Comments on TOTAL MUSIC GEEK by Drew Kerr: Nobody Does It Better: The James Bond Theme Songs ...

Alice Cooper's "The Man With The Golden Gun" was W...

2009-04-09T17:49:28.571-07:00

Alice Cooper's "The Man With The Golden Gun" was WAAAAY better...

Heard the story on ATC the other day, that was fun...

2008-11-18T10:46:35.492-08:00

Heard the story on ATC the other day, that was fun. Listened to the songs a bit over the weekend. Have to say the ones that stick in my head most are Goldfinger, Live and Let Die, Nobody Does It Better, Goldeneye and A View To A Kill. I would have put The LIving Daylights in there too, but I had not heard it in a long time and sadly did not seem as good as I remembered. Taking your ranking and what sticks in my head I probably would put Goldfinger ahead of You Only Live Twice, which doesn't strike me nearly as much.

What I really noticed, though, is that I think I could make a least a little bit of an argument that there's a noticeable change each time a new actor played the role of Bond:

On Her Majesty's Secret Service: you get the cool instrumental. Then they go back to Bassey which has the same qualities as before.

Live and Let Die: I listened to all the songs in order one day, one right after the other. Even moreso when you get to this than the instrumental, you go "Whoa, that's a break from the others." I saw that as a positive. Parts of this song almost "rocked" and although they settled down a bit again after this, it did mark the transition with a bit of a bang.

The Living Daylights: You might want to rather mark the transition with A View To A Kill ;-) which rocked harder. It's a weak argument here, perhaps, what with there already being a huge difference between View To A Kill and All Time High. They sent Roger Moore in with a bang and out with a bang, at least song-wise.

Goldeneye: After License To Kill, yeah, this was a big break for the better. Has more impact if you combine it with the visuals of the credits (thanks for linking all of those, great to watch them) which are more modern with the new designer.

Casino Royale: After playing this again, I would give this song a bit more credit than you did. It's the heaviest one yet, strong and I think coming in order after Madonna's pathetic Die Another Day it represents a change again. It fits very well with the much harder-edged bond that Craig plays vs Brosnan. And man they were thrown a softball pitch with the credit graphics using the playing card theme, and they hit it out of the park. Clearly 40 years ago they couldn't have made an animation like that, so it's a bit unfair to compare, but the opening credits blows them all away, and Quantum of Solace is not as good in this regard either (in addition to the song).

Heard the NPR story on the way home, and from the ...

2008-11-18T04:46:41.452-08:00

Heard the NPR story on the way home, and from the very first part of the story, I thought to myself, "I'll bet they don't even mention what I think should be considered the best Bond song ever, 'You Only Live Twice.'" Wow, do I feel vindicated! When that song came out on a 45rpm, I went out and bought it and proceeded to wear the grooves out of the record. It was the perfect coming of age song for me. Now I have it on my iPod thankfully without all the pops, hiss, and noise, and it still remains a great song. Great list. From the selections I'm familiar with, I couldn't agree with you more. Thanks!

I always though it was a funny coincidence that Bl...

2008-11-17T18:02:46.565-08:00

I always though it was a funny coincidence that Blondie put a song called "For Your Eyes Only" on 'The Hunter' album. I really liked it better than the Sheena Easton song. I recently read that Blondie kind of misunderstood when Debbie Harry was asked to sing the existing song, not WRITE and record a song of their own. They declined.

Oh, I just watched the Duran Duran video on MTV Mu...

2008-11-17T16:04:14.832-08:00

Oh, I just watched the Duran Duran video on MTV Music. It was better than I remembered. Love the killer accordian

I find it really interesting that Duran Duran's Vi...

2008-11-17T16:02:36.343-08:00

I find it really interesting that Duran Duran's View to a Kill is the only Bond theme song to rank #1 on the charts.

I agree with many of the placements on the list, b...

2008-11-15T11:01:19.527-08:00

I agree with many of the placements on the list, but was disappointed that "The World is Not Enough" was only at 17. I think it's a terrific jaunt with Garbage tapping into the Old Bond song themes with a touch of grunge.
Check out the video on youTube!

We disagree on the order but I would rate the top ...

2008-11-15T09:58:43.969-08:00

We disagree on the order but I would rate the top ten Bond songs as:

Nobody Does it Better

Goldfinger

Goldeneye

Live and Let Die

License to Kill

For Your Eyes Only

The World is Not Enough

Thunderball

You Only Live Twice

Diamonds are Forever

Honorable mentions: If You Asked Me to (heard on the closing credits of "License to Kill," sung by Patti Labelle) and Rita Coolidge's "All Time High."

I really loathed A-ha and Duran Duran's contributions to the Bond musical mystigue.

Listening to ATC in the car tonight: I pumped my a...

