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Rolling Stones quotes: ProducerJimmy Miller on the ‘Exile On Main St.’ album
Producer Jimmy Miller spills the secrets behind Exile On Main St. He explains that over thirty tracks were cut in a hot, humid French basement. With Mick constantly jetting off to Paris to see Bianca, Keith was left to lay down most of the rhythm tracks. The challenging environment—guitars going out of tune and a poor drum sound—meant many songs were written last-minute, often to existing rhythm tracks. It was a chaotic, hot mess that somehow created a masterpiece.
“We cut at least thirty tracks in France. Mick was close to becoming a father and kept skipping off to Paris to see Bianca, which left Keith to lay down the rhythm riffs. On many of the tracks, Mick came in later. It was mid-summer on the Riviera when we cut most of the album and very humid and very hot working in the basement studio. Guitars didn’t stay in tune and it was often difficult to get a really good drum sound. Many of the actual songs came quite late on. We had an awful lot of rhythm tracks with no songs written to them.”
Sweat, Riffs, and Rock ‘n’ Roll: The Making Exile on Main St. in France
Producing Exile on Main St. was no walk in the park—or should we say, no stroll on the Riviera. Jimmy Miller, the Stones’ trusted producer, recalled the chaotic, sweltering conditions under which they recorded the album in the basement of Keith Richards’ rented villa in the South of France. According to Miller, they cut at least thirty tracks, most of them without songs attached. Creative, yes. Organized? Not even close. Mick Jagger was in and out—more out than in—as he was expecting his first child with Bianca and kept skipping off to Paris. That left Keith to take the reins, laying down riff after riff, holding the sessions together with a cigarette in one hand and probably something stronger in the other.
Meanwhile, the basement was basically a sauna. It was mid-summer on the Riviera, and the humidity was relentless. Guitars refused to stay in tune, and drum sounds were a nightmare to capture. It wasn’t glamorous, but somehow, it was the perfect storm for a masterpiece. The Stones were loose, spontaneous, and just messy enough to make rock history.
When the Songs Finally Caught Up
Much of what became Exile on Main St. started as grooves and rhythms—great ones, but without lyrics or melodies. Miller noted that many of the actual songs came later, once Mick was back in the picture. He would hear the raw tracks and then shape them into songs, adding his vocals long after the basic recording had been done.
The result? An album that feels lived-in, raw, and beautifully imperfect. It was a patchwork built from chaos, distance, sweat, and some of the best riffs ever recorded. Exile might have been born in disarray, but its legacy is anything but that.
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