Favorite James Bond song.

[Starkers]

Goldfinger
Live and Let Die
A View to a Kill
The Living Daylights
Surrender (should have been the main title track, and obviously was supposed to be)
You Know My Name

Really my favourite though is OHMSS...I know it isn't a song, but it is the title track, and in some respects, it's almost cooler than the 007 theme,

 

[lurok]

4) Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Thunderball)

Seconded and also my favourite tied with You Only Live Twice.

Favourite 'should-have-been-a-Bond-song': All Mine - Portishead (esp. the Tom Jones/Divine Comedy cover)

 

[trekkiebaggio]

I prefer the Guns N' Roses version of Live and Let Die.
Thunderball, Goldeneye, The Word is Not Enough and Tomorrow Never Dies I really like.

However, Goldfinger and Nobody Does it Better (funnily enough both have been sung by Alan Partridge) are my favourites.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ured0oVW10[/yt]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epRVg9n0fD4[/yt]

 

[Disruptor]

Favorite: Live and Let Die

With Diamonds Are Forever (I think its superiour to Goldfinger) and The Living Daylights runners up.

Worst: Sheryl Crowe's song. Never cared for Octopussy's "All Time High", either.

There hasn't been a good main title song since The Living Daylights. The problem is that they are too gimmicky or choose the worst pop stars or try too hard to say "THIS IS A JAMES BOND song" without being a good song on its own merit.

Casino Royale one was almost decent, but I just don't care for that guy's voice.

The parody songs for Quantum of Solace were better than the real thing. "The Something of Boris...is that was it was?"

 

[Greg Cox]

Ooh, this is a tricky one, but if a (golden) gun is pointed at my head:

1. Goldfinger
2. Diamonds are Forever
3. You Only Live Twice

Yes, I'm old.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Does "Secret Agent Man" count? It's obviously Bond-inspired (even has the Bond theme in it).

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOsoa4AGRhY[/yt]

 

[Starkers]

I like Bruce Willis' version of that

They must be releasing the Skyfall track soon, or at least telling us who's singing it!!

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ One of the least-used phrases in the English language, I think...

 

[Starkers]

^ One of the least-used phrases in the English language, I think...

Perhaps...

 

[therealsb63]

"Live And Let Die" Paul McCartney & Wings
"A View To A Kill" Duran Duran
"Goldfinger" Shirley Bassey

 

[Kai "the spy"]

So, here's my ranking:

1. Goldfinger
2. The World is not enough
3. Surrender
4. You know my Name
5. Nobody does it better
6. GoldenEye
7. Thunderball
8. From Russia with Love
9. Live and let Die
10. The Man with the Golden Gun
11. Diamonds are Forever
12. You only live twice
13. A View to a Kill
14. The living Daylights
15. Tomorrow never dies
16. Moonraker
17. Licence to Kill
18. Another Way to Die
19. Where has Everybody gone
20. Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
21. For your Eyes only*
22. All the Time in the World*
23. All-time high*
24. Die another Day


Liked those songs, but they didn't had the right dramatic tone necessary for a really good Bond song.

I also like some of the songs that were in the running to be the official theme, but were ultimately rejected. Some of those are even better than the ones they did use. Of those I could get my ears on, here're my categories.

Really good ones, better than what they ended up using:
- Eva Almer: Forever I'm Yours (for QoS)
- Shirley Bassey: No Good about Goodbye (also for QoS, originally intended for Amy Winehouse, co-written by David Arnold, cues from this song are still in the movie's score)
- Blondie: For your Eyes only

Intriguing ones:
- Straw: The World is not enough (lyrics are full of references)


Nice ones, but not really Bond
- Johnny Cash: Thunderball (Rawhide meets Bond)
- Alice Cooper: The Man with the Golden Gun
- Swan Lee: Tomorrow never dies

 

[J.T.B.]

Does "Secret Agent Man" count?

Of course not!

It's obviously Bond-inspired (even has the Bond theme in it).

It does? I can assure you the Johnny Rivers original has no Bond themes in it.

