Returning from a long-deserved break, Deguello was another left-turn of sorts, starting to introduce turn-of-the-decade pop-rock into their normal blues-rock repertoire. And it turned out to be a big success (“I Thank You”, “Cheap Sunglasses”).

Now! feels like a step back from the previous two albums, despite what many critics have said in the past. Sure, there are a lot of dark, gloomy tunes here, but I also notice a moderate lack of substance. Tracks like "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" and "Off the Hook" are light and fun, but are they true to the Stones' sarcastic tradition? Not so sure about that. On the other hand, "Heart of Stone" is an amazing, pleading ballad which is up there with their absolute best.

Regarding this particular album: the Stones recorded it over the course of a few performances in Madison Square Garden, and one in Baltimore, right before Let It Bleed was released. What one hears as far as Ya Ya's is concerned is a band in the midst of celebration, and who could blame them? Freed from the confines of the studio, what was formerly an edge-of-your-seat drama extraordinaire ("Midnight Rambler") turns into a non-stop happy rager with the fans clapping beat for beat. Obviously, these are shows I would have loved to have been at, but compare them to the studio versions, and it's no contest. I miss the little touches, additions, and other tidbits from all the studio recordings - things which the live presentation cannot compensate for.

Everyone and their uncles and aunts knows the tales behind the process of making this now-infamous album, which I will not delve into. The point that needs to be made here is, this is the Stones "because-we-can" LP, or double LP, rather. Lots of what is collected here is great, lots of it is unnecessary, and most of it was cut while at least some of the participants (not all) were overindulging in recreational substance abuse. For me, really, the chaotic and wavering "Rocks Off" sets the tone and succinctly sums up the entire record in its' four and a half minutes of run time, showcasing a group of people who had willingly lost control of themselves, but somehow were still able to pull out spots of genius from the haze of excess. Truth be told, the material itself does not match up to past records, and there is too much of it to justify your full, undivided attention. The other thing which strikes me funny about Exile is, despite its' long-running reputation as THE preeminent garage-rock album, it is cleanly executed from a production standpoint - arguably better than Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed. Yet somehow, producer Jimmy Miller's reputation has suffered over the years, thanks to Jagger and Richards throwing him under the bus.

From Day One, these guys held true to their bawdy shtick (“Brown Sugar”). But the album title says it all as well – despite the strong start, there are a lot of low-confidence jitters they had to get out of their system, too. Cut them some slack.