Photo by Dominique Tarle.

The Observer previews Stones in Exile, the new documentary about the making of Exile on Main Street. It’s a great write-up, pulling lots of great quotes from Keith and the rest of the gang. This part in particular piqued my interest:

Interestingly, the Stones in Exile documentary does not even mention Parsons, whose closeness to Richards rattled the possessive Jagger. “Keith and Gram were intimate like brothers,” says [photographer Dominique] Tarle, “especially musically. The idea was floating around that Gram would produce a Gram Parsons album for the newly formed Rolling Stones Records. Mick, I think, was a little afraid because that would mean that Gram and Keith might even tour together to promote it. And if there is no room for Mick, there is no room also for the Rolling Stones. So, yes, there was tension. You could feel it and I captured it on Mick’s face in some of my pictures.”

Sure, it’s just the interpretation of of events by a photographer who hung out with the band for a while, but still. What if, what if, what if…

Rolling Stones: iTunes, Amazon, Insound, wiki

Gram Parsons: iTunes, Amazon, Insound, wiki

Trailer: The Rolling Stones – Stones in Exile