"Send It to Me" | |
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Song by The Rolling Stones | |
from the album Emotional Rescue | |
Released | 20 June 1980 |
Recorded | June - December 1979 |
Genre | Rock, reggae |
Length | 3:43 |
Label | Rolling Stones/Virgin |
Songwriter(s) | Jagger/Richards |
Producer(s) | The Glimmer Twins |
Emotional Rescue track listing | |
10 tracks
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"Send It to Me" is a song by rock and roll band The Rolling Stones featured on the 1980 album Emotional Rescue.
Credited to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, "Send It to Me" is largely the work of Jagger, with him saying at the time of its release, "I did it with Charlie [Watts] very early on... That was a good example of one, you know, we tried in all kinds of different ways, different times." The song is heavily influenced by reggae music, the Stones being very big fans ever since their introduction to it during the recording sessions for 1973's Goats Head Soup in Jamaica. Its influence is also felt on a number of earlier tracks like "Cherry Oh Baby" off Black and Blue and later Richards compositions. While the influence is evident, Bill Janovitz notes in his review of the song that also incorporates "...a great R&B guitar lick from Keith Richards... and then cut to a disco feel for the chorus." The song's lyrics deal with "...a lonely man looking for a mail-order bride," and a quite tongue-in-cheek in its approach to this subject, with Jagger invoking off-the-cuff rhymes and in an affected, drawn vocal performance;
Associate producer and chief engineer Chris Kimsey remarked on the song after the album's release, "I remember it being very, very long, about twelve minutes long. I had to chop it down to whatever it ended up being. I think, in the twelve-minute version, there were like 19 or 20 verses and we just picked the last verses out and chopped it all together."
Janovitz concludes of the song, "Taken for what it is and not what it is a harbinger of, however, 'Send It to Me' is a fun song — catchy, with numerous hooks, and also fun to sing along to. An oft-repeated criticism of the Stones from this period on notes that their records seem to be written as an excuse to go out and tour, as if they need one. It is a valid point, though; the records seem like afterthoughts, and songs such as "Send It to Me" seem to be written to be performed live". In fact the Rolling Stones have never performed "Send It to Me" live on any of their tours since its introduction, and the Stones didn't even tour in support of Emotional Rescue's release at all.