Fun Friday: Bond Theme Songs

Last November, when the latest Bond film hit theaters, I did a Flashback Friday on the best of James Bond. That particular post didn't really hit it big until February for some odd reason and it has been the most viewed post each week ever since. Now that Quantum of Solace is out on DVD, I decided to do a Fun Friday on a Bond theme. This time, the theme songs in a countdown from least favourite to my all-time favourite.

Ever since I watched the latest Bond film in theaters, I have been holding my own James Bond Film Festival, watching one or two per week, in order of release. I even watched Never Say Never Again in a double feature with Thunderball (the film the former one remade in 1983 under a competing studio). I'm up to The Living Daylights now, which is my favourite of the series and the one I've probably seen the most. It was interesting to watch the ones I've only seen a few times as a kid or teenager, so I appreciated viewing them as an adult with the ability to understand the plot. I didn't realize From Russia With Love was so good. My fondness for On Her Majesty's Secret Service holds up after all these years. And I still don't care for Dr. No very much. The villain is barely seen in the movie so I don't really get his motivation for evil. Diamonds Are Forever is better than I remembered it, but I can't believe they had that scene where the car enters through a narrow alley at an angle and is seen coming out on the opposite set of wheels. I had to replay that one with director commentary track to hear them explain that goof. My favourite moment in the film was when the elephant played the slot machine at Circus Circus Casino and got excited when it won. Hilarious!

One of the most moronic scenes is from The Spy Who Loved Me. I don't understand why Jaws drove the van all the way out to the ruins of some old temple (in Egypt). He knows the spies are in the back of the van but he parks the van, leaves the key in the ignition and runs away to play hide and seek with Bond and Agent XXX following him, then he chases them back to the van and tears it up before they escape. What a retard! I had a hard time buying that scene. There was no logical point to have them go all the way out to that temple ruins site. I bet the filmmakers just wanted to use that as a backdrop for an action sequence, for there was no other reason why the villain would do such a thing.

Moonraker was as I remembered...really good until they go up into space. Didn't like Live and Let Die much, or Thunderball. But I had forgotten how good Octopussy is. The Bond films from the 80s are my favourites.

Now we get to the list of my favourite theme songs (I'm not including the instrumental theme music that opens Dr. No and On Her Majesty's Secret Service), starting with my least favourite...

21. "You Know My Name" by Chris Cornell (from Casino Royale)

20. "Tomorrow Never Dies" by Sheryl Crow (for a woman with a string of catchy hit songs, this one was surprisingly bad)

19. "The World is Not Enough" by Garbage

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

17. "From Russia With Love" by Matt Monro

16. "Goldeneye" by Tina Turner

15. "Moonraker" by Shirley Bassey (my sister and I love to make fun of the "where are you?" line)

14. "Thunderball" by Tom Jones

13. "The Man With the Golden Gun" by Lulu

12. "Live and Let Die" by Paul McCartney and the Wings

11. "Nobody Does it Better" by Carly Simon (from The Spy Who Loved Me)

10. "You Only Live Twice" by Nancy Sinatra

9. "We Have All the Time in the World" by Louis Armstrong (from On Her Majesty's Secret Service)

8. "All Time High" by Rita Coolidge (from Octopussy)


7. "Die Another Day" by Madonna

6. "Licence to Kill" by Gladys Knight

5. "Diamonds Are Forever" by Shirley Bassey

My mom thinks the line "diamonds never lie to me" is pretty funny.

4. "Goldfinger" by Shirley Bassey

This song has what I've thought since childhood was an elephant sound. It's pure classic. I wish they'd bring Shirley Bassey back for one more Bond theme song, since I really don't like most of the ones the came out after the 1980s heyday. She has an amazing voice.

3. "The Living Daylights" by a-ha

It was hard to decide which one I should put in second place. I really love this song, but everytime I hear Sheena Easton's song, I get chills. Her theme song always brings back some good memories and I love a great power ballad, so I have to give her song the edge over a-ha. Besides, she's incredibly sexy.

2. "For Your Eyes Only" by Sheena Easton

Sheena Easton was the first (and only) singer to appear in the title sequence. She does look like a Bond girl. Interestingly enough, Madonna is the only singer to have a cameo role in the Bond films.

1. "A View to a Kill" by Duran Duran

The only Bond theme song to hit #1 on the singles chart. It is the quintessential 80s pop song, featuring one of the most popular bands of that era. I never get tired of listening to it. They really capture the spirit and excitement of the Bond movies in a song. If you ever doubted that this was pure 80s pop, the title sequence in the film makes use of neon colours, which was popular during that decade (hard to believe now...but how did the 80s end up so neon and pastel?). If pop music is so bad, why do most of the Bond theme songs since 1995 suck?!?

Bon...Simon LeBon (of Duran Duran)