Red Rose Speedway

Red Rose Speedway
Studio album by Paul McCartney & Wings
Released	30 April 1973 (US) 4 May 1973 (UK)
Recorded	March - June & September - October 1972 in Los Angeles and at Olympic Studios, London
Genre	Rock, pop rock
Length	42:13
Label	Apple
Producer	Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney & Wings chronology
Wild Life (1971) Red Rose Speedway (1973) Band on the Run (1973)
Singles from Red Rose Speedway
"My Love" Released: 23 March 1973

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Rolling Stone	Favourable
MusicHound

Red Rose Speedway is the second album by Paul McCartney & Wings and was released in 1973 after the relatively weak commercial performance of the band's debut Wild Life, which had been credited only to the then-unknown Wings. The album reached #1 on the Billboard 200. As of 2010, the album is currently available on the iTunes store but out of print in the compact disc format.

Production

In early 1972, McCartney decided to expand Wings to a five-piece band, by adding an additional guitarist, and to begin touring with the group. The group spent many months on the road across Europe, beginning with a tour of British universities, and continuing in the summer in bigger European venues - where Paul and wife Linda McCartney would encounter their first of several marijuana busts over the ensuing years. Both tours were bookended by Red Rose Speedway's long string of studio sessions, which started that March in Los Angeles and finished in London that October.

Despite not releasing an album in 1972, the first year of his professional career that McCartney had failed to do so, Wings managed to release three singles: "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" which was banned by the BBC for political reasons; an updated rendition of the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb;" and "Hi, Hi, Hi" which was banned by the BBC for alleged sexual references and backed with "C Moon" on the b-side. Consistent with the practice of the early Beatles, none of those songs were included on the album.

Red Rose Speedway was initially planned as a double album, and Paul McCartney decided to include some unreleased songs that had originally been recorded during the Ram sessions, prior to the formation of Wings. Two of those songs, "Get On the Right Thing" and "Little Lamb Dragonfly," eventually appeared on the final album, which was held up a further six months before appearing as a single record. It featured a 12-page booklet stapled into the gatefold featuring pictures from the Wings tours. Its cover design - with the cover shot of a Harley-Davidson 'shovelhead' engine by Linda McCartney - was by Eduardo Paolozzi, while the back cover of the album contains a Braille message of "We love ya baby" for Stevie Wonder.

In March 1973 "My Love" was released as the lead single for the album, and became a UK Top 10 hit and McCartney's second US #1. It raised expectations for the album, which shot to #5 in the UK when it appeared and went to #1 in the US. "Live and Let Die", the title song to the James Bond film of the same name, was recorded during the sessions for this album, but would be released on the Live and Let Die soundtrack album rather than here.

The original compact disc version contained three bonus tracks: "I Lie Around," "Country Dreamer," and "The Mess." In 1993, Red Rose Speedway was remastered and reissued on CD as part of "The Paul McCartney Collection" series with "C Moon," "Hi, Hi, Hi," the b-side to "My Love" "The Mess," the b-side to "Live and Let Die" "I Lie Around" as bonus tracks. "Country Dreamer" was later added to the Band on the Run 1993 reissue.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Paul and Linda McCartney. 

Side One
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Big Barn Bed"	3:48
2.	"My Love"	4:07
3.	"Get on the Right Thing"	4:17
4.	"One More Kiss"	2:28
5.	"Little Lamb Dragonfly"	6:20

Side Two
No.	Title	Length
6.	"Single Pigeon"	1:52
7.	"When the Night"	3:38
8.	"Loup (1st Indian on the Moon)"	4:23
9.	"Medley: Hold Me Tight/Lazy Dynamite/Hands of Love/Power Cut"	11:14

Additional tracks

Bonus tracks on CD reissued by Capitol in the US
No.	Title	Length
10.	"I Lie Around"	5:03
11.	"Country Dreamer"	3:14
12.	"The Mess" (Live at the Hague)	4:58

The Paul McCartney Collection's 1993 reissue bonus tracks
No.	Title	Length
10.	"C Moon"	4:32
11.	"Hi, Hi, Hi"	3:07
12.	"The Mess" (Live at the Hague)	4:55
13.	"I Lie Around"	4:59

Original LP Recording

Originally planned as a double album, this is the tracklisting from the acetates of the early incarnation of the album dated 13 December 1972. Most tracks left off the released version ended up on b-sides, but some are still officially unreleased.

