A descriptive song about the plot that doesn’t mention sex, not even via innuendo, and therefore can barely be considered a Bond theme. Or entirely capsizes it. Director Sam Mendes told her to use Carly Simon's Bond song as inspiration. The 9 Best New Movies on Amazon Prime Video in October 2020, ‘Borat 2’: Why That Surprise Cameo Is One of the Film’s Wildest Moments, ‘SNL’: Adele Hosts, Sings on ‘The Bachelor,’ and Then Sells Perfumed Jeans, ‘No Time to Die’: $600 Million Sale to Streaming Explored for Next 007 Movie, ‘The Haunting of …’: Haunted House Stories We Want Mike Flanagan to Tackle Next. The moment the Bond theme came to life. Here, Bond’s longtime composer, John Barry—who had a hand in creating many of the Bond songs, including "A View to a Kill" and "Goldfinger," among others—just wrote some music that hews pretty close to the rest of the score, and then English crooner Matt Monro sang lyrics, lounge-style. With "The Man With the Golden Gun," we have to remember that the '70s were a far different time. There is a very good Radiohead song for Spectre, called Spectre, that would break into the top ten here. It’s a lot more visceral than a lot of other themes, and as the title suggests, “You Know My Name” banks on listeners’ familiarity with 007, while also subverting that familiarity. Composed by longtime film composer John Barry, “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” adds some serious funk to the art of spycraft, and while it’s a lot of fun, it feels weird to compare what really feels more like a standard (high-quality!) Sheryl Crow’s vocals are much more stable, but the song maintains that captivating energy throughout. Ad Choices. It’s “Goldfinger,” again, but not as good. Is Christopher Russell From 'Forever Christmas' Related to Kurt Russell. She released the song, which has the same name as the film, in February of 2020. Shirley and John Barry had even been a couple at one point, which is how she got on the shortlist for singers. A lot of loud guitars. Is there another artist in recent memory who was, right out of the gate, a more natural fit to sing a Bond theme? Many do consider The Spy Who Loved Me to be Roger Moore's best James Bond film too. Jonathan Dean is senior writer for the Sunday Times Culture. The tragedy of Amy Winehouse never getting to sing a Bond theme was, in part, compensated by her peer-of-sorts Adele recording a brilliant song that achieved the tough balance of being both old school and new. It was the second consecutive James Bond song to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song. All rights reserved. Shirley Manson conveys that longing for fulfillment that 007 can’t quite ever reach with this mournful descriptor title track. Please note that this isn’t a ranking on the film overall, but just the song itself. Spike Lee Lands History-Making Gig as 2020 Cannes Film Festival Jury President, Based on This Trailer, 'Black Monday's Season 2 Will Be the Funnest…. This time, alt-pop sensation Billie Eilish is the voice behind the opening credits, and we had to ask ourselves, “Where does his Bond theme land in the full filmography and playlist?” As such, we decided to take a moment to update our power ranking of Bond themes from 2015 and let you know how Eilish stacks up against Shirley Bassey, A-Ha, and all the rest of Bond’s themesters. Disagree? Bassey, though, hints at the sad darkness of such a lifestyle, even as the music—which goes from eerie to upbeat—obscures its subject of glamour and worship in shadows. A fine song, exactly what the brand needed back then, and only kept from greatness by not really bringing anything new to the table. It’s the entire movie series compressed into a tight, three-minute song, the gold standard for Bond themes. "No Time to Die" by Billie Eilish for 'No Time to Die' (2020) In classic Billie fashion, "No Time To Die" … “Thunderball” already sounds like a parody of itself, which, frankly, is admirable. If there’s a moment when “Goldeneye” cements itself as a top-tier Bond song, it’s when Tina Turner pauses as she sings, “Time… time is not on my side.” In that pause, amidst the suspenseful instrumentation, Turner relishes her power and potential for cruelty. Others would be great songs even if they had nothing to do with 007. This instrumental version is technically the theme song, and it was the fifth film that John Barry worked on. We also know that some of the film is shot on a frozen lake. Where does Billie Eilish’s “No Time to Die” place in the rankings? Then, twist: It’s all a fake-out. A rousing number, seemingly all builds, pay-offs and melodic turns. 24. It’s literally a song about the titular assassin and his iconic weapon, punctuated by over-the-top boasts that “love is required whenever he’s hired.” This is the most unabashedly campy Bond theme, and if you can’t get at least a little joy out of that, lighten up. The song was written from the perspective of the film's villain, Elektra King, which was a first for the Bond universe. Her somewhat leisurely pace—despite her supposedly being too busy to have “time to die”—only adds to the disconcerting sense that there’s more to the story. The song has since been covered by dozens of artists. And maybe that is its problem. But the theme songs have proven to be part of 007’s allure just as surely as his signature one-liners, cars, and the endless parade of femmes fatales. It’s profoundly boring (sample lyrics: "Funny how it always goes with love, when you don't look, you find”), and it really makes you wish they’d had the guts to actually record a song with “Octopussy” in the chorus—if only to satisfy some deranged sense of