The two most well-known frontmen of their respective generations, Mick Jagger and John Lennon, have a lot in common. Outstanding performers, personalities, and songwriters, both men had what it took to succeed in the music industry. Nevertheless, despite their striking similarities, Lennon and Jagger were able to hold opposing points of view, which is a necessary quality of any meaningful partnership.
In his last interview before passing away, John Lennon explained this to Rolling Stone in 1980. During the extensive conversation, the ex-Beatle expressed his displeasure towards music reviewers and listed several instances where they had “attacked” him, including his time in the Fab Four and the Plastic Ono Band. One reviewer’s description of 1963’s “From Me to You” as “below-par Beatles” particularly infuriated him.
Lennon believed that others were also being criticized. He also mentioned Mick Jagger as an example of a well-known performer who was utilized as fodder for critics. “However, it’s not just me,” he claimed. Consider Mick as an example. Will they finally give Mick a break after 20 years of continuously producing high-quality work? Will they ever say something like, “Hey, look at him, he’s 37, he’s No. 1 and he has this amazing song called ‘Emotional Rescue,’ it’s up there”? It was enjoyable to me and many others as well.
While Lennon did not specifically mention any critics, several prominent ones expressed disapproval of the 1980 Rolling Stones single. Rolling Stone’s Ariel Swartley noted in his review of the album of the same name that Jagger’s voice on the title track “sounds as estranged and bewildered as the echoing horn.”
In a 1980 Rolling Stone interview, Swartley stated that he didn’t like “Emotional Rescue,” and Jagger agreed, even with John Lennon’s glowing review.
When asked how he achieved “all that falsetto stuff” on the song, the frontman clarified. It wasn’t a remarkable artistic achievement but rather the product of ad-libbed studio work.” I wrote that on an electric piano in the studio, and I cut it immediately, live,” he stated, quoting Charlie Watts and Woody Ronnie Wood. Everything was finished very fast. The vocals could have been better, in my opinion. It’s just one of those things you do in recording studios. That kind of magic? You couldn’t capture it with pen and paper. It bursts into existence in the studio, the final part a symphony of improvised brilliance. The situation took a drastic turn.
“But the speech is a really funny part,” he continued. Yes, it’s all a joke. The entire album is full of pastiches. That is to say, it’s all our shit. Pastiche is merely a fancy term for it.
Listen to ‘Emotional Rescue’ below.
