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FANS ALBUM REVIEWS
EMOTIONAL RESCUE
Fourteen Reviews - Overall Average Rating - 6.7 Tongues
EMOTIONAL RESCUE
by
Morty62
November 12, 2010
Rating:
Sandwiched between Some Girls and
Tattoo You, Emotional Rescue has been an album largely
overlooked by both fans and critics, and unjustly so. Stylistically it's all
over the place: funk, disco, blues, punk, balladry, and new wave. But upon close
listening the album showcases all the things the Stones do well. On "Summer
Romance" and "Where the Boys Go", the riffs slash and bite harder than on
Some Girls while Jagger sneers and leers with cockney glee. The title track
features a fantastically funky bass line by Ronnie Wood and one of Mick's most
distinctive vocals, all falsetto shiver one minute and debonair suave the next.
"Dance" is a funky, claustrophobic NYC dance-floor workout, while "She's So Cold is all taut guitar pulse, cracking drums (Charlie is brilliant throughout) and palpable sexual frustration. Keith's smoky ballad is a ragged, haunting, whiskey-soaked gem. The band creaks, shudders, and moans through the very under-rated "Down In the Hole," which features terrific harp and as desolate a vocal as Mick ever sang. And the mix, which manages to be lean, powerful and distant at the same time, is one of the band's most unique.
To listen to some sound clips from
EMOTIONAL RESCUE or to
buy it click here:
Emotional Rescue [Remastered]
More fan reviews:
EMOTIONAL RESCUE
by Grown Up All Wrong
November 11, 2009
Rating:
I have to say that the Rolling Stones album Emotional Rescue is a real pleasure
to spin. It has a feel good quality to it that brings a smile to your face and sets your
foot a tapping. From the opening riff of "Dance {Part 1" to the coda of the
haunting ballad “All About You”, the Stones take you on a Musical journey,
exploring different styles and tempo’s that leave you wanting just a little bit more.
Whether it’s the guitar fueled rockers “Summer Romance”, “Let Me
Go” and “Where The Boys Go” or the Reggae influenced “Send It To
Me”, Keith Richards and Ron Wood prove that they are what all rock guitarists should
aspire to be.
The Dance influenced title track “Emotional Rescue” and the albums opening song
“Dance {Part 1}" illustrates that the band is not afraid to show their funkier
side. They also stay in touch with their roots with the song “Down in The Hole”
reminding us that the Rolling Stones can still play the blues.
I would have to say that the only song on this fine release that is a bit lacking is
“Indian Girl”. Somehow the social message just doesn’t come through on this
one and Mick Jagger singing about fighting in the streets of Masaya and shooting down
planes with M 16’s misses the mark. I can’t say that it’s awful, but it
just doesn’t seem to fit with an album that has a classic like “She’s So
Cold” on it. What can you say about this tune but wow? The guitar weaving and the
vocals take the listener back to the simpler times of “Under My Thumb” and
“Stupid Girl”. Burning bushes, burning fires and bleeding volcanoes heat this
song up.
All in all, this release may not measure up to Exile on Main Street or Let it
Bleed, but it does manage to stand on its own.
EMOTIONAL RESCUE
by K-man
March 31, 2009
Rating:
This is a bad album. Unlike the other bad album from this same time period Undercover,
this one doesn't even have any amusing moments (other than Mick's shout-out to Keef to
kick off the album), well, at least not until the last 3 songs; those are the only ones I
bother with anymore.
The title track, "She's So Cold", and "All About You" are all
really good! I love the title track especially for the spoken word conclusion by Mick a la
"Too Much Blood", etc... "She's So Cold" is a very unexpected return
to their Chuck Berry-esque roots on an album noted for its ill-advised forays into disco
(but hey, so many great 60's bands/artists fell into the same trap during this era). It's
a very welcome return to good ol' rock 'n roll: "She's so cold. She's so god-damn
cold!"
Most of the time Keno's insights are fairly similar to my own, but definitely not when it
comes to one of the first of Keef's great album-closing ballads. Yes, it is a very
weary-sounding lament. But that's what's so great about it! Keef is just "sick and
tired" of it all, and the listener is left with no doubt. His last sentence brings
the mostly forgettable album to a close with a painfully tender admission.
