The Rolling Stones are back at the top of the charts.
Thirty eight years after it first was issued, “Exile on Main Street” will be the second best selling CD of the week. The reissue of the 1972 classic is a hit, finishing just behind the “Glee” soundtrack.
A second “Exile” CD, called “Rarities” and featuring new tracks that the Stones left off the original album but have now finished, will also be in the top 10 or so when all the sales for last week are counted.
Still to come is the DVD of “Stones in Exile,” which hits stores in mid June. It will also be included in a deluxe “Exile” package.
Now that “Exile” is a hit, expect the Stones to milk their post-1971 catalog which was recently licensed to Universal Music Group. That includes 1971’s “Sticky Fingers,” 1978’s “Some Girls,” and 1981’s “Tattoo You.” In between there are very good albums like “It’s Only Rock and Roll” and “Goats Head Soup.”
The success of “Exile” and, earlier, “Get Your Ya Ya’s Out” (from their ABKCO catalog) means the World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band is finally figuring out how to market its old material a la the Beatles. Collectors will want to have it all, and there’s plenty of it.
The “Rarities” album or the full “Exile” is certainly worth having simply for the new old tracks like “Plundered My Soul” and “I’m Just Signifying.” Great stuff. And the “Stones in Exile” DVD, which we saw in Cannes, will be worth the wait.
