The James Bond Theme Songs Hurt/Heal Game

[BigFoot]

The James Bond Theme (Monty Norman) 14
From Russia With Love (Matt Monro) 4
Goldfinger (Shirley Bassey) 10
You Only Live Twice (Nancy Sinatra) 13
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (John Barry) 10
Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney & Wings) 19
Nobody Does It Better (Carly Simon) 15
For Your Eyes Only (Sheena Easton) 11
A View to a Kill (Duran Duran) 3
The Living Daylights (a-ha) 11
The World Is Not Enough (Garbage) 16
You Know My Name (Chris Cornell) 10 +

Eliminated:
13th: Moonraker (Shirley Bassey)
14th: Diamonds Are Forever (Shirley Bassey)
15th: Thunderball (Tom Jones)
16th: Tomorrow Never Dies (Sheryl Crow)
17th: GoldenEye (Tina Turner)
18th: Licence to Kill (Gladys Knight)
19th: All Time High (Rita Coolidge)
20th: The Man with the Golden Gun (Lulu)
21st: Die Another Day (Madonna)

 

[The Nth Doctor]

The James Bond Theme (Monty Norman) 14
From Russia With Love (Matt Monro) - 2
Goldfinger (Shirley Bassey) 10
You Only Live Twice (Nancy Sinatra) 13
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (John Barry) 10
Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney & Wings) 19
Nobody Does It Better (Carly Simon) 15
For Your Eyes Only (Sheena Easton) 11
A View to a Kill (Duran Duran) 3
The Living Daylights (a-ha) 11
The World Is Not Enough (Garbage) 16
You Know My Name (Chris Cornell) 11 +

Eliminated:
13th: Moonraker (Shirley Bassey)
14th: Diamonds Are Forever (Shirley Bassey)
15th: Thunderball (Tom Jones)
16th: Tomorrow Never Dies (Sheryl Crow)
17th: GoldenEye (Tina Turner)
18th: Licence to Kill (Gladys Knight)
19th: All Time High (Rita Coolidge)
20th: The Man with the Golden Gun (Lulu)
21st: Die Another Day (Madonna)

 

[The Old Mixer]

I'm sure many of you have seen it, but if you haven't, I would like to propose that the following be the theme to Quantum of Solace:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMoJRLStD9c

Seriously, this would win the poll.

I'd considered throwing that in as a gag, but was afraid of the result you mention.

 

[RaymondJames]

The James Bond Theme (Monty Norman) 14
Goldfinger (Shirley Bassey) 10
You Only Live