Mick Jagger / Keith Richards / 4:12
Musicians
Mick Jagger: vocals, guitar (?)
Keith Richards: rhythm guitar
Bill Wyman: bass
Charlie Watts: drums
Ron Wood: rhythm and slide guitar, pedal steel guitar
Bobby Keys: saxophone
Recorded
Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas: January 23–February 12, 1979
Electric Lady Studios, New York City: November–December 1979, April 1980
Technical Team
Producers: The Glimmer Twins
Associate producer: Chris Kimsey
Sound engineer: Chris Kimsey
Assistant sound engineers: Sean Fullan, Brad Samuelsohn, Ron “Snake” Reynolds, Jon Smith
She’s so cold… The narrator is burning with love for his girlfriend, to the point of likening himself to a bleeding volcano. But there is nothing doing. The young woman is cold in the extreme, indeed as glacial as a tombstone. Is there some hidden meaning behind this song written by Mick Jagger (in an hour, it has been said)? Probably not. “She’s So Cold” was chosen as the A-side of the second single from Emotional Rescue (with “Send It to Me” on the flip side). It only made it to number 26 in the United States and number 33 in the United Kingdom.
Evidently Mick Jagger is the real driving force behind “She’s So Cold.” He invests such energy in the song and exhibits such a desire to communicate his enthusiasm that it seems as if nothing could possibly stand in his way. His performance is brilliant, and it is enough to watch the promotional video shot by Adam Friedman in July 1980 to get an idea of just how much the Stones singer, who has no hesitation in bringing out the innuendo of the lyrics, puts into it. Keith Richards opens the song with a palm mute riff with analog delay, courtesy of his MXR pedal. His sound is rockabilly, and in all likelihood he is using open-G tuning. He delivers a very good guitar part throughout the track, accompanied by a second rhythm part from Ron Wood, who slips in the odd phrase on slide. It is also Ronnie who plays the two solos on pedal steel guitar (1:54 and 3:51). He does not seem to be in great form, however. These two interventions are somewhat anemic and noticeably lacking in energy, especially in comparison to Mick’s performance… Bill Wyman supports his bandmates with a very prominent bass sound, and avoids the clichés of the genre by seeking out a more inventive melodic line. Charlie Watts takes care of the rhythm, playing an important role in making “She’s So Cold” the irresistible number that it is. Finally, poor Bobby Keys’s only contribution is an almost surreptitious saxophone effect at 2:01. It would have been good to hear more of him.