2008-11-14T18:11:47.971-08:00

Listening to ATC in the car tonight: I pumped my arm and yelled "yessss" when i heard you list "You Only Live Twice" as the best Bond song. It's one of the three Bond themes that I think can stand alone. Your list is thoughtful and fun, and I'm remarkably in agreement with it except that I might knock "Live and Let Die" down a notch or two or swap it with "Goldeneye." Might be my anti-Moore-as-Bond bias showing, though. Good work on this, guy.

Drew,I almost went off the road when I heard your ...

2008-11-14T15:56:35.836-08:00

Drew,

I almost went off the road when I heard your interview on NPR this evening. I am happy that you are still pursuing you omnivorous interest in music.

Best,

Joel Solomon

If you haven't heard Bjork's version of You Only L...

2008-11-14T15:50:05.458-08:00

If you haven't heard Bjork's version of You Only Live Twice you need to. It's incredible.

Also, Radiohead's version of Nobody Does It Better is fantastic as well.

For some reason I'm sad that James Brown never did a Bond theme. That really would have been something!

anonymous said... Dr. No's theme was a two parter....

2008-11-14T15:49:33.808-08:00

anonymous said... Dr. No's theme was a two parter... first the actual Monty Norman version of the Bond Theme and then a segue into a Jamaican Calypso rendering of Three Blind Mice.

I also concur that the k.d. Lang and the two Pretender songs are great Bond songs. I also wish the producers would do whatever it takes to bring back John Barry for one more go. Even though the new guys working on the Brosnan and Craig movies have used the Bond theme they haven't used the 007 theme at all. I really didn't like the score for Solace but I did like what was done with the score for Royale.

anonymous said... Dr. No's theme was a two parter....

2008-11-14T15:48:51.983-08:00

THANK YOU for placing View To A Kill so high in yo...

2008-11-14T15:25:09.767-08:00

THANK YOU for placing View To A Kill so high in your list!! As a rock-listener who grew up in the 80s I've always thought it was one of the best, but somehow it's always neglected when people talk about the great Bond songs! I'd put it in the top three or so, but I'll take your ranking.

And yes, you MUST amend the special notes at the bottom to include k.d. lang's "Surrender"

Why no Dr. No?

2008-11-14T15:09:55.737-08:00

Why no Dr. No?

I think you nailed the list although I must admit ...

2008-11-14T14:33:35.138-08:00

I think you nailed the list although I must admit to not being familiar with the Duran Duran entry. When I think of Bond themes, along with your top five, I'm always drawn to "We Have All the Time in the World" which is such an incredibly beautiful and humble song. Yes, it's juxtaposition at the end of the underrated On Her Majesty's Secret Service adds to its poignancy. Ultimately, though, it's Louis Armstrong's delivering of the lyric and his beautiful trumpet solo that make it soar for me.

I agree. KD Lang's version of 'Tomorrow Never Dies...

2008-11-14T14:28:52.634-08:00

I agree. KD Lang's version of 'Tomorrow Never Dies' is right up there with 'Goldfinger'. I was always surprised that the producers put Sheryl Crow's version on the credits and left KD's for the end.

Makes you wonder how many Bond theme songs were recorded but never released.

I heard that "Thunderball" was originally supposed to be "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" but the producers decided the title was not sufficiently manly. So they renamed it Thunderball and gave Barry an airline flight to the recording studio to come up with the music and lyrics. Tom Jones apparently asked "What the hell do these lyrics mean" and Barry answered "Who cares..."

What??!? No special mention for "Surrender" by kd...

2008-11-14T12:29:34.181-08:00

What??!? No special mention for "Surrender" by kd Lang? It's superior in everyway to Sheryl Crow's effort at the beginning of the movie. It's rare that an end-credit song beats out the theme; case in point Eric Serra's sorry effort at the end of Goldeneye...

Even James Bond could do with a little help from M...

2008-11-13T15:44:09.286-08:00

Even James Bond could do with a little help from Mr. T. I mean, who couldn’t?

James Bond, Fast cars, Hot women, Evil bad guys, Martinis, and Mr. T…

Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOKCzLbFOuY

Completely agree, the geek in me found some of the...

2008-11-13T14:12:48.040-08:00

Completely agree, the geek in me found some of the comments amusing...

A-Ha are a massively under appreciated band, with some groundbreaking work/videos behind them...

Sheena Easton.. Surely the first ever reality TV star/winner? thick glaswegian accent when she first broke into the big time, yet sings like an angel...

My request would be, who should do a Bond film that hasnt done one yet? ... Annie Lennox has the power to sing anything in my view

or, how about the killers?

Keep up the good work music geek guy ;)

What a great concept, and brilliantly executed.

2008-11-13T08:05:39.005-08:00

What a great concept, and brilliantly executed.