EMOTIONAL RESCUE
by horatio keats
October 11, 2006
Rating:
Emotional Rescue is one of the Stones weaker albums but it does have a few
powerful moments. The blues is what the Stones live and breathe; the cry of anguish
mirrored in slide guitar of "Down in the Hole" is tip-top of hurtin' and feeling
bad. Friends of the blues but only knowing the Stones through Hot Rocks are blown
away by this mean deep track. Truly, it is the strongest track. "Emotional
Rescue" is a genuine pop song; however, it is a classic. "Dance" is a fun
night club song (7.3). "Indian Girl" seems to continue to grow on me. Girls at
parties almost always request it. (7.0). Most of the other songs seem to grate on me.
EMOTIONAL RESCUE
By Pete
October 3, 2005
Rating:
There are a few things that has to be said about this album. First of all, is that it´s
an underrated album. Of course the Stones have released much better things than this, but
I mean really...how many weak tracks has this one? Right now I listen to "She´s so
Cold" and that is a damn good song! You can also take a listen to "Let me
Go", "Summer Romance", "Where the boys go" and the title track
"Emotional Rescue". All five are really good songs. The album itself reminds me
a lot about the Some Girls LP, and I think a number of the tunes were recorded
during those sessions.
But ok, I admit that it´s two or three weak songs here: "Down in a Hole",
"Indian Girl" and "All about You", but over all this LP is not so bad
as many fans think.
EMOTIONAL RESCUE
By Prodigal Son
August 2, 2003
Rating:
Though there are some standouts, on a whole Emotional Rescue truly needs to be
rescued. Here goes my listings:
"Dance, Pt. 1" - 6, This is a half-baked disco workout that tries to score on
the success of "Miss You," but lacks imagination and exciting traits to do so.
"Summer Romance" -7, True it sounds like a million of Mick's punk-rock escapades
from Some Girls, ala "Lies," "Respectable," but this one is just
another deserving solid track in that line of work.
"Send it to Me" -5.5, It may sound promising at first with this reggae sendup.
But the problem is, it's repetitive and completely bores the mind. Now, if a Stones song
has you itching to hit the skip button, you know it's a mediocre track.
"Let Me Go" -7, This picks up slightly on the bore of "Send it to Me"
with some frenetic rocking. Though it is more filler, it's enjoyable filler.
"Indian Girl" -5.5, Mick's attempts at romantic serenading are just downright
flat and embarrassing. The talking sequences don't help either. This could have used some
of the same passion that made "Beast of Burden" so wonderful.
"Where the Boys Go" -7, Kicking off side 2, this rip-roller with female
accompaniment in the vocals is reminiscent of something Meat Loaf or the movie Grease
would do. However, the Stones avoid sounding kitsch and pull off a dastardly fun song.
Down in the Hole -7.5, Of all their blues-influenced originals, this one has the moodiest,
darkest feeling to it. The down n' out delivery makes it a song that materializes well,
but not into a classic.
Emotional Rescue - 7.5-This may be a goofy, silly-sounding disco escapade with Mick's
wailing falsetto, but it's a damn good one. The electric piano rhythm is hypnotic while
the song itself is intriguing enough to garner an 8. The video may have been lame and the
song self-mocking, but it shows the Stones can shine no matter what they do (barring
letting Justin Timberlake sing with them).
She's So Cold -8.5, Yes it sounds the same as many of their previous up-tempo rockers, but
this one still deserves to be mentioned along with "Shattered," "Hand of
Fate" and "IORR" in their 70s canon. The lyrics may seem dumb, but when
sung they really drive the point home about how this woman is so goddamn cold.
All About You -7.5, Keith's introspective, bluesy send-off to Anita Pallenberg sounds
weary, hazy and confused all in one, but manages to heave an emotional load that makes it
a great bittersweet conclusion to a subpar Stones LP.
Despite a track average of 6.9, the sheer amount of bad tracks deducts the album's score.
