I'm listening now to a show on WFMU where the DJ has compiled a solid hour's worth of versions of the song "Live and Let Die." A for effort to her, but man, it's a little hard to believe so many people have chosen to do that song. The original recording works because it's Paul and Wings, but as a song I don't think it exactly towers over Duran Duran's "View to a Kill". The song Chris Connell did for Casino Royale strikes me as much better and I'm not even that big a Soundgarden fan. I mean, McCartney seems to be going out of his way to be trite with that "you used to say live and let live" opening.
I don't know, maybe I'm being mean. But imagine what Lennon must have been saying at the time.
I don't know, maybe I'm being mean. But imagine what Lennon must have been saying at the time.
2 comments:
We never watched another James Bond movie once Sean Connery gave them up - and having re-watched one (or maybe two) in the years since the films were not just dated, one can put up with dated, but also simple mindedly distasteful. Nevertheless, my memory of 'Live and Let Die' from that time is that it wasn't an especially inspired effort but it was lively. I hadn't heard the Chris Cornell 'Casino Royale' song until this evening. You're right that it's good.
As for John Lennon, at that point he was pretty caught up in 'Mind Games'; he always was the stronger lyricist of the two.
Sean Connery was indeed very good in the role. I think he enjoyed it in the early days when it was just a lark. When it started to feel like a drag he moved on. Most of the movies I haven't seen either. I did see The Living Daylights, which was the first one with Timothy Dalton. He was quite good. The story, perhaps less so.
Strangely enough Lennon didn't like a lot of the lyrics he wrote. Or maybe to some degree that was false modesty. The seventies were pretty good for him, though. Say what you like about Phil Spector, but his approach was well suited to John's.
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