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GoGo Yubari Ranks the James Bond Themes (Except the Main One)


GoGo Yubari

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15. "Another Way to Die" by Jack White & Alicia Keys (from Quantum of Solace)

One thing I really like about the Craig themes is that beyond including one basic leitmotif, all of them feel very distinctly like the end product of the artists who made them. The three we've had thusfar are all their own things with their own styles, which is a breath of fresh air when considering certain runs of songs in Bond theme history. That includes the decidedly weakest of the three, "Another Way to Die," which I actually like much better as a song on its own than as a Bond theme. The reason it's 15th is because I think the chorus is pretty killer, and there are a lot of good musical elements in it. As a Bond theme... eh. The first time I heard it, I hated it. It's grown on me, but Jack White still never should have sung on this song beyond maybe harmonies on the chorus. If he gave more to Keys and got rid of his own sing-talking, it probably would have finished higher. (Also, I totally forgot that Shirley Bassey recorded a possible theme and had it rejected. It's pretty solid, but I get why they shied away from doing it.)

Next Time: See the last hint, but now remove two possible options from that field.

Oh dear. I'd never heard that before. Awful, how was this not last?
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It kind of does, but I still like stretches of the song a lot. Just not a good Bond theme.









































https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdMZLx_qANA

14. "From Russia With Love" by Matt Monro

And with that, every Bond now has a movie from their filmography eliminated. Probably fitting that Connery's remained intact the longest. "From Russia With Love" is sung by Matt Monro, who I guess was a big deal in England but to me is the crooner you get when Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bobby Darin, and Mel Torme are all busy. What I like about this theme are the use of stuff like finger cymbals and the Spanish influence on the arrangement in general. And really, Monro's singing is perfectly fine. He's a good singer. But while this is a good enough song and has a classic feel, "From Russia With Love" isn't really a Bond theme where I'm like "oh man, and remember this awesome idea/moment from this song?" It's just very competent in every regard, and general competence isn't good enough to make it past #14 when there's so many songs I genuinely really enjoy going forward.

Next Time: Okay, now we're wiping out a Bond's entire filmography.

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I'm not a fan of Another Way To Die as I don't like it as a song and it's another reminder of what a waste of time Quantum of Solace was.

Now I loves me some From Russia With Love because Matt Monro's vocals are just superb, but due to the generational difference I can see why it doesn't carry through to 2013 very well.

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My not really loving that song really isn't about generational difference, mind.

13. "Licence to Kill" by Gladys Knight

You knew it was going to be the Dalton films going out of the running first. Come on. I know you had to. "Licence to Kill" (the song and movie title that my spell check hates) has a pretty cool idea at its core; "let's take the Goldfinger theme and turn it into a slow jam!" It actually works pretty well, and I love Gladys Knight's singing. It doesn't really successfully sustain itself over the course of the entire song, though. It's way worse if you hear the full version; it's five minutes long and feels like it's eight. Still, good Bond theme, and one that's really grown on me over the course of working on this list.

Next Time: A classic gets cut down before the halfway point!

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This song is a classic "good, not great" theme. It does what it does and it's good enough, but yeah it's not one that's going to be remembered as a classic. I was expecting Sheryl Crow here, and I probably prefer "Licence to Kill" to "Tomorrow Never DIes", but the difference isn't big between the two.

Oh and the full version is totally waaay too long.

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Can I make more enemies with this one than I did with Garbage at 17th place? Let's see.








































12. "Thunderball" by Tom Jones

Yeah. So. "Thunderball" is a classic, and it's iconic, and Tom Jones' final big note is fucking crazy and it's not surprising that in the process of singing it, the dude passed out. And I love the song as an instrumental. The way it incorporates the proper main Bond theme is slick, too. Really, it's quite good work by John Barry. But man. Maybe it's that I just don't like Tom Jones? He's a talented singer but he has one of those voices that for me it's a chore to listen to. And maybe it's also that most of the lyrics of "Thunderball" hit the wrong sort of cheese factor for me. HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDS ARE MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE SO HE GIVES LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-EEEEEEEEEEEEEE-EEEEEEEEEEEEE-EEEEEEEEEEEEEESSS and whatnot. It's... I don't know. I just don't love "Thunderball" on the whole, real talk. But y'all can fight me, and that fight will go on and on and on. 'cause I think the fight is worth it all. Something something strike like Thunderball. That's not really a very graceful insertion of the movie title, is it?

Next Time: Either a prestigious Bond theme, or one that is very much not.

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I've got a thing for super over-the-top singers (here's looking at you, Mr. Loaf), so I dig "Thunderball," but eh, not everyone's cup of tea. "He STRIKES like THUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNderBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALL" is pretty silly, though.

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Aaaaand EWB ate my post about #11. Blah blah blah love every song going forward blah blah blah etc etc. I love that there's an auto-save function that doesn't appear to actually work at all.

11. "Skyfall" by Adele

So this is a pretty good song. Deserving of the Oscar it finally won for the Bond franchise. There are more deserving ones, but whatever, better late than never. It's a very obvious throwback (damshow said he thought Adele was trying to sound like Shirley Bassey, which I didn't agree with at all until I heard the rejected Quantum song and could hear the similarities), but unlike, say, "GoldenEye" or "The World Is Not Enough," it's a throwback in a pretty authentic way, and for a movie that makes a point out of making callbacks and being reverential to Bond history. But I don't feel comfortable putting a song from last year in the top ten because I don't know how the song's going to age for me going forward, and there's stuff in "Skyfall" that grates on me (particularly, the poor use of backing singers). Still, pretty good song.

Next Time: Another song meant to be a throwback.

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"Thunderball" is a great implementation of the original Bond theme. Yes, Tom Jones' vocals are over-the-top and cross into that cheese territory that few should thread but, man, much better than "Skyfall". I would think it should be ahead of a few others you're obviously going to be putting ahead of it as well. That said, it really can be a huge miss with certain people for obvious reasons. It's not a universally enjoyable song, and that is something the great Bond themes are.

I really, really thought "Skyfall" just sounded like a song that Shriley Bassey rejected. It was good, but I never thought it was an instant classic like some people did. It is in good placing where it is, I just don't like it ahead of "Thunderball".

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