[You can read my introduction to this series, along with the bottom five songs, here.]
25. "Die Another Day", Madonna, Die Another Day
24. "Another Way To Die", Jack White and Alicia Keys, Quantum of Solace
23. "Tomorrow Never Dies", Sheryl Crow, Tomorrow Never Dies
22."For Your Eyes Only", Sheena Easton, For Your Eyes Only
21. "All Time High", Rita Coolidge, Octopussy
20. "The Man with the Golden Gun", Lulu, The Man with the Golden Gun
Lulu was huge in the United Kingdom by 1974, when she was tapped by John Barry to sing the theme song for the next Bond entry. She had a huge hit in the UK with "Shout", was a co-winner of the Eurovision contest, and had even hit number one in the United States with the title song from "To Sir, with Love" in 1967. But her weak vocal styling, combined with what even Barry agreed was one his worst jobs providing score and theme in a Bond film, creates a parody of a Bond theme.
The song opens strong, true to the Bond formula - strong brass, aggressive percussion, and then an electric guitar theme that perfectly mirrored the rock music tastes of the time. And then Lulu starts singing some of the tackiest and most suggestive words to find their way into a Bond theme. "He has a powerful weapon..." Her nasal tones and vibrato on long notes make this sound like an American Idol contestant covering the song. It has a remarkable karaoke quality to it, but part of that feels built in to the song. I am not sure that a better artist could have made the song less crappy. But it does beat out "We're an all time hiiiigh...."
Grade: C-
19. "The Living Daylights", a-ha, The Living Daylights
Fresh off the success of "A View to a Kill" by Duran Duran, composer John Barry and the producers were looking for an artist that could hit the charts again with "The Living Daylights". Their first consideration had been Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders, but they eventually settled on Norwegians a-ha, the first non-English speaking artist to record a Bond theme. (Can you imagine two more opposite artists from this era? Then perhaps I shouldn't mention that Alice Cooper claims his song "The Man with the Golden Gun" was considered in place of Lulu.)
By itself, the song is not a bad one. It combines traditional sound with the emerging electronic instrumentation of the mid-1980s, and allowed a sequence where Morten Harket could plunge into his trademark falsetto made famous by "Take On Me". But it fails as a Bond theme on several counts. Sure, the theme mentions the name of the movie, but that's about the only connection the lyrics have to Bond. They are largely nonsensical, and combined with Harket's occasionally thick accent, they are hard to make out much less comprehend. And another sign of a weak theme - it doesn't have a reprise in the credits. That honor goes to the Pretenders and "If There Was a Man".
Then again, perhaps I expected too much. This was a Dalton film, after all.
Grade: C
18. "Live and Let Die", Paul McCartney and Wings, Live and Let Die
By 1973, John Barry was ready for a respite from Bond films. So he temporarily turned his duties over to George Martin. Yes, that George Martin. It's no surprise that Martin turned to former Beatle Paul McCartney, who was at that time the most successful post-Beatles solo artist, to come up with the theme song. And given the subject matter, that was no easy task. Live and Let Die was released at the height of the "blaxploitation" era - in fact, it was selected as the next film specifically to take advantage of that - and it is filled with stereotypes that would be considered inappropriate in a mainstream film today.
I suppose this is one song where I diverge dramatcially from critics and most of the public. "Live and Let Die" was a big hit in the UK and the US, and received both Grammy and Oscar nominations for best song from a film. And I grant that the more aggressive parts of the song are appropriate for a Bond film and perfectly suited to adaptation during the movie. But the bridge - oh, the bridge is awful. And the changes in tempo are too much for my taste, too. Further, the film went to great lengths to incorporate the cultures of New Orleans, Harlem, and the Carribean. This song doesn't seem to reflect any of them to me.
I am a traditionalist when it comes to these songs. I suppose this was just too dramatic of a change.
Grade: C
17. "Never Say Never Again", Lani Hall, Never Say Never Again
Many hard core Bond fans have mixed but mainly negative feelings about the non-EON remake of Thunderball, titled Never Say Never Again in reference to Sir Sean Connery's vow to permanently reject future James Bond roles. One bit of anecdotal evidence in this regard - the title sequence of this film is not clipped on YouTube. In its place are several amateur mashups of how the opening credits and theme should have looked, if this movie weren't such a bastard of the canon. (Hrm, "bastard of the canon" sounds like a character in Les Miserables. But, as usual, I digress.)
