Rolling Stones "Emotional Rescue" Song By Song Discussion

Let Me Go rights the ship somewhat after the one two punch of awfulness that precedes it. Not a great song, but an enjoyable one. If all the lesser tracks on the album were of this quality I might call ER the Stones' best post Goats Head Soup album.

 

Let Me Go
A terrific little rocker and a lost classic. I really enjoy Mick's vocal delivery on this one. I like how the slower, almost lazy vocal melody contrasts with the uptempo guitar riff. It sounds great--another cool arrangement adding some flair to a rocker. I love the harmony vocals as well. It's just a really enjoyable track. Good little solo too!

 

Japan got English lyrics in 1970 for Let It Bleed!

 

Let Me Go

One of my favorite tracks on the album. the lyrics are hilarious, Mick telling a woman straight out to hit the road and it just isn't sinking in.

"So you think I'm giving you the brush off? No I'm just telling you to shove off"

Musically I really dig the tambourine (played by Michael Shrieve of Santana) that rings throughout the song and Charlie's drumming, particularly this part: "The chair is on the table, out the door baby"

Cymbal CRASH!

A fun song. Unfortunately the live versions from this era were played too quickly and the song loses the groove of the studio version.

 

I find myself agreeing with so many of your posts. Emotional Rescue is full of interesting little moments, many involving Charlie's recently acquired Crash cymbal! 'She's So Cold' is another but we'll get there soon enough.

 

Well it's a pretty sterile sounding album. Way too clean sounding for my tastes even though I really want to like it. Up until then the Stones a albums had heaviness to them, even Some Girls, but ER just doesn't have any, it's a very lite album, but it's also a product of the times, and we all know how shallow the 80's were, the Stones reflected that.
Beave

 

ER seems to be the Stones' attempt at making a pop album, definitely light and breezy, as so many have discussed already. I don't feel the album sounds sterile, it's got some pretty good punch.

The songs themselves just aren't very provocative in a deep, meaningful way. I don't mind the album but the "heaviness", as you describe it, is definitely missing. While I can appreciate it to a certain degree, I certainly 'get' the criticisms even though I think some of them are over the top.

 

I must have listened to this album close enough to back in the day much more than I realised.

 

How could it not be. Young Turks and all that.

 

good points!
by sterile i meant lite for lack of a better term. But I do not hate the album, I'm hoping this new vinyl version will warm me up to it!
Beave

 

Yeah, totally apples and oranges. You can't compare a bands 4th album to one by a band that's been at it for nearly 20 years by this point.

 

Let Me Go - I'm not keen on the album version. I much prefer how they speeded it up for the live performances - as on Still Life.

 

A couple of them are more probing and emotional. "Indian Girl" and "All About You" are both coming from a real place, for instance. But, as I said, I think one of the strengths of this record is the fact that it is generally light and fun. Being deep and meaningful wasn't the goal here, and that's totally fine.

 

This is so good. Keith Richards is a bastard.

 

You mentioned my favorite song on the album, and it ain't Indian Girl.

In my post I also said I felt this was the Stones' pop album. Nothing wrong with that. I love pop, especially 80's.

 

My favorite as well. But we'll be getting to that at the very end of the thread.

 

My favorite Stones record after Black & Blue ended the 'classic period', although that period arguably ended with Exile. Just a fun rock 'n' roll record that wasn't bludgeoned to death by rock radio the way Some Girls was. ER and Talk is Cheap are really the only post-B&B Stones related records I listen to any more, although most of my current Stones listening is to pre-Beggars stuff.

 

Steel Wheels?

No, that's probably their worst album.

BUT Bridges to Babylon is pretty damn great, and Voodoo Lounge may be a better album than either Goats Head Soup or Its Only Rock N Roll, and those albums had some guy named Mick Taylor on them...

When I saw the Stones, one of the highlights of the set was "Doom & Gloom"...I can't wait until Light the Fuse gets a proper release, so I can have a Vault package not only with different songs, but something with plenty live stuff from A Bigger Bang, which may be their most underrated record since Emotional Rescue...

But then again, I'm an actual Rolling Stones fan...

 

cocaine is a helluva drug...

 

Bridge To Babylon and Steel Wheels are both pretty bad. Bridges To Babylon is one of their worst albums. Voodoo Lounge is better than both but they should have included the b-sides instead of some of the weaker tracks. None of them are better than Goats Head Soup and It's Only Rock 'N' Roll.

 

B2B is absolutely fantastic - "Thief in the Night", "Gunface", "Lowdown", "Might As Well Get Juiced"

 

I don't care for any of those tracks. Saint Of Me and Out of Control are the only tracks I really like.

 

The Lowdown?
Might as well get another record on my turntable.
...Unless i have had a thief in the night!

 

Funny how that works, innit?

What Telepicker said. Or rather what Rick James said