The Rolling Stones' Hidden Gem Debate: 'Black and Blue' or 'Emotional Rescue'?

Ask a Stones fan which album deserved more respect and you’ll get two answers more than any others: Black and Blue (1976) and Emotional Rescue (1980). Both sit in the weird middle period after the classic run but before the 80s revivals. The fact that Emotional Rescue had a title track that was a top 40 hit actually works against it — people remember the disco-tinged single and forget the deep cuts like “Dance (Pt. 1)” or “Where the Boys All Go.”

But the one fans argue about most is Black and Blue. It was the first album with Ronnie Wood officially in the band, but it was recorded in a weird limbo: Mick Taylor had just quit, and the sessions were messy guitar auditions. The result is a loose, funkier, almost jammy record that doesn’t sound like any other Stones album. “Hand of Fate,” “Memory Motel,” and “Fool to Cry” show the band trying new textures without the pressure of following Exile or It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll. Critics hated it at the time, but over the years it’s become the go-to answer for “what’s the