Continuing with a new James Bond list, this week we’ll be giving our rankings of the main theme songs of the series. Once again, Never Say Never Again is eligible to be included with the EON series.
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YOU KNOW MY NAME (from Casino Royale) – by Chris Cornell – A driving force of a song that perfectly captures the essence of the new James Bond. A rollicking tune that gets everybody’s attention and matches perfectly to the main titles. A definite home run.
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A VIEW TO A KILL – by Duran Duran – The only Bond theme to hit #1 in the U.S. Despite the incomprehensible lyrics, the tune is very enjoyable and a great Bond theme. It is worth the accolades and is arguably the best thing about the film.
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THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS – by a-ha – John Barry may have had a hard time working with a-ha, but the results were worth it–at least for us fans. Another great song for a new Bond.
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JAMES BOND THEME (from Dr. No) – by John Barry & Orchestra – The one that started it all. The character theme to end all character themes. Monty Norman wrote it and Barry arranged it to perfection. Jazzy and very adaptable, the theme is synonymous with action, suspense, supreme cool, and iconic stunt work. Simply a masterpiece.
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LIVE AND LET DIE – by Paul McCartney & Wings – Basically two songs in one. Disparate sounding and yet they work together to form an awesome song. And yet another great theme song for the debut of the new 007.
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GOLDENEYE – by Tina Turner – Written by Bono & The Edge, Turner gives a great Bassey-esque performance. And, yet AGAIN, another rockin’ debut theme for the new James Bond. I detect a recurring theme here.
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THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH – by Garbage – I think that this may be the most underrated theme song of the series. A very solid, entertaining effort by Garbage and singer Shirley Manson. Great song. Just might be the best music video as well–for what that’s worth.
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TOMORROW NEVER DIES – by Sheryl Crow – Really good song. Just not as good as k.d. lang’s Surrender and, as a result, will always pale in comparison, rightly or wrongly. I think some people maybe even hold that against TND because it was chosen as the main theme instead of Surrender. Regardless, I like it, though oddly, there are points in the song that remind me of the 1950s-60s TV show Perry Mason.
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THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN – by Lulu – Probably my first shocker. What can I say, I like the song. It’s campy, but Lulu is having fun with it and doing a good job. One of my favorite parts of the film.
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DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER – by Shirley Bassey – For my money, this is Bassey’s best Bond song. Very entertaining with some great lyrics by Don Black. This is also my favorite of the James Bond ballads. Everything before this was a rock tune except I suppose for the James Bond Theme. But even though Diamonds is all the way down to #10, it’s still a great song.
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ALL TIME HIGH (from Octopussy) – by Rita Coolidge – I believe I like this song more than most, but nevertheless, I find it highly entertaining. Really like the saxophone. Coolidge does a good job and it’s a fitting song for 007.
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NOBODY DOES IT BETTER (from The Spy Who Loved Me) – by Carly Simon – Just because I have this song down this low does not mean I don’t like it or respect it. I love this song, but I just like the previous ones better. The song is totally Bond and Simon does a great job with it. The reason I think it’s lower is that I just like the rockier, more upbeat Bond themes. But this is a very solid tune that deserves its accolades in the Bond canon.
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FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – by Sheena Easton – Another winner. Easton performs the song well and it’s a good listen. Well done. I think these first 13 themes are all great songs and the best of the series.
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THUNDERBALL – by Tom Jones – Here at last is the great Tom Jones who belts out a really good theme song with a performance (similar to Bassey for women) that sets the standard for all male vocalists.
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ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE THEME – by The John Barry Orchestra – The new Bond gets a new tune with no vocals. Doesn’t matter. The theme is kick-ass while at the same time also underlines the inevitable passage of time–and it does justice for both. No mean feat. Great job by Barry.
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SKYFALL – by Adele – For some reason, this one just doesn’t grab me like it seems to do for most people. It’s well done, but it’s a little too slow and melancholy for me. A part of me thinks I may have been affected for hoping/expecting something more along the lines of Rolling In The Deep or Rumor Has It rather than what we got and have subconsciously held it against the song.
