James Bond Theme Tunes: The Best and Worst

With the release of Alicia Keys and Jack White’s theme for the new James Bond movie I thought now was a good time to review songs of old. It is the 22nd bond theme tune and the first duet. Here is a run down of the best and worst theme tunes in my personal opinion. (I have neglected the two instrumental pieces namely the main theme tune from Dr. No and the Clavinet driven instrumental of OHMSS, both of which are pure class by Barry)

The Best
1. Goldfinger (Bassey)
The best opening track of any Bond movie. Sung with a brassy cabaret fervor by the great Shirley Bassey, the very epitome of Bond. The horns, the booming vocals, the inclusion of the original theme within the song. It has it all!

2. Live and Let Die (Wings)
McCartney and Co pull out all the stops for this epic ode to Bond. It’s a dynamic master class in pulse-quickening rock It captures Bond’s various styles, the romance, the high style, the explosion of violence at any minute and a nod to reggae, what else does one need?

3. We Have All The Time In The World (Louis Armstrong)
This poignant ballad is one of the great Louis’ finest moments recorded just before his death. In all fairness he could have made singing the phone directory romantic. A gentle, sweet love song. Pure class.

4. Diamonds Are Forever (Shirley Bassey)
Bassey delivers again with this awesome smoky ode to the love of diamonds over a man. Great on every front and playing to her strengths it is was propelled to the status of an instant classic.

5. The Living Daylights
A controversial choice as most would slate this song from begging to end. It never really got the attention that it deserved. It retains its dramatic foreign flavor and pulsates along stopping for nobody in its path. Much better than it ever got credit for and truly a great Bond theme song

(Two others that just didn’t quite make the mark: You Only Live Twice and Tomorrow Never Dies. Both pure Bond and awesome songs in my opinion)

The Worst

1. Die Another Day (Madonna)
Badly sung, terribly produced, discombobulated electronics, it’s an overcooked calamity. It should have been called ‘Die Today’ as opposed to another day as that’s exactly how I fell after listening to it. At best it is put off listening till another day. The worst Bond theme ever. Sigmund Freud? Please!! Complete tripe!

2. For Your Eyes Only (Sheena Easton)
Annoying on every level. Was this woman actually dared to sing in the style of dying cats? If she were, she pulled it off big time. The song itself is deadly dull and just bad. Hastily written and sung, a complete car crash from start to finish.


3. Moonraker (Shirley Bassey)
Not even the great Shirley Bassey could rescue this monstrosity. Cure for insomnia? I think so. Never to be listened to while driving for fear of sending you to sleep. This dreary ballad was a complete waste of Bassey’s talent and what is with that annoying xylophone all the way through the damn song?

4. The Man With The Golden Gun (Lulu)
Love Lulu, hate the song. On first listen I thought it was a joke. The wrong song and completely bizarre choice of instruments. A cheesy wah-wah guitar and odd middle section just baffles me. “He has a powerful weapon, he charges a million a shot.” Does he now? Innuendo can only be taken so far before it’s just crap. It misses the mark totally.

5. License to Kill
Again, love Gladys Knight, hate the song. The whole feel is just wrong. Whenever it comes on I have to forward this one. Can she actually pronounce the word kill? No matter how many times I have had to endure this song it still never sounds anything like it. I can almost see the smarmy Celine Dion singing this and turning it into a world wide hit. Boring, middle of the road rubbish. License to burn any remaining copies of this single still in production, granted!