My favorite by a wide margin is "You Only Live Twice," and way before Mad Men used it. It has some classic Bond attributes: a major-minor tension, an unforgettable motif/hook, and a little pointed electric guitar. Nancy Sinatra as a vocalist usually leaves me underwhelmed (her flat reading of "Jackson" takes on a semblance of life only in comparison to Lee Hazelwood's human-bullfrog monotone), but damned if she doesn't take John Barry's lush strings to a higher level, providing an intriguing and oddly emotional longing.

"Goldfinger" and "Thunderball" are next. Both terrific, you can't help but love Tom Jones' confident take on "Thunderball"'s goofy lyrics.

Justin

 

[MacLeod]

Well as this one's been mentioned a few times

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn8alMYSu44[/yt]

 

[Gaith]

First crystal tears... fall as SNOWFLAKES on your body... first time in years... to drench your skin, with
LOVERS' ROSY STAIN...
a chance to find a PHOENIX FOR THE flaaaaaame...

a chance to die​

until we DANCE INTO THE FIRE

that FATAL KISS
is all we neeeeed​

DANCE INTO THE FIRE
to fatal sounds

of broken dreams​

DANCE INTO THE FIRE

that fatal kiss
is all we NEED​

DANCE INTO THE FIRE...​

when all we see...​

... IS A VIEW TO A KILL...​

____________

... Sorry, y'all just discovered my signature karaoke song there.

Of course the question that has to be asked which is the least favourite.

Just like a Mooooooooooonraker, ohhhhhh.....

 

[Greg Cox]

A shame they wimped out and didn't give us a title tune for "Octopussy" . . .

 

[marillion]

Even though I was born in the 70s, I'm a child of the 80s...

View to a Kill, while a HORRIBLE way to cap off the (mostly horrid) Moore era, is by far my favorite song.

Ah-Ha's Living Daylights wasn't bad either.

Beyond that, Live and Let Die and For Your Eyes Only are close...

Ironic that other than the first couple of RM Bond movies, I detest his tenure in the role but love the theme songs. Man with the Golden Gun doesn't get enough credit, IMHO... At least they did give some (but not nearly enough) closure to the Blofeld/SPECTRE/Tracy Bond storylines.

On a side note, I LOVE the score of the Lazenby movie. the riff on the traditional Bond chase music during the ski scene is fantastic.

 

[scotpens]

. . . The parody songs for Quantum of Solace were better than the real thing. "The Something of Boris...is that was it was?"

Al Yankovic's song for the Bond spoof Spy Hard is mainly a parody of "Thunderball." It's cute, but it would have been much funnier if, instead of Weird Al doing the vocals himself, they'd gotten Shirley Bassey or Tom Jones to sing it "straight"!

Live and Let Die (I'm sure the majority of people will say this)
Diamonds are Forever
Thunderball

Those are my favourites and anyone who thinks Die Another Day is the best Bond theme is not a true Bond fan!

Madonna's grating, dissonant "Die Another Day" was probably meant to sound "edgy." But it just sounds ugly.

My favorite of all the Bond songs is "Goldfinger." It's a strong tune that conveys a sense of danger and unease, with its constant shifting between major and minor chords. And Shirley Bassey is the quintessential female Bond singer.

Second choice: "Thunderball."

Third: "For Your Eyes Only," sung by Sheena Easton. It doesn't sound particularly Bond-ish, but it's pretty.

 

[marillion]

^^And so was/is she!

As the 70's wore on, I think the music got softer, more fitting Moore's Bond, who was a lover who could kick your ass with a JUDO CHOP!.. Whereas Connery's Bond was a lean, mean fighting machine who would just as soon punch you in the mouth as kiss you and so even the "softer" songs had an edge..

*Yes, Marillion, we get it.. You don't like Moore's Bond*

 

[Galileo7]

Goldfinger
Diamonds Are Forever
Lie and Let Die
For Your Eyes Only

 

[Caligula]

1. "Thunderball" - Tom Jones
2. "The World is Not Enough" - Garbage
3. "Licence to Kill" - Gladys Knight
4. "Live and Let Die" - Paul McCartney & Wings
5. "You Only Live Twice" - Nancy Sinatra