Side one

1. "Big Barn Bed"
2. "My Love"
3. "When The Night"
4. "Single Pigeon"

Side two

1. "Tragedy"
2. "Mama's Little Girl"
3. "Loup (1st Indian On The Moon)"
4. "I Would Only Smile"

Side three

1. "Country Dreamer"
2. "Night Out"
3. "One More Kiss"
4. "Jazz Street"

Side four

1. "I Lie Around"
2. "Little Lamb Dragonfly"
3. "Get On The Right Thing"
4. "1882" (live)
5. "The Mess I'm In" (live)

Other outtakes

Other songs recorded during this period that did not make the final album include:

• "Thank You Darling" — A duet featuring Paul and Linda McCartney. This song has yet to have an official release.
• "Seaside Woman" — Linda McCartney lead vocals. This was later released as a single under the pseudonym Suzy and the Red Stripes in 1977 then later on Linda's posthumous compilation Wide Prairie. The title of this song is featured in the inner sleeve artwork of the LP release of Red Rose Speedway.
• "Soily" — A live recording was mixed down but did not make the short list of the album. McCartney made other attempts at recording this song in studio including a version on McCartney's unreleased "studio performance" film One Hand Clapping on 15 August 1974. This song was finally granted an official release when it appeared as a live recording on Wings' 1976 live album Wings over America.
• "Henry's Blues" — A song featuring lead vocals and slide guitar from Wings guitarist Henry McCullough. A live recording was made during Wings' European tour of mid-1972, this has never officially been released
• "Best Friend" — A live recording was mixed as well as a studio version, but to date this song has not had an official release.
• "1882" — This song dates back to 1970 when it was first recorded as a demo around the time of the McCartney album. A live recording from the same concert as "The Mess" had studio overdubs added but has still yet to see an official release.
• "I Would Only Smile" — A song featuring lead vocals from Denny Laine. It was later released on Laine's solo album "Japanese Tears".

Personnel

Wings

• Paul McCartney — vocals, piano, bass, guitar, mellotron, electric piano, celeste, Moog synthesizer
• Linda McCartney — vocals, electric piano, organ, harpsichord, percussion
• Denny Laine — vocals, guitar, bass, harmonica
• Henry McCullough — guitar, backing vocals, percussion
• Denny Seiwell — drums, backing vocals, percussion, bass on "Single Pigeon"

Additional personnel

• Hugh McCracken — electric guitar
• David Spinozza — electric guitar
• Alan Parsons — recording engineer

Charts and certifications

Chart positions

Chart (1973)	Position
Australian Kent Music Report	1
Belgium Wallonia Albums Chart	3
Canadian RPM Albums Chart	2
Danish Albums Chart	2
Dutch Mega Albums Chart	6
French SNEP Albums Chart	9
Italian Albums Chart	2
Japanese Oricon Weekly LP Chart	13
Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart	4
Swedish Albums Chart	2
UK Albums Chart	5
U.S. Billboard 200	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1973)	Position
Australian Albums Chart	2
French Albums Chart	44
Italian Albums Chart	28
U.S. Billboard Year-End	33

Certifications

Region	Certification
Canada (Music Canada)	Platinum
United Kingdom (BPI)	Gold
United States (RIAA)	Gold

External links

• JPGR's Beatles site: Paul McCartney's Red Rose Speedway
• Red Rose Speedway review at maccafan.net

Preceded by 1967-1970 by The Beatles	Billboard 200 number-one album 2 June 1973 – 22 June 1973	Succeeded by Living in the Material World by George Harrison
Preceded by Hot August Night by Neil Diamond	Australian Kent Music Report number-one album 9 July 1973 – 29 July 1973	Succeeded by Goats Head Soup by The Rolling Stones