Stones in Exile: The Making of the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street Review

By: Rick Landers

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Executive Producers Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts new DVD, Stones in Exile, is a behind the scenes look at the making of the Rolling Stones’ ’72 double-album, Exile on Main Street.

Hanging out with the Rolling Stones during their hey days in France provides the backdrop for Stones In Exile, at a time when the Stones were the top rock ‘n’ roll group in the world, with no legitimate contenders for the throne waiting in the wings. If nothing else, the Stones music, coupled with their longevity gave them seniority and made them the top dogs in the yard.

During the summer of ’71, the Stones left England to escape the U.K.’s ninety-percent tax gouge, heading for Southern France where Keith took up residence in a palatial villa near Nice named Nellcote. This French chateau became the group’s hang out, where they would compose and record Exile on Main Street.

By this time, the foursome of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts, gave way to newcomers Mick Taylor, Billy Keys and others. Giving the group opportunities to riddle their tracks with saxophones, keyboards and Taylor’s licks, who essentially replaced Brian Jones after his untimely death in ’69.

Stones in Exile will be an “must have” artifact for all die hard Stone’s fans. What it’s not is a slick for the masses DVD with a tight script that builds background for the uninitiated.

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Exile is a compilation of patched together home movies and photos by the late Jim Marshall, and others, taken during the making of the ’72 double album. Shots and video that carry us back to that specific time and place. Letting us relive all of the emotional highs and lows the group experienced as they were quite literally “in exile” from their native England.

The film is choppy and sometimes unsettling to watch, probably much like it was to experience the group’s gypsy like work style at the time, framed by an entourage of wives and girlfriends, children, production crew, hangers on and drugs. Still, the album that resulted from the indulgences and the daily spurts of collective music making offered such gems as “All Down the Line”, “Sweet Virginia”, “Tumbling Dice”, “Happy”, “Sweet Black Angel” and more.

The group had mixed feelings about how well the album turned out, and the critics labeled it as a mish mash of tracks with no cohesion. But in time, Exile on Main Street became a staple favorite of Stones fans around the globe.

The DVD has no lag time and is fast paced throughout. Keeping our interest piqued with dialogue from band members, concert footage, clips of recording sessions at Nellcote and the final production work in L.A.

The only downside fans will find with Exile is the lack of any full song performances. Right when you start getting into “Tumbling Dice” or any other track, the film moves on to something else. Then again, the intent here isn’t to perform, but to give us a fix on what it was like to make the album. This video works that out in spades.

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Stones in Exile Trailer