‘People took so many drugs, they forgot they were playing on it’ – stars at Exile on Main St, Rolling Stones’ far-reaching masterpiece | The rolling stones

In 1971, with tax problems and an uncertain future, the Rolling Stones camped at Villa Nellcôte on the Côte d’Azur, where they partyed with various celebrities, musicians, girlfriends, wives, children, animals, drug dealers and hangers-on for several hedonistic months. Recording in the damp, labyrinthine basement with a mobile studio parked outside and musicians apparently popping up randomly, they somehow produced Exile on Main St, a rough-hewn, elongated, eclectic double album of 18 songs that largely considered their creative tip. Here, as it turns 50, stars pay homage to its enduring grandeur.

‘Among gravel and dirt there is a Rimbaud-like romance’
Chris Robinson, Black Crowes

We were American hardcore punk kids, but when we discovered Exile, we called it the Bible. In our childhood, we wanted to capture that magic and mystery. These are English guys who look at American blues, country rock, soul and gospel through their own aesthetics of fabrics, satin shirts and glittering shoes. The Stones had the courage to distance themselves from society and live outside the law, but amidst the gravel and dirt, the overdoses and the arrests, there is a romance that goes back to Baudelaire and Rimbaud. We recently covered Rocks Off. I love its romantic decadence: “I loved this time with a dance nerve of mine. / I probably could not keep up, but she comes every time she pirouettes on me. ” It is a sacred relic, so playing it felt like walking with John the Baptist.

‘Shake Your Hips Get Into My Body And My Butt Begins To Move’
Cat Power

Exile feels slanted and open with human error, which makes it amazing. There is mystery and mythology – tax exile, substances entering the house, living freely as hell. All kinds of people coming and going, but somehow it holds together enough to record these songs outside of the recording studio. They broke the mold with that album. Shake Your Hips goes right into my body and my butt starts to move. Exile is the ban in their catalog.

‘They are relieved to be the world’s biggest rock band’
Martin Fry, ABC

It’s my favorite album from the Stones, such a bizarre and funky record with so much diversity, from Tumbling Dice to Almost the Gospel of I Just Want to See His Face. There’s a carefree magic unleashed by their status as the world’s greatest rock band. It’s not very commercial, but it’s elegant and beautiful. Mick Jagger’s lyrics are amazing. It’s not a good time record. It is questioning and paranoid. It sounds like they’ve been through a kaleidoscope. During that period, people apparently took a lot of drugs and some just wanted to show up and forget that they were playing on it. I’m still trying to figure it out.

“Exile speaks of today’s opioid crisis in America”
Valerie June

I heard Shine a Light on a mixtape on a road trip and went, “What is this? Is there more? “As someone who grew up in the South American south, the gospel and blues influences are so rich to me. I love the slow build of Shine a Light and the bass [played by Mick Taylor, not Bill Wyman]. The song is about Brian Jones, but also about drug abuse. To me, 50 years later, it speaks to today’s opioid crisis in America and shines a light on them.

‘Why do not we call ourselves the Rollin’ Stones? ‘
Dick Taylor, the beautiful stuff

Mick, Keith [Richards] and I was in Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys, then we met Brian Jones in the jazz club Ealing. I remember playing Muddy Waters ‘Rolling Stone Blues and then standing in front of the fireplace in Bricklayer’s Arms in Soho when someone said, “Why don’t we call ourselves the Rollin’ Stones?” Without “g” at that time. After joining Pretty Things, I followed the Stones’ progress. By exile they had been through the British blues explosion, the psychedelic period, huge success and trauma, and Exile returns in part to the blues, but much changed by their experiences. I love their cover of Robert Johnson’s Stop Breaking Down. It’s almost wretched, but falls into place. The whole album is a fantastic work.

‘They took blues, gospel and soul – and made them better’
Brian FallonGaslight hymns

They were the biggest band in the world, but traveled to France and almost killed themselves by making this album, which is insane but still makes sense. They were in tax trouble. Keith and then Mick Taylor got heroin. Keith did not show up for a few days, or Bill or Charlie [Watts, drummer] would not be on any tracks. I do not think they would have chosen to make such a record, but perhaps that danger and desperation is part of why it sounds the way it does, even though Mick subsequently took the tracks to Sunset Sound in Los Angeles to save it. I do not know what was added there, but Exile is shrouded in mystery and riddle. It’s as if they’ve heard blues, gospel and soul down a phone, misheard it, but played it their way and made it better. I love Sweet Virginia. Instead of copying the country songs about losing your wife or dog, Mick sings, “I hid the speed inside my shoe.” These are typical Rolling Stones.

