How Bob Clearmountain and the Glimmer Twins Built the Disco Vibe of 'Emotional Rescue' with Digital Delay and Reverb

The most interesting thing about the title track on Emotional Rescue is how the disco-pulse comes not from a four-on-the-floor kick drum but from Mick Jagger’s falsetto, treated with heavy digital delay. Bob Clearmountain used a Lexicon Prime Time digital delay unit to slap a rhythmic echo on Jagger’s vocal, making it bounce like a mirror ball. The delay time was set to a dotted-eighth note, syncing with the groove so the vocal repeats became part of the beat.

Clearmountain also hit the whole mix with an EMT 140 plate reverb, but he kept the decay short to avoid turning everything into a muddy ballroom. The reverb was tuned to give the snare and handclaps a tight, springy punch—more