10 Hated '90s Rock Songs That Are Actually Really Good
3. Guns ‘N’ Roses - Live And Let Die
Guns N’ Roses rarely helped themselves. After all-time great introduction Appetite For Destruction, they took four years to bring out a true follow-up (1988’s minor G N’ R Lies notwithstanding), confounding fans and their label alike with the amazingly indulgent Use Your Illusion I & II, an album with plenty of gems but a lot of chaff, in contrast to their airtight debut.
What’s more, times were changing. Nirvana were breaking big, and from sunset strip outlaws, Axl Rose et al became easy to make fun of. Nothing was easier fodder than their cover of “Live And Let Die”. For cynical punks and grungers, this couldn’t have been easier. A hard rock outfit covering a song by a Beatle that was a James Bond theme? It doesn’t get more establishment than that.
As ludicrous and overwrought as the cover is, though, man is it ever fun. GN’R are a Hollywood band - their music and movies are a perfect match - and their “Live And Let Die” is more exciting than a rendition of Macca’s goofy, half-reggae composition has any right to be.
Giving a band unlimited studio resources can be a danger, as much of the rest of the double album proves. This one’s a blast, though.