Paul McCartney & Wings - Red Rose Speedway (Special Edition) (1973/2018) [Hi-Res]

Red Rose Speedway was released in 1973 to what can only be described as a turgidly tepid reception by both rock critics and fans alike, and has largely, even by McCartney fanatics, been relegated to a rating slightly higher than forgettable. Now whilst this album has its detractors and defenders, me being both, the real tragedy behind this album’s release is that we only got half of the content upon release.

Originally this was to be a double album, a band album, a semi-live album, the early Wings magnus opus, and the band’s great statement to the world that they were not to be messed with. But due to reasons not fully disclosed, the record label decided that it was time to go George Martin on Red Rose and condense it down to a single, cheaper, and more marketable product. It’s like Capitol Records was giving us half a PS4 game but then refusing to give us the DLC. No remaster, no release, no ultimate edition, bugger all!!!

But what if it didn’t go down that way? What if the band didn’t back down? What if they said ‘sod it’ and decided to release all of their content all at once and to hell with the consequences? Well, that’s what we are here to find out. So here I am now, trying to right the wrongs that took place over 40 years ago today. Let’s see if I can’t make something a little bit better to take the sting out of the calamity that was Red Rose Speedway.

Paul himself oversees all aspects of each and every title in the Paul McCartney Archive Collection from remastering to the curation of lost tracks, outtakes, artwork, photographs and video from his personal vaults, and much more. The result is one of the most ambitious and personal undertakings of its kind, one that encompasses more than 40 years of cherished, classic material from the most successful songwriter and recording artist in music history.

"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)

"All right, he's made a record with his wife and a record with his pickup band where democracy is allegedly the conceit even if it never sounds that way, so he returns to a solo effort, making the most disjointed album he ever cut. There's a certain fascination to its fragmented nature, not just because it's decidedly on the softer side of things, but because his desire for homegrown eccentricity has been fused with his inclination for bombastic art rock à la Abbey Road. Consequently, Red Rose Speedway winds up being a really strange record, one that veers toward the schmaltzy AOR MOR (especially on the hit single "My Love"), yet is thoroughly twisted in its own desire toward domestic art. As a result, this is every bit as insular as the lo-fi records of the early '90s, but considerably more artful, since it was, after all, designed by one of the great pop composers of the century. Yes, the greatest songs here are slight -- "Big Barn Bed," "One More Kiss," and "When the Night" -- but this is a deliberately slight record (slight in the way a snapshot album is important to a family yet glazes the eyes of any outside observer). Work your way into the inner circle, and McCartney's little flourishes are intoxicating -- not just the melodies, but the facile production and offhand invention. If these are miniscule steps forward, consider this: if Brian Wilson can be praised for his half-assed ideas and execution, then why not McCartney, who has more character here than the Beach Boys did on their Brother records? Truthfully." (Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG)

Paul McCartney, vocals, bass, piano, guitars, electric piano, Mellotron, celeste, Moog synthesizer
Linda McCartney, vocals, piano, organ, electric piano, electric harpsichord, percussion
Denny Laine, vocals, guitars, bass, harmonica
Henry McCullough, guitars, backing vocals, percussion
Denny Seiwell, drums, percussion
Additional musicians:
Hugh McCracken, electric guitar (on track 5)
David Spinozza, electric guitar (on track 3)

Produced by Paul McCartney

Digitally remastered