Anyway, about Lani Hall. She is easily the most obscure artists to give voice to any Bond theme. Before laying down this track in 1983, she was best known as a bossa nova artist with Sergio Mendes, and as Herb Alpert's wife. Oh, and she won a Grammy in 1985. It's hard to write an entire paragraph about Hall. So I'll spend two sentences on how hard it was instead.
This song lands at number 17 on our survey for one overarching reason - mediocrity. The vocals are ordinary, and the lyrics are average. The song has some redeeming aspects - for one, the verses build in melody and volume to a refrain, a common element in Bond themes. However, the refrain is pretty awful. Like that kid in your homeroom class whose name you cannot remember because he never did anything noteworthy, this is a forgettable theme in a forgettable film.
Grade: C
16. "We Have All the Time in the World", Louis Armstrong, On Her Majesty's Secret Service
For casual fans, as well as most die-hard Bond aficiandos, a Bond theme requires lyrics. It's what we have come to expect from the artists. However, this was not always the case, especially with the early films in the series. On Her Majesty's Secret Service is one of the films with two entries on our list; because incorporating the title of this movie into the theme song was unwieldy, the film got an instrumental opening theme and a this vocalized end credits theme, by jazz impresario Louis Armstrong.
Because of the legendary status of Armstrong, the fact that this was his last recording, and the subsequent use of the song in advertising campaigns, "We Have All the Time in the World" is generally looked upon with favor by the public. However, as a Bond theme - an action theme - it clearly fails. Written by John Barry and Hal David, this is a love theme, focused on James and Tracy, and reprised throughout the film during generally tender moments (not counting Bond's burglary of the law office in Switzerland).
Based solely on Bond theme criteria this song would have landed in the bottom eight. But this was Barry's fifth Bond film, and by this point he had established a tone - I hesitate to use the word "theme" - that created a thread between films. This song fits well into that overall tone. And if that wasn't enough, the composition of the escalating strings line in the background was brilliant, and perfectly suited for reprises during the film itself. It adds to my enjoyment of this hard-to-love film that it has one of the best scores on a Bond film.
Grade: C+
25. "Die Another Day", Madonna, Die Another Day
24. "Another Way To Die", Jack White and Alicia Keys, Quantum of Solace
23. "Tomorrow Never Dies", Sheryl Crow, Tomorrow Never Dies
22."For Your Eyes Only", Sheena Easton, For Your Eyes Only
21. "All Time High", Rita Coolidge, Octopussy
20. "The Man with the Golden Gun", Lulu, The Man with the Golden Gun
Lulu was huge in the United Kingdom by 1974, when she was tapped by John Barry to sing the theme song for the next Bond entry. She had a huge hit in the UK with "Shout", was a co-winner of the Eurovision contest, and had even hit number one in the United States with the title song from "To Sir, with Love" in 1967. But her weak vocal styling, combined with what even Barry agreed was one his worst jobs providing score and theme in a Bond film, creates a parody of a Bond theme.
The song opens strong, true to the Bond formula - strong brass, aggressive percussion, and then an electric guitar theme that perfectly mirrored the rock music tastes of the time. And then Lulu starts singing some of the tackiest and most suggestive words to find their way into a Bond theme. "He has a powerful weapon..." Her nasal tones and vibrato on long notes make this sound like an American Idol contestant covering the song. It has a remarkable karaoke quality to it, but part of that feels built in to the song. I am not sure that a better artist could have made the song less crappy. But it does beat out "We're an all time hiiiigh...."
Grade: C-
19. "The Living Daylights", a-ha, The Living Daylights
Fresh off the success of "A View to a Kill" by Duran Duran, composer John Barry and the producers were looking for an artist that could hit the charts again with "The Living Daylights". Their first consideration had been Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders, but they eventually settled on Norwegians a-ha, the first non-English speaking artist to record a Bond theme. (Can you imagine two more opposite artists from this era? Then perhaps I shouldn't mention that Alice Cooper claims his song "The Man with the Golden Gun" was considered in place of Lulu.)
By itself, the song is not a bad one. It combines traditional sound with the emerging electronic instrumentation of the mid-1980s, and allowed a sequence where Morten Harket could plunge into his trademark falsetto made famous by "Take On Me". But it fails as a Bond theme on several counts. Sure, the theme mentions the name of the movie, but that's about the only connection the lyrics have to Bond. They are largely nonsensical, and combined with Harket's occasionally thick accent, they are hard to make out much less comprehend. And another sign of a weak theme - it doesn't have a reprise in the credits. That honor goes to the Pretenders and "If There Was a Man".
