STONES IN EXILE DVD

I've got to say, I've really been digging listening to The Rolling Stones' classic Exile On Main Street over and over since the reissue came out. Tonight I watched Stones In Exile, the documentary about the album.

The doc was pretty cool, it was interesting to see footage of the era.  But you know Mick Jagger really isn't too into talking about it (in a recent interview he said he didn't know the point of it, other than getting paid, or something like that), and Charlie Watts really really isn't into talking about it. Keith Richards is cool with talking about whatever, but he didn't have any incredible insight, nor did former members Mick Taylor and Bill Wyman, although it was cool to see and hear them in the doc. My favorite parts were the interview segments with Bobby Keys, who played sax on the album (and still plays on their records and tours today). But I enjoyed the doc.

What I loved about the DVD though, was a bonus feature with extended interviews with "Exile fans": Jack White, Sheryl Crow, Liz Phair, will.i.am and Caleb Followill from Kings Of Leon, as well as Martin Scorsese and Don Was.   I used to do interviews with rock stars, and I often was more interested in talking about things other than themselves - especially music that really, really meant a lot to them. Whoever did these interviews, I was definitely envious of, because these were the types of conversations I loved, back in the day. It was fascinating to see what Exile meant to these folks: to Jack White, it was an album that could confound rock critics, they could no longer box the Stones in. To Sheryl Crow, it was how they looked at the place where she was from, the south. will.i.am is one of the most proudly modern and commercial artists - but he likes the fact that it is an entire body of work, and part of a greater continuum of work, and one that isn't reliant on having hit singles.  It's the "cool" album to like, because it isn't as well known. Followill, the son of a preacher man, thought it sounded like the devil's music, and loved it. Don Was, an artist and producer (who has produced The Stones' records of the past 15 years) can't figure out what is on the essence of the album (which I'm sure some critics will have field day with).  And Liz Phair, as her fans know, has a pretty complex relationship with this particular record. Maybe the doc will get some Stones fans to pick up her debut, the classic Exile In Guyville. I know Mick, Keith and Charlie exec-produced the doc, but I would think that they might be weirded out by all of the things that everybody said about the album - not just Liz (but especially Liz!).

A cynic could say that they selected the artists they interviewed for marketing purposes, but I take a different point of view.  Through these interviews, you really see why the album, and the band is so relevant today. I give the main doc a B but this feature an A.

TOMORROW ON OUTQ: ROCK AND ROLL! (THE STONES, BLACK KEYS, HOLE)

For those of you who are new to No Expiration, every Wednesday morning at 9 am ET I go on the SIRIUS XM channel OutQ. I am a weekly contributor to The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick. Tomorrow I will earn my title (given by Larry) of "rock reporter."

First, I'll be talking about The Rolling Stones' Exile On Main Street reissue, which I love. The Stones have never really been too interested in adding bonus tracks to their catalog releases, but I'm glad they did for this one. Actually some of the songs are kind of like collaborations between the Stones of the late '60s/early '70s and today, as Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and even Mick Taylor have added some new parts to some of the bonus tracks (which were unfinished and sitting in the vaults for decades). Of course, even without any extra stuff, Exile is a classic album and perfect for the summer.

I recently wrote about how much I like The Black Keys' Brothers. I'm excited to play them for people who aren't familiar with them.

Likewise, I'm excited to play The Len Price 3 for people. They are an awesome garage rock band who I doubt I would be familiar with, were it not for Little Steven's Underground Garage. They remind me of The Who or The Kinks from the early '60s.

Finally, the new Hole album, Nobody's Daughter. I think it is weird that Courtney Love is using the Hole name, since none of the other members used to be in the band. But I guess Hole has always been about her. I don't know if I love the album, but "Skinny Little Bitch" is pretty classic.

Hey, if you're around a computer or radio at 9 am ET, tune in and let me know what you think!

ROLLING STONES WEEK ON THE JIMMY FALLON SHOW

Musically, no late night show can come close to Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. The Roots are the best late night band ever, they can rock with Black Star and they can rock with Christopher Cross. On Monday night, Mike McCready of Pearl Jam sat in with the band (I wish they'd post some rehearsal video of that!).
And in the above video, Jimmy announced that the week of May 10th is going to be Exile On Main Street week on his show, where every night a different artist will cover a song from the album (which is being reissued on May 18). That should be pretty cool.

THE ROLLING STONES EXILE REISSUE. CAN. NOT. WAIT.

I love The Rolling Stones, but they never do their catalog justice.  They've reissued thier albums twice, and never include anything extra (other than the recent Get Your Ya-Ya's Out box set). So, I'm really excited to hear ten unreleased songs on the upcoming deluxe version of Exile On Main Street, which is coming out May 18 according to their website. Mick Jagger told Rolling Stone that some of the songs weren't complete, and he added some vocals to some, and wrote and sang new lyrics to "Follow The River." Keith Richards added a bit of guitar stuff, but mostly they left the original recordings alone. Now that they are in Stones mode, I wonder if the guys will do any new music.  If the rumors of them working with Jack White are true... well, that would be awesome.

