Simon Columb with the five worst Bond songs…
We have now heard Sam Smith’s new Spectre theme song, ‘Writing’s on the Wall’. After Adele’s Skyfall number, very much in the vein of Goldfinger and Thunderball, Smith had a tough act to follow. The James Bond titular tracks remain key to the success of the series, as the pop tune is endlessly played on the radio. So it’s important to get it right.
When listening to Sam’s new record, remember the travesties that have come before. He’s nowhere near the bottom rung of the ladder. In fact, when compiling this list, a few songs sneaked into the middling abyss and are worth a mention in addition to the “Top (Low?) 5”, if only to highlight how they too hold redeeming features. ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’ (Something too funky about Lulu, that I didn’t have the heart) and ‘Die Another Day’ by Madonna (Absolute respect that producers Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli and composer David Arnold signed off on such a weird and electronic track – but it’s a stinker) are two examples. Anything else missed is acceptable pop-tosh…
But these are the ones we want to forget…
5. For Your Eyes Only by Sheena Easton
Easton’s romantic song simply doesn’t fit the slick edge that most Bond ballads manage to balance. It should be bold and strong, with a hint of romance. Instead, it’s piano-plonking romance and a sense of dull longing that lacks charisma completely.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN1WBgS9u_E
4. Licence to Kill by Gladys Knight
Composer Michael Kamen clearly wanted to move back to a Shirley Bassey vocal, with an 80’s edge. Gladys says “I need, I need, I need to hold on to your love”, but she vamps it up a tad too much and repeating ‘Licence to Kill’ time and time again simply doesn’t stand.
Originally published September 25, 2015. Updated April 14, 2018.
