Red Rose Speedway (1973)
This one’s personal. Red Rose Speedway is one of my greatest comfort albums of all time. Not everyone’s going to agree with me on this, and I don’t need them to. It might not have the critical clout or cultural weight of Band on the Run, but it doesn’t need it. Red Rose Speedway isn’t aiming to impress you—it’s aiming to warm you up, slow you down, and quietly knock the air out of your chest.
Paul earns another NSA here, and yeah, I know that’s a spicy take for an album that often gets filed under “lesser McCartney.” But that’s exactly why I love it. This is Paul settling into his own lane, drifting away from the rawness of Wild Life and embracing high-gloss production and soft-edged songwriting. It’s transitional Paul—and transitional Paul is always fascinating. Except for McCartney II …
The opener, Big Barn Bed, sets the tone perfectly. It’s weirdly catchy, deceptively goofy, and kind of brilliant. This is Paul loosening up the collar and flexing his pop sensibilities without making it too obvious. It’s polished, but still playful.
And then there’s My Love. The song that makes you throw your cynical instincts out the window and just feel something. That guitar solo? That string section? That vocal delivery? It’s peak sentimental McCartney—and I refuse to apologize for how much I love it.
Now let’s talk Little Lamb Dragonfly and Single Pigeon. I’ll admit—I overlooked both on first listen, and maybe even on my second listen. But with every return visit, they’ve quietly revealed themselves as essential. They’re soft, melodic, unassuming little gems that reward you for slowing down and meeting them on their level. This album isn’t loud about its brilliance. That’s part of the appeal.
The original 9-track version of Red Rose Speedway is where the NSA badge truly applies. Every track flows into the next like a dream you don’t want to wake up from. The Deluxe Archive Edition, while a bit more bloated, is still worth the dig—mainly for bonus material like the gently deranged Mary Had a Little Lamb, the orchestral sucker punch that is Live and Let Die, and the jammy Jazz Street.
And don’t write this off as just a soft rock detour. Songs like Hi, Hi, Hi bring back the rock’n’roll chaos Paul’s always carried in his back pocket. It’s glam, it’s raucous, it’s McCartney reminding us he can still kick a song into overdrive when he feels like it.
There’s a certain magic in this era of Paul—he’s not trying to one-up the Beatles or prove anything to the critics. He’s making music in a post-Beatles world the only way he knows how: with heart, craft, and a little chaos. Red Rose Speedway is all of those things at once. And for those of us who get it? It’s not just underrated—it’s essential.
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Highlight Songs:
My Love
Big Barn Bed
Little Lamb Dragonfly
When The Night
One More Kiss
Hi, Hi, Hi
Jazz Street
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Own it, Stream it, Forget about it?
Let’s get straight to the point. You have got to own this one. I will even say you must own any NSA highlighted on Warewolf Reviews. I say that as both a non-pressuring suggestion but also as a warning that you may be mocked and laughed at by your friends and family and more importantly—me. Red Rose Speedway proves that McCartney can evolve from his time in The Beatles, to the raw and personal rock of his early albums, and to the softer pop rock that Red Rose Speedway.
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Overall Rating
5 Stars
