BOND MONTH: Top 10 Favorite Bond Theme Songs

(Disclaimer: The majority of this post was written before the release of the main theme song for ‘Spectre’, ‘Writing’s on the Wall’, performed by Sam Smith. To keep things fair, and to enforce the main ground-rule that I set of not having anything related to the newest Bond film included in these Bond Month posts, this new song will not be featured anywhere in this forthcoming Top 10. But before I get on with the main list, here’s a quick little sum-up on my thoughts towards the new Bond theme. Ultimately it seems that, contrary to popular opinion, I really like this song. While I’ll admit that I’m not completely onboard with Smith’s falsetto vocals, the song does still have that classic Bond aura, with a romanticized feel that mirrors that of classic Bond songs like ‘For Your Eyes Only’ and ‘The World is Not Enough’. Do I like this better than, say, ‘Skyfall’? No not really but it certainly isn’t as bad as some people on the internet are putting it out to be. Ultimately I will say this; kudos to you Sam Smith for doing a solid job with this new song and I am very much looking forward to see it paired with Daniel Kleinman’s sure-to-be-amazing opening titles for ‘Spectre’. Now on to the main event…)

Aside from the Bond girls, the villains, their henchmen, and of course Bond himself, one of the most important parts of any James Bond film, well to be specific almost every Bond film since ‘Goldfinger’, is the main title song that plays over the opening credits. And for the most part, a lot of the main title songs for the Bond films have been really, really good as they do a great job in enveloping you in the world of 007 with their grandiose compositions that can either be slow and idyllic or fast and bombastic. Yeah there have been a few stinkers over the years but I do think that the good has outweighed the bad so far. So today, as part of Rhode Island Movie Corner’s second annual Bond Month, I will be listing my Top 10 personal favorite Bond title songs of all-time. For the record, that only accounts for the songs that were performed by artists and not the themes that were solely instrumental scores. So as a result, that means that you won’t be seeing ‘Dr. No’, ‘From Russia with Love’, and ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ on this list. Though I do want to note that I absolutely love the music for all three of those title sequences. Of course ‘Dr. No’ debuted the iconic Bond theme by Monty Norman (which, let’s be honest, would’ve been Number 1 on this list) but then there’s also ‘James Bond is Back’ in ‘From Russia With Love’ as well as John Barry’s excellent main motif for ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’, which was even featured in the most recent trailer for ‘Spectre’. But first, before we get to the Top 10 best, here are my Top 5 ‘least favorite’ Bond title songs… I say least favorite because I don’t really ‘hate’ any of these songs but still these are my picks for the weakest Bond themes.

5. TOMORROW NEVER DIES- SHERYL CROW

Now my main issue with ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ isn’t really with the song itself. I like the melody and music for the song and I do feel that it definitely sounds like a Bond theme in that regard. My main issue with it is actually in regards to who they chose to perform the song, Sheryl Crow. Quite simply I think that she was the wrong choice to be the main artist for the song. This song features quite a few high notes, primarily during the main chorus, and whenever Crow does those notes, I feel that she comes off a bit too whiny. Then there’s also the fact that this wasn’t even originally the main theme for the film. At first, it was going to be the song ‘Surrender’ (previously named ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’), written by composer David Arnold and performed by k.d. lang, that would open the film. Heck, it was even implemented into Arnold's score. But apparently the studio wanted a more ‘popular’ artist to perform the song and so ‘Surrender’, which to be perfectly frank is a much better song, was relegated to the end credits. But like I said earlier, I’m fine with the song for the most part. Ultimately it’s just due to the choice of singer that prevents me from listing this as one of my favorite Bond themes.