‘Mick thinks it’s sloppy. Dude, the sound is great! ‘
Jennifer Herrema, Royal Trux

Exile is the kid on the ceiling of Stones album. I know Mick thinks it’s a little sloppy and could have sounded better, but I think, “Dude, the sound is genius!” That’s what makes it so real. I love page two, the honky-tonk / country page. It’s happy, but there’s a lot of melancholy in it. Torn and Frayed is such a beautiful song that is apparently about Keith Richards. “The doctor prescribes supplies from the pharmacy. / Who should help him kick it?” He’s a torn and frayed guy.

‘Shine a light has it kills first line ‘
Mike ScottWaterboys

Exile is a completely unpolished plate: completely genuine, ragged and beautiful. It’s heavily influenced by Delaney and Bonnie and Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs and Englishmen, and the Exile horn section by Bobby Keys and Jim Price was in both of those bands. The plate itself is like a swamp, or goes down into the basement of Villa Nellcôte. Shine a Light, about Brian Jones, has the murderous first line: “See you stretched out in room ten-oh-nine.” Mick Taylor plays this amazing virtuoso guitar solo that I always thought was for Brian, his late predecessor. Let It Loose has another murderous first verse: “Who is that woman on your arm? Completely dressed to hurt you / And I’m hip about what she wants to do / Give her just about a month or two.” And the cyclical Keith Richard’s guitar riff. Evil.

‘I bought it for the food purchase money’
J Mascis, Dinosaur Jr.

When I was 13, I bought the album with money that my mom gave me to go shopping. It was harder to get into than other Stones albums, but harder to get tired of because there were so many songs. I aspired to play guitar like Keith or Mick Taylor, and I certainly copied Mick when I started singing. I love Rocks Off, Tumbling Dice, All Down the Line, Let It Loose. My favorite song is probably Happy, where Keith sings and Mick harmonizes. Instead of listening to American blues, I listened to this mysterious version from England. They were on their way out of the shadow of the Beatles to be the best band in the world.

‘Writing about a Black Panther was brave at a time of arrests’
Lloyd ‘Bread’ McDonald, The Wailing Souls

Most Jamaicans are not really into rock music, but the Rolling Stones were among my favorite bands when I was growing up. Years later, a record producer, Richard Feldman, introduced us to Sweet Black Angel, which we could cover. We loved it. Then I realized it was about Angela Davis, a revolutionary lady who was imprisoned [for 16 months] before the charges were eventually dropped. This was the time for the Black Panthers and arrests to speak freely. It was brave of them to write a song about her, but they were rebels in their own way. When we covered it, we changed a line to fit the time we were in and added female singers to do it differently.

‘Turd on the Run is ugly. People did not write that kind of song ‘
Jon Spencer, Jon Spencer and the Hitmakers

In Pussy Galore, we covered Exile in its entirety because Sonic Youth had joked in interviews about making the Beatles’ White Album. I had actually not heard the Stones’ original at the time. Neil Hagerty wanted to play us the songs on his guitar – as soon as we could play it, it was a take. The original has the same shaghed. Turd on the Run is raw rockabilly blues, a rather ugly song about a love affair that has gone wrong and seems almost omnipresent or pansexual. In 1972, people just did not write that kind of song. It’s punk rock.

“Even the manufacturer started using heroin”
Norman Blake, Teenage Fan Club

When we started the band, we tried to achieve the guitar tone on tracks like Tumbling Dice and Happy. I love the way the Stones worked during the period when they were recording at night – because Keith would not show up until later – and just moaned things out. Keith and Gram Parsons were about to come up with all sorts of madness. Even the producer, Jimmy Miller, started using heroin. There are all these amazing people on it, like Billy Preston, Nicky Hopkins, Bobby Keys, Dr. John. Mick has probably pulled it all together. The cover reflects the album, all these pieces intertwined together that somehow form a brilliant whole.

‘I wanted to play Rocks Off for home parties’
Alexis Taylor, Hot Chip

I came across Exile because Pussy Galore covered the entire album on cassette and there was a certain mythology surrounding it. As I listened to the original, I heard melodies and phrases that others had borrowed. Rocks Off became a chorus for Primal Scream, sharing a line of text with Lemonheads, and Exile was a major influence on Royal Trux. The recording quality is raw and rehearsal, not pristine or glossy, and so much the more appealing to it. Rocks Off was one of the first “rock” records I played for DJ sets and house parties and am still in my record box.

“Exile had their best stage look: Mick in his blue cat costume”
Justin Hawkins, den Darkness

Exile coincided with their best stage look – Mick in the blue Ossie Clark catsuit with white Derby shoes. He looks amazing. There is this undercurrent of strained relationships, tax evasion and a bit of heroin abuse. Mick is a chameleon in his song. In Sweet Virginia, he becomes a Southern gentleman. Last year we took a few days off and visited Villa Nellcôte. Now I will continue back. I love that album so much that it definitely decided my vacation!

The Rolling Stones’ 60th anniversary tour reaches the UK at Anfield, Liverpool, on 9 June. Details on rollingstones.com.