Rolling Stones reissue 'Exile on Main Street' with 10 rare, unreleased bonus track

The stifling space was situated beneath Keith Richards and Anita Pallenberg's rented villa in the south of France; Nellcote, which had once served as a Nazi headquarters during World War II. Swastikas were still faintly visible, painted on basement ventilators, which could have been part of the inspiration for one of the album's best songs, "Ventilator Blues.” That, and the fact that the concrete cellar was airless and claustrophobic.

When sessions began in the summer of '72, the Stones really were exiles, of a self-imposed sort, having left Mother England and her exorbitant tax bills behind, along with the bitter memories of drug busts and the tragedy of band founder Brian Jones' mysterious swimming pool drowning death in '69.

Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

The stabbing death of a fan at the hands of one of their Hell's Angels bodyguards at the Altamont Speedway concert still haunted them as well. They were all financially strapped, and Richards was still waging a half-hearted battle with his ongoing heroin addiction.

All of these money woes, emotional abrasions and the wear and tear of their decadent, decade-long, 24/7 rock 'n' roll lifestyle were beginning to manifest themselves not only in the premature lines of age on their young faces, but in the gritty, defiant and often dark nature of the songs they were fashioning for their follow-up to their resoundingly successful 1971 album, "Sticky Fingers.”

Seldom has a band stirred together all the basic rock 'n' roll ingredients of blues, R&B, country and middle-finger attitude with such gloriously rough-hewn mastery as these bad boys did on this necessary labor of love, from the opening, deceptively jubilant and brassy burn-out rant called "Rocks Off,” through the ricky-tick roadhouse boogie of "Shake Your Hips,” the soulful, mid-tempo sway of "Tumbling Dice” (complete with Nicky Hopkins' scrambling piano and the righteous background vocals of Clydie King), the weary, countrified lament of the damaged hedonist titled "Torn and Frayed,” the gospel-tinged, piano and brass-fueled power of "Loving Cup,” the locomotive percussion from the Charlie Watts engine room and the dueling twang of Richards and Mick Taylor that is "All Down the Line,” the Sunday morning hope of the organ, piano and choir-adorned "Shine a Light,” and finally to the ramshackle, telling album closer, "Soul Survivor.”

There are 18 mostly great songs on the original two-record set, and could have been more except that cramming too many tracks on a vinyl disc weakened the record's sound quality.

But it was obvious the Stones had a lot to get off their bony, sweaty chests, and the band's current producer, Don Was, has found the evidence to prove it in the form of 10 previously unheard nuggets mined from mountains of tapes from the "Exile” period.

These rare gems — some in sparse, rough, basic demo form when found — have been sweetened and polished a bit by Jagger, Richards and even ex-Stones guitarist Taylor, plus a few session background singers and players — and are now finally available for grateful fans to jump and shout about on the new deluxe edition of "Exile on Main Street.”

Are these 10 ditties really just sub-par retreads, of interest only to completist Stones fanatics?

Not a bit of it.

This is like finding a whole lost album from the Taylor period of the Rolling Stones, which some argue is the band's best era, due to the former John Mayall guitarist's elegantly fluid blues and jazz style, a perfect foil to Richards' low-register twang and growl.

"Pass the Wine,” a strutting, horn-heated soul rocker long known by its working title, "Sophia Loren,” and futilely sought after by bootleggers for 40 years, is the Disc 2 opener, followed by the equally hot, mid-tempo R&B of "Plundered My Soul,” and the piano-rolling, harp-howling barroom blues of "I'm Not Signifying.”

Next comes the arresting beauty of the gospel-shaded "Following the River,” with its stately piano, organ, female chorus and full string section accompaniment, and brand new lyrics and vocal track by Jagger, who still sounds as good as he did in '71; the infectious country-rocking twang of "Dancing in the Light”; an eerie, low-gear, vibraphone ornamented blues-rocker called "So Divine (Aladdin Story)” which unfortunately causes the proceedings to sag a bit; slower, woozier but more earnest versions of "Loving Cup” and "Soul Survivor,” with Richards on lead vocals; and a stinging guitar rocker originally recorded during the 1970 "Sticky Fingers” sessions that sounds like an early version of "Tumbling Dice,” but with a different title — "Good Time Women” — and different lyrics.

The bonus program is rounded out with a limber and irresistibly rhythmic instrumental guitar workout featuring just Richards, Watts and sorely missed bassist Bill Wyman.

The two-disc set, complete with 12-page booklet of rare photographs and lists of players on each track, can be had for about $20.

But for those who really believe The Rolling Stones were (and maybe still are) the greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world, and can afford to back it up, there's the "Exile” Super Deluxe Edition. It includes the original album and bonus tracks on two CDs, a DVD documentary on the making of "Exile” that features rare black and white footage of the Stones at Nellcote during the recording of the album, and concert footage of the tour that followed the album's release. "Exile” is on two high-grade vinyl records for the true audiophile and has reproductions of the postcards that came with the original album release, and a 64-page coffeetable book with text by Anthony DeCurtis and photographs from the period by Ethan Russell.

Hey, it's only rock 'n' roll, but if you like it, it's only money.