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Songfacts:  You can leave comments about the song at the bottom of the page.

This alienated many Stones fans who thought it was a sell out to Disco, but it was still a Top 10 hit in the US and UK.

Mick Jagger sang much of this in a falsetto, which was the thing to do with Disco songs. The Bee Gees did the same thing, but unlike The Stones, were never able to get back the fans they lost to Disco.

Jagger: 'We were just doing dance music, you know. It was just a dance music lick I was just playing on the keyboard. Charlie has a really nice groove for that." (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

Bobby Keys' sax solo and Mick Jagger's vocals were added almost a year after the rhythm track was recorded.

Jagger wrote this on an electric piano.

The video for this used the same thermal imagery effect as the album cover. It was cutting-edge visual stuff in 1980.

Comments:

I agree wit Thomas from Alabama. This was the beginning of the end for the band creatively. Tattoo You had some solid work, and was well-produced, and going back to SomeGirls, there were some good tracks there toom but you could see the s--t coming. After that, they stole all their moves from Hee Haw. Gotta root for the bad guys on this one folks. I need a good shovel.
- Caleb, Los Angeles, CA

It may sound like disco, but it's the same thing the Stones did on the 2 preceding albums, Miss You on Some Girls everybody cried "The stones went disco!" Well where were they when Black and Blue came out and the 1st song and single was "Hot Stuff" released before the word "Disco" was being used to describe music. It was called Soul Rock, or just Soul. They are all great songs. Miss You, Emotional Rescue, and Tattoo You were all culled from one year of recording, that was "In the can" as they say. So for three years they just went through this collection and picked out songs for each new album, and polished them up a little, like adding an instrument. I have high quality bootlegs of Emotional Rescue with an extra measure on every verse, even the Chorus they say 4 times.I have Let me go with about a minute of extra jamming towards the end. I coud go on, but I already used a lot of room. FYI "Start Me Up" was 1st recorded in 1977, then in 81 when they were looking for a single, they tried re-recording it and there you have it.
- Jack, Wantagh, NY

I think it's a good dance tune that was released maybe a year too late. It it was in '79, it would have been perfect timing. The last straw for a lot of rock fans was Rod Stewart and Kiss recording disco songs. But I think the Stones made up for it in '81 with Tattoo You, don't you think?
- Paul, Oceanside, NY

I'm a huge Stones fan and really dig this and Miss You, which is also the four on the floor disco beat. This was just another way the Stones adapted to musical changes at the time.
- Danny, Your Town, IA

As one of the biggest Stones fans to ever walk the planet, please let me state for the record that this was the WORST song ever done by Mick and the boys. I think this one was written in between rehabs or something. What a peice of emotional DO DO!!!
- Thomas, Somerville, AL

By 1980, disco as a musical genre was essentially dead. This is NOT a disco song. The Stones experimented with disco on the 1978 "Some Girls" record, most notably "Miss You." The Stones made this as a dance song, much like they did with a number of other songs. But again to call this a disco song is wrong. The Stones were always on the cutting edge of new music. Do we think they were stupid to make a disco song after disco had peaked two years earlier? If you do, you know little about music.
- David, Youngstown, OH

This song is pretty neat, i really like the rolling stones trying diversity but i also think that they should stick to the true rock and roll they are know for.
- Taylor, wonderland, MT

Poor Bill Wyman. It had to be hard being the third best bass player in the band. If you doubt me, listen to Ronnie Wood (who plays bass on this song) back in his days with Jeff Beck or watch Keith playing bass with Eric Clapton and John Lennon on the Rock and Roll Circus DVD.
- David, Orlando, FL

I really like this song. Never really understood the hate. I don't even consider this disco, in my opinion Miss you (another great song) sounds more disco than this. This song just shows the versatility of Rock and Roll's greatest act. And for those comparing this song to the BeeGees, the only similarity is the falsetto. Even with the falsetto, this song sounds nothing like the Beegees.
- George, little rock, AR

Disco was beautiful,lush music,a combination of both black and gay culture,which is why so many people hated on it. Rescue is good effort by The Stones but not as good as Miss You
- Doug, Oakland, CA

60s stones are so much better than the 70s stones
- Eric, Hastings, MN

im a big stones fan didnt like the song at the start much but then just kept listening to it and now i love it i know it sounds gay lol but its one of those songs you have to listen to over and over again to really really like ITS GOOD :)
- jess, brisbane, Australia

