Considering the revolutionary style of The Beatles and Paul McCartney’s solo offering, Ram, to follow, the juice was bound to dry up eventually. Brief it may have been for this lull in quality, McCartney and Wings’ Red Rose Speedway is a tad underwhelming. Better remembered for its non-album single, Live and Let Die, than anything else, and understandably so. It is not that Red Rose Speedway is particularly bad; it just has very little to it. No thrills, they were found on the follow-up album Band on the Run. If anything, this 1973 effort from McCartney and the Wings troupe was a period of transition from Wild Life to the roaring thrills of his rock-like high. Stripped-back McCartney work is still, at the end of the day, more music from one of the greats.
Red Rose Speedway is middle of the road by McCartney standards, which makes it a thoroughly enjoyable listen. Opener Big Barn Bed, while lyrically repetitive, is a sweet start to Red Rose Speedway. There is comfort in the place it sings of and the instrumental build which becomes overwhelming towards the end, is a wonderful sign of McCartney’s constant desire to push a studio to its limits. He does this enough on Red Rose Speedway to warrant a few listens, but it all feels a bit static, a tad too much like a McCartney messing around in the studio piece. Standouts like My Love certainly help move his and Wings’ sound on, towards that ever-present Band on the Run style. They have the big band style, the orchestral appeal under control on these early moments. Red Rose Speedway has a wide berth of quality. Live and Let Die is dropped from the album, initially slated as a double LP, while shlock like Hi, Hi, Hi, and the welcome message but questionable writing of Give Ireland Back to the Irish suggest McCartney was not mature enough in writing politically timed commentaries.
Those lighter jolts from Get on the Right Thing are wonderful, pop rock fun, though. Red Rose Speedway is reduced from what could have been a messy occasion of aimless suggestions. Condensing those double album hopes into a slick and light piece is the right choice, but even then, the selections made are surprisingly underwhelming. Everyman musician McCartney is great fun on Red Rose Speedway, that is crucial for the latter songs, which wane a little compared to the heart of early efforts like Big Barn Bed and My Love. What remains is instrumental consistency, the frilly, fun sound Wings would keep. Both One More Kiss and Little Lamb Dragonfly take Wings’ sound that step too far, towards the twee.
When the Night and the songs to follow continue that lighter tone, such a stark difference to the Ram days. But Wings were still finding their footing around the release of Red Rose Speedway. A delicate release, a nice enough time though not an incredible feat. McCartney has plenty of those in his discography. Red Rose Speedway is a neat middle ground, a little too soppy, a little overwhelmed in its instrumental hopes. Expanded versions have sounded off the medley like detail McCartney had wanted for Red Rose Speedway, but as a standalone, original release, it lacks those little grooves, the extra thrills McCartney had been so consistent with on albums leading up to this fun but slightly disappointing album.
