Exile on Main Street is my candidate for greatest rock 'n' roll record of all time. It is in essence a tour of American music, from the barn burning rock of "Rip this Joint" to the country crawl of "Sweet Virginia," with several stops at jute joints ("Shake Your Hips"/"Casino Boogie,") and even a few Sunday sojourns to church ("Sweet Black Angel"/"I Just Want to See His Face,"). Every attractive quality the Stones' possessed, from their loose, bar band groove, to their cynical bite is present throughout the twenty-one tracks. This is music that you can contemplate, but it's also music that you can dance to! Did you know that rock 'n' roll started out as dance music? Crazy to think about in this day in age, when "Rock" primarily means distorted guitars and angsty vocals, or lifeless indie melancholia. My favorite track is "Happy," Keith Richards' signature tune, a great ode to the carefree rock 'n' roll lifestyle. "Tumbling Dice," was the other big pop hit, and the only track to regularly get airplay on classic rock radio. It's a great showcase of Keith's "ancient art of weaving" guitar style, but the groove of that song is what really makes it memorable. Exile on Main Street is one of those albums that you can put on at any time and enjoy. I used to have a scratched burned CD that usually only played the first half or so in my PT Cruiser. It's likely still there, alongside various NIN albums and other similarly damaged bootleg music. If you play it in your car, then it's good music.
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