Piano, cymbal crashes, horns, Mick, Keith …
It just came on and I was inspired…also curious what others would pick in this particular vein. No Rush lovers please.
My name is Soul Brother Number Two and I support this post.
I’ll take it one step further and ask, “is there a better rock album than Exile on Main Street?”
And then I’ll say “no” and turn it up.
New York Doll’s - Personality Crisis is pretty rollicking as well.
Tumbling Dice
Love the discussion, love the album. I ask a similar question: is there a better opening guitar lick than Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’? Greasy boogie at its finest.
Well, I’m a sucker for I-V-IV songs, so I’ll nominate “Do Ya” (the Move version, please), “Baba O’Riley”, and “Sweet Jane”.
Born To Run.
I’m a bit of an outlier, because I think Sticky Fingers is better than Exile. But my favorite Stones song? “Loving Cup.”
No way…and I was once one of the biggest Bruce fans. I’m talking rock and roll and he leaves most of the sex and all of the drugs out of the trinity…can’t be a Bruce song.
…but if I was forced to pick one of his it would be Badlands.
You have to turn it up to 11.
I’m not saying it beats it, but I think the Allman Brothers opening to Statesboro Blues has it tied.
It’s funny, these are all great songs that I’ve owned and listened to forever and a day, but they don’t really get me moving anymore. If it’s really about what still gets my blood going (which is my definition of rock and roll), on a given day it might be
- Love Comes in Spurts (Richard Hell and the Voidoids, with the wonderful Robert Quine)
or
Harnessed in Slums (Archers of Loaf)
But tomorrow it might be Will Butler’s new song “Take My Side”.
Yes in fact, watching that video I think it may be the greatest rock and roll song of all time.
OMO am I old!
No, you’re not. I also think Sticky Fingers is a better album. Still, Exile is a close second.
And “All Down the Line” and “Happy” from Exile are both better than “Rocks Off”.
I won’t say a bad word about any of the Stones songs mentioned.
However, I often think the ultimate rock and roll song is Faces Stay With Me.
mmm
Ever since the sounds of Tell Me wafted into my ears from the radio in my '56 Chevy back in ‘64, I have been what was later to be referred to as a Stones Freak. While the Stones came up with great songs and albums before and later, Sticky Fingers has to be their apogee. The raunch and the “rock” in several of those songs are just in another dimension. But I do have to say that my favorite of all is their version of Carol on the Ya-Ya’s album. I have to get up and dance. It just MOVES. And of course, I constantly work on the guitar riffs in that song, hoping one day to nail them on my own. As the years go by, I just love the Stones’ songs more and more (up until, oh, Tattoo You I suppose, as well as Keith’s solo offerings in the early '90s) as the years roll on.
I also like the instrumental section at the end where they suddenly turn into Traffic.
Yes, I’m with you on that. Great guitar stuff in there, too.
I just listened to 12X5 this morning, and the instrumentals on that album are really good. And Around and Around really gets rocking. The Stones seemed to have been able to take Chuck Berry songs and make them really ROCK.
Can we all agree that, between Beggars Banquet and Exile, the Stones had the best four-album/five record streak ever? It’s almost like an extended single release.