EMOTIONAL RESCUE
By David Walker
June 3, 2003
Rating:
One of the more fascinating aspects of the Stones is their habit of soaking up a locale
and expressing their take on a scene or a period in musical terms. Emotional Rescue
finds the fellers still in NYC, late 1979 - early 1980, hanging around after the smash
return to form found on Some Girls. Whereas on Girls, the music grafts a
streetscape approach to disco ("Miss You")with tongue-in-cheek Urban Cowboy
("Far Away Eyes"), and pseudo-punk ("Shattered"), Emotional Rescue
is tired, flat, uninspired. Keith has said that Mick had things too much his way on this
one, in that he refused to even consider developing 'Dance pt. 1' as an instrumental, and
pushing too hard for production values that were trendy and in fashion, which was the
general indictment of Satanic Majesties years earlier. It sounds like they had
stuck around NYC a little too long, shifting their focus from the street folks and trashy
bar scenes, to the more upscale penthouses and nightclubs. Mick seems to be fighting
boredom by generally exploring the black urban sounds, and not translating ideas to an
acceptable Stones format...and then, fighting Keith when he tried to. Still, as with ANY
Stones album, there are some real gems; "She's So Cold" has vintage guitar
inter-weaving, "Send It To Me" goes goofy on reggae, and "Indian Girl"
once again demonstrates how cherished the group should be for their ability to do a
unique, non-American treatment of C&W. This time, they avoid doing a funny-take and
instead deliver a quiet but poignant political statement, which sounds inspired by the
Nicaraguan Sandinista movement from '79. But God, the title track just about kills any
continuity - what the hell is that??!!? Jagger as a shining-armor knight "on a fine,
Arab Chahhhhgahhh"? It sounds like Disco Lounge Lizard music. "Down in the
Hole", another stinker, is just a waste of time. They obviously had good material in
the can, judging by how they were able to ship out Tattoo You with all of it's
reprocessed leftovers from the 70's, so why this? But alas, the final disappointment for
me is that Keith's solo contribution on this project, "All About You" is sooo
sssslllllooowww and ...zzzz.....oops, sorry nodded off there. Keith always finds his way
into the heart of every Stones fan there ever was with his spins in the spotlight,but not
this time. This song explains why Mick had so much control, because if this was all Keith
had to offer as his best stuff, then he should have just pulled up a stool like any
sideman and waited for his cues. In general, this album marks the period at the end of a
long and glorious paragraph in rock music history, in that the Stones no longer could just
float along on their own level just outside of the covering shelter of everyone's
attention on John, Paul, George, and Ringo, holding their breath, waiting for a reunion of
some sorts. With Lennon's death in December, 1980, the Great Dream of a Beatles comeback
was removed forever, and the music press and record-buying public catapulted the Stones
into the Numero Uno slot for R&R acts. Jagger never attempted challenging lyrics
again, record engineering and production became much slicker, they signed up for corporate
sponsorships, elevated the stadium shows, and became a true Rock and Roll Circus. But me,
I always liked them more when they were just a band trying to capture some magic, not a
force of nature looking to impress everyone with the magnitude of their staying power.
EMOTIONAL RESCUE
By Oklahoma Zeppelin
May 15, 2003
Rating:
The best 'classic' albums are accessible by all -- and they're great to hear -- but so-so
albums by still-great bands (like a stutter amidst a great speech) are often more
interesting. EMOTIONAL RESCUE is one. It follows along the Some Girls
gust -- and their first year without a record, 1979 -- into rambling, enigmatic,
off-the-cuff turf. And some great Glimmer Twins production too. The title track is the
best -- one of the most unusual singles ever. Barebone music -- mostly just electronic
piano, bass, excellent drums (little guitar!) -- with Mick's compelling high-low voice
over. No one writes songs like that. 'She's So Cold' moves with its plug-into-board clean
guitar, and unusual fade out/in of guitars mid song. But Keith's 'All About You' is my
favorite, however, for its bag-of-bones wobble, humanized by Keith's determination to see
it through. Real stuff. It's also the signal for how the Stones will 'evolve' into the 80s
and 90s -- Keith's accepts aging with his mourning ballads (the only strong points of
after 1981), while Mick's 'summer romance' antics get progressively weaker after 1981.
Here are the Stones still great, but stuttering a little. Essential all the way.
