Original vs. Cover: “Live and Let Die”

For this blog we have decided to look at the Paul McCartney’s “Live and Let Die” to the cover of it by Guns N’ Roses. By us comparing the two versions of the songs, we want to highlight the great things about each of them and how they fit into the style of the artist’s version.

Paul McCartney’s “Live and Let Die” was released in 1973 through Apple Records and was featured in the Bond movie of the same title. In McCartney’s version of the song, it seems to start out with a calmer, gentler piano and vibe than the cover than Guns did. In the first chorus when the big band starts, it still feels gentler than the rock band. The feel that the song gives off goes well with the style that McCartney has established himself in. The “reggae” style part of the song is a fun bridge that adds flair to the song. The song flows well from each very different section of it; from the mellow intro, to the first big band, to the reggae, to the second big band, etc. This song has been featured in other movies too, not necessarily the version by McCartney, but is a song that is very dramatic and fits many different scenes well.

Guns N’ Rose’s version starts out with a different vibe compared to McCartney’s, but it is hard to explain how different it is. It is likely due to the difference in styles and reputation that they have each built for themselves. Axel Rose’s voice is still effective in delivering the emotions that McCartney had put into the first few lines and fits his band’s style better. The guitars are more distorted and are better heard over the big band. The different sections of the song, for the guitarists, were likely fun to do. No matter what part of the song it is, Guns N’ Roses style is still clearly heard. Their cover of the song was featured in Use Your Illusion I; the two Use Your Illusion’s have a variety of different songs on them that still all play well to the band’s sound.

To summarize, the song has been very well adjusted, from the original version done by McCartney, to fit Guns N’ Rose’s style. They follow the outline and vibe of the song well and keep it true to what McCartney had made.