In conjunction with the release of the 2010 expanded edition of their classic album Exile on Main St., this hour-long documentary presents the chapter of the Rolling Stones' history when the album was created.
Bookended by reactions from modern musicians (Will.I.Am, Jack White, Sheryl Crow, and Caleb Followill) as well as associates they have worked with (Don Was and Martin Scorsese), this part of the Stones' story is told through archival footage and present-day interviews by band members, including Bill Wyman and Mick Taylor who were there at the time, and others involved in the album's creation like producer Jimmy Miller and engineer Andy Johns.
The first 20 minutes explains how the band found themselves in southern France. They left England due to the country's exorbitant tax rate. Keith Richards, along with his girlfriend Anita Pallenberg (who is also interviewed), rented a villa near Nice. Mick Jagger married Bianca Jagger. The remaining 40 minutes covers the recording of the album and other occurrences during that time.
Though all the information may not be new, Stones fans should be happy listening to the band reflecting back nearly 40 years on Exile's creation. There's footage of Charlie Watts and Mick Jagger revisiting Olympic Studios, which Mick amusingly points out he wasn't going to do when this film was being planned. It also great to hear audio between takes as they work things out.
To augment the visuals, clips are taken from two films shot during the Stones' American tour in support of Exile, the infamous Cocksucker Blues and Ladies and Gentleman… The Rolling Stones, the latter of which is getting restored for a release on Blu-ray later this year. Sometimes the video doesn't appear to match the story as it looks like as footage from Gimme Shelter of the band playing New York appears as they talk about their farewell tour of England before heading off into exile.
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