- Audio CD (7 Jun 1993)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Format: Original recording remastered
- Label: Parlophone Records
- ASIN: B00000721M
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 62,178 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Product Description
Manufacturer's Description
The Paul McCartney Collection
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This album is a mixed bag but contains enough McCartney magic to warrant this glowing review. At times, the melodies from Paul McCartney seem to be almost taken for granted. On this album, the melodies are up there with his absolute best work and it is only perhaps the lyrics which prevents this album from having a classier reputation than it has. But lyrics are not everything and I for one would stand up in court and defend this album on the basis of the melodies alone.
We had abundant examples of this melodic mastery of course in all Paul's Beatles work and then on his home spun debut solo album 'McCartney' (1970) and plenty more on the two subsequent albums 'Ram' and 'Wild Life' (both from 1971). But here on this album he reaches melodic heights not heard since 'Abbey Road'.
The first single 'My Love' needs no further introduction. It is absloutely up there in the Hall of Fame Best Ballads Ever. Sentimental? Yes. But then so was 'Three Times A Lady' and 'I'm Not In Love'. I am tired of defending such classic songs. Tired.
'Little Lamb Dragonfly' may probably not be described as a classic. But it has touches of melody that were made in heaven. The same goes for 'Single Pigeon', 'Hold Me Tight', and 'Hands Of Love'. The latter possibly containing the most beautiful harmony singing from Paul and Linda ever committed to vinyl. 'Power Cut' is another little hidden gem.
The other tracks are mostly memorable too. 'Big Barn Bed' is a raucous opener, far superior to Wild Life's also raucous opener 'Mumbo'. The main difference being that 'Big Barn Bed' features a daring and creative McCartney bass line, the like of which we had not seen since 'Abbey Road'. 'Get On The Right Thing' was apparently a 'Ram' leftover but it is pretty enjoyable all the same. If not a classic.
Even the lesser moments here have some considerable charm. 'When The Night' has a beautifully melodic middle eight which somewhat rescues the song above its rather ordinary verse and lyric. The instrumental track 'Loop - First Indian On The Moon' is an interesting curio. Great bass playing from Paul, which takes it to an altogether higher level than its equivalent on the first solo album, the weird and basically forgettable 'Kreen Akore'.
So there we have it. 'Band On The Run' was to follow later in the same year, 1973, which became the blockbuster we all know and love. But on this album, we have enough memorable McCartney melody to make a Melody Cake. And if this artist was not at his supremely confident self whilst making it, presumably because of the hostile reaction to his post Beatles output thus far, this is hardly a reason to refute the sheer quality that is on display here. Paul never lost his genial melodic touch. And it is rich in abundance on this album.
We had abundant examples of this melodic mastery of course in all Paul's Beatles work and then on his home spun debut solo album 'McCartney' (1970) and plenty more on the two subsequent albums 'Ram' and 'Wild Life' (both from 1971). But here on this album he reaches melodic heights not heard since 'Abbey Road'.
The first single 'My Love' needs no further introduction. It is absloutely up there in the Hall of Fame Best Ballads Ever. Sentimental? Yes. But then so was 'Three Times A Lady' and 'I'm Not In Love'. I am tired of defending such classic songs. Tired.
'Little Lamb Dragonfly' may probably not be described as a classic. But it has touches of melody that were made in heaven. The same goes for 'Single Pigeon', 'Hold Me Tight', and 'Hands Of Love'. The latter possibly containing the most beautiful harmony singing from Paul and Linda ever committed to vinyl. 'Power Cut' is another little hidden gem.
The other tracks are mostly memorable too. 'Big Barn Bed' is a raucous opener, far superior to Wild Life's also raucous opener 'Mumbo'. The main difference being that 'Big Barn Bed' features a daring and creative McCartney bass line, the like of which we had not seen since 'Abbey Road'. 'Get On The Right Thing' was apparently a 'Ram' leftover but it is pretty enjoyable all the same. If not a classic.
Even the lesser moments here have some considerable charm. 'When The Night' has a beautifully melodic middle eight which somewhat rescues the song above its rather ordinary verse and lyric. The instrumental track 'Loop - First Indian On The Moon' is an interesting curio. Great bass playing from Paul, which takes it to an altogether higher level than its equivalent on the first solo album, the weird and basically forgettable 'Kreen Akore'.
So there we have it. 'Band On The Run' was to follow later in the same year, 1973, which became the blockbuster we all know and love. But on this album, we have enough memorable McCartney melody to make a Melody Cake. And if this artist was not at his supremely confident self whilst making it, presumably because of the hostile reaction to his post Beatles output thus far, this is hardly a reason to refute the sheer quality that is on display here. Paul never lost his genial melodic touch. And it is rich in abundance on this album.
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
If you are new to McCartney's solo stuff and are looking to be convinced by his post Beatle worth, stop reading now and look elsewhere. This is not the best place to start a collection of his work.
If however you are already a fan, and have avoided this album because of the received opinion which says My Love is pretty much the only tune of worth on board. Look again, because you will be missing a great deal of interest.
The opening Big Barn Bed picks up where Ram On leaves off, and goes off into a lovely ramshackle rocker. Get On The Right Thing follows a similar style and then the core of the album is provided by a number of really lovely ballads, which have never received anywhere near the respect they deserve. Single Pigeon, One More Kiss and the quite enchanting Little Lamb Dragonfly meander along with considerable charm.
