Red Rose Speedway (1973) 


 


  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 (First Indian on the Moon)
  9. (Medley)Hold Me Tight/Lazy Dynamite/
      Hands of Love/Power Cut
  10.I Lie Around
  12.Country Dreamer
  13.The Mess (Live) *
  
  * CD Bonus Track

 

Red Rose Speedway marked the first occasion in Paul McCartney’s post-Beatles career where he appeared to be treating the notion of making an album with something resembling seriousness. Now, “serious” is relative: this was not McCartney tilting at the weighty concerns of the age — no meditations on social injustice or planetary crisis here. But for once, the songs feel deliberately written, rather than whimsically exhaled into existence. After a couple of albums that bordered on musical doodling, it was clear that McCartney had chosen to engage his considerable songwriting faculties a bit more deliberately.

Curiously, although often listed as a solo effort, Red Rose Speedway emerged directly after Wild Life and used much the same lineup — that is, Wings by any other name. But distinctions like “Paul McCartney” versus “Paul McCartney and Wings” were, in these early days, largely academic. The personnel shifted with dizzying frequency, and until much later, the concept of Wings as a proper democratic band was largely promotional fiction. Whether it said “Wings” on the cover or not, these were Paul McCartney records through and through.

In contrast to the scrappy charm of McCartney or the blithe eccentricity of Ram, Red Rose Speedway is lush, melodic, and — dare one say — conventional. The material, though still tinged with the whimsical, is more structured, more polished, and often more sentimental. While critics at the time seemed unsure what to make of this softer side of post-Beatle Paul, the truth is, he had always leaned toward the melodic and sentimental. With Lennon snarling at the world on his solo outings, McCartney was content to write about barnyards and moon creatures. How these two ever managed to share a studio, let alone reinvent modern music together, remains one of pop history’s great mysteries.

The album’s best-known offering is My Love, an unabashed ballad draped in strings and earnest devotion. It was cloying to some, adored by others — but undeniably well-crafted. The rest of the record follows suit. The opener, Big Barn Bed, tries its best to be a rocker, though it's of the tea-and-biscuits variety, unlikely to ruffle even the most delicate sensibilities. One could play this to a church luncheon crowd and expect nothing more than polite toe-tapping.

Linda McCartney features again, most notably on When the Night, where she takes a vocal spotlight that does her few favors. Her limitations as a singer are well documented — pleasant enthusiasm, but terminally flat. She does not, thankfully, overstay her welcome.

Lyrically, the record is a puzzle box with no clear answers. Little Lamb Dragonfly may be one of McCartney’s loveliest melodies, but one is hard pressed to decipher what, precisely, the lamb or dragonfly are doing, or why either of them are being serenaded. Meanwhile, Loup (1st Indian on the Moon) is as baffling as its title suggests, offering a six-minute instrumental that ventures into mild psychedelia before disappearing without incident. But coherence was never really the goal. This is an album meant to charm, not challenge.

If you're the sort to recoil from sentiment, this may prove a sticky experience. But for those willing to embrace a bit of saccharine indulgence — or those simply fond of hummable melodies and soft-focus arrangements — Red Rose Speedway offers a surprisingly enjoyable listen. Even your gran might approve.

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