Billy Joel brings some New York swagger to the classic Paul McCartney jam "Maybe I'm Amazed" in the latest shared audio from The Art of McCartney.
The Piano Man picked a winner for the tribute album of tunes the former Beatle wrote. Joel adds a little growl to the rendition with his aged voice, but the track still maintains its subtle gentleness. When he starts out, Joel sounds like his 1977 self on "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant," but it does not take long for the singer to turn it up a notch. Listen to the cover below.
Joel also took on "Live and Let Die" for the album, out Nov. 18, bringing the same ferocity to the tune, Rolling Stone reported.
"Paul stepped up to the plate and knocked it out of the park," Joel said. "I love the song; it's kind of a whacked song. We used to do it at sound check; matter of fact, we still do it at sound check. It's just fun to play because it's so over-the-top."
The album will come in a few different formats, including a deluxe, 42-track record with books and a documentary about making the compilation. Other impressive performances include The Cure on "Hello, Goodbye," Alice Cooper on "Eleanor Rigby," Chrissie Hynde on "Let It Be" and Bob Dylan on "Things We Said Today."
Joel has not released an album of original material since 2001's collection of classical compositions, Fantasies & Delusions. In recent interviews, he has expressed no urge to write new songs either.
"I just don't want to [write new songs]," he told Howard Stern in April. "You have to want to write new songs. Elton John asked me [mimes accent], 'When are you going to make another album?' And I said to him, 'Why don't you make less albums?'"