curiosity. Note: We’re only counting the official Bond films, so no Never Say Never Again or the 1967 version of Casino Royale, which weren’t made by Bond’s normal studio. Then you realize that Louis Armstrong’s distinctive voice injects just enough sorrow into the lyrics, and remember that the song’s title comes from the last thing Bond says to his wife, Tracy, before she’s murdered at the end of the movie. Billie made history as the youngest singer to ever create a Bond song. The slow and quiet nature of the song made it more appropriate for light dinner music than for a Bond song. Not only did this song earn Shirley two other Bond theme songs, but it also landed in the Grammy's Hall of fame in 2008. Sweeping and glorious, it’s an ode to feeling comforted and secure, which is not necessarily an emotion one might associate with James Bond and his predilection for collateral damage. Why? With just a two-bar theme of French horns and violins, “You Only Live Twice” transports you into a comforting paradise that feels just ever so subtly false in nature. Billie Eilish Has Apparently Been in Love Before, but Who Is She Dating Now? GoldenEye was the first James Bond film to feature Pierce Brosnan, and it was written by Bono and The Edge from U2. “The world is not enough / But it is such a perfect place to start, my love” is the sort of lyric that could be ambitious and romantic, but Manson gives it a haunting, tragic twist—one made all the more stark by the orchestration, with strings that seem to keep reaching for greater and greater heights without satisfaction. © 2020 Collider Cryptomedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. There’s nothing more sneakily comforting than Paul McCartney luring you into a false sense of security with the opening of this song, a gentle, nostalgic reminder of times when you used to optimistically let bygones be bygones. Plus, neither of them performed it live during press for the movie, which was odd considering how frequently Bond songs get nominated for awards. This is one of the few Bond songs that people otherwise put on regular playlists, meaning it has gone far beyond the scope of James Bond. Diamonds are shiny and pure, but Shirley Bassey sure casts a shadow on them in her second Bond theme. And, of course, that means a new Bond theme. For a secret agent, James Bond is hard to miss. A decent and tense opening 16 seconds collapses into a militaristic electroshock vocoder mush, during which Madonna says, “Sigmund Freud, analyse this”, before her song ends up sounding more dated than some think the franchise itself is. “Nobody Does It Better,” Carly Simon (The Spy Who Loved Me, 1977), There’s an effortless confidence to Carly Simon’s power ballad. The franchise has managed to score some incredible musicians who, in turn, have offered up some of music’s most incredible, deservedly memorable theme songs—although those two categories don’t always overlap the way you think they might. In classic Billie fashion, "No Time To Die" is whisper-sung with a slow beat and emotional lyrics. In the history of Bond themes, “From Russia with Love” is somehow both groundbreaking and pretty unexciting at the same time. “Tomorrow Never Dies,” Sheryl Crow (1997). The song was a remix of "Goldfinger," and it was in Timothy Dalton's final movie as Bond. Since 1957, GQ has inspired men to look sharper and live smarter with its unparalleled coverage of style, culture, and beyond. The blaring, warbling horns are a jolt to the system and an additional warning siren you just have to ignore. Our editorial content is not influenced by any commissions we receive. It is Scott Walker light, sounding much like Goldfinger from just a year before, and probably tossed out on a lazy afternoon. When Duran Duran bassist John Taylor had a few cocktails and ran into Bond producer Cubby Broccoli at a party, he asked when a good band would be allowed to sing the theme. Often with Bond themes, a so-so verse leads to a great big chorus, but this Bassey return holds back so much that it is barely there. If there’s a trap that slower Bond themes often fall into, it’s being boring, as—the argument goes—there’s not always much to the tunes beneath their surfaces. 11. Britain’s top agent has unquestionably become the man every woman wanted and every man wanted to be. They’re reflective of their time, and yet they also try to sell both Bond overall and the individual picture. GQ may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Read on for all 24 of the James Bond theme songs ranked. Thankfully, Shirley had two other shots at having an epic Bond song, and she definitely delivered better final products with the others. by Justin Gerber and Blake Goble. © 2020 Condé Nast. The rest of the song, charmingly sung by the great Nancy Sinatra, is almost (politely) irrelevant. The movie won’t hit theaters until April, but fans can buy 007’s newest Omega right now. A thrill. A couple are both (they have, you might say, The Range). Interestingly, studio producers picked Madonna to sing the title track for the Bond movie after the success of her song "Beautiful Stranger," which was created for Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, which was a parody of James Bond movies. While the song has since become one of the most iconic Bond themes to date, Adele was initially hesitant to take the job because of how personal her songs usually are. But this is is 007, which makes it pretty, but forgettable. It sounds like a Duran Duran song, and it boasts extremely ’80s-core synth effects and lyrics like “Dance into the fire.” It’s an okay Bond theme, but an incredible time capsule of a song.