Thoughts On Exile on Main St: A Season in Hell With The Rolling Stones, by Robert Greenfield

You know you're in trouble when the cover of a book is cooler than the book itself. Act one of Mr Greenfield's book provides an interesting back story for the making of "Exile," detailing the level of heroin use and the bizarre love triangle of Mick, Keith, and Anita Pallenberg. It's a nice complement to Bill Janovitz's book for the 33 1/3 series, which is a brilliant song-by-song musical analysis of the album.

Act two, however, is pointless. And the lengthy epilogue is absolutely ridiculous. The last thing anyone needs is a detailed history of the Stones' recent corporate sponsorship. Oh, and the author claims not once but twice that "Jumpin Jack Flash" is on "Sticky Fingers"--an unforgivable error for anyone wanting to be seen as a Stones insider.

Verdict: Read Act One at Borders or wait for the paperback.

Sweet Virginia (Live,1972)