4. MOONRAKER- SHIRLEY BASSEY

As much as I hate to do it, unfortunately I have to list a Bond theme song from the legendary Shirley Bassey amongst the worst in the series and it’s no surprise then that it comes from one of the least popular entries in the series, ‘Moonraker’. Though I will admit that upon re-watch, I’m actually a lot more positive towards the film compared to the first time I watch it. Hell, I think it’s a little underrated. But I’m getting off track here… as for the title song, Bassey unfortunately can’t save this from being the weakest of the three title songs that she performed for the Bond franchise, the other two being ‘Goldfinger’ and ‘Diamonds Are Forever’. I do like that the song has a nice calm and soothing feel to it, which is a nice contrast to some of the bolder Bond themes, and Bassey of course is great as always performance wise. But this song’s biggest issue comes with its lyrics, which has to implement the term ‘Moonraker’ into the song. Seriously, what is a ‘Moonraker’? Now for the record, Bond theme songs have never really been known for having ‘great’ lyrics anyway but this is one of the rare cases where it’s really noticeable. Shirley Bassey may have performed some of the most iconic themes in Bond history but unfortunately she had to close out her tenure with the franchise (at the moment) on a very weak note.

3. THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN- LULU

This seems to be one of the more polarizing Bond themes as I’ve heard quite a few people say that they either love it or hate it. For those who do like it, I’ve heard them say that they’ll even go as far and say that it’s one of the only good parts of the ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’ aside from Christopher Lee as Scaramanga. As for me, though, this one just isn’t a Bond song that I’m particularly a big fan of. Heck, even John Barry didn’t like it. He even went as far as to say that it was the ‘weakest’ of all of his compositions. To be honest, there’s not much else I can say about this song. I do kind of like the rock-style beat of the song, and it’s rather interesting to note that is considered to be one of the more ‘risqué’ Bond songs in terms of its lyrics, but it just didn’t stand out to me that much compared to other theme songs from the series.

2. ANOTHER WAY TO DIE (QUANTUM OF SOLACE) - JACK WHITE/ALICIA KEYS

While this will always have a place in franchise history, being the first major Bond theme song to be performed as a duet, it’s also one of the weakest of the series. The main reason is quite simple; when you listen to it, it doesn’t really feel like a ‘Bond theme’. It feels like a song that’s more suitable for a different action film. I mean sure, in a way it does kind of reflect the edgier style of Craig’s Bond but it still doesn’t really have that grandiose feel to it like many other Bond themes do. And just like ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’, this song was selected at the expense of better songs. But unlike that film, these particular songs didn’t get the honor of at least being put in the end credits. There was the song ‘Forever, I Am All Yours’ by Eva Almer, which even featured the quote from ‘Casino Royale’ in which Bond tells Vesper that ‘he had no armor left’, which would have been a great way to connect to the main plots of Craig’s first two Bond themes. And then, for the second time in franchise history, there was also a song written by David Arnold (following the aforementioned ‘Surrender’) that got ignored that was actually performed by none other than Shirley Bassey. Seriously, wouldn’t it have been cool to see Bassey come back for one last Bond theme song, especially if it meant that her career with the franchise could’ve concluded on a better note than ‘Moonraker’? But ultimately that was not the case and we got stuck with a rather mediocre Bond theme for a very lackluster Bond film… hmm in that case it’s kind of a perfect fit, actually. But ultimately the ‘worst’ Bond theme comes from, fittingly enough, one of the series’ weakest installments…

1. DIE ANOTHER DAY- MADONNA

Well this one is a rather obvious pick, isn’t it? Usually it’s either this or ‘Another Way to Die’ that dominates the conversation when it comes to people listing their picks for the ‘worst’ Bond theme of all-time though usually this gets brought up more. While I’ll admit that I don’t ‘hate’ this song as much as a lot of people do, to the point where I’ll embarrassingly admit that I have it on my IPod (don’t ask…), at the same time it is by no means a ‘Bond theme’. That’s ultimately the major issue with it in my opinion. It doesn’t really have the right feel to it that would make it a proper Bond theme. It sounds too much like a pop song, which is fitting in the sense that it’s done by ‘the Queen of Pop’ but not fitting for a James Bond film. Where’s the grandeur and class? Instead, all we get is a techno beat that, like ‘Another Way to Die’, seems better suited for a non-Bond action film. With no disrespect towards Madonna, it’s clear that she wasn’t the best choice to be the artist for a Bond theme. It was because of this song, and partially ‘Another Way to Die’ as well, that almost made me fearful that ‘Skyfall’ was going to turn out the same way… thankfully that wouldn’t be the case.

