I’m not mad at the Stones for their latest records, or a political stance or fashion choice. I’m not wild about Keef’s cameo in the Pirates of the Caribbean film but am thrilled that he has let his hair go grey again. No, I am angry at the Stones for the travesty that they whipped out in the form of the reissues (plural) of their classic, overly lauded double LP Exile on Main Street.
I love Exile, it was the first Stones CD I owned. I still have the Virgin records ‘mini-LP’ package from 1994, one of the big deals in the Stones releasing their new LP on the label. The Stones’ work from Sticky Fingers through Tattoo You were reissued in this fashion and it was in the form that I bought the disc. Still have it, too. I can remember driving the roads listening, listening, listening.
The reissue was released on 18 May of this year, and my rant is, perhaps, a little late. My beef is with the reissue itself. Never mind that every rock writer (cough cough) born after 1972 FINALLY got to write their own review of the music, never mind that there was a Late Night Television Week dedicated to the reissue, never mind that all of a sudden we were supposed to act like we forgot that the Stones were great, what really pissed me off was how they did it.
The Super Deluxe Edition
Why am I so mad? The Stones have ripped us off before, and will rip us off again. Sucking in the 70s? Rewind? The cavalcade of live LPs? They were ripping people off in the 60s with the differing US/UK releases and compliations. This reissue bugs me on a fundamental level because it seems so gaudy, so superfluous, so needless. Times are rough for a lot of people. Maybe you want that double set but can’t afford it, sure the single disc is nice and sounds great but you really wanted that fancier set. I don’t mind feeling that rock stars are rock stars and tread in different waters than myself, but I don’t like the feeling of the haves and the have-nots. Thirty years ago LPs were less expensive than cassette tapes. Now LPs are pegged as being 140/180/200 grams and are treated as an ultimate fetish object for the wealthy and the truly deranged die-hard. The Stones know this and yet this is what they presented to the people.
I love the Rolling Stones, the music that they created will continue to fill my head until the day I die. I know not to expect much from their business practices, but goddamn am I mad at them.
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