The Rolling Stones "Mixed Emotions (Single & Video)"

"Mixed Emotions" is a song by The Rolling Stones from their 1989 album Steel Wheels. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards while on vacation in Barbados, "Mixed Emotions" was recorded in Montserrat from March through June 1989. The song was a heavy collaborative effort between Jagger and Richards. Richards brought his own music to the sessions along with most of the song's lyrics, the rest being filled in by Jagger in the studio. The song reached No. 1 in Canada and No. 5 in the United States while becoming a top-ten hit in Finland, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Norway.

The song is an upfront rocker, with Richards, Jagger and Ronnie Wood sharing guitar duties. Piano and organ were provided by Chuck Leavell, the Stones' touring keyboardist since the 1980s. Backing vocals are provided by Jagger, Richards, Sarah Dash, Lisa Fischer, and Bernard Fowler, the latter two longtime touring vocalists for the Stones. Brass was provided by the Kick Horns while Luis Jardim provided percussion. Charlie Watts handled drums while Bill Wyman played bass.

To match the upbeat nature of the song, the music video featured the Stones, playful and smiling, performing the song as well as recording it. This stands in stark contrast to the band's previous video, 1986's "One Hit (to the Body)," filmed during a time when relations between Jagger and Richards were at an all-time low, and which featured uncomfortable physical sparring between the two.

Released as the album's first single in August 1989, "Mixed Emotions" made it into the top 10 in the US, going to number five, and was also a number-one hit on the Album Rock Tracks chart for five weeks and in Canada for one week. This is the Stones' last US top-ten single thus far, although they would go on to have more chart hits on the Album Rock Tracks (now Mainstream Rock) chart. The single's B-side was "Fancy Man Blues", a non-album track recorded during the Steel Wheels sessions.

The song was heavily performed during the 1989-1990 Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour. It appears on all of the Stones' latter day compilations, Jump Back, Forty Licks and GRRR!.

The 12" remix of "Mixed Emotions" by producer Chris Kimsey was rereleased on the Rarities 1971–2003 compilation, in 2005, along with "Fancy Man Blues."

Track listing

1. "Mixed Emotions" (7" version) – 4:00
2. "Mixed Emotions" (Chris Kimsey's 12") – 6:10
3. "Fancy Man Blues" – 4:54