- Album Songs recorded during this session officially appear on the Red Rose Speedway LP.
- Studio:
- Olympic Sound Studios, London
Timeline
More from year 1972
Some songs from this session appear on:
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About
The recording of Wings’ second album, “Red Rose Speedway“, began on March 19, 1972, at Olympic Studios. This was the studio to go to work with engineer/producer Glyn Johns. Paul McCartney had previously worked with Glyn Johns during the “Get Back / Let It Be” sessions back in 1969.
The collaboration with Glyn Johns wouldn’t last long, as Glyn left the sessions after only a few weeks due to disagreements with Paul.
From Wikipedia:
[…] Beginning on 19 March, sessions were held at Olympic Studios in London, after which recording continued sporadically throughout the year. Glyn Johns was invited to produce the Olympic sessions, but left after only a few weeks due to disagreements with McCartney. At the start of the sessions McCartney asked Johns to not think of him as Paul McCartney but rather just as “the bass player in the band” but then wasn’t receptive to Johns’ input. Johns was also unimpressed with the quality of the material, reading the newspaper in the control room while the band smoked marijuana and jammed aimlessly in the studio. […]
He and Paul didn’t hit it off at all. Paul always likes to be his own producer anyway, but at least if he’s going to bring one in they’ve got to be able to see Paul’s point of view.
Denny Laine – From “Blackbird: The Life and Times of Paul McCartney” by Geoffrey Giuliano, 1997
One evening they (Seiwell and Laine – author’s note) said, “We’re not happy with you as a producer. You’re not taking any interest in what we are doing”. I said, “If you think that everything you do is a gem of marvelous music, you’re wrong. And if you want to sit and play shit and get stoned for a few hours […] don’t expect me to record everything you’re doing, because frankly it’s a waste of tape and it’s a waste of my energy.
Glyn Johns, in FAB, an Intimate Life of Paul McCartney
The day after I finished with The Eagles, I went straight in with Paul McCartney and Wings to cut the Red Rose Speedway album, which I quit in a puff of steam after a couple of weeks, and then went straight on to work with Ronnie Lane and Ronnie Wood on the soundtrack to the movie Mahoney’s Estate, with our friend, the actor and director Alexis Kanner.
Glyn Johns, in SOUND MAN, 2014
Last updated on April 17, 2022
Related sessions
Recording "Mary Had A Little Lamb"
Mar 27, 1972 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Mary Had A Little Lamb / Little Woman Love (UK)
Mar 23, 1972 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
Recording "I Would Only Smile"
Mar 22, 1972 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
Mar 20, 1972 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
Recording "Loup (1st Indian On The Moon)"
Mar 15, 1972 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
Recording "Mama's Little Girl"
Mar 14, 1972 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
Mar 13, 1972 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
Mar 09, 1972 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
Mar 08, 1972 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
Mar 07, 1972 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
Mar 06, 1972 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
Songs recorded
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Mar 06, 1972 • Recording "Big Barn Bed"
5.
Mar 07, 1972 • Recording "When The Night"
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Mar 08, 1972 • Recording "The Mess"
7.
Mar 09, 1972 • Recording "Single Pigeon"
8.
Mar 13, 1972 • Recording "Tragedy"
9.
Mar 14, 1972 • Recording "Mama's Little Girl"
10.
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Mar 20, 1972 • Recording "Seaside Woman"
12.
Mar 22, 1972 • Recording "I Would Only Smile"
13.
Mar 23, 1972 • Recording "Thank You Darling"
14.
Mar 27, 1972 • Recording "Mary Had A Little Lamb"
Going further
Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989
With 25 albums of pop music, 5 of classical – a total of around 500 songs – released over the course of more than half a century, Paul McCartney's career, on his own and with Wings, boasts an incredible catalogue that's always striving to free itself from the shadow of The Beatles. The stories behind the songs, demos and studio recordings, unreleased tracks, recording dates, musicians, live performances and tours, covers, events: Music Is Ideas Volume 1 traces McCartney's post-Beatles output from 1970 to 1989 in the form of 346 song sheets, filled with details of the recordings and stories behind the sessions. Accompanied by photos, and drawing on interviews and contemporary reviews, this reference book draws the portrait of a musical craftsman who has elevated popular song to an art-form.
Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium
We owe a lot to Chip Madinger and Mark Easter for the creation of those session pages, but you really have to buy this book to get all the details!
Eight Arms To Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium is the ultimate look at the careers of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr beyond the Beatles. Every aspect of their professional careers as solo artists is explored, from recording sessions, record releases and tours, to television, film and music videos, including everything in between. From their early film soundtrack work to the officially released retrospectives, all solo efforts by the four men are exhaustively examined.
As the paperback version is out of print, you can buy a PDF version on the authors' website
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