No one who has never heard the Stones before should not hear this song early on. They shouldn't hear 2000 Lightyears From Home, eather, but that is another story. The Stones are just too good for this song.
- ptlover, none ya, KS

What were the people who wrote all of these comments thinking. I mean, this song is bad, bad, bad!!!!! The only person I agree with is steph from Canada, the second one from the bottom.
- Guest, Shoeville, HI

im a huge stones fan but i dont like this song
- logan, Durham, NH

Why shouldnt this be on the Forty Licks,it was an experimental song which grow a big sucsses My opinion... its Stones and its cool
- Andrej, Ljubljana, Other

I am a huge Stones fan and this is one of my top 3 Stones tunes of all time. The band always went through phases and hit on so many sub-genres of popular music while maintaining their own signature sound which is why they appeal to me. "Emotional Rescue" is ALL Stones. It's Stones groove, it's Stones attitude...simply put, it's dead cool (even has a smattering of sleaze which is so much a part of their legacy). I ask any Stones fan to listen to the track without prejudice and tell me it's not a quintessential Stones tune. The mix and production values are different from their typical rockers, but don't kid yourself, the record is tops!
- Barnaby, T-Dot, Canada

Love that bass line.
- Jay, Atlanta, GA

When I was an even younger buck and this song been out for a couple of years with a fairly big 'pop' following inearly eighties, we all were coming down fromdisco which I could not stand as an avid fan of hard rock and roll. Yes, I remember well the critical distaste of big Stones fans and many others BUT was still pretty darn popular and actually has turned into one of my most favorite all time Sones song. Howz dat? Stones have done it all and still do it the best. Love this song and the Stones. Jhon or in American normal language John WPB, Fla at U of AZ
- Jhon, E.Coast to W. Coast, United States

rolling stones did this song as a dance song same with harlem shuffle. mick jagger in my opinion start singing with differnt styles on rubt tuesday! most people dont know its the stones and yet its a mega hit for them mick jagger can play harmonica, any gutair, pianos, and sing he could be a one man band
- dale, rumford, ME

rubt is ruby
- dale, rumford, ME

I don't think they tried to sound like bee gees, they just tried to make a good song. I really like it. I prefer this one instead of Angie. Mick sings with "different voices", I dare to say that's cool.
- sunset, London, United States

Wow Michelle! You sure Can't Get No Satisfaction from the Stones!
- Ian, Lethbridge, Canada

Michelle, you've got it all wrong! I don't hate it as much as Ace, Jo-C and Steph (due to the Saxophone, and the fact that this is an experiement) but it is a bad experiment, that failed, so the song isn't good, and deserves to be buried with all the other 80's crap tracks by other artists. But Michelle, all I can deduce is either you are a disco fan, or deaf. Don't diss my 2nd favorite band.
- Johnny, Los Angeles, CA

If the Rolling Stones were playing on my front lawn, I'd close the curtains. This is the only song of theirs I ever liked. Don't get what the big deal was. I just can't get satisfied from this band.
- Michelle, Vancouver Island, Canada

i like this song. its not very stonesy but hey they were just experimenting guys.
- Jeanette, Irvine, CA

I'm not a fan of Disco at all, but I don't mind this song. Sure beats anything by the Bee Gees, and it's always nice to hear a Stones' song where Mick is almost understandable.
- Jake, Toronto, Canada

I for one am a fan of this song because of the memories it envokes of my childhood. I was eleven and we would have neighborhood dances during the summer. This was one of those tunes that you heard at every dance at some point throughout the night. Some of my 1st girlfriend situations are behind this tune, so I will always hold a place in my heart for this tune everyone seems to hate.
- Dee, Indianapolis, IN

Pretty much the only Stones song not worth a listen. I'd rather hear Michael Bolton fart in a bathtub.
- Ace, Kansas City, MO

I agree with steph, this song sucks majorly. When I was listening to 40 licks for the first time and came across Undercover Of The Night, I thought the Stones couldn't screw up any worse. And then in came this.
- Jo-C, Lima, Peru

The worst Stones song ever! Trying to sound like the Bee Gee's is not a cool idea. Not now, not in 1978, either.
- steph, Ottawa, Canada

Keith says he had a hard time fitting a guitar part on this disco groove. Ron Wood plays Bass. Jagger took a lot of pokes for his tongue-in-cheek rap at the end "I will be your knight in shining armour".
- Chelsea, NYC, OR