Playlist 17.05.10

'Exile On Main Street' has been a favorite Rolling Stones record for a long time. You surely know the form by now. Artfully sloppy blues, soul and gospel - recorded as a knowing mess. The band was down but not defeated, lost in a fug of substance overload, ill-advised friends and business havoc. Somewhere along the way there was a flight to

southern France, and a series of sessions that defined the Stones as loving curators of the music. Ultimately, that's all they had, that grain of belief.

The reissue is exciting in that 10 unreleased tracks are now in the public domain. A couple of these may have been tinkered with more recently, but the stand-outs are doused in that original spirit. The guitars glimmer, the vocals are astonishing and the mood is like nothing we're heard in decades. The Black Crowes, Kings Of Leon, Thee Hypnotics and a thousand other contenders have sought to re-ferment that sound, but it's a unique element in time.

There's a deluxe box set that I'll not think about owning or affording. The music seems to be the same, but the presentation is cute and there's the addition of the Robert Frank documentary film. I've seen the bootleg version which is apparently longer and more graphic that the legit release. It's intense, but possibly not worth the cost of admission.

STUART BAILIE

BBC Radio Ulster, 92-95 FM

Online: www.bbc.co.uk/radioulster

Mondays, ten - midnight

Playlist 17.05.10

Rolling Stones - Shine A Light (Rolling Stones)

Dan Sartain - I Don't Wanna Go To Yhe Party (One Little Indian)

The The - This Is the Day (Epic)

General Fiasco - I'm Not Made Of Eyes (Infectious)

Manchester Orchestra - Here Comes A Hot One (Sony)

General Fiasco - Buildings (Infectious)

Darwin Deez - Radar Detector (Lucky Number)

Rolling Stones - Plundered My Soul (Rolling Stones)

Avett Brothers - Head Full Of Doubt (American)

The Payments - Brand New Automobile (T Bird)

Harper Simon - Whishes And Stars (Tulsi)

Billy Bass - I Need Your Love So Bad (Philly Groove)

Rolling Stones - Pass The Wine (Sophia Loren) (Rolling Stone)

Silhouette - Volume Destroyed (VM)

Black Keys - Never Gonna Give You Up (V2)

Baker Knight - Whose Little Baby Are You (T Bird)

Gorillaz - Empire Ants (Parlophone)

Villagers - Set The Tigers Free (Domino)

Rolling Stones - Following The River (Rolling Stones)

Unkle, Mark Lenagan - Another Night Out (Surrender All)

The Hold Steady - Weekenders (Rough Trade)

Kowalski - Letters From The Height Of Summer (white)

AlexCuba - if YouGive Me Love Carocol)

Burning Codes - Codes Are Innate (white)