Show Notes
Few musical releases are more steeped in rock and roll mythology than Exile on Main Street. The self-styled World's Greatest Rock 'n Roll Band produced a double album that acted as a road map for most of their musical influences and creations, recorded during a time of great personal and professional transition, operating as tax exiles the south of France and seemingly awash in decadence and inspiration.
The result of all these factors was an album that is unlike almost any "great" album in the history of rock and roll --- an album devoid of a hit single, an album with many songs where the lyrics are so indecipherable as to resist interpretation, an album that sits within one of the murkiest and least-defined soundcapes ever attempted by a major artist. Many rock and roll fans --- many ROLLING STONES fans --- find this album to be inferior to the previous three, lacking the obvious hooks and clear mission statement that is so present on Sticky Fingers or Let it Bleed.
But despite this, Exile on Main Street is effectively the codex for understanding and loving The Rolling Stones and what they represented in rock history. It is sprawling, messy, and loose, with neck-deep excursions into country, blues, gospel, and voodoo incantation. Many of its songs are moods unto themselves, played and sung with a soulful conviction that summons the cornerstone artists and songs that preceded the emergence of rock and roll as an art form. There is an effortless energy to most of this album, a primal spirit that has captivated both fans and aspiring artists for nearly five decades. Sticky Fingers and Let it Bleed might be more immediately rewarding listening experiences for the uninitiated, but there's a reason why Exile on Main Street's influence is so obvious and all-encompassing for many of the musical acts that emerged during the 70s, 80s, 90s, and beyond.
Join us on this episode of Cosmic America as we delve into the sounds and vibes of Exile on Main Street.
More from Cosmic America
Galen is back with more track talk, as we induct several new songs into the CrimsonCast Music Companion playlist on Spotify, including: In The Meantime by Spacehog Take Me Out by Franz Ferdinand Impossible Weight by Deep Sea Diver Lake Superior by The Arcs Walk Away by James Gang Dripfield by Goose Kilby Girl by The Backseat Lovers The Bend by Real Estate
A soft relaunch of Cosmic America, as Galen talks through four new additions to the CrimsonCast Music Companion, which you can follow on Spotify.
Cosmic America is back for a limited time! Galen Clavio invites Jeremy Gray on the podcast for a look back at the 1980s in music, as both of us give our Top 20 songs from the decade. In classic Cosmic America fashion, we listen to the songs all the way through while we break them down, talking through what made each of the picks special to us, as well as what they represented in pop culture and music culture at the time. Through 96 minutes of discussion, we cover everything from Prince to Phil Collins, A-Ha to the Psychedelic Furs, Guns n Roses to Michael Jackson, Tears for Fears to Def Leppard. There are some difficult omissions, and some surprise inclusions. Let us know what your own personal top 20 lists for the 1980s look like!
Our last review in the Steely Dan catalogue finds us in 2003, as we evaluate "Everything Must Go". There are some good moments, for sure! But there's also some questions. While Two Against Nature succeeded modernizing both the jazz sound and the lyrical inspirations of the classic Steely Dan formula, Everything Must Go comes up a bit short in both. It's absolutely not a bad album, but it ends up being a bit disappointing --- especially since it's the last album in the official canon. And while we'd go on to get some more solo albums and band tours, this ends up being the end of the road for the Dan's recording career.
After the surprise live show reunion of the mid-1990s, it felt like only a matter of time before Steely Dan were reconstituted as a studio act. And while it would take until 2000 for that to actually come to fruition, the result ended up being...pretty good, all things considered!