What makes a good Bond theme?
SB_Diamond
North Miami Beach, FLPosts: 126MI6 Agent
For every one of the 21 Bond films there had always been a theme that has always had a defining place in the movie. The most memorable and most often reused of course being the theme from Dr. No also known as the 007 theme. But since then there have been other themes from such artists as Shirley Bassey (which are my favorites) Tom Jones and more recently Madonna and Chris Cornell. Madonna's being voted the worst Bond song ever (and I agree, it was horrible and NOT a Bond song but a pop song). What do you think makes a Bond theme good, memorable and over all, Bond worthy? What do you think is the best ans worst Bond song ever?
*~Orbis Non Sufficit~*
Comments
Frequently the Bond themes move between major and minor keys for effect. A good example of this is "Live And Let Die", where the vocal sections are in G while the instrumental sections are in Gm.
Another common factor to many of the Bond themes is the use of a dramatic introduction, generally played with much energy for maximum impact. An example of this would be "Thunderball" with its Wagnerian opening chords.
Usually the songs are in a classic ABAB format- examples include "All Time High", "Nobody Does It Better" and "Diamonds Are Forever"- but not always (a few feature a middle eight, eg "Licence To Kill").
Other uniting factors include the employment of currently popular singers to maximise chart exposure; the rehiring of composers and musicians who have been successfully involved in earlier Bonds; and the intricately ingenious ways in which the various lyricists involved have contrived to evoke stereotypically Bondian images while incorporating often awkwardly angled title phrases.
To me, the first condition is not to hire a pop group to compose and sing it.
Now you know which title songs I don't like.
WORST- Madonna's DAD song, hands down. Amelodic to say the least and completely unBondian.
BEST- Obviously the "James Bond Theme". John Barry's CBS re-recording (as available on many compilations) is my personal favourite, mainly owing to the arrangement here opening a la the classic gunbarrels, but his first version as heard in DN runs it close. Not so fond of his orchestrated versions from the early 70s onwards; the famous riff is at its best on guitar.
Songwise, DAF. The inspired ostinato which opens the song (once heard never forgotten), Barry's unbeatable melody, Don Black's clever lyrics, plus the voice of Shirley Bassey- the epitome of Bond music.
Honourable mentions: OHMSS, YOLT, WHATTITW, GF, TB, LALD (hey, one that isn't by Barry
It is a song that sounds rich and uber classy and very Bond. I also think that You know my name is also a great Bond song though. Although it didn't incorporate the title of the movie (which didn't bother me) the lyrics are directly related to the plot of the movie but are written in a clever metaphorical way. I think very few Bond songs have been able to do that since they are confined to making the title of the movie work in the song. (Moonraker, Goldeneye, etc.) SO even though this has a more rock feel to it, it still has the signature Bond instrumentals and succeeded where Madonna failed miserably.
Shirley Bassey
and, oh,
Shirley Bassey
I agree, for me those are 2 of the best Bond songs because they sound so glamorous and epic, and they are great to dance to (said the stripper).
The stripper reference is deliberate. The trumpet part of the GF theme (without using music terminolgy: the bit after the two opening notes) was added by John Barry late in the day. The Anthony Newley version (the orchestrated one, NOT the take on the 30th Anniversary album) doesn't have this. JB realised something was missing and added "that filthy stripper's brass", to quote The Times, at the last minute.
Foremost a good Bond theme incoporates a "real" Bond title which should either be the name of the theme or in the lyrics. Some effort should be made to use something written by "The Master" - ie for "Casino Royale" a chapter title like "A Whisper of Love, A Whisper of Hate", could make a good tune.
Secondly, some element of the James Bond theme should be worked in. I think the theme itself is a bit dated and overused, but sprinkled in the soundtrack it is very evocative without being intrusvie or silly.
How about a good vocalist with clearly sung lyrics!
Not too much to ask for?
