The Rolling Stones - Emotional Rescue (1980)

"Emotional Rescue" is a song by the English rock and roll band, The Rolling Stones. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith ...

"Emotional Rescue" is a song by the English rock and roll band, The Rolling Stones. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and is included on their 1980 album Emotional Rescue.

Recorded between June and October 1979, "Emotional Rescue" is a disco-influenced number, somewhat similar to the band's 1978 hit "Miss You". The song is notable as one of the earliest songs by the group to show the growing rift between Jagger and Richards. Although Richards plays guitar and added backing vocals towards the end of this track, he is believed to have disliked the disco-like direction in which Jagger was trying to take the band, although this may have been exaggerated by the media.

Composition and writing

Mick Jagger wrote the song on an electric piano and from the beginning it was sung in falsetto (similar to Marvin Gaye's lead vocal on his 1977 hit "Got to Give It Up"). When the song was brought into the studio they kept the electric piano and falsetto lead. With Ronnie Wood on bass and Charlie Watts on drums they worked out the song. They then added the saxophone. Bobby Keys plays the saxophone part. Bass guitarist Bill Wyman plays synthesizer on the record, while Jagger and Ian Stewart play electric piano. Wyman's synthesizer can be heard faintly during the verses on the right channel/speaker and plays a simple pattern of a few notes using a string-synth set up.

Music video

Two music videos were produced to promote the single; one shot on traditional video, directed by David Mallet and one shot with thermal imaging, directed by Adam Friedman.