And now… onto the Top 10…

10. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY- SHEENA EASTON

There are three types of Bond Themes; fast and upbeat, grand and majestic, and slow and romantic. ‘For Your Eyes Only’ by Sheena Easton is perhaps my favorite case of the ‘slow and romantic’ style of Bond themes. The film ‘For Your Eyes Only’ did sort of have a rather romanticized feel to it so the song does fit pretty nicely with it. If you recall last week, I listed this film’s title sequence as one of the weakest in series history. Sure it did have the distinction of actually featuring Easton within the sequence but ultimately I feel that it came off a bit awkward in terms of its overall execution. But as for the song itself, it’s great. Easton is solid in her performance and, as a result, her song is easily one of the best parts, hell maybe even the absolute best part, of Roger Moore’s 5^th James Bond film.

9. GOLDENEYE- TINA TURNER

A lot of times, Bond composers like John Barry and David Arnold have been able to implement the main title song into their scores. But in the case of ‘GoldenEye’, composer Eric Serra was unable to use the film’s title song in the score because the producers didn’t collaborate with the songwriters, Bono and the Edge. Though ultimately I think it really would’ve helped the score out if it was able to utilize the title song because unfortunately Serra’s score is one of the weakest in the franchise; it’s probably the only gripe that I have with the film as a whole. This is mostly due to the fact that there are quite a few instances where it goes a bit too melancholy, feeling rather unfitting for a Bond score. But as for the title song, ‘GoldenEye’ is definitely a classic Bond theme. It’s very much reminiscent of ‘Goldfinger’ and Tina Turner definitely has that Shirley Bassey vibe in her performance of the song. Pair this with a classic opening titles sequence and you have one hell of an opening for one of Bond’s best adventures.

8. THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS- A-HA

Now it’s time to delve into some of the more upbeat Bond themes and starting things off at #8 is A-ha’s ‘The Living Daylights’. To be honest, there’s not actually that much that I can say about this song other than that I just like the melody, the beat and its energy. ‘The Living Daylights’ in general did have a pretty nice soundtrack to it, which included this and the song ‘Where Has Everybody Gone?’ by the Pretenders, which the character Necros constantly listens to on his Walkman. And as I noted a few weeks ago, the latter song was even implemented into John Barry’s score, resulting in probably one of his most energetic scores of the franchise. I do like that when Bond composers implement a Bond film’s title song into the score itself.

7. A VIEW TO A KILL- DURAN DURAN

So basically the origin of this song was a result of Duran Duran’s bassist John Taylor, who for the record is a major Bond fan, approaching series producer Albert ‘Cubby’ Broccoli at a party and asking him, while fairly drunk, ‘when was he going to get someone decent to do one of his theme songs’. And ultimately that led to Duran Duran collaborating with John Barry, resulting in one hell of a Bond theme and another one of the great energetic themes of the franchise. Obviously I’ve made it clear already that I really don’t like ‘A View to A Kill’. But to its credit, it does at least benefit from not only a pair of memorable villains, but one of the series’ best themes paired with an equally memorable title sequence.

6. LIVE AND LET DIE- PAUL MCCARTNEY AND WINGS

This was arguably the first Bond theme that I ever heard and that’s because it might just be the most popular theme in the entire franchise. For the record, this is if we’re solely talking about how many times you’re likely going to hear it on the radio compared to most of the other Bond themes. After all, this was performed by one of the Beatles. This is easily the most iconic ‘upbeat’ theme of the series. It starts off slow and then immediately launches into its speedy and bombastic refrain. Like many other Bond themes, I also liked that it was implemented into the film’s score, done here by ‘fifth Beatle’ George Martin instead of John Barry, though part of me also feels that perhaps the decision to primarily utilize the bombastic refrain wasn’t such a ‘good’ idea. Still you really can’t go wrong with this classic part of the Bond franchise’s musical history. Speaking of iconic themes…

5. GOLDFINGER- SHIRLEY BASSEY

Really, what more can be said about this song that hasn’t been said before? ‘Goldfinger’ is musical royalty as far Bond themes are concerned. It was, after all, the very first Bond theme that was sung by a musician after both ‘Dr. No’ and ‘From Russia with Love’ only featured instrumental themes. So it’s no surprise then that it’s featured on this list. It did a phenomenal job of evoking the grandeur of the franchise with its orchestrated background score and of course Bassey’s amazing performance of the song. It seems to me that when it comes to Bassey’s first two Bond themes, fans of the franchise either prefer this or ‘Diamonds Are Forever’. For the record, I do like ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ but ultimately when it comes to the one that I think of more when it comes to definitive Bond themes, the honor always goes to ‘Goldfinger’.

