Wings killed the Bond songs...

Napoleon Plural

Bear with me on this.

Live and Let Die is a great tune, exception to the rule, and a top 5 Bond song.

But really, Bond themes should be cabaret style, as in camp, sexy, dangerous, saucy, larger than life. Bassey, Jones, even Matt Monroe, they're cabaret cruise ship singers, with a bit of Vegas.

Now you can go away from that, and I've argue even Duran Duran have a touch of the flamboyance about them. But whenever they try to get a straight pop star to do them, it fails imo. It turns out never as good as some other song they've done, and that even applies to Duran Duran themselves.

Of course, the films have lost that wonderfully understated camp, that archness and delicacy of the early films. Those wonderful set designs, that lavish look.

I guess the mix has gone, but with the likes of Adele it's all reheated porridge as far as I can see, and when other artists come in and have a go, be it Madonna or Garbage, it's all a bit flat. I want a Bond film a bit like The Untouchables - slick, good looking but nothing in it wholly unplausible or daft. And remember the swagger of the music as the camera tracks the daily newspapers up the stairs where Capone is lying in bed with a smoke? Like that.

I agree that songs can be used to promote the movie, but I don't think they should be competing in the hit parade directly. It's like they'll always come off second best.

Silhouette Man

Can't agree - the brash LALD by PM and Wings was great and set the tone for 1970s Bond. Really set things apart for the Roger Moore era.

Napoleon Plural

Yes, but now they all have to compete and be pop songs.

Barbel

Wouild the two songs from TND be a good example of what you're meaning, NP?

Napoleon Plural

I guess. Any of them. Even Surrender is cod cabaret, it's not the real thing. But then, the actual films aren't larger than life, they've been sort of trying to be more realistic...

Songs like FRWL, GF, TB and YOLT and DAF for that matter - they're classics but not trying to be pop songs or in the hit parade.

Silhouette Man

Where would you class Skyfall by Adele in your list, then, Mr Plural?

Napoleon Plural

Hmm, good question. Personally I don't like the song so it's hard to judge (I preferred her version sung at the Oscars, it may be the production).

As a pop song, with all that hype, it failed to reach no 1 and I don't think it's that good - judged as a pop song. As with all these, they just tend to be not as good or even Bondlike as other songs by the same artist. I can see a Bassey vibe to SF, but it's watered down Bassey, almost like Tina Turner's GE.

That's why it would be better to go balls out for a cabaret type act like Michael Buble or Paloma Faith or Lana Del Ray (or are those seen as poppy too), to make it clear it's going off piste.

jamesm123

Michael Buble? You must be joking.

DelicatessenInSteel

The songs now are simply marketing tools just like the Heineken ads etc. They aren't choosing what the best song to go with the movie or they would go with whatever David Arnold or whoever supplies. Now they go with whoever is hot and can help cross promote to audiences who are not Bond fans.

Napoleon Plural

I read the title of this thread and thought, what piffle! Then realised it was mine.

But I can see what I'm saying. It's like the pts, they used to be offbeat and strange, introducing you to an odd, stylish world. Now they're just, here's our calling card, here's our actionfest.