EMOTIONAL RESCUE
By Locked Away
November 30, 2002
Rating:
A difficult album. Personally I have always liked it, but on reflection I have to admit it
isn’t really up to scratch, and of course pales in comparison to Some Girls
(1978) and Tattoo You (1981). While some of the music is excellent, lyrically it
is poor and it even lacks that sleazy edge that characterizes much of their work-
substituting a sort of murkiness instead. Also it was clearly difficult to find a single
to release from the album- how the title track managed the Top Ten both sides of the
Atlantic I’ll never know (on the back of the success of Miss You perhaps).
Despite all this I still think that 'Dance (Part One)', 'Summer Romance', 'Let Me Go' etc
represent some of their juiciest grooves, certainly Bill Wyman’s bass is much
improved on many of the numbers and the tracks sound much more like band efforts than much
of the material from the early seventies when guest musicians often dominated. Charlie
Watts seemed also to be going from strength to strength. Only Mick Jagger really does do
himself any favors here- he is starting to parody himself a little too much- “Maybe
I’ll become a playboy, hang around the gay bars and move to the West side of
town” he sings on 'Let Me Go'. Great words but surely he’d been a playboy for
years by then! By contrast Keith Richard’s twist at the end of 'All About You' is
classic. Overall I think Emotional Rescue plays more like a cohesive album of
great music but poor songs, an album I would struggle to recommend to a non fan, but one
which I love despite its shortcomings.
EMOTIONAL RESCUE
By Gary Hurley
January 1, 2001
Rating:
Emotional Rescue, a sort of semi-sequel to Some Girls, certainly divides
fans of the Stones. Some like it for it's playful, almost comedic qualities. But in my
opinion it's all-filler/no killer. The album came 2 years after the exhilarating Some
Girls set and it's no surprise that the Stones retread that ground and what we get is
a similar sounding album, only without the passion. There are of course
highlights,"All about You" being a classic in the making. "Dance
Part.1" kicks off the album in fine style.What could have been bad quasi-disco is
actually a highly enjoyable groover and a favorite of mine. Great track! What follows are
a series of half-hearted rockers and some cod-reggae! The likes of "Summer
Romance" and "Where the Boys Go" and "She's so Cold" sound like
stuff they might have considered as B-sides for Some Girls. It's just
Stones-by-numbers and the band have acknowledged this by never playing these tracks live
post-'81. "Down in a Hole" is much better,an authentic blues with some fine
harmonica from Sugar Blue. "Emotional Rescue" is a wee bit cheesy at times but
is addictive stuff. Beyond these two or three outstanding songs, the album is just a tired
retread f the previous album and it does the Stones no favors. A curio definitely,for
completists only!
EMOTIONAL RESCUE
By Andrew Maguire
May 28, 2000
Rating:
I feel this album is hard done by among Stones' fans. I prefer this album to Black N
Blue, however what is strange about this
album is that there are no real classic songs on it, yet the songs go together really well
and make the album as a whole really
listenable. As with Black N Blue, the songs do not run well together but there
are a few classics on there (Memory Motel and
Hand of Fate).
The album starts with Dance (pt.1) which is surprisingly good, this is followed by Summer
Romance, which is another good
throw-away tune. Send It To Me and Let Me Go are the two poorest songs on the album but I
still think they are quite good, and run well together. Indian Girl is a nice little
acoustic love song, that would be better if it was a tad shorter. This is followed by
Where The Boys All Go which is another good song, it is a quasi-punk sneering number about
male activities on a Saturday night. The last four songs on the album are all great. Down
In A Hole is a really catchy song, with a good harmonica on it. Emotional Rescue is a
light-hearted disco tune, with Mick's vocals wavering between his normal voice and his
falsetto. She's So Cold is the best rocker on the album, however, my favorite song on the
album is Keith's All About You. I feel this is the song on the album that comes closest to
being a classic and I think if they revised it with acoustic and electric guitars and
re-recorded it, it could be a real great. Keith's vocals are excellent and it is probably
my favorite Keith-sung number, behind Coming Down Again and Happy. And the final line
"How come I'm still in love with you?" is a brilliant way of closing this good
Rolling Stones album. A few more rockers would do this album good, and one classic song
would really improve it's overall rating. However, the songs, for the most part good (with
a few mediocre ones) manage to go really well together which makes the listen to this
album all the more enjoyable.
