TURD ON THE RUN

IN THE LATE SIXTIES, THE ROLLING STONES BUILT A MOBILE RECORDING STUDIO ON THE BACK OF A FARM TRUCK AND CHANGED MUSIC FOREVER.

BY SEYTH MIERSMA

ON A GREAT SET OF SPEAKERS or your best head-phones, the Rolling Stones’ “Sweet Virginia” sounds like it’s being sung around a kitchen table. A raspy harmonica saws through the opening, while the jangle of guitars, sax, and a heartbeat snare seem to bounce around the room before fading inaudibly into the mix. The song is on the album Exile on Main St., famously recorded at a rented French villa called Nellcôte. Drop the needle, close your eyes, and you can picture the intimacy. There’s a clarity and a closeness to the recording that put the listener in the audience, in the room, in the chair next to the singer. And that’s all thanks to a truck. Stones tour manager Ian Stewart had a mobile recording studio built for the band in…

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Road & Track (Digital) - 1 Issue, December/January 2025

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