Wings - Red Rose Speedway (extended)

RRS was one of the few Wings album I didn't quite get (with London Town). Always felt the songs and sequencing was a bit... poor. Until I discovered that it was supposed to be a double LP, and that most of the songs that were left off to single it out were the ones I prefered! Ach!
It is said that the two-record set was deemed too uncommercial in light of the relative failure of Wings' debut LP, Wild Life.

Two original track-listing made by Paul of the planned double-LP do exist:

SIDE 1
01. Big Barn Bed
02. My Love
03. When The Night
04. Single Pigeon
SIDE 2
05. Tragedy
06. Mama's Little Girl
07. Loup (1st Indian On The Moon)
08. I Would Only Smile

SIDE 3
01. Country Dreamer
02. Night Out
03. Only One More Kiss
04. Jazz Street
SIDE 4
05. I Lie Around
06. Little Lamb Dragonfly
07. Get On The Right Thing
08. 1882 (Live)
09. The Mess I'm In (Live)

That first one, taken from the double acetate dated to the 13th December 1972, is a bit poor sequencing-wise with sides quite uneven. The second one comes from another set of acetate and is closer to the final vision Paul had of the project (according to Bruce Spizer's book The Beatles Solo on Apple Records). It goes like this:

SIDE 1
01. Night Out
02. Get On The Right Thing
03. Country Dreamer
04. Big Barn Bed
05. My Love
SIDE 2
06. Single Pigeon
07. When The Night
08. Seaside Woman
09. I Lie Around
10. The Mess (Live)

SIDE 3
01. Best Friend (Why Do You Treat Me So Bad?) [Live]
02. Loup (1st Indian On The Moon)
03. Hold Me Tight
04. Lazy Dynamite
05. Hands Of Love
06. Power Cut
SIDE 4
07. Mama's Little Girl
08. I Would Only Smile
09. Only One More Kiss
10. Tragedy
11. Little Lamb Dragonfly

It sounds a bit better, but I thought the sequencing could still be bettered in some places. For example, the opening and closing songs should, to me, really be "Big Barn Bed" and the Medley -as it is on the original single LP (even if "Little Lamb Dragonfly" also is a great closer!).

So, tweaking the sides a bit, here is my Red Rose Speedway:

SIDE A (17:18)
01. Big Barn Bed
02. Get On The Right Thing
03. Country Dreamer
04. My Love
05. Single Pigeon
SIDE B (17:38)
06.When The Night
07. Seaside Woman (Linda McCartney)
08. I Lie Around
09. The Mess (Live)

SIDE C (21:38)
01. Night Out!
02. I Would Only Smile (Denny Laine)
03. Mama's Little Girl
04. Only One More Kiss
05. Tragedy * (Gerald H. Nelson/Fred B. Burch covered by Thomas Wayne & The DeLons, The Fleetwoods, etc)
06. Little Lamb Dragonfly
SIDE D (19:41)
07. Best Friend (Why Do You Treat Me So Bad?) [Live]
08. Loup (1st Indian On The Moon)
09. Hold Me Tight / Lazy Dynamite / Hands of Love / Power Cut

** I re-mixed the intro of this one a bit, using take 2 (with sitar) but adding the acoustic guitar from take 1 on the intro.

It makes the album sounding much more eclectic and interesting to me. Great mid-rockers (Get On The Right Thing, Best Friend), a very folky RAM kinda feel (Big Barn Bed, Country Dreamer, I Lie Around, I Would Only Smile, Little Lamb Dragonfly) and great power ballads (My Love, When The Night, The Medley). All of what makes WINGS great in a double Magnum Opus.

Add to this some period tracks, and you're set for a great listen:

01. Hi, Hi, Hi
02. C Moon
03. Live & Let Die
04. The Mess (Studio Version)
05. Thank You Darling
06. Tragedy (Take 1)
07. Jazz Street
08. Mama's Little Girl (1989 B-Side mix)

Ânanda! (woo-eeh) Heeey Ânanda! (wooh ooh)

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Jannick Top - VIVA UTOPIA [update]

Here is my attempt to gather together all the 70's solo material from Jannick Top released via his Utopic Records label, but also adding his various collaborations not included on these albums.

PHASE I

 SIDE A (19:48)
01. Utopia
02. Hypnose n°1
03. Hypnose n°2
04. Epithecantropus Erectus II
 SIDE B (11:07)
05. Hypnose n°3
06. African Dance n°3 (Soleil d'Ork)
07. Hypnose n°4

PHASE II

 SIDE A (18:07)
01. Glas
02. Vaterunser
03. La Musique des Sphères
 SIDE B (24:29)
04. De Futura Hiroshima

"Utopia" & "Epithecantropus Erectus II" are taken from the UTOPIA VIVA solo single from 1975 (Epithecantropus being an embryonic version of "De Futura") and feature Jean Schultheis on drums.
"Hypnose n°1-4" are taken from the 1974 IML library record Hypnose; which is "a basic argument treated by different modern composers dedicated to radio, film and TV musical illustrators" also featuring Teddy Lasry and Gérard Lévêque. "African Dance n°3" is an embryonic version of "Soleil d'Ork", recorded for Speed Limit's second eponymous album (1975).

Then comes the Infernal Futra cycle. Here I tried to structure the different parts of the Futura piece to which his 2008 album, Infernal Machina, was the follow-up. "Glas" is a demo recorded in 1976. "Vaterunser" is taken from the original intro to "De Futura", to be heard on the demo recorded in 1975 with Richard Pinhas (featuring real crying babies and the "our father" prayer recited in german). "La Musique des Sphères" was composed in 1976 but recorded in 1980 in Sénégal during the sessions for Bernard Lavilliers' Noir & Blanc album (the track is Seigneur de Guerre). It was committed to tape in one take during lunch break (featuring Doudou N'Diaye et les Tambours de Dakar on percussions).

The album ends with the 1975 Nancy Jazz Pulsation version of "De Futura Hiroshima" recorded on 16, october 1975. It features 18 musicians: MAGMA -Jannick Top (bass), Chrstian Vander (drums), Gérard Bikialo (keyboards), Stella Vander (vocals), Didier Lockwood (violin); Jean Schultheis (drums), Sauveur Mallia (bass "fret cello" created by Jannick Top), Hervé Derrien (cello), Denys Lable  / Jocelyn Pitchen [from Nucleus] (guitars), Philippe Briche (keyboards), Georges Gasquy (synth), Jean-Pierre Sabartet (piano), Kris Stassinopoulos (percussions), Michel Ripoche [from Zoo] (violin), Mohamed Larbi Ousni (Tunisian violin), Frédérique Gegembach & Martine Toureil (vocals).

To be totally comprehensive, add to the list the existing 1976 tour recordings, released via Jannick's UTOPIC Records label, that include a strange remix of a live extract from MDK, and a strange recording of "La Musique des Sphères" mixed with thunder sound effects in Part 1 and at the end of KMX.

VanderTop

01. Hhaï
02. De Futura
03. La Musique des Sphères / KMX - AXII (Opus 11) [bass solo]
04. Tröller Tanz
 All recordings from 2nd November 1976 (Théâtre de la Renaissance).

01. De Futura [10th, November 1976; Toulon]
02. La Musique Des Sphères / KMX - AXII [19th, October 1976; Antibes]
03. Mekanik Zaïn (Jannick Top Remix) [5th, November 1976; Paris]

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