That Stones in Exile kicks off with a string of random celebrity comments doesn’t bode well for Stephen Kijak’s doc. Jack White, I love you, but I came for The Rolling Stones, not you. will.i.am., aren’t you partly to blame for that awful “My Humps” song? Benecio del Toro, what are you even doing here? Fortunately, the talking heads disappear quickly and the hour-long film settles into telling the story of The Stones’ most celebrated, if not their best (that would be Beggars Banquet), album.
All surviving personnel—not just the core band, but Bobby Keys, Andy Johns, Anita Pallenberg, and others—contribute contemporary recollections about fleeing to the South of France to avoid Britain’s stiff tax take, recording the double-disc in Keith’s sweaty, low-security manor, Bianca, drugs, decadence, and the rest. None of this is revelatory stuff, but it is nice to hear these well-traveled tales from the Stones’ own mouths for a change. The most interesting comments come from Jagger regarding his offhand approach to lyric writing. Footage of The Stones on stage, backstage, at play, and in the studio is extraordinarily valuable, even though a good share of it was siphoned from Ladies and Gentlemen… The Rolling Stones and Cocksucker Blues, which aren’t officially available otherwise. At least not yet. Eagle Rock Entertainment, the company responsible for Stones in Exile will be releasing Ladies and Gentlemen… this coming November. Now how about giving The Stones the complete history once over, à la The Beatles Anthology, so we can hear the boys tell the rest of their story?
Psychobabble: For Groovy Ghouls, Retro Rockers, & Kooky Cultists.
