I know I'm pissing in the wind in this thread, but it all peaked with Let It Bleed for me.

Not at all. I can think of how that argument can be made. I have friends who believe this. They are all guys, who like us, were there at the time.

Greeted with decidedly mixed reviews upon its original release, Exile on Main St. has become generally regarded as the Rolling Stones' finest album. Part of the reason why the record was initially greeted with hesitant reviews is that it takes a while to assimilate. A sprawling, weary double album encompassing rock & roll, blues, soul, and country, Exile doesn't try anything new on the surface, but the substance is new. Taking the bleakness that underpinned Let It Bleed and Sticky Fingers to an extreme, Exile is a weary record, and not just lyrically. Jagger's vocals are buried in the mix, and the music is a series of dark, dense jams, with Keith Richards and Mick Taylor spinning off incredible riffs and solos. And the songs continue the breakthroughs of their three previous albums. No longer does their country sound forced or kitschy — it's lived-in and complex, just like the group's forays into soul and gospel. While the songs, including the masterpieces "Rocks Off," "Tumbling Dice," "Torn and Frayed," "Happy," "Let It Loose," and "Shine a Light," are all terrific, they blend together, with only certain lyrics and guitar lines emerging from the murk. It's the kind of record that's gripping on the very first listen, but each subsequent listen reveals something new. Few other albums, let alone double albums, have been so rich and masterful as Exile on Main St., and it stands not only as one of the Stones' best records, but sets a remarkably high standard for all of hard rock.

There are moments in albums after LIB, but none as fully realized to me. AS I think I've mentioned before, I've never made it through Exile in one sitting. <GASP>

See, I can get with this (at least the fully realized moments comment) even if don't fully agree. Exile succeeds BECAUSE it doesn't have that "Gimmie Shelter" or "Brown Sugar" moment. It's one long pile of murk that is all over the map. For me, it DEMANDS to be heard at once.

The beauty of Exile is that if you asked 10 people what their favorite song is on that album you'd probably get 10 different answers.

Sliding out of perhaps the greatest winning streak in rock history, the Stones slipped into decadence and rock star excess with Goats Head Soup, their sequel to Exile on Main St. This is where the Stones' image began to eclipse their accomplishments, as Mick ascended to jet-setting celebrity and Keith slowly sunk deeper into addiction, and it's possible hearing them moving in both directions on Goats Head Soup, at times in the same song. As Jagger plays the devil (or, dances with Mr. D, as he likes to say), the sex and sleaze quotient is increased, all of it underpinned by some genuinely affecting heartbreak, highlighted by "Angie." This may not be as downright funky, freaky, and fantastic as Exile, yet the extra layer of gloss brings out the enunciated lyrics, added strings, wah-wah guitars, explicit sex, and violence, making it all seem trippily decadent. If it doesn't seem like there's a surplus of classics here, all the songs work well, illustrating just how far they've traveled in their songcraft, as well as their exceptional talent as a band — they make this all sound really easy and darkly alluring, even when the sex'n'satanism seems a little silly. To top it all of, they cap off this utterly excessive album with "Star Star," a nasty Chuck Berry rip that grooves on its own mean vulgarity — its real title is "Starf*cker," if you need any clarification, and even though they got nastier (the entirety of Undercover, for instance), they never again made something this dirty or nasty. And, it never feels more at home than it does at the end of this excessive record.

but then again there's absolute dreck like "Dancin' With Mr. D.".

I bought most of their albums in chronological order from Between The Buttons --> Steel Wheels, and I remember putting this on, knowing it was the next one after Exile, and thinking "What the fuck is this shit?" I think I have only listened to Dancing all the way through, maybe 3 times.

Was this their first big dud of a song, something irredeemable, like a 'Yellow Submarine'?

no, that would be harlem shuffle

It's uneven, but at times It's Only Rock 'n Roll catches fire. The songs and performances are stronger than those on Goats Head Soup; the tossed-off numbers sound effortless, not careless. Throughout, the Stones wear their title as the "World's Greatest Rock & Roll Band" with a defiant smirk, which makes the bitter cynicism of "If You Can't Rock Me" and the title track all the more striking, and the reggae experimentation of "Luxury," the aching beauty of "Time Waits for No One," and the agreeable filler of "Dance Little Sister" and "Short and Curlies" all the more enjoyable.

I think I've only heard this album a few times as I usually have zero desire to listen to it, today included.

It's one of my faves (aren't they all?) - you just have to get past the first 2, maybe 3 songs. I like the title track, probably more for the embarrassing and horrendous Sailor Suits and Bubbles video

And while I agree with Rads' assessment of the 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 - I like Cocaine Induced Trash Mania (who killed on the second stage at Bumbershoot, imo) - especially in the form of Short and Curlies, and Fingerprint File.

Derris nails the slower songs as well. Til the Next Goodbye, Time Waits for No One, and my personal fave Luxury are all tops.

Also, Dumpjack, I am astonished that someone who will defend Black and Blue to the death dislikes this album so much.