Paul McCartney and Wings: Red Rose Speedway (1973)

This one is strong, though uneven. Neither worthy of the brutal kick it received on initial release (where ‘Wild Life’ certainly was), nor a forgotten gem hidden under Wings’ feathers (which belongs to ‘London Town’), ‘Speedway’ has plenty of moments. of brilliance, with a good variety of disconcerting and poor moments, with very little middle ground to cover in between. When ‘Speedway’ works, it works wonderfully and when it doesn’t work, it really doesn’t work. But there’s enough melody here for the converted to pay for and a few moments of substance for the unconverted to listen to.

Stripped of a double album, ‘Speedway’ made the decision to remove some of the strongest tracks from the recording. ‘I Lie Around’ and ‘Country Dreamer’ would later find their way to the public as the B-sides to ‘Live and Let Die’ and ‘Helen Wheels’, although both were substantially better songs than ‘Loup (1st Indian on the Moon). )’ (those of a politically correct nature beware) or the ‘Big Barn Bed’ opener. McCartney, the most musically successful of The Beatles, strove again to write a medley to rival his behemoth ‘Abbey Road’, but Speedway’s ten-minute closing falls well short of the mark. Split into four distinct sections, ‘Lazy Dynamite’ alone had the makings of a strong stand-alone song, undercut with the orchestrated brilliance of ‘Golden Slumbers’ and ‘Carry That Weight’. The other three ranged from the childish ‘Hold Me Tight’ to the forgettable ‘Power Cut’ to the unbearable ‘Hands of Love’, proof that McCartney had temporarily lost his magic (although not for long, the era that defines ‘ Band On The Run’ just a few months away) though Henry McCullough’s accomplished guitar playing glued the four pieces together into something of an acceptable whole.

‘When The Night’ proved that a good ensemble could bring mediocre lyrics to life (Linda is very, very good here). ‘Single Pigeon’ had a sweet if lyrically cheesy sound, a gorgeous piano gliding song, while ‘Indian Loup’ sounded past even for 1973. ‘Get On The Right Thing’ proved a strong rocker, though it would be better served. on a live stage, while ‘One More Kiss’ is a sweet piece that wouldn’t have seemed out of place on ‘The White Album’. ‘Big Barn Bed’ shouldn’t have been demoed, let alone released.

Some albums are saved by one song, ‘Speedway’ is saved by two: the seductive ‘My Love’ and the excellent ‘Little Lamb Dragonfly’. ‘Love’, a beautiful AOR pop ballad, had a keyboard resonance not heard again until Queen’s ‘You’re My Best Friend’. Masterful in its finesse, ‘Love’ provided Wings with a much-needed credible hit after the cool reception that 1972’s ‘Give Ireland Back To The Irish’ and ‘Hi Hi Hi’ received. McCullough, unsure of the guitar suggestions dictated by McCartney was reluctantly given permission to compose his own guitar solo (McCartney recalled that he “played the solo on My Love, which came out of nowhere”). It turned out to be his best contribution to a Wings song; despite his lack of longevity, McCullough proved to be an asset to Wings: Take his guitar solos from ‘My Love’ and ‘Live and Let Die’ and they’re instantly downgraded from classics to great songs.

Cut from similar cloth to ‘Hey Jude’, ‘Dragonfly’ shimmered in heavenly acoustics (performed largely by Hugh McCracken, this is an outtake from the ‘Ram’ sessions), a melody as fine as ‘The Fool On The Hill’, as easy on the ear as ‘Your mother should know’. The three-part harmony segway between the McCartneys and Laine brought back the mid-’70s joie de vivre further exemplified on the next two Wings albums. The best song on the album, it’s a shame it’s been left out of Paul McCartney’s live set since the 1970s.

Just as ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’ made ‘McCartney’ a more palatable album, ‘Dragonfly’ gave credit to Wings’ second record, if his grandiose musical ambitions weren’t like three years earlier, at least he could still write a hauntingly killer song like no other.

‘Speedway’, to crudely use an engine metaphor, finds itself running and stopping, engaging well, but stopping just off the finish line. But where ‘Wild Life’ was the sound of a car crash, ‘Speedway’ sounded like a car starting its engine. And with two members kicked out, their next record would be the sound of a band roaring at Grand Prix!