VARIOUS ARTISTS
Exile on Blues St (Telarc Blues)
Reviewed by Eric Steiner

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The Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street has long been on my list of desert island discs, particularly for the way Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wove full-frontal rock and roll in with traditional blues. While I still have the original vinyl I bought with paper route money in 1972, the original promotional postcards that were included in the larger format are long gone. The memories of some of songs aren't, and Lucky Peterson's update of "Ventilator Blues," Chistine Ohlman's soul-drenched take on "All Down the Line," and Tommy Castro's frenetic version of "Rip This Joint" all send chills up and down my spine just like the originals did (and still do on remastered CD). Other guests include Otis Taylor ("Sweet Black Angel"), Joe Louis Walker ("Shine A Light"), Tab Benoit ("Shake Your Hips"), and Jimmy Thackery ("Rocks Off"), and they're backed by Double Trouble (Tommy Shannon on bass and Christ Layton on drums), Brian Stoltz on guitar, Andrea Re and Rob Roy on backing vocals, and Ryan Zoidis and David Noyes on horns. A fitting blues tribute to one of the Rolling Stones' greatest records.

Track List:

Ventilator Blues * All Down the Line * Rip This Joint * Sweet Black Angel * Sweet Virginia * Tumbling Dice * Shake Your Hips * Shine a Light * Happy * Rocks Off

© 2003 - Eric Steiner