Red Rose Speedway

Paul McCartney, Wings

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: November 30, 1988
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B00000DQYT
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #213,425 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Big Barn Bed

2. My Love

3. Get on the Right Thing

4. One More Kiss

5. Little Lamb Dragonfly

6. Single Pigeon

7. When the Night

8. Loup (1st Indian on the Moon)

9. Medley: Hold Me Tight/Lazy Dynamite/Hands of Love/Power Cut

10. I Lie Around [*]

11. Country Dreamer [*]

12. Mess [Live][*]

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

You could trawl the rock & roll archives all the way back to the start and never find an album quite like Red Rose Speedway. Which is not to say that it's great. Just that it's... weird. Though it's a Wings album, it's entirely irradiated with Paul McCartney's personality--to the extent that virtually the entire band left him while attempting to rehearse for the supporting tour, claiming they couldn't operate in his huge, overbearing shadow. You can see where they were coming from. Red Rose Speedway, right down to the cover shot of Macca with a rose in his mouth, is about Paul McCartney, specifically his unique ability in the '70s to pump up slight, pretty songs to the scale of "Hey Jude," seemingly unaware or unworried that that didn't necessarily make them as good as "Hey Jude." The high spot is the saccharine sauciness of "My Love," a lurching soft-focus ballad about his wife's sexual excellence. The rest of it--lazy, lushly produced rock, sometimes sweet, sometimes just cloying, but always unmistakably Macca--is worth hearing if just to ponder: "What the hell did he think he was doing?" --Taylor Parkes

Product Description

Digitally remastered Japanese reissue of their top 10 1973 album in a miniaturized gatefold LP sleeve limited to the initial pressing only. Nine tracks, including the #1 smash 'My Love'. 1999 release. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly solid, September 3, 1999

By	"drewv" (Atlanta, Georgia) - See all my reviews

By the time this album was recorded, in mid-1972, reality had hit the Beatles. George's initial splash with ALL THINGS MUST PASS had faded, Ringo had yet to release a "real" album, and John had just been pummelled by backlash against SOME TIME IN NEW YORK CITY. Add to this Paul's fall from grace with WILD LIFE, and the Beatles looked very, very human. For that reason, I definitely expected this album to suck. Badly. Prior to listening, I had only heard "My Love" and thought it one of Paul's worst. Fortunately, it's far and away the worst song on the album. RRS begins with "Big Barn Bed" a stomping romp that sounds simply exquisite on headphones. Skipping the trite and poorly placed "My Love" (which should really be squeezed onto the second side), you have the fun "Get on the Right Thing," the simple melody "One More Kiss," and the chef d'oeuvre "Little Lamb Dragonfly" -- this song is a real gem and potentially one of his all-time best, with "Maybe I'm Amazed" and "Band on the Run." "LLD" is followed by another simple melody "Single Pigeon," then the singalong waltz "When the Night," with the haunting instrumental "Loup" coming next. A nice seque into the Medley, of which "Lazy Dynamite" stands out as exemplary. Throw in the bonus tracks, especially "The Mess," and you have a splendid work that really foreshadows the success the Beatles would have in 1973: MIND GAMES, LIVING IN A MATERIAL WORLD, RINGO, and of course, BAND ON THE RUN.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of McCartney's Best, May 23, 2001

By	Steve Vrana (Aurora, NE) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The recent promotion of Wingspan the CD and TV special have prompted me to go back and revisit Paul McCartney & Wings' back catalog. Red Rose Speed--now close to thirty years old--is one of my favorites.

"Big Barn Bed": A terrific rocker. A great track to kick off the album.

"My Love": The first of McCartney's solo 'silly love songs' released as a single. And it's a great one. It spent four weeks at No. 1.

"Get on the Right Thing": Another great rocker.

"One More Kiss": This lovely ballad has a country feel to it.

"Little Lamb Dragonfly": A pleasant ballad, nice acoustic guitar playing.

"Single Pigeon": Mostly Paul at the piano with some nice harmonies. At under two minutes it seems unfinished, though.

"When the Night": A rather pedestrian mid-tempo song.

"Loup (1st Indian on the Moon)": A somewhat interesting instrumental. Some clever effects here and there--McCartney's attempt at Pink Floyd?

"Medley: Hold Me Tight/Lazy Dynamite/Hands of Love/Power Cut": Maybe it's just me, but this pastiche of unfinished songs is my favorite track. Reminiscent of side two of Abbey Road.

Bonus Tracks (These non-album songs were originally released as the b-sides to "Live and Let Die," "Helen Wheels" and "My Love," the three singles McCartney released in 1973, the year Red Rose Speedway was released.)

"I Lie Around": Lyrically this is not one of McCartney's best efforts, but it's a fun song celebrating country life.

"Country Dreamer": Another ditty extolling the joys of country living. Very upbeat and very country sounding.

"The Mess": This is a live recording and shows that when they wanted to, Wings could be a tough rock 'n' roll band.

While critics have drubbed this release almost as mercilessly as 1971's Wild Life, this album is fun from start to finish and the bonus tracks (none of which made it onto the Wingspan anthology) make this an essential purchase for die-hard fans. RECOMMENDED

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Land Like Air..., January 14, 2006

By	Brian Chidester (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The only reason why a mellow, pot-smoking hippie wouldn't dig this album to death is because of the MOR cheese that is "My Love." Frankly, the song bears no indication as to how experimental, melodic and cool RED ROSE SPEEDWAY is throughout.

Side one moves at a hit-or-miss pace, with most of the misses still coming off as funky DIY anthems, as Wings sport big, layered vocals ("Big Barn Bed," "Get on the Right Thing"). "One More Kiss" is the first sign of some WHITE ALBUM-esque inspiration (with side two's "Single Pigeon" taking it back to 1968 with a vengeance). But "Little Lamb Dragonfly" is where we start to get a sense that McCartney's talent and flair for melody hasn't lost an ounce since his Beatle days. The song is delivered from such a simple and gentle place.

"Single Pigeon" opens side two as sort of an intro piece (with lonesome lyrics akin to the classic "Yellow Bird"), before Wings launch into the chronic vibes of "When the Night," featuring head lyrics about the night being beautiful and mellow... the light being marvelous and yellow, and "the light of the night, fell on me" (!!!!) If the lyrics aren't hazy enough for ya, perhaps the Donovan-esque rhythm will take you there. Not to be outdone by the instrumental, "Loup (First Indian on the Moon)," a tribal psychedelic experience about, well... what the first Indian on the moon might experience. Its mysterious opening chords and gutteral harmonies launch into a mystical pastiche of sound waves from beyond, as Loup re-enters a world (the moon) where land is again like air. For the Indian it's preposterous to think that a human being could "own" land (just as absurd to think that you could own air or water). With heart content, Loup then launches into a funky tribal dance around the burning coals, before the whole affair slides back into the opening chords to fade.

RED ROSE SPEEDWAY ends with an ABBEY ROAD-like suite (in four parts), starting out with the catchy, light-hearted ditty "Hold Me Tight." This seques into "Lazy Dynamite," not only the strongest melody on the whole LP (and one that shows, again, McCartney's utter melodic genius), but a dynamic message about taking this special spark inside and drawing it out from its sleep.

In all, RED ROSE SPEEDWAY was the McCartney album that finally got critics and fans to take his solo career seriously. While it was a 50-50% shot as to whether heavies and hippies bought it in 1973, there would be no doubt on the next album, BAND ON THE RUN. Every household had a copy.