Then again, perhaps I expected too much. This was a Dalton film, after all.
Grade: C
18. "Live and Let Die", Paul McCartney and Wings, Live and Let Die
By 1973, John Barry was ready for a respite from Bond films. So he temporarily turned his duties over to George Martin. Yes, that George Martin. It's no surprise that Martin turned to former Beatle Paul McCartney, who was at that time the most successful post-Beatles solo artist, to come up with the theme song. And given the subject matter, that was no easy task. Live and Let Die was released at the height of the "blaxploitation" era - in fact, it was selected as the next film specifically to take advantage of that - and it is filled with stereotypes that would be considered inappropriate in a mainstream film today.
I suppose this is one song where I diverge dramatcially from critics and most of the public. "Live and Let Die" was a big hit in the UK and the US, and received both Grammy and Oscar nominations for best song from a film. And I grant that the more aggressive parts of the song are appropriate for a Bond film and perfectly suited to adaptation during the movie. But the bridge - oh, the bridge is awful. And the changes in tempo are too much for my taste, too. Further, the film went to great lengths to incorporate the cultures of New Orleans, Harlem, and the Carribean. This song doesn't seem to reflect any of them to me.
I am a traditionalist when it comes to these songs. I suppose this was just too dramatic of a change.
Grade: C
17. "Never Say Never Again", Lani Hall, Never Say Never Again
Many hard core Bond fans have mixed but mainly negative feelings about the non-EON remake of Thunderball, titled Never Say Never Again in reference to Sir Sean Connery's vow to permanently reject future James Bond roles. One bit of anecdotal evidence in this regard - the title sequence of this film is not clipped on YouTube. In its place are several amateur mashups of how the opening credits and theme should have looked, if this movie weren't such a bastard of the canon. (Hrm, "bastard of the canon" sounds like a character in Les Miserables. But, as usual, I digress.)
Anyway, about Lani Hall. She is easily the most obscure artists to give voice to any Bond theme. Before laying down this track in 1983, she was best known as a bossa nova artist with Sergio Mendes, and as Herb Alpert's wife. Oh, and she won a Grammy in 1985. It's hard to write an entire paragraph about Hall. So I'll spend two sentences on how hard it was instead.
This song lands at number 17 on our survey for one overarching reason - mediocrity. The vocals are ordinary, and the lyrics are average. The song has some redeeming aspects - for one, the verses build in melody and volume to a refrain, a common element in Bond themes. However, the refrain is pretty awful. Like that kid in your homeroom class whose name you cannot remember because he never did anything noteworthy, this is a forgettable theme in a forgettable film.
Grade: C
16. "We Have All the Time in the World", Louis Armstrong, On Her Majesty's Secret Service
For casual fans, as well as most die-hard Bond aficiandos, a Bond theme requires lyrics. It's what we have come to expect from the artists. However, this was not always the case, especially with the early films in the series. On Her Majesty's Secret Service is one of the films with two entries on our list; because incorporating the title of this movie into the theme song was unwieldy, the film got an instrumental opening theme and a this vocalized end credits theme, by jazz impresario Louis Armstrong.
Because of the legendary status of Armstrong, the fact that this was his last recording, and the subsequent use of the song in advertising campaigns, "We Have All the Time in the World" is generally looked upon with favor by the public. However, as a Bond theme - an action theme - it clearly fails. Written by John Barry and Hal David, this is a love theme, focused on James and Tracy, and reprised throughout the film during generally tender moments (not counting Bond's burglary of the law office in Switzerland).
Based solely on Bond theme criteria this song would have landed in the bottom eight. But this was Barry's fifth Bond film, and by this point he had established a tone - I hesitate to use the word "theme" - that created a thread between films. This song fits well into that overall tone. And if that wasn't enough, the composition of the escalating strings line in the background was brilliant, and perfectly suited for reprises during the film itself. It adds to my enjoyment of this hard-to-love film that it has one of the best scores on a Bond film.
Grade: C+
2 comments:
"Live and Let Die" drives me CRAZY: "in this ever changing world in which we live in"
YOU ONLY NEED ONE "IN," PAUL. COME ON. (The first one isn't as bad, but "in which we live in" is like nails on a chalkboard.)
Amen to that. Lazy.
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