This is the hardest of the classic Stones albums to get into but the most rewarding once you do. Once you learn to love Exile on Main Street, it's easy to think that Beggar's Banquet and Let it Bleed were artistic compromises. The Stones might have loved dirty blues from the beginning, but until Exile it was always mixed up with pop touches and sweet bits in the melodies. Exile on the other hand is gritty, raw, real and uncompromising. It's a still a hybrid- it's rock, blues, gospel and country all mixed up together, but this is not a commercial record by any measure. It didn't sell well on its release and even the critics didn't get it at first (though eventually it would be acclaimed as a masterpiece.) It is here for me that the band seem to have the greatest mastery over the numerous influences. They do soulful numbers well, they do raunchy hard-edged rock well, the ballads are beautiful and heartfelt.