Exile on Main St. (Pussy Galore album)
Exile on Main St. is an album by American noise rock band Pussy Galore, released in December 1986 by Shove Records.[1] The album itself is a cover album. The entire project was an attempt at re-interpreting The Rolling Stones' 1972 album Exile on Main St. in its entirety. Its only official release format was the cassette tape, in a limited run of only 550 hand-numbered copies.[2][3]
| Exile on Main St. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 One of unofficial CD re-releases | ||||
| Studio album of cover songs by | ||||
| Released | December 1986 | |||
| Recorded | August 24–August 26, 1986 | |||
| Studio | Pussy Galore Mobile Unit | |||
| Genre | Noise rock, punk blues | |||
| Length | 59:55 | |||
| Label | Shove | |||
| Producer | Pussy Galore | |||
| Pussy Galore chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
While Pussy Galore's version is an intentionally deconstructionist approach to remaking the original album, most of the songs on the album remain recognizable and reconcilable to their original versions. One notable exception is Pussy Galore's performance of "Shine A Light", which, while itself an actual recording of that song, was purposefully distorted essentially beyond recognition. On a bootleg which circulates among fans, titled "Exile On Main Street (Unmixed Version)" or simply "Exile Unmixed", many performances that were purposefully obscured on the official release are clearly audible and it seems that the group did make somewhat of a sincere attempt to learn all eighteen songs from the original LP.
In addition to the general chaos, purposeful distortion, and incomprehensible mixing and editing, the record also contains bits of dialog from the band members arguing and yelling at one another, as well as some original Rolling Stones versions of tracks from "Exile..." bleeding through the mix at points. One notable appearance comes from what appears to be a copy of The Velvet Underground's song "Heroin", though it sounds as if it is skipping on a damaged vinyl record.
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    |
NME ranked the album number 253 in "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" in October 2013.[5] A writer David Browne called the album "the symbolic passing of the irreverent torch."[6]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Rocks Off" | 4:21 | |
| 2. | "Rip This Joint" | 1:38 | |
| 3. | "Hip Shake" | Slim Harpo | 3:37 |
| 4. | "Casino Boogie" | 2:41 | |
| 5. | "Tumbling Dice" | 4:16 | |
| 6. | "Sweet Virginia" | 2:44 | |
| 7. | "Torn and Frayed" | 3:08 | |
| 8. | "Sweet Black Angel" | 2:46 | |
| 9. | "Loving Cup" | 3:16 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Happy" | 2:27 | |
| 2. | "Turd on the Run" | 2:05 | |
| 3. | "Ventilator Blues" | Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Mick Taylor | 3:57 |
| 4. | "I Just Want to See His Face" | 3:56 | |
| 5. | "Let It Loose" | 3:59 | |
| 6. | "All Down the Line" | 3:22 | |
| 7. | "Stop Breaking Down" | Robert Johnson | 2:39 |
| 8. | "Shine a Light" | 5:24 | |
| 9. | "Soul Survivor" | 3:38 |
Personnel
Adapted from the Exile on Main St liner notes.[7]
Pussy Galore
- Bob Bert – drums, percussion, vocals
- Julie Cafritz – electric guitar, vocals
- Neil Hagerty – electric guitar, violin, percussion, vocals, mixing
- Cristina Martinez – electric guitar, vocals
- Jon Spencer – lead vocals, electric guitar, percussion, mixing
Production
- Rick Hall – mixing, cover art
- Pussy Galore – production
Release history
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 1986 | Shove | CS | SHOV 3 |
| 1992 | LP | |||
| 1997 | CD |
References
- Kenny, Glenn; Robbins, Ira (2007). "Pussy Galore". Trouser Press. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
- Earles, Andrew. "Pussy Galore: Dial M for Motherfucker". Gimme Indie Rock. Minneapolis: Voyageur Press. p. 248. ISBN 978-0-7603-4648-8. Retrieved December 28, 2016 – via Google Books.
- Eddy, Chuck (December 2009). "Essentials: A Noisy, Filthy, Sarcastic Grunt, Pigf--k Set the Stage for Flannel's Fury". Spin. Retrieved December 28, 2016 – via Google Books.
- Duffy, John. "Exile on Main Street". Allmusic. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
- "NME: The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". NME. October 2013. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
- Browne, David (2009). Goodbye 20th Century: A Biography of Sonic Youth. Da Capo Press. p. 159. ISBN 978-0-306-81515-7.
- Exile on Main St (booklet). Pussy Galore. New York City, New York: Shove Records. 1986.CS1 maint: others (link)
External links
- Exile On Main St at Discogs (list of releases)