessarily lead to the latter.

What sort of listener are you? By this I mean, which portion(s) of your perceptive capacities is/are most active when listening? You can think of this in terms of right brain/left brain.

Personally, I’ve never found that reading commentaries/criticism, etc. has has much impact in terms of enhancing my enjoyment of music because for me, it’s all about emotion and physicality. If my emotions and body are not engaged, no amount of intellectual information will compensate. I can learn to respect music based upon enhanced understanding of its structure and intent but for me enjoyment is not rooted in the left brain. I want to be carried away by music and for me, this is not a left brain function/state.

Needless to say, you may be different. My point is that it’s crucial to understand this about one’s self. Otherwise, how can one trust one’s esthetic sensibilities?

Can we talk about the music?  Not that DEI isn't a serious conversation needing to be had.  

On Exile, it's like being with them in a basement working on a set.  Dirty, a little underproduced, but a great complement to the other albums in The Greatest Run of Albums of All Time.  And lots of great songs albeit I know that observation doesn't shed much light. 

Other albums like this - albums that bring you into process and require some work to like (or at least to like all of it):  Clash-Sandinista, Beatles-Let it Be. Led Zeppelin-Physical Graffiti. 

No opinion on Blue.  But now I feel like I need to check it out. 

I really dig bands like the Dixie Chicks and chick singers that sound like dudes.  Masculine sounding babes like Joan Armatrading, Cassandra Wilson, and Me'Shell N'Dageocello rock me, like my back ain't got no bone!  Woke up this mornin', feelin' 'round for my shoes, know 'bout 'at I got these, old (none 'o dose) damn woke-in blues.........

bullying @tylermunns is a dumb and cowardly response

Music is purely subjective. There are albums I dislike that are considered masterpieces- namely sgt. pepper and pet sounds- there are some good tracks but to me it’s not a masterpiece.   It’s an opinion not a flaw.  There is no right or wrong.  

@bigtwin --I think you hit the nail on the head:  Professional musicians often hear music from a completely different perspective and appreciate aspects the general public doesn't.

I heard Court and Spark before i heard Blue so i like it better and rarely listen to Blue.  Same story with Let It Bleed vs. Exile.

But i too have often read from both pro musicians and music reviewers that Blue and Exile were seminal--sorry, don't get it.

As for the hijacking of this thread over a nonissue, just stop

@tylermunns on a serious note, the Oscars for a leading female awards a female playing a female (mostly, we aren't ancient Greece) and that should be recognized as a positive that women get to be written to be characters in movies and not just pretty faces and bodies to keep men from switching the channel. 

@grislybutter Yes.  
However, at least they wouldn’t have intellectual egg on their face by bending over backwards to portray themselves as exemplars of equality while having two separate categories. Not that modern Hollywood has much interest in intellectual honesty to begin with… 
I think there’s a reason why they have two, and that reason is why they are unlikely to change, cognitive dissonance be damned, and that reason is money.  
The industry each year gets twice as many “assets” to market and advertise.

imagine if we had "best actor" only  - one, for men and women and a men won twice in a row or the other way, it would be a 100 times what happens when Asians and blacks don't win anything. 

Plus, it's much easier to act for a women, so let's not mix the 2 categories (JUST KIDDING!!!!!@)

@tony1954 FWIW, especially after we consider the Academy/Hollywood’s moral grandstanding, I don’t understand why we have “Best Actor” / “Best Actress,” either.  
It’s…acting. I thought equality was what we were after, but what do I know.

@tylermunns 

I know what you are saying and I am not trying to be a dick, but "I love female vocalists." as well.

I phrase it that way so the person I am talking to knows what I am trying to say.

It's like having a "Best Actress" and "Best Actor" in the Academy Awards.

At the time they were certainly in a groove and could do no wrong

I always thought - until I listened more, and more carefully, that the Stones were messy, lacking direction, genre, without a real talent, overall just hitting that groovy sound that addicts the listener. Quit the opposite. Besides the groove, on top of the chaos, it’s so much attention to detail and sheer genius.

100% disagree about Joni Mitchell's "Blue".

100% agree about "Exile on Main St."

That was easy.

Exile is the Stones on the top of their game. The music is exploratory but all the songs are unmistakably The Rolling Stones.  At the time they were certainly in a groove and could do no wrong.  Not as pop oriented as the other albums of that era (Beggers, Bleed, Sticky Fingers).
Exile is maybe a bit challenging for more casual listeners. But like whiskey, I prefer my Stones straight up!

Blue is a masterpiece. A complete concept album with a narrative flow.  Blue is best served as a whole; it's clarity and depth comes through when listening from the beginning to the end.  In my opinion Mitchell's pinnacle achievement.