Song of the Week

As some of you may have heard, the Rolling Stones released a remastered version of arguably their greatest album ever this past week - Exile on Main Street ... and I say "arguably" because it's what the critics say. Truth be told, it's not my favorite Stones album - sure, it's definitely top 5, heck, maybe it's even third ... but I digress. The cool part about this re-release is that the Stones basically went back to the session tapes, and "found" 10 additional songs to release with the deluxe edition ... which of course I immediately purchased on Tuesday.

The songs on this additional cd are, for the most part, really good ... certainly, they could've been placed on the original Exile on Main Street album and nobody would've complained. One song on this "new" cd stands out - it's called "Follow the River." The first thing I noticed is that Mick's voice is not the "old Mick" from the early 70's, rather he apparently re-recorded his voice for this song ... and it doesn't sound bad at all.

The opening piano piece reminds me of Sunday School for some reason ... which isn't a bad thing, but it hints at more gospelly music to come. The song is quite powerful, in that the violins and background gospel-like vocals can pierce right through you if you aren't careful.

The lyrics hint at a relationship that is in the process of ending, but it seems like the break-up is nobody's fault, and that both people have mutual respect for each other. The lyrics in the chorus are also quite powerful - "I've been following the river ... til it joins hands with the sea ... I've been thinking of you so bad ... Cause you always saw the best in me."

The video is awesome, by the way: