Worst (unfortunately) is Another Way To Die. I say unfortunately as I love Alicia Keys and have most of her albums but this song is just horrendous. There is nothing I like about it. It seems forced and start/stop/start again and let's see where it goes from here. X-(
"Everyone knows rock n' roll attained perfection in 1974; It's a scientific fact". - Homer J Simpson
Favourite is a toughie... I love about 95% of Bond themes. My least favourite would have to be either Another Way to Die or All Time High.
Film: Tomorrow Never Dies | Girl: Teresa di Vicenzo | Villain: Max Zorin | Car: Aston Martin Volante | Novel: You Only Live Twice | Bond: Sir Sean Connery
We had an elimination game on this a few years ago:
1st - James Bond Theme (John Barry)
2nd - Goldfinger (Shirley Bassey)
3rd - 007 (John Barry)
4th - On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (John Barry)
5th - Diamonds Are Forever (Shirley Bassey)
6th - We Have All The Time In The World (Louis Armstrong)
7th - A View To A Kill (Duran Duran)
8th - Live And Let Die (Paul McCartney And Wings)
9th - You Know My Name (Chris Cornell)
10th - The Living Daylights (A-Ha)
11th - Casino Royale (Herb Alpert)
12th - You Only Live Twice (Nancy Sinatra)
13th - From Russia With Love – Instrumental (John Barry)
14th - From Russia With Love (Matt Monro)
15th - Nobody Does It Better (Carly Simon)
16th - Thunderball (Tom Jones)
17th - Surrender (kd lang)
18th - Tomorrow Never Dies (Sheryl Crow)
19th - The World Is Not Enough (Garbage)
20th - Another Way To Die (Jack White And Alicia Keys)
21st - Goldeneye (Tina Turner)
22nd - Licence To Kill (Gladys Knight)
23rd - Where Has Everybody Gone? (The Pretenders)
24th - Moonraker (Shirley Bassey)
25th - Underneath The Mango Tree (Byron Lee)
26th - Kingston Calypso AKA Three Blind Mice (Byron Lee)
27th - For Your Eyes Only (Sheena Easton)
28th - If There Was A Man (The Pretenders)
29th - If You Asked Me To (Patti Labelle)
30th - All Time High (Rita Coolidge)
31st - Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Dionne Warwick)
32rd - Never Say Never Again (Lani Hall and Herb Alpert)
33rd - The Look Of Love (Dusty Springfield)
34th - The Man With The Golden Gun (Lulu)
35th - Die Another Day (Madonna)
The Madonna song, I quite like in its, disc\nightclub version played at the end, but it is very weak.
Especially when compared to some of the really great theme songs. As for AWTD, it has grown on
Me a little, I actually do enjoy listening to it when I'm driving.
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
Some have grown on me after recent viewings. The ones I didn't/don't like when they come on in the movie, I just ignored them. But I decided to give some of them a try on there own and discovered a few that really aren't that bad.
In no certain order:
Favorites:
Sam Smith: Writing's On the Wall
Adele: Skyfall
Chris Cornell: You Know My Name
Garbage: The World is Not Enough
Sheryl Crow: Tomorrow Never Dies
Tina Turner: GoldenEye
Gladys Knight: License to Kill
A-Ha: The Living Daylights
Duran Duran: A View to A Kill
Shirley Bassey: Moonraker
Lulu: The Man with the Golden Gun
Paul McCartney and Wings/Guns N' Roses: Live and Let Die
Growing on me:
Madonna: Die Another Day
Jack White and Alicia Keys: Another Way to Die
Shirley Bassey: Goldfinger, Diamonds are Forever
The rest.
1, GE 2, CR 3, SF 4, TWINE 5, Spectre 6, TMWTGG 7, DAD 8, LALD 9, AVTAK 10, LTK 11, Octopussy 12, Moonraker 13, TLD 14, GF 15, QOS 16, Tomorrow 17, FYEO 18. TSWLM Not seen much: Dr. No, Russia, Thunderball, Twice, Majesty.
1: Brosnan 2: Craig 3: Moore 4: Dalton 5: Connery and 6: Lazenby
Favourites (order of release):
Nancy Sinatra - You Only Live Twice
Paul McCartney - Live and Let Die
Rita Coolidge - All Time High
Anita Skorgan - Never Say Never Again (rejected)
Duran Duran - A View to a Kill
A-ha - The Living Daylights
Pet Shop Boys - This Must be the Place I've Waited Years to Leave (Rejected)
Gladys Knight - Licence to Kill
Patti LaBelle - If You Asked Me To
Tina Turner - GoldenEye
KD Lang - Surrender
Least favourite (in order of release):
Shirley Bassey - Moonraker
Garbage - The World Is Not Enough
Madonna - Die Another Day
The worst is that awful Madonna song that has no place in a Bond film.[/quote]
Agree. Die Another Day (the song not just the film) is awful and has not got any better over the years. Her appearance in the film itself was almost as bad as the song.
Favourite songs: Diamonds Are Forever, If There Was a Man, Surrender
Least favourite songs: Another Way to Die, Die Another Day, If You Asked Me To, The Experience of Love
Since I don't think the OP meant "song" literally, I'll include my favourite instrumental pieces as well: James Bond Theme, On Her Majesty's Secret Service Theme, 007
Least favourite instrumental piece: Anything by Thomas Newman, though he never intended for his music to be thought of as real music anyway.
I've always liked DAF as a film. I understand those who don't so much but the title song and the whole score is one positive from that film I thought everyone would get!
The title song for DAF is a remarkable piece of work by John Barry and Don Black. JB's melody is unique and definitely memorable, and is supported by his excellent arrangement. The ostinato* is a perfect example of an earworm- once heard, never forgotten- and musically could be interpreted as diamond shaped (eight notes in symmetry). Black's lyric is one of his best (if not his best) and Shirley Bassey's performance (coached by the writers) really could not be better. She still sings it to this day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6e8OQGzu_0 and very well too- the key has been lowered (I think from B minor to A minor) which is understandable after more than 40 years!
What isn't widely known is that Barry disagreed with director Guy Hamilton over tone- Hamilton wanted comedy while JB wanted thrills- leading to two different versions of the moon buggy music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVT-HTrw99Ihttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9cnERqSaXs, Barry's choice being available on the 2003 edition of the album.
More widely known is that Harry Saltzman (notoriously tone-deaf*) didn't like the DAF song and Barry kicked him out of his apartment after his reaction to it.
This partially explains why JB didn't work on the next film, LALD.
* he didn't like the Goldfinger theme either, and didn't want Paul McCartney to sing LALD (!).
Great information, I'm also keen on the wint and kidd theme, particularly the version with the bond theme in it, also like gunbarrel/manhunt, on my album I have additional and alternate cues which has some great pieces and call me dramatic but I've always loved the slumber Inc music, in fact I think I'll have that at my funeral too. Moon buggy is just fun and oddly enough I heard a chap humming that last week.... Compelled me to have a listen on my drive home.
I didn't think George Martin did a bad job on lald, there are some great tracks, but as an album listen it gets a touch repetitive, boat chase, underground lair, Bond to new York and Baron samedis dance are my standouts, along with the title song of course.
The title song for DAF is a remarkable piece of work by John Barry and Don Black. JB's melody is unique and definitely memorable, and is supported by his excellent arrangement. The ostinato* is a perfect example of an earworm- once heard, never forgotten- and musically could be interpreted as diamond shaped (eight notes in symmetry).
After reading this I am quite proud I voted for this song as my No.1 Bond song.
I'll admit I had never heard of the word ostinato but after googling and reading (Wikipedia) what it meant I have a fair understanding. One learns something everyday. So many songs and musicians/bands/composers that I have in my collection from the many genres I like (rock, blues, jazz, reggae, classical to name a few) were actually listed.
Makes for interesting reading in my opinion anyway.
Comments
Worst (unfortunately) is Another Way To Die. I say unfortunately as I love Alicia Keys and have most of her albums but this song is just horrendous. There is nothing I like about it. It seems forced and start/stop/start again and let's see where it goes from here. X-(
1st - James Bond Theme (John Barry)
2nd - Goldfinger (Shirley Bassey)
3rd - 007 (John Barry)
4th - On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (John Barry)
5th - Diamonds Are Forever (Shirley Bassey)
6th - We Have All The Time In The World (Louis Armstrong)
7th - A View To A Kill (Duran Duran)
8th - Live And Let Die (Paul McCartney And Wings)
9th - You Know My Name (Chris Cornell)
10th - The Living Daylights (A-Ha)
11th - Casino Royale (Herb Alpert)
12th - You Only Live Twice (Nancy Sinatra)
13th - From Russia With Love – Instrumental (John Barry)
14th - From Russia With Love (Matt Monro)
15th - Nobody Does It Better (Carly Simon)
16th - Thunderball (Tom Jones)
17th - Surrender (kd lang)
18th - Tomorrow Never Dies (Sheryl Crow)
19th - The World Is Not Enough (Garbage)
20th - Another Way To Die (Jack White And Alicia Keys)
21st - Goldeneye (Tina Turner)
22nd - Licence To Kill (Gladys Knight)
23rd - Where Has Everybody Gone? (The Pretenders)
24th - Moonraker (Shirley Bassey)
25th - Underneath The Mango Tree (Byron Lee)
26th - Kingston Calypso AKA Three Blind Mice (Byron Lee)
27th - For Your Eyes Only (Sheena Easton)
28th - If There Was A Man (The Pretenders)
29th - If You Asked Me To (Patti Labelle)
30th - All Time High (Rita Coolidge)
31st - Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Dionne Warwick)
32rd - Never Say Never Again (Lani Hall and Herb Alpert)
33rd - The Look Of Love (Dusty Springfield)
34th - The Man With The Golden Gun (Lulu)
35th - Die Another Day (Madonna)
...but there have been two new themes since!
for both categories
"- That is something to be afraid of."
The worst is that awful Madonna song that has no place in a Bond film.
This would've been my more serious answer exactly.
"- That is something to be afraid of."
Especially when compared to some of the really great theme songs. As for AWTD, it has grown on
Me a little, I actually do enjoy listening to it when I'm driving.
I'd be interested how Writings on the Wall would rank now in a game like above. I've had the biggest shift of opinion with this one.
"- That is something to be afraid of."
http://www.ajb007.co.uk/topic/34780/theme-songs-elimination-game/
This time including Adele's "Skyfall" and Sam Smith's "Writing On the Wall".
In no certain order:
Favorites:
Sam Smith: Writing's On the Wall
Adele: Skyfall
Chris Cornell: You Know My Name
Garbage: The World is Not Enough
Sheryl Crow: Tomorrow Never Dies
Tina Turner: GoldenEye
Gladys Knight: License to Kill
A-Ha: The Living Daylights
Duran Duran: A View to A Kill
Shirley Bassey: Moonraker
Lulu: The Man with the Golden Gun
Paul McCartney and Wings/Guns N' Roses: Live and Let Die
Growing on me:
Madonna: Die Another Day
Jack White and Alicia Keys: Another Way to Die
Shirley Bassey: Goldfinger, Diamonds are Forever
The rest.
1: Brosnan 2: Craig 3: Moore 4: Dalton 5: Connery and 6: Lazenby
Nancy Sinatra - You Only Live Twice
Paul McCartney - Live and Let Die
Rita Coolidge - All Time High
Anita Skorgan - Never Say Never Again (rejected)
Duran Duran - A View to a Kill
A-ha - The Living Daylights
Pet Shop Boys - This Must be the Place I've Waited Years to Leave (Rejected)
Gladys Knight - Licence to Kill
Patti LaBelle - If You Asked Me To
Tina Turner - GoldenEye
KD Lang - Surrender
Least favourite (in order of release):
Shirley Bassey - Moonraker
Garbage - The World Is Not Enough
Madonna - Die Another Day
Worst: Another Way to Die
Agree. Die Another Day (the song not just the film) is awful and has not got any better over the years. Her appearance in the film itself was almost as bad as the song.
Least favourite songs: Another Way to Die, Die Another Day, If You Asked Me To, The Experience of Love
Since I don't think the OP meant "song" literally, I'll include my favourite instrumental pieces as well: James Bond Theme, On Her Majesty's Secret Service Theme, 007
Least favourite instrumental piece: Anything by Thomas Newman, though he never intended for his music to be thought of as real music anyway.
Ok, that's a bit harsh, but I haven't taken to any of his Bond work and am truly hoping that Arnold returns for the next one.
Least: Another Way to Die, TMWTGG
I think another lot fall into a "boring" category, they're not least favourites they just put me to sleep: All Time High, Goldeneye, Skyfall.
"Better make that two."
For Your Eyes Only by Sheena Easton, A View To A Kill by Duran Duran, The Living Daylights by a-ha and Licence To Kill by Gladys Knight.
Least Favourites:
Tomorrow Never Dies by Sheryl Crow, Die Another Day by Madonna and Another Way To Die by Jack White
1. Dalton 2. Moore 3. Connery 4. Lazenby 5. Craig 6. Brosnan
For Your Eyes Only (Sheena Easton)
A View To A Kill (Duran Duran)
The Living Daylights (a-ha)
Licence To Kill (Glady's Knight)
Spectre (Sam Smith)
Least favourites... yeah these ones are bad:
Diamonds Are Forever (Shirley Bassey)
Tomorrow Never Dies (Sheryl Crow)
Die Another Day (Madonna)
Quantum Of Solace (Jack White & Alicia Keys)
1. Dalton 2. Moore 3. Connery 4. Lazenby 5. Craig 6. Brosnan
I absolutely detest Die Another Day by Madonna, A Bond song should be timeless and in my opinion shouldn't try to reflect the trends of the time.
Can you explain your dislike for Diamonds Are Forever? The rest need no explanation.
The title song for DAF is a remarkable piece of work by John Barry and Don Black. JB's melody is unique and definitely memorable, and is supported by his excellent arrangement. The ostinato* is a perfect example of an earworm- once heard, never forgotten- and musically could be interpreted as diamond shaped (eight notes in symmetry). Black's lyric is one of his best (if not his best) and Shirley Bassey's performance (coached by the writers) really could not be better. She still sings it to this day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6e8OQGzu_0 and very well too- the key has been lowered (I think from B minor to A minor) which is understandable after more than 40 years!
David Arnold's "Shaken And Stirred" album contains David McAlmont's wonderfully OTT vocal on the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sKAtyzwM_0
* the repeating phrase which opens the song and re-occurs from time to time during it.
What isn't widely known is that Barry disagreed with director Guy Hamilton over tone- Hamilton wanted comedy while JB wanted thrills- leading to two different versions of the moon buggy music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVT-HTrw99Ihttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9cnERqSaXs, Barry's choice being available on the 2003 edition of the album.
More widely known is that Harry Saltzman (notoriously tone-deaf*) didn't like the DAF song and Barry kicked him out of his apartment after his reaction to it.
This partially explains why JB didn't work on the next film, LALD.
* he didn't like the Goldfinger theme either, and didn't want Paul McCartney to sing LALD (!).
I didn't think George Martin did a bad job on lald, there are some great tracks, but as an album listen it gets a touch repetitive, boat chase, underground lair, Bond to new York and Baron samedis dance are my standouts, along with the title song of course.
It's nowhere near as poor as compared to the rest on my list but it doesn't do anything for me at all. It's slow, forgettable and dull in my opinion.
1. Dalton 2. Moore 3. Connery 4. Lazenby 5. Craig 6. Brosnan
Are you sure you're talking about Diamonds Are Forever? It's got a great beat, it's got a memorable melody and it sparkles like diamonds.
1. Dalton 2. Moore 3. Connery 4. Lazenby 5. Craig 6. Brosnan
After reading this I am quite proud I voted for this song as my No.1 Bond song.
I'll admit I had never heard of the word ostinato but after googling and reading (Wikipedia) what it meant I have a fair understanding. One learns something everyday. So many songs and musicians/bands/composers that I have in my collection from the many genres I like (rock, blues, jazz, reggae, classical to name a few) were actually listed.
Makes for interesting reading in my opinion anyway.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riff