4. NOBODY DOES IT BETTER- CARLY SIMON

Speaking of iconic franchise tunes, ‘Nobody Does it Better’ is another Bond theme song that definitely stands as one of the most iconic themes in the entire franchise. After all, it was the second Bond theme (after ‘Live and Let Die’) to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song. It may not have won (that honor would end up going to the next film on this list) but it’s still a classic song that pretty much sums up the character of James Bond in a nutshell. And as noted last week, it led to one of the most perfect combinations of themes and title sequences ever.

3. SKYFALL- ADELE

Like I said earlier, I’ll admit that I was initially a little hesitant about this theme song because I thought that it would be like ‘Die Another Day’ or ‘Another Way to Die’ and come off a bit too much like a pop song and not like a real James Bond theme. Though with that said, I have liked most of Adele’s music and I guess you could say that you wouldn’t really classify her primarily as a ‘pop’ artist. But then when it was released, I was glad to see that my fears were laid to rest because holy crap this song is amazing. ‘Skyfall’ is what ‘Die Another Day’ should have been like. A soulful tune that also perfectly captures the grandeur of the franchise and one that more than deserved all of the praise that it got upon release, including an Oscar for Best Song, a Golden Globe for Best Song, and a Grammy award for ‘Best Song Written for Visual Media’.

2. THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH- GARBAGE

Basically ‘The World is Not Enough’ was ‘Skyfall’ 13 years before ‘Skyfall’ was ever conceived. Similar to both ‘Skyfall’ and another Brosnan-era Bond film theme, ‘GoldenEye’, this perfectly captured the spirit of the Bond franchise with its sweeping instrumentals and Garbage lead singer Shirley Manson’s crooning vocals. And would you believe that, unlike with ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’, this was a case in which the theme written by David Arnold was actually used as the film’s title theme. It seems like Arnold’s contributions as the series’ main composer from ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ to ‘Quantum of Solace’ have been rather polarizing amongst Bond fans but if you ask me, Arnold has contributed some of the best music of the modern Bond era that I would argue stands toe to toe with some of the series’ more classic melodies. And as this title song proves, he can create one hell of a Bond theme. So it’s very much fitting that for my #1 favorite Bond theme of all-time, I’ll be going with another Bond theme that he helped create.

1. YOU KNOW MY NAME- CHRIS CORNELL

I have to admit that it was hard to pick what my favorite Bond theme of all-time was. At first I thought that it would ‘Skyfall’ but ultimately I decided to go with the first Bond theme of the Daniel Craig era; ‘You Know My Name’, performed by Soundgarden lead singer Chris Cornell, from ‘Casino Royale’. My personal favorite of the ‘fast and upbeat’ Bond themes, I particularly loved how David Arnold implemented ‘You Know My Name’ into the score of ‘Casino Royale’. It wasn’t until the end of the film when we finally heard the classic Monty Norman Bond theme so until then, Arnold utilized the song into ten tracks of the film’s score basically as a replacement theme and it works perfectly, especially in the track ‘Aston Montenegro’. It’s sort of like with Michael Giacchino’s amazing motif for the J.J. Abrams directed ‘Star Trek’ films. It may not be like anything we’ve seen from the franchise but it just works so well that we can ignore that. There’s sort of a swagger to the theme, which does fit rather well with the edgier Bond that Daniel Craig portrayed. And that is why ‘You Know My Name’ is, to date, my favorite Bond theme.

NEXT WEEK: I list my Top 10 personal Best and Worst Moments in Franchise History