EMOTIONAL RESCUE
By christophoros
March 23, 2000
Rating:
I was so afraid when I read the song titles and then a review that gave the album a 5. And
then- the positive surprise: The opener "Dance Pt. I" is quite strange but still
very cool. Mick and Keith must have had a lot of fun while singing it. At the same time,
it' s also the first Stones song to be really co- written by Ronnie. The next songs in the
good old way are satirical and play with the Stones' bad boy- image. "Let Me Go"
is a funky line. Then with "Indian Girl" there is also the treaded types of the
political rock song, and it also someway sounds like a children song. You perhaps expect
it to be bad now, but they don' t only want to play the correctors of the world after
their hippie music of the sixties, Mick' s singing is really EMOTIONAL. Beautiful and sad.
"Where the boys go" is interesting, because on it the Rolling Stones copy punk
bands who have copied them before, and that with a through and through hearable result,
where they show them, who still rules. The pure blues pearl "Down in the Hole"
could as well have been on "Exile on Main Street". Another review of
"Emotional Rescue" says, that they there sing about women they wanted but didn'
t get and it seems to refer to the title song. Mick, the man who seems to have never had
this problem in reality, is also surprisingly good on this one. "She' s so cold"
is the heaviest rocker of the album, and it' s addictive. "All About" you is a
typical weird tune by Keith, anyway a beautiful and reflective outro. I think, that the
main problem with the album was that it was released between "Some Girls" and
"Tatto You" which both sales wise as well as critics wise were very successful.
And I still think that "Some Girls" and "Emotional Rescue", as they
both have got disco, punk,... have got a lot in common. They were also made at the same
time.
EMOTIONAL RESCUE
By Kevin Poynter
February 23, 2000
Rating:
People expecting a classic rock album with "Emotional Rescue" will be
disappointed, but the album is an anomaly in the Stones tradition, and deserves attention
for being their only complete comedy LP. Every friggin' song on this LP is funny, whether
they wanted it to be or not. "Dance Pt. 1" is ultra-goofy disco, "Summer
Romance" is packed with humor (Mick's affair with a teenage girl, and his annoyance
with her "spotty friends"). "Send It to Me" is a hilarious reggae
song, and "Indian Girl" is funny for Mick's Spanish accent and fake sincerity.
There's more jokes here than you can count: "Let Me Go" (Mick threatens to smack
a girl to get her to go away), "She's So Cold" (Mick's girl is frigid),
"All About You" (Keith's sleazy love/hate song for Anita Pallenberg), and of
course the funniest of them all, the title track ("riding across the desert...on a
fine Arab charger.") All the mean put-downs you could ever want, with the Stones
incriminating themselves and laying their late-'70's laziness out for all
to see. They had done all they could do; the game was up, and they wanted to be judged
like mere mortals like the rest of the rock world. So they made a comedy record, packed
with good hooks, sloppy playing, and punkish energy. Buy this album--you'll find it's fun,
it's funny, and it kicks, and that used to be the standard by which we judged rock'n'roll.
EMOTIONAL RESCUE
By Steve Cronen
July 13, 1999
Rating:
I can't understand why some people dislike this one. I heard one person say it sounded
like a "disco sampler." In reality, only two of the tracks could be called
"disco," for lack of another title: "Dance" and "Emotional
Rescue," which are both excellent tracks. ("Keith! Whatcha - whatcha
doin'!?") The other tracks are a good mix of rock and ballads. "Where the Boys
Go" is a sneering jibe at punk bands like the Clash and the Sex Pistols. "Summer
Romance" and "Let Me Go" rock out, as well. Keith's ballad "All About
You" is perhaps the best of the bunch, becuase it's a song most of us can relate to.
"How come I'm still in love with you?" Brilliant! Emotional Rescue is like an
extension of Some Girls, and comes close to surpassing it. Worth the money all the way.
Keno's mini review, song list, lyrics and more info on EMOTIONAL RESCUE
To listen to some sound clips from
EMOTIONAL RESCUE or to buy it click here:
Emotional Rescue [Remastered]