EXILE ON MAIN STREET: WHAT WILL BE ON THE REISSUE?

I've written about The Rolling Stones' upcoming Exile On Main Street reissue, and I know that lots of people are interested in it. We know it is going to be an "expanded" reissue (unlike the rest of the reissues in the post-'60s catalog, which didn't really feature any "extras"). What I want to know is, what else will it include other than the entire (double) album?

The Rolling Stones official website is rarely active when the band is about to release an album or on tour, and hasn't really mentioned the Exile On Main Street reissue since announcing the re-release of the post '60s catalog in April. It's Only Rock and Roll is a fan site that has been around forever, and that's the one I check in with more often to find out about Stones news.

Keith Richards wasn't specific in a recent interview with Rolling Stone magazine, but did say that he and Mick Jagger have been going through tapes from the era. I find it hard to believe -- Mick has never shown much interest in that kind of thing, and often acts bored with the band's catalog (although he certainly monetizes it quite well!). I cannot find any other info on the reissue anywhere online, it's kind of annoying! Of course, for now you can dig into the Stones' other expanded reissue, the Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out box set that just came out.

Some stuff that I have heard rumored, though - and this is just rumors - is that other than outakes, the Exile On Main Street reissue will have a full live concert recorded during the era. I just feel like, if they were interested in putting out that kind of archival stuff, they would have done it by now. Mick pretty much doesn't work on projects like this unless (a) he thinks there is a good amount of money in it (in his case, the money he would make from an archival live set probably doesn't register much on his bank account) (b) he has to (as with his solo best of, which I think he owed to his label, he went and found some cool unreleased and rare solo stuff to fill out the set) or (c) he finds it artistically satisfying. The other thing could be that, Universal offered a lot of money for the right to distribute the Stones' catalog, so an expanded Exile On Main Street was included in the deal. Also, Mick may think that, due to the fact that it is the favorite album of many a Stones fan (Mick himself has always expressed disinterest with the album), it may make a good centerpiece to a new Stones tour - which would let him off the hook from having to record an entire album. (Or maybe allow the band to just record a few tracks with Jack White). Whatever the case may be, it looks like 2010 will be a good year for Stones fans - now there's rumors that they will be headlining Glastonbury.

THE ROLLING STONES NEW REISSUE: WORTH YOUR YA-YA'S

The Rolling Stones are one of my favorite bands of all time. Unlike other bands like The Who, they don't seem very interested in doing cool things with their catalog. Most of the compilation albums (other than 40 Licks) seem thrown-together, their reissues are not exciting (the first wave of reissues with remastered sound was definitely necessary, but they never include bonus tracks or liner notes or anything). I think that's because Mick Jagger tends to run this stuff, and he never seems interested in exploring the band's archives, wheras Pete Townshend can get himself lost for years doing that with The Who's archives. That's what makes the Get Your Ya-Ya's Out expanded edition so cool.

So, what's the deal with this reissue? It is a expanded version of the band's live album that was recorded at Madison Square Garden in 1969, when they were in full swagger (this was during the era that Mick Taylor was in the band). The box set contains five tracks that weren't on the original album, as well as the full sets by opening acts Ike & Tina Turner and B.B. King. And a DVD of performances and backstage footage. There's a "super-deluxe" version that also includes all the music on vinyl as well.

Who is it for? Obviously Rolling Stones freaks will want this: so will B.B. and Tina's fans. But I don't think it would be alienating for new fans. The band played lots of hits, like "Jumpin' Jack Flash," "Sympathy For The Devil" and "Street Fighting Man," and the bonus tracks include "Under My Thumb" and "Satisfaction." The album also features the definitive version of "Minight Rambler." There are also very cool lesser-known songs like "Live With Me," "I'm Free" and a slowed down version of "Stray Cat Blues." It also spotlights some of the band's influences: B.B. King and Ike & Tina, as well as some of the artists who they covered: Chuck Berry's "Carol" and Robert Johnson's "Love In Vain."

One of the reasons that this box came out the way it did is because it is from their ABKCO catalog, which they don't control. But next year, they are supposedly releasing an expanded version of their 1972 classic double album, Exile On Main Street. I found that surprising, as that album is on Rolling Stones Records, the part of the catalog that the band does control. Long a critical favorite, Jagger has expressed surprise in interviews that people make such a big deal over the album, as it didn't yield many radio hits. I imagine that when the Stones took their catalog from Virgin to Universal, one of Universal's demands was an expanded Exile. And next year, I'm sure we'll all be grateful for that. I wonder if it will be the centerpiece of their rumored tour: with so many other "heritage" artists doing full-album performances, and the fact that the Stones have toured so much in the past two decades, and the fact the Mick stays on top of every trend that could possibly affect his bottom line, it wouldn't surprise me. It would probably be easier to just skip making an album (although if they entered the studio with Jack White, as has been rumored, just for a few songs, that would be awesome).