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)

ॐ