I was listening to this song last night and started wondering if it would have been a better song without the falsetto. IMO it would have been better to have Mick sing in his regular voice. Agree? Disagree?

No.

Really? What does the falsetto add to it?

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FrankM
Really? What does the falsetto add to it?

A different vocal sound. I like it.

The falsetto's perfect. Great juxtaposition with the spoken monologue at the end.

agree that itwould be better without the falsetto. it's great song actually, especially when mick starts singing in his normal voice.

No, I think the falsetto makes it. Wish they'd attempted to play it live at some point.

its such a magic tune with or without....one of the last

Falsetto is part of the magic of the song. One of the last great Stones songs.

One of their worst choices of singles ever. Musically, its excellent (especially towards the end) but the vocal is hard to take seriously. Especially that creepy "knight in shining armour" bollocks.

it would still be good without the falsetto. But I prefer it with it the falseto also the night and shining armor business. Its like they were thinking "If were gunna be over the top here, lets just go all the way with it."

Do you remember when it came out, though?

The reaction at the time was one of widespread ridicule, with the reviews taking the piss out of them for trying to sound like the Bee Gees.

The falsetto combined with "shining armor" is the Stones doing the same thing they do when they do country -- irony.

Far Away Eyes' "I ran 20 red lights in his honor" is the country equivalent of the "knight in shining armor." And both of them totally work. They wouldn't be so over the top without those respective touches.

The falsetto has already been done...and it STILL sucks....
JR

A fair point, TeatThree.

However,you're selling them short - the Stones can and do 'straight' country very well.

Anyway, on 'Far Away Eyes' it works because its so obviously a piss-take. On ER it doesnt. Not helped either by the choice to release it as a single. Coming right after the back to basics return to form that was "Some Girls" it was quite a shock.

FAE works in the context of a bit of a humour on an album track. When you release the lead single from an album, you're making a statement of intent. And most people arent going to get the 'joke' but will be more likely to think 'theyve lost the plot with this one'.

And they were right.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2008-07-06 01:05 by Gazza.

FrankM - I've also wondered the same thing.

I'd also prefer regular voice (no falsetto) for his
solo song SWEET THING.


IORR............but I like it!

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Gazza
Anyway, on 'Far Away Eyes' it works because its so obviously a piss-take. On ER it doesnt. Not helped either by the choice to release it as a single. Coming right after the back to basics return to form that was "Some Girls" it was quite a shock.

Miss You was a bigger shock, wasn't it? I remember very well being quite upset with the Stones playing disco when the single was released. But that was when I was young and liked nothing except for Stones and Punk music.
Maybe you're right and it wasn't the best choice to release ER as a single but honestly - for me it's the best tune on a very underrated album. With the exception of 2 or 3 tunes (Let Me Go, indian Girl and to a certain extend All About You) it was far better than what followed (Tatto, Undercover) - at least for me ;-)

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silkcut1978/quote
Miss You was a bigger shock, wasn't it? I remember very well being quite upset with the Stones playing disco when the single was released. But that was when I was young and liked nothing except for Stones and Punk music.

I'm not so sure it was a bigger shock, as it wasnt out and out disco and they'd already dipped their toes into that water on Black and Blue. Plus 'Fool to cry' must surely have taken a few people by surprise.

Then again, I dont recall B&B coming out and Some Girls was my first album as a 'fan' so maybe someone who was following the Stones in the mid 70s might be able to give a better answer.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-07-06 02:17 by Gazza.

yes...I hear a lot that Miss you was a big shock when It came out, but I don't undertand how miss you was shocking when two years earlier Black N Blue was released with "Hot Stuff" as the opening track.


it seems like since beggars banquet came out, which I think is a very ecclectic album, that they have gone back and fourth between doinng something thats ecclectic, maybe somewhat experimental followed by an album thats comparitvley more back to basics... up thru tatoo you which was more back to basics following ER.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2008-07-06 02:00 by ryanpow.

Some Girls was the first new Stones album I bought when it came out...I was 15...and don't remember any negativity towards Miss You. On the contrary, it was a great single, played every day/all day on the radio, and all the local bands played it at High School parties.

On the other hand, when Emotional Rescue was released, it was like a hard slap to the face. The falsetto is indeed bad, but I think it's the cheesey bass line that completely destroys anything musical about the song. And Micks spoken voice part...please spare me.

