‘Exile On Main Street’ is The Rolling Stones at their absolutely very best. Recorded over a period of three years, ‘Exile On Main Street’ was completed at a villa in Nellcôte, in Villefranche-sur-Mer, near Nice. By 1971, instead of paying their dues in taxes the band had spent their money on other things. As the government was due to seize their assets, they packed their bags and left for France as tax exiles. This record was recorded using The Rolling Stones’ famous mobile recording truck.

The fifth entry for The Rolling Stone and the follow up to ‘Beggars Banquet’ (#185). As noted on that review, group founder, Brian Jones was increasingly absent due to his heavy drug use. In fact, on this record, his only contributions were congas on ‘Midnight Rambler’ and autoharp on ‘You Got The Silver.’ He was fired during these sessions and died a month later and thus the new era of The Rolling Stones had begun. Like its predecessor, this album was a back-to-basics sound, a return to their Bluesy roots.