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.

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

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.

Simply put, "Red Rose Speedway" is Paul's best solo effort. There is a toughness in the music that I believe comes from the best band Paul's had since the Beatles disbanded. Listening to the record now, its a shame the group didn't last longer, but there are some terriffic moments on this disc. "Big Barn Bed" is a great kick off for this record. Paul's in fine voice and the band's pumping it behind him. "My Love" which is next was recorded live with the whole band and orchestra in the studio with Henry McCullough changing his guitar solo at the last second. You have to expect these romantic songs from McCartney, and he doesn't disappoint. "Get On the Right Thing" is another hot track like "Big Barn Bed" and just as good. "One More Kiss" sounds kind of plain with nothing much except some nice guitar work to commend it. "Little Lamb Dragonfly" is a superb song. Great vocals and guitar playing keep building tension as the song progresses. The sing-a-long and clapping at the end of the song are a welcome relief to the earlier build-up. "Single Pigeon" is a nice tune that makes you wish that it went on a little longer. "When the Night" is next and once again you can see how good this band was. Tight and funky, despite the fact that the song goes on too long. "Loup" is a great instrumental and experimental piece you wouldn't find McCartney doing which is why I think it's so interesting. His funky bass playing in the middle of the song just propels it to a new level. The medley "Hold Me Tight," "Lazy Dynamite," "Hands of Love," "Power Cut" are all unfinished bits that he manganaged to fit together like he did on "Abbey Road." And just like there, it works here. While the segues may not be as smooth, the quality of the songs are up to scratch. The 1st bonus cut "I Lie Around" just doesn't go anywhere. Despite the horns covering up the lack of melody, it still doesn't work. "Country Dreamer" the 2nd bonus cut, is a fine piece of work. Paul's showing how deftly he can handle different styles(in this case country) of music and showing he can do it well. The great steel guitar playing is the icing on the cake. "The Mess" is the final bonus cut, and it shows this band can rock live. One of Paul's best songs solo, period. Another aspect of this disc which I find fascinating is that the production is a little more raw than you might expect from McCartney. This works to his advantage.

"Big Barn Bed" is a hippy-hop song that starts where RAM left it in its Ram on reprise. Makes you feel like a teenager.
"My love" is so beautiful. "Get on the right thing" and "one more kiss" are full of power and feeling. "Little Lamb dragonfly" is a hidden masterpiece, a display of greatness. "Single pigeon", simple, clean, reminds me the "Good day sunshine" style but with a touch of nostalgia and loneliness feeling. "When the night "is another master ballad, makes you want to be 18 again. "Loup" is an instrumental experiment. And the "medley" is so full of great melodies with hook and well crafted changes of rythym, loving feeling. Bonus tracks are great as well, i like specially "Country dreamer". However, bonus tracks break the loving atmosphere previously created.
All in all is a very heartfelt and inspired record full of great melodies and with the flavour of a "new love" sensation all over everywhere. Beautiful music. Unique and unforgetable collection of songs with a very special ,all along, atmosphere that I have not seen in any of McCartney records as concentrated as here.