Beatles ’73 pt3

Paul McCartney and Wings needed a hit. With their debut LP Wild Life and subsequent scattershot singles not setting the world on fire, the band that had to learn on the run found themselves on shaky ground. Enter Red Rose Speedway - a slick, polished record with punchy pop potential and a mammoth lead-off single in the sweeping McCartney ballad My Love. While the musical merit of Macca’s latest batch of material may be up for debate, neither lover nor hater could deny its power-pop charm and staying power on the charts. Form the rocking Big Barn Bed, to RAM-era highlights like Get on the Right Thing, to the medley reminiscent of Paul’s efforts on Abbey Road, Wings was at last taking to the sky and proving to a skeptical public what they were truly made of. As McCartney and company prepared to tour the record in their first major foray into Britain, another Apple release entered the charts in the form of George Harrison’s catchy and sweet Give Me Love single. George’s plea for peace was a long-awaited return for Harrison, whose forthcoming album Living in the Material World stood poised to do battle with Red Rose Speedway on the charts...