Cosmic America

Few musical releases are more steeped in rock and roll mythology than Exile on Main Street. The self-styled World's Greatest Rock 'n Roll Band produced a double album that acted as a road map for most of their musical influences and creations, recorded during a time of great personal and professional transition, operating as tax exiles the south of France and seemingly awash in decadence and inspiration. The result of all these factors was an album that is unlike almost any "great" album in the history of rock and roll --- an album devoid of a hit single, an album with many songs where the lyrics are so indecipherable as to resist interpretation, an album that sits within one of the murkiest and least-defined soundcapes ever attempted by a major artist. Many rock and roll fans --- many ROLLING STONES fans --- find this album to be inferior to the previous three, lacking the obvious hooks and clear mission statement that is so present on Sticky Fingers or Let it Bleed.But despite this, Exile on Main Street is