Emotional Rescue



Emotional Rescue is the 15th British and 17th American studio album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1980. Fresh off of the success of their prior album, Some Girls, which had been their biggest hit to date, the Rolling Stones returned to the studio in early 1979 to start writing and recording its follow-up. Full-time members Mick Jagger (vocals), Keith Richards (guitar), Ronnie Wood (guitar), Bill Wyman (bass), and Charlie Watts (drums) were joined by frequent collaborators Ian Stewart (keyboards), Nicky Hopkins (keyboards), Bobby Keys (saxophone) and Sugar Blue (harmonica).

Upon release, it topped the charts in at least six countries, including the US, UK, and Canada. Hit singles from the album include the title track, which reached No. 1 in Canada, No. 3 in the US, and No. 9 in Canada and "She's So Cold", which was a top-40 single in several countries. The recording sessions for Emotional Rescue were so productive that several tracks left off the album would form the core of the follow-up, 1981's Tattoo You.

History
Recorded throughout 1979, first in Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas, then Pathé Marconi, Paris, with some end-of-year overdubbing in New York City at The Hit Factory, Emotional Rescue was the first Rolling Stones album recorded following Keith Richards' exoneration from a Toronto drugs charge that could have landed him in jail for years. Fresh from the revitalisation of Some Girls (1978), Richards and Mick Jagger led the Stones through dozens of new songs, some of which were held over for Tattoo You (1981), picking only ten for Emotional Rescue.

Several of the tracks on the album featured just the core Rolling Stones band members: Jagger, Richards, Ronnie Wood, Charlie Watts, and Bill Wyman. On others, they were joined by keyboardists Nicky Hopkins and co-founder Ian Stewart, sax player Bobby Keys and harmonica player Sugar Blue.

Songs left off the album would find their way onto the next album, Tattoo You ("Hang Fire", "Little T&A", and "No Use in Crying"). "Think I'm Going Mad", another song from the sessions, was released as the B-side to "She Was Hot" in 1984. A cover song sung by Richards: "We Had It All", was released on the 2011 deluxe Some Girls package.

Packaging and artwork
The album cover for Emotional Rescue had concept origination, art direction and design by Peter Corriston with thermographic photos taken by British-born, Paris-based artist Roy Adzak using a thermo camera, a device that measures heat emissions. The original release came wrapped in a huge colour poster featuring more thermo-shots of the band with the album itself wrapped in a plastic bag. The music video shot for "Emotional Rescue" also utilised the same type of shots of the band performing.

Release and reception
Released in June with the disco-infused hit title track as the lead single, Emotional Rescue was an immediate smash. The title track hit No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album gave the Rolling Stones their first UK No. 1 album since 1973's Goats Head Soup and spent seven weeks atop the US charts. The follow-up single "She's So Cold" was a top 30 hit while "Dance Pt. 1" reached No. 9 on Billboard's Dance chart.

Critical reception was relatively muted, with most reviewers considering the album somewhat formulaic and unambitious, particularly in contrast to its predecessor. Writing in Rolling Stone, Ariel Swartley stated that "as far as the music goes, 'familiar' is an understatement. There's hardly a melody here that you haven't heard from the Stones before". Robert Christgau was more positive, claiming that "no one will ever mistake this for a great Stones album, but I bet it sounds more interesting than It's Only Rock 'n Roll".

Retrospective assessments have been somewhat kinder, with several critics praising the band's performance, despite the sometimes lightweight material. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic states that the album "may consist mainly of filler, but it's expertly written and performed filler".

In 1994, Emotional Rescue was remastered and reissued by Virgin Records, and again in 2009 by Universal Music. In 2011 it was released by Universal Music Enterprises in a Japanese-only SHM-SACD version. The 1994 remaster was initially released in a Collector's Edition CD, which replicated many elements of the original album packaging, including the colour poster.

Track listing
All songs composed by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, except "Dance (Pt. 1)" co-written by Ronnie Wood.

Side one
 * 1) "Dance (Pt. 1)" – 4:23
 * 2) "Summer Romance" – 3:16
 * 3) "Send It to Me" – 3:43
 * 4) "Let Me Go" – 3:50
 * 5) "Indian Girl" – 4:23

Side two
 * 1) "Where the Boys Go" – 3:29
 * 2) "Down in the Hole" – 3:57
 * 3) "Emotional Rescue" – 5:39
 * 4) "She's So Cold" – 4:12
 * 5) "All About You" – 4:18

Personnel
The Rolling Stones
 * Mick Jagger – lead vocals (all but 10), electric guitar (2, 4, 6, 8, 9), backing vocals (1, 2, 6), electric piano (8), percussion (1)
 * Keith Richards – electric guitar (all but 5), backing vocals (1, 2, 6, 10), acoustic guitar (5), bass guitar (10), piano (10), lead vocals (10)
 * Bill Wyman – bass guitar (3-5, 7, 9), string synthesizer (5, 8)
 * Charlie Watts – drums (all tracks)
 * Ronnie Wood – electric guitar (1-4, 6, 7, 9, 10), bass guitar (1, 2, 6, 8), pedal steel (4, 5, 9), backing vocals (6, 10), saxophone (1)

Additional personnel
 * Ian Stewart – electric and acoustic piano, percussion
 * Nicky Hopkins – keyboards
 * Sugar Blue – harmonica
 * Bobby Keys – saxophone
 * Michael Shrieve – percussion
 * Max Romeo – backing vocals on "Dance (Pt. 1)"
 * Jack Nitzsche – horn arrangement on "Indian Girl"

Technical
 * Chris Kimsey – associate producer and engineer
 * Snake Reynolds – assistant engineer
 * Sean Fullan – assistant engineer
 * Ted Jensen – mastering engineer