Bond’s Beretta
The Handguns of Ian Fleming's James Bond
;% Ouch, I deserved that. My apologies for talking in music language; being a musician I sometimes use such words (eg, I noticed I wrote "ostinato" above) automatically because it's second nature to me. No intention to confuse!
There are few themes that go overboard and overdo the BOND! sound, and the themes that do are LTK (trying to rip off Goldfinger and failing miserably) and TB (also trying to rip off Goldfinger, and in my eyes, failing miserably), and the FRWL song itself isn't very good, the only good part of it is the instrumental at the beginning.
The orchestration needs to be rich and powerful, which is why the JB theme itself, Casino Royale and OHMSS all rank highly on my lists, because they focus so much on the orchestra that the end result is an enjoyable listen.
There are some themes that don't scream BOND! or are just abysmal songs.
Examples of this are TMWTGG (a trashy sounding song with horribly written lyrics, yet miraculously works well in the score), Tomorrow Never Dies, a song which goes overboard on the orchestra and the normally good Sheryl Crow churns out a whiney voice with the already subpar lyrics making it an unenjoyable listen (I'd prefer David Arnold/k.d. Lang's Surrender theme). Also, YKMN, while a good song on its own, does not scream BOND! at all, but merely sounds like another Audioslave/Chris Cornell song. Whoever mixed it for the movie should be shot as well, as I liked the song on a repeated listening, whilst when I saw the movie I cursed everyone involved with the song.
You were expecting DAD in this bad list? Surprisingly, I like the song. The orchestration is beautiful, the techno is well placed and Madonna's jump-cut vocal track doesn't bother me because it goes with its time. I remember in 5th grade going for this lock-in at the local roller rink and it played and we all started singing to it
Good Bond songs are the Shirley Bassey-esque songs that don't try to top it or fall flat on their faces. Tracks like GoldenEye, DAF, GF, MR, Nobody Does It Better are brassy songs in the mould of Barry's JB theme.
As we moved into the 80s, pop-rock artists were signed to do the songs, such as Sheena Easton, Rita Coolidge, Duran Duran and a-Ha. The only non pop-rock artist signed for a Bond theme was Lani Hall, who wasn't even heard of outside of the Latin market, and that song was good (though once again, most hate it).
FYEO is a slow ballad that explores the soft side of Bond, tying in with the beginning where he visits Tracy's grave and connects with Melina over the loss of people she loves (both had people close to them gunned down by a hitman that got away).
ATH is another hated one. It's like a more upbeat FYEO to me, with a little more rock and punch and a little more exciting. It explores Bond's recklessness and such.
AVTAK is a rock song combining the JB theme as well as the drumbeat with superb lyrics by Duran Duran and great orchestration by John Barry. At first hesitant to work together, Barry and Duran Duran came together and had a blast making AVTAK.
TLD is like AVTAK's lesser cousin. It tried to capitalize off of AVTAK, but Barry didn't end up liking a-Ha as much as Duran Duran. The result was a somewhat lengthy and boring track that plays off like an AVTAK wannabe. The Pretenders tracks knock TLD out of the water.
TWINE is a very Bondish track, with smooth orchestration and a threatening tone, exploring Elektra's obession with conquering the oil industry because she's a psychotic as well as a play on James Bond's family motto.
Most Bond songs are great. A few miss, but for the most part they're enjoyable tunes and all made my iPod, though I'm considering taking TB, FRWL, LTK and TND off the list, since I never listen to them. A ranking shall follow later.
It's a beautiful melody, and one of my favourites too {[].
Well it's better IMHO, but then I've always liked the orchestrated versions more than the vocal ones.
David Arnold has said that he'll be taking a "new approach" for Bond 22. He said much the same thing for Bond 21 as well, and that score was certainly different from Bond 20 (and much better IMO) although his action music is still his weakest point.
What he hasn't said is exactly what this new approach is going to be- and since he hasn't seen the actual film at this point that's fair enough. Certainly the possibility of his scoring the film in an "old school" style shouldn't be dismissed, given his admiration for John Barry.