The ‘catch your breath’ greatness of Exile on Main Street lies in its rawness. It’s an understanding of blues, honky tonk, gospel, and straight-ahead rock n roll. And it just happens to be one of the greatest albums of all time. To replicate it convincingly is a feat all of itself. Many have tried to produce an “Exile On Main Street” in originality. Since it’s a once in a lifetime achievement, go for seconds. Seconds would be a Various Artists tribute to the album. That’s what Exile On Blues Street is.

Telarc has whipped through it’s stable of artists and gave them the unenviable task of providing a rework of songs from the original. Telarc is no stranger to this method having done the same for The Beatles’ White Album and Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde but they’ve really used the yardstick with this interpretive work.

The measurement of success for every cover attempt is ‘does it provide a connection like the original did?’ Does it deliver chills as it should? If it doesn’t, it’s a useless exercise and a waste of people’s time and money. Exile On Blues Street goes beyond that by reworking the songs to provide an ‘original’ feel.

Exile On Blues Street doesn’t attempt a complete interpretation but, rather, selects songs on the strength of the artist. Instead of being an imitation, usually weak imitations at that, Exile on Blues Street does something else; it validates the perfection of Exile On Main Street. With a strong blues background, EOBS (Exile on Blues Street) takes material and infuses the songs with an appreciative air.

I ran a side by side spin of both EOMS and EOBS and was pleased by the sincerity and respect that most of the artists treated the original with. By not stopping at being a ‘cover’ but rather showing just how bluesy and deserving the originals were, the songs end up being somewhat ‘original’ themselves.

"Rip This Joint” is a beautiful reproduction by Tommy Castro, who introduces saxophones into the mix and creates a valid rock n roll/blues smoker of a classic. This rendition is sure to be a favourite. The soulful tone of “Tumbling Dice” by Andrea Re with Colin James on guitar makes it another well-worked song on this set. Tab Benoit’s “Shake Your Hips” loses the ‘one-take, outtake’ echoed raw feeling that is The Stones’ cover of Slim Harpo’s original but is entertaining nonetheless. Jimmy Thackery’s “Rocks Off” is somewhat off the mark as are some of the tunes but overall, Exile On Blues Street is reverential towards EOMS.

Although only 10 songs make up this album against EOMS’s 18 tunes, the spirit of EOMS is still encapsulated in this collection. That doesn’t mean that this album can now effectively replace the original. It just means that Stones aficionados can thoroughly enjoy this offering and listen to it with a smile.

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Ventilator Blues
All Down The Line
Rip This Joint
Sweet Black Angel
Sweet Virginia
Tumbling Dice
Shake Your Hips
Shine A Light
Happy
Rocks Off