Here's "Another Way to Die," the main title theme from QUANTUM OF SOLACE, performed by Alicia Keys and Jack White. I hate it. The Los Angeles Times likes it more than Chris Cornell's "You Know My Name" from CASINO ROYALE, but that's not saying much.
Any hooks by the song are provided by riffing on the instantly
recognizable Bond theme, not by anything new offered in the song. And
Keys, usually a relatively bold, in-your-face R&B singer, seems
oddly tamed here, her voice not meshing well with White's yelled
warble. In her defense, it's hard to not sound silly when you sing,
"Suit 'em up, bang bang!" And there's some odd, out-of-place sudden
electronic textures here and there, resulting in an overly-crowded song.
recognizable Bond theme, not by anything new offered in the song. And
Keys, usually a relatively bold, in-your-face R&B singer, seems
oddly tamed here, her voice not meshing well with White's yelled
warble. In her defense, it's hard to not sound silly when you sing,
"Suit 'em up, bang bang!" And there's some odd, out-of-place sudden
electronic textures here and there, resulting in an overly-crowded song.
This song is so hideous it almost makes Ah-Ha's "The Living Daylights" and Lulu's "Man with the Golden Gun" seem like classics by comparison. "Another Way to Die" is much more suited to a Coke Zero advertisement than James Bond main title, as you can see for yourself:
Problem is, we got so spoiled by John Barry that we expect every Bond theme to be a classic, when in fact very few of them are… for my money the clock stopped on that one with DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER.
For an interesting exercise, compare Duran Duran’s performance of FROM A VIEW TO A KILL to the instrumental-only WINE WITH STACY from the same film’s score… nothing wrong with the music, but an awful lot wrong with the song.
I like LIVE AND LET DIE and SURRENDER (K.D. Lang’s theme to TOMORROW NEVER DIES, which got bumped to the end theme after Sheryl Crow came along). GOLDENEYE is also a pretty good theme.
Lee,
I have to agree with you on this new theme; it is baaaaaaad…awful. As to Stephen’s comment…many of the main themes were not written by John Barry (just the theme music). I enjoy many post 60’s themes and some 80’s but this song is as awful as Moonraker was a film.
You’re kidding me, all that money and talent behind the Bond movies and this is what they come up with? Take out the lyrics and the instrumentals would make a good theme, but otherwise it’s just noise. Lots of noise. When my father and I continue our tradition of seeing the new movie within the first week of release, he’s going to lean over to me and say, “That song sucks,” like he has the last ten years! 🙂 –B–
The best Bond theme ever, bar none, was GOLDFINGER.
I also like THUNDERBALL, DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, LIVE AND LET DIE, A VIEW TO A KILL, GOLDENEYE, and TOMORROW NEVER DIES (“SURRENDER”).
The worst would have to be QUANTUM OF SOLACE, MOONRAKER, WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH, DIE ANOTHER DAY, NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN and THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS.
For cheesy fun, I enjoy the awfulness of THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN, CASINO ROYALE (The David Niven comedy, not the new one) and THE SPY WHO LOVED ME.
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY, OCTOPUSSY (“All Time High”), LICENSE TO KILL, FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, CASINO ROYALE (“You Know My Name”) are neither good, bad nor cheesy fun…just bland and forgettable.
The worst would have to be QUANTUM OF SOLACE, MOONRAKER, WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH, DIE ANOTHER DAY, NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN and THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS.
I disagree. I think it’s an age thing. The older you are, the more likely you’re going to think that the Thunderball theme tune was brilliant. It really wasn’t.
By the way Lee, can’t you have the word verifier thingy near the submit/post button? I really hate thinking I’ve posted then realising I have to put the code in on a different page.
Just sayin’.