I’m not a big fan of quoting myself, but it’s been more than a decade since I wrote about The Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street as one of my favorite albums of the 70s, so I figure I’ve earned the right. Here’s what I had to say at the time:

“The best albums are always greater than the sum of their parts. Sometimes that’s just a matter of putting certain songs in a certain order and tying it together with the right title and right cover and — bam! — you have a consistent, unified experience that works as an album.

But other times an album serves as a document of its creation. Listening to it puts you in the room with the musicians, delivers not just the sounds but the sights, smells and tastes of its creation. The Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street is such an album.

Recorded largely in a rented French villa, where the band retreated to dodge charges of tax evasion in Britain, Exile sounds as weary, gin-soaked and strung out as the men who recorded it. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and the rest of The Stones spent their time drunk, high and sleeping with each other’s girlfriends, only occasionally stumbling into the makeshift studio to record one of the most celebrated rock albums of all time.

The album features some brilliant songs — including ‘Tumbling Dice’ ‘Rocks Off, ‘ ‘Torn and Frayed,’ ‘Let it Loose’ and ‘Shine a Light’ (a tribute to the late Brian Jones) — but just as many throwaway blues jam sessions. What’s wonderful is how well those things combine.”

OK, back in 2023 now, and all of those words feel as true as ever. If anything, my dive into The Stones from their first album on has made me appreciate this seminal release even more. What really hits home is the sheer magnitude of the five year span that produced Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, and Exile on Main Street. Has any band had a more impressive four album run than that?

This rambling double album met with some head-scratching by critics in 1972 but it has come to be considered one of the greatest albums of all time and The Stones’ best work. I’m putting together my own ranked list as I go and it’s not quite at the top for me, but there is no denying its greatness.

This wraps up the era of The Stones I know best, and I still have 13 albums over 44 years to cover, not to mention the band’s upcoming release. Even if what’s to come is destined to fall short of this week’s bounty, I’m still very excited and curious to find out what I’ve missed.