After yesterday’s Paul McCartney disaster, I have to admit, I wasn’t very enthusiastic when I saw that “Emotional Rescue” by the Rolling Stones was next up. I have always heard this referred to as their “disco album”, and I know I’m not a huge fan of the title track. Thankfully, I was very pleasantly surprised, and this album is actually a very solid listen.
As noted, unlike many albums, the most well-known song, the title track, is probably my least favorite song on the album. It is just a little too much falsetto from Mick for my tastes. And I was certainly on alert when the first song was titled “Dance (pt 1)”. That said, like most of the album, it is much more traditional Stones guitar rock. Running in succession, “Summer Romance”, “Send It To Me”, and “Let Me Go” all sound as good as the content on the much higher-acclaimed “Some Girls”. “Indian Girl” opens with the same chord sequence as “Let It Bleed”, but takes a slower and mellower path to a very nice song.
“Where The Boys Go” is a lot like “When The Whip Comes Down”, which is a favorable comparison, and “Down In The Hole” is their slow blues jam for the album, a really inviting groove. As noted, I don’t really care for the title track, but in an unexpected surprise, next came one of my favorite Stones songs of all-time, certainly so from this era, with “She’s So Cold”. Nobody likes one-sided interest, and this song captures that frustration as good as any, and it is a great rocker too. The album concludes with a horn-laden slow melody “All About You” that features Keith Richards on lead vocals. He’s far from a traditionally great singer, but there is just something infinitely hip and rock-and-roll about Keith that carries the day here, like most other songs he takes the lead on.
“Emotional Rescue” was certainly a much-needed rescue for me, and living proof that almost 20 years in, the Stones were still capable of making really good music. If you haven’t given this album a listen before or in some time, I give it two thumbs up.
A Lifetime-Plus of Music 