The album draws to a close with a 12 minute medley of little fragments and again there is much to admire if you are prepared to stick with it. And believe me there is a great deal of stamina required to find your way to the core of this strange but enchanting record.
What Macca was thinking who can tell, this was never going to enhance his critical reputation, and it remains a curio which seldom gets a mention in the accepted history of the Beatles after The Beatles. It is an album which betrays more beauty with every listen and I hope that like McCartney and Ram, it will one day be given the critical respect it deserves.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
"Red Rose Speedway", credited to Paul McCartney & Wings, was an undoubted improvement on 1971's "Wild Life", but still met with a mixed, predominantly lukewarm response from the music critics at the time. Originally planned as a double album, it was recorded throughout 1972, a year when Wings were busy touring universities and European venues and then, after being cut to a single album, was released in May 1973. The only single released from the album was "My Love", a tender love song which Paul wrote for Linda, featuring a blistering guitar solo from Henry McCullough. However, that certainly doesn't mean that it was the only great song on "Red Rose Speedway" - far from it.
Part of the appeal of this album is the eclectic quality of this collection of songs. There is a gentle country song, the pretty and melancholy "One More Kiss", a decent but slightly shambolic rocker with a great bass-line, "Big Barn Bed" and even a 11-minutes plus melodic medley which possibly has more ambition than substance, but it's still an enjoyable listen - "Power Cut" and the instrumental break, especially. Not everything works, though. I believe that "Get On The Right Thing" is a missed opportunity. It could have been a great track, but the production and arrangement do their best to mask the qualities of what is, essentially, a brilliant McCartney composition. The instrumental "Loup (1st Indian On The Moon)" is rather bizarre but is miles better than "Kreen-Akore", the instrumental from the 1970 release "McCartney".
"Little Lamb Dragonfly" is, for me, the highlight of the album. Incredibly beautiful with a fantastic vocal delivery, the music and Paul's voice just soar. This is one of the greatest Paul McCartney songs that most people simply don't know. "Single Pigeon" is also a very nice track but very much like "When The Night" and "Get On The Right Thing", it seems to have more potential than the performance ultimately gets out of it. The bonus tracks on this particular version of the album are the excellent single "C Moon"/"Hi Hi Hi" plus "The Mess" and "I Lie Around" which, to me, are average McCartney compositions. To surmise, "Red Rose Speedway" is a very likeable, listenable album, but if you are building or starting a post-Beatle McCartney collection, this is an album you should invest in after you've bought the truly great releases. Indeed, the first few plays may leave the listener feeling slightly non-plussed, but this album has subtle charms which means that I, and I believe most Paul McCartney fans, think of "Red Rose Speedway" fondly.
Part of the appeal of this album is the eclectic quality of this collection of songs. There is a gentle country song, the pretty and melancholy "One More Kiss", a decent but slightly shambolic rocker with a great bass-line, "Big Barn Bed" and even a 11-minutes plus melodic medley which possibly has more ambition than substance, but it's still an enjoyable listen - "Power Cut" and the instrumental break, especially. Not everything works, though. I believe that "Get On The Right Thing" is a missed opportunity. It could have been a great track, but the production and arrangement do their best to mask the qualities of what is, essentially, a brilliant McCartney composition. The instrumental "Loup (1st Indian On The Moon)" is rather bizarre but is miles better than "Kreen-Akore", the instrumental from the 1970 release "McCartney".
"Little Lamb Dragonfly" is, for me, the highlight of the album. Incredibly beautiful with a fantastic vocal delivery, the music and Paul's voice just soar. This is one of the greatest Paul McCartney songs that most people simply don't know. "Single Pigeon" is also a very nice track but very much like "When The Night" and "Get On The Right Thing", it seems to have more potential than the performance ultimately gets out of it. The bonus tracks on this particular version of the album are the excellent single "C Moon"/"Hi Hi Hi" plus "The Mess" and "I Lie Around" which, to me, are average McCartney compositions. To surmise, "Red Rose Speedway" is a very likeable, listenable album, but if you are building or starting a post-Beatle McCartney collection, this is an album you should invest in after you've bought the truly great releases. Indeed, the first few plays may leave the listener feeling slightly non-plussed, but this album has subtle charms which means that I, and I believe most Paul McCartney fans, think of "Red Rose Speedway" fondly.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Red Rose- Really rather good!
My little sister bought this album when it came out and I played it a lot. I loved the medleys, reminiscent of Abbey Road. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Terry Starr
Red Rose Revisit
"The problem with most solo Beatle recordings, was that people expected them to be as good as say "Abbey Road", so there was disappointment on initial hearing. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Glenn Kitteridge
All at once we see things in the skies...
Absolute magic...A must for anyones Macca collection. The music is unique in its style. Sort of "otherworldly" No matter what others may think, I regard this album as the best Sir... Read more
Published on 6 Mar 2010 by Mr. W. G. Eatock
Rosy!
I had this album on tape from very many years ago. Having thrown out all my tapes some time ago, I'd often thought about buying a replacement on CD. Read more
Published on 22 Feb 2010 by P. Hardy
Red Rose Speedway
I would strongly recommend this to all McCartney and Beatles fans its just a great album from start to finish.
Published on 19 Sep 2009 by A. L. Parker
Red Rose Speedway Is The Ultimate Beatles Solo Album
Forget Band On The Run, forget All Things Must Pass, forget Imagine, Red Rose Speedway is the ultimate solo album by the Beatles. Read more
Published on 3 Oct 2003 by Simon Edwards
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