Wednesday 4 May 2011

Top 5 Worst 'James Bond' Title Songs

I was all prepared and ready to complete a Top 5 Title Songs blog post, but alas, there are many good songs. I had to clarify, in the first instance, the good and the bad. From doing this, inevitably, I made an entire list of all the title songs and thought, why not prepare you for the Top 5 by revealing the worst 5 first!

The near-misses are The Man with the Golden Gun (though, ultimately a bad song, there is something funky and, dare I say it, "spunky" about Lulu), Die Another Day by Madonna - I have to concede that it is a bad song, but I respect that Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli and David Arnold on signing off such a weird and electronic track.  If you are thinking of a song I haven't mentioned and it does not turn up on the list, then I deem that song to be ultimately good, but have yet to arrange where it would be placed - and whether it would even get a look-in regarding a Top 5 songs.

Lets move on though! First off, the worst James Bond Title songs...

5. For Your Eyes Only/Sheena Easton - too romantic and too longing ... not much Bond-like charisma. I think it is more a song for the girl in the film, not for 007...


4. Licence to Kill/Gladys Knight - I can see how Michael Kamen wanted to move back to the Bassey style of vocal, with an 80's edge, but alas, it did not work.


3. All Time High (from Octopussy)/Rita Coolidge - so dreary. It sounds like she's high on drugs singing this boring song. No no no.


2. The World Is Not Enough/Garbage - How sad that the band is called Garbage. I can't even remember the song that did make them famous. 'Ready to Go' was Republica ... 'Neighbourhood' was Space ... from a band like A-ha and Duran Duran to crap-brit-rock-band Garbage. Upsetting.


1. Another Way To Die (from Quantum of Solace)/Alicia Keys and Jack White - What on earth happened here. I think Alicia Keys is great - i have three of her albums and I have no problems in getting another. I think The White Stripes are cool, but this just doesn't work. Especially when you have the whole is-it-a-guitar-solo section ... only to find out that the juttery, incompetant guitar player was actually the solo. In its entierety.


Large Association of Movie Blogs

4 comments:

  1. Back when Casino Royale came out, I did a post on the Bond songs and I must agree with you in most of these instances. The sad fact is that often the alternate songs for various Bond movies were better than the songs ultimately selected!

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  2. Mercuire - TELL em, you're not thinking of the pretenders song that was [over]used in THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS ... "whe-e-e-e-ere has everybody go-one" eugh.

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  3. A good choice of 'bad' Bond songs there Simon!

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  4. Thanks Mark. now I have a post up of the favourites so i hope you enjoy!

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