Stones In Exile [DVD] [2010] [NTSC]

I just saw the DVD, "Stones in Exile". It is a really good documentary with lots of extended interview as extra's. This is well worth watching to anyone seriously interested in getting to the roots of Exile. It won’t get you there but it will increase your understanding. Especially about the way the Stones made songs or created them. Keith liked to play something over and over again until somehow something came to the song as opposed to going into a studio with everything ready and recording. In an interview they mention Honkey Tonk Women was recorded nine times with a piano accompaniment then on the last take it was left off leaving that amazing tempo and hesitation in the intro that does not seem so unusual when the piano is on it.Another sense you get in the scenes from the Villa in France with kids around and common eating and general bohemian lifestyle is that it is a bygone era. The reason for much of the creativity at that time and during the late sixties was the laxation of rules and norms that you were light years away from the nine to five mind frame. McCartney also points at this concerning Sgt Pepper and the White Album, that they had 24 hour access to the recording studio, that they could make small Xmas discs for fans that were released in Fan Club mags and music mags like NME. Incidentally the Stones gave out one of these floppy 45 a plastic disc thin as paper that you played like a normal 45 (sometimes at 33.1/3 RPM) in NME called Exile on Main Street that had a sampler of many of the tracks plus a song that was not on the album, “Exile on Main- street is a strange street to walk down…..”. This song is on the DVD at the end.If you get the chance to see the documentary called “Muscle Shoals” that is worth checking out. Here the Stones recorded some of Sticky Fingers and Keef says that if it was not for the fact he could not get into the States at the time because of drug busts “Exile” would probably have been recorded at Shoals.

Of course it doesn't follow that a classic album should also spawn a documentary of a similar status, who's purpose is to uncover the background to the album. However, inevitably because of the greatness of 'Exile On Main Street', there is a hunger and an expectation that this DVD is going to deliver something equally rewarding. However, in a sense, this perhaps is a tall order, because the strength of 'Exile On Main Street' is actually within its music, and not within its storytelling. Needless to say, 'Stones In Exile' is nowhere near as satisfying a documentary, as 'Exile On Main Street' is an album.There is a slickness, and an artiness within the way this documentary is directed, with its storytelling being overlayed with relevant photo's, and related video's, overlaying interviews by the members of the group and fans etc. which is informative to a degree, but the film fails to linger on what anyone has to say for very long. In a sense, style seems to dictate this documentary more than substance, although of course this film does touch on the basics, relating to the Stones becoming tax exiles and relocating to the south of France and recording in the basement of Keith's house, etc. The general mood of the times, and the almost communal living is also well explained, with interviews with the band themselves, as well as those associated with the group at the time, like Anita Pallenberg. The problem i have a little though is the fact that many of the guest interviewers who weren't around the Stones in this period tend to be geared up very much to talking about the myth surrounding the recording of the album, and the aura which has grown around this period in more recent decades, far more than any facts. They pretty much seem to be taken in solely with the legend of the Stones during the 'Exile' period. Conversely, the Stones themselves pretty much seem to be downplaying the period, and there's a strong sense that they aren't particularly interested in the nostalgia of it all. Maybe this in part is the reason that many important details relating to the recording are left out, especially that relating to the influence of Gram Parsons, and many of the sex and drugs revelations.Those fellow artists interviewed, like Jack White, Sheryl Crow, and especially Will.i.am, in addition to the Stones current producer, Don Was, tend to trivialise things somewhat, and play too much on the 'coolness' of the Stones, and the 'evil' within their music, without really having anything interesting to say. They almost seem to represent the current celebrity obsessed culture, making the Stones perhaps appear more accessible in today's climate. There is a extras section dedicated to them, and it's pretty much the lowest point of this DVD. However, one of the features on the extras also provides the highlight - those of the extended interviews with members, and former members of the band. When Keith Richards, Mick Taylor, and Bill Wyman, are allowed to speak in extended form, without being woven into someone else's mold within the documentary, they are quite charming, and interesting, in a much more down to earth kind of way. Bill, especially, makes some quite amusing remarks about his fellow bandmates, Keith and Mick Taylor, and it's nice to escape the romantic, and iconic aura of 'Exile' for just a while. Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts also visit Olympic studios and Stargroves in an extended piece on one of the extras features, but this perhaps proves less satisfying, because their memories seem to be failing them somewhat! It is a fun piece though.I think though, in retrospect, 'Exile On Main Street's music alone speaks for itself, without the need for this commercialised, and somewhat trivialised DVD release. The music influences within 'Exile' and the instrumentation etc. would have made for a much more interesting documentary. After all, 'Exile On Main Street', is primarily a great album, in a very non commercialised way.

This is a fascinating combination of archive film and photographs overlaid with comments from the key players as they see it today and, of course, some terrific music. Unusually for a Stones film all five of them have their say plus others such as Anita Pallenberg and Bobby Keys. The memories of one of the many children present at the Villa Nellcote during that summer is particularly fascinating.I must give a big thumbs down however to the topping and tailing of the film by brief talking-head segments by a seemingly random group of 21st century 'celebrities', none of whom have any connection with the recording of  Exile On Main Street (Remastered)  nor appear - with the honourable exception of Martin Scorcese - to have any prior knowledge of the subject either. Completely pointless and extremely irritating.

This documentary is about why the Stones left the UK and how they came to record the Exile album. I was a big fan at the time and there was a real sense of loss when their departure from the UK was announced. We may believe our current taxation system is draconian, but it was nothing compared to the surtax regime of the 1970s.There are many interesting snippets, but I found the style fragmentary and disjointed. Just as something interesting was being mentioned the camera went off to something new and different. It certainly reflects the way of life in a commune style where once everyone got together, they mucked in. It was disappointing to hear a couple of them whinging about having to live in the South of France and how much they missed PG Tips and piccalilli. But it’s not a film I’d watch again and overall, I’ll just sit back and listen to the music on the album.