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ryanpow
yes...I hear a lot that Miss you was a big shock when It came out, but I don't undertand how miss you was shocking when two years earlier Black N Blue was released with "Hot Stuff" as the opening track.

how true... I didn't get that either, once I went back and heard Black and Blue. Was "Hot Stuff" not a single? Maybe "Miss You" was just a surprise for the majority of people who didn't get the albums.

As for "ER," Gazza aside (sorry!), was it more negatively received in the US? It seems to me that the conservative, classic-rock "Disco Sucks" campaign was a US phenomenon, as demonstrated by FrankM.

I dont like it either. But thats because I dont like disco.
But I like it on Mercy Mercy.

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FrankM
Really? What does the falsetto add to it?

The image of Mick Jagger with his nuts cut off.

JumpingKentFlash

Hi Kent! Good post! Early bird as always Gotta leave this joint & work in the garden,,
myself.. man, O, man. I had 3 degrees here last night ..

The analogy to "FarAway Eyes" is a good one (but I am more positive of its goodness than Gazza). I think the falsetto in "Emotional Rescue" is a crucial part of the song - like the down-voice-rap. I think without Jagger's voice experiments the song would be quite dull. But perhaps I have different view to the song because I wasn't in a position to hear it regularly from the radio - to me it is an odd album track just as "Faraway Eyes". Anyway, I still see it is a kind of brave thing to release a song like that as a leading single of the album (but, in fact, The Stones were quite non-orthodoxical in their single releases in the 70's: "Angie", "Fool To Cry", "Miss You", "Emotional Rescue" - each one a shock to conservative Stones-fan ears, I guess.)

In general, I like the way Jagger 'plays' with a falsetto - "Fool To Cry", "Emotional Rescue", especially in "Worried About You", "Sweet Thing", briefly in "Laugh I Nearly Died" ... and yeah "Oh Mercy"... The effect of hism using it, and then putting it away is a nice 'trick'. I love him doing riskies, and as far as I am concerned, he goes a way with it.

- Doxa



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-07-06 11:03 by Doxa.

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Baboon Bro
Hi Kent! Good post! Early bird as always Gotta leave this joint & work in the garden,,
myself.. man, O, man. I had 3 degrees here last night ..

Yeah. I've been away for a few days. I was out sailing a canoe on Gudenåen. Lovely trip.

JumpingKentFlash

Gotta leave this joint & work in the garden,,
myself.. man, O, man. I had 3 degrees here last night .....

Geez Bro ... finish the joint first before ya go to the garden...
AND 3 Degrees!!!!...What are ya gonna do....Chip ice off the tulips????



ROCKMAN

'Emotional Rescue' is a perfect indication in my eyes to where the Stones could have gone musically, by saying that i don't necessarily mean by using the falsetto on all occasions, but the willingness to be experimental and different, which never really happened. 'Emotional Rescue' sounds nothing like the Bee Gees whatever anyone may say, it's a fine experimental track with a strange half reggae beat which really works in every area, and i think the Stones should be applauded for having the guts to release it as a single. It's tracks like 'You Got Me Rocking', 'I Go Wild', 'Mixed Emotions' and 'Rough Justice' that are really worthy of being derided, but i suppose they may be more palatable to some fans because they 'sound' more like the Stones.

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Edward Twining
'You Got Me Rocking', 'I Go Wild', 'Mixed Emotions' and 'Rough Justice' that are really worthy of being derided

Those songs are great. They show more than anything that The Stones can still cut an awesome rock song. Not to mention that every time they make a new rocky singly song, it gives all new acts a run for their money. Nobody has understood how to make a rock song as good as The Stones have. Not Paul McCartney, not Led Zeppelin, not Elvis Presley, not Bruce Springsteen, not John Lennon, not ANYBODY. And the amazing thing is that it STILL is that way.

JumpingKentFlash

(Sorry for OT, yeah guys.. "Sejle op ad åen", Kent, is that close to Horsens
or are ya up in the forest region where yer school is, kent?
And Rockman.. We had peculiar weather with 30 C here two days ago,
my town had the highest temp in the country, then came a strong,
mean Northern - probably due to the fast ice melting in the
Nort pole region not too far away from me
This is where I was midweek, close to Santa Claus Land, county Dalecarlia (we went there twice) [kamera.mora.se]
Weather's gettin rougher up here [www.hogakustenbron.nu]
And heres how it looks like where I live..

(this huge pic will soon be switched to a link)
[www.harnosand.se]