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FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE – by Matt Monro – A nice little tune very reminiscent of Frank Sinatra. I really like this song, maybe because I can sing it better than most/all the others.
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YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE – by Nancy Sinatra – Speaking of Sinatra. Nice song that definitely captures the flavor of the Asian continent. However, I’m not blown away by it. It’s nice and I respect everyone’s love for it, but I just don’t quite feel the same way they do.
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GOLDFINGER – by Shirley Bassey – The song that defined the Bond theme song. Bassey belts out this tune with bravura. But like YOLT, it doesn’t hit me like it does most everyone else. Though I am liking it more and more over time. Still, it gets its props for being the first to really nail the Bond sound.
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DIE ANOTHER DAY – by Madonna – This one is a mixed bag for me. I seem to like it better than most people–and it does actually work really well in the main titles of the film, but I have to admit I am also a bit disappointed in this effort. I like Madonna’s music and I was looking forward to her doing a Bond theme, and hoping for something along the lines of–and as good as–Beautiful Stranger from the film Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. So I was pretty disappointed to hear what we got instead. And yet despite that, I still find things to like about DAD and enjoy the song overall, but it’s just not what I was expecting or hoping for.
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ANOTHER WAY TO DIE (from Quantum Of Solace) – by Jack Black & Alicia Keys – The first duet in Bond history, and it should have remained a solo gig. The two singers do not mesh together well and I think Black is the problem. Keys would have been better by herself, and if it had been that way, I think the song could have worked. But the two of them combined doesn’t. But having said that, I like the music (which Black wrote). It’s pretty catchy for the most part. As a result, I have it here rather than lower on the list.
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LICENCE TO KILL – by Gladys Knight – I kind of like this song, but I’m not wild about it. With a title like this and the film it’s based on, no way should this film have had a ballad like this as its theme song. It should have been a rock theme by someone like Heart or Bryan Adams. Despite not being wild about the title, Knight gives it her best shot and does a good job, but it’s not among my favorites.
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NO TIME TO DIE – by Billie Eilish – For better or worse, it does seem to be an Eilish song. I’m glad she does get to belt out one line in the song, but overall it’s very understated. I like the song ok, but it’s nowhere near as good as most of the others.
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WRITING’S ON THE WALL (from SPECTRE) – by Sam Smith – Music-wise, this is a great song. Singing-wise (non-falsetto), it’s solid stuff. But once Smith hits the falsetto notes, this tune crashes like the Hindenburg. The falsetto is so NOT the James Bond sound. Every time I hear this song, the first several bars I think, “this is pretty good, it’s better than I remember”. And then once the falsetto hits, I’m zapped back to reality and I’m like, “ah, there it is. That’s why it’s down here.” The only thing keeping this song from the bottom is that the music is so solid. Oh, and would it have killed Smith to put the word Spectre in his song? It’s not that hard a word to include. Although why he didn’t write a theme song titled Spectre is beyond me.
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MOONRAKER – by Shirley Bassey – I’m not wild about this one. I probably like it a little more than I used to–and I appreciate the space sounding elements of the tune, but despite Bassey’s best efforts, this just doesn’t hook me.
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NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN – by Lani Hall – This and Moonraker battle it out for the bottom for me. Hall does what she can with the song, but she doesn’t have a lot to work with. Michel Legrand was on fumes in this film which his score proves, and this song isn’t much better. I find it just ok, but Sean Connery and company should have listened to Legrand when he said he initially didn’t want to do it because he was burned out. The film really suffered for it.
So, how would you rate the Bond theme songs?
There’s still great stuff in both.
I know it is hated with a passion but I think she managed what no one since Paul McCartney did years earlier, to invent a totally new sound for a title song while retaining the all important essence of the Bond sound. I get that EDM isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I love that she took a risk, rather than churning out a typical Madge by numbers ballad which, to be honest, I was expecting. Oh, and the video absolutely slaps hard too!
