How the Rolling Stones' 1972 'Exile' Tour Changed the Game for Setlists and Encores

Before 1972, the Stones rarely played more than an hour. Their shows were loose, sometimes sloppy, and almost never had an encore. That changed completely with the Exile on Main St. tour. Suddenly they were playing 90 minutes or more, with a tight, two-song encore built into the set list every night — and they weren’t afraid to pull deep cuts from the new album.

The biggest shock was “Rip This Joint.” That song wasn’t a single; it was a frantic, Bo Diddley–ish rave-up that kicked off the encore. It didn’t fit their old bluesy reputation at all. Paired with “All Down the Line,” another Exile track that became a live staple, the encore felt like a bold statement: the Stones were done being a nostalgia act and wanted to push their sound somewhere louder and faster. The rest of the set still leaned on hits and older blues numbers, but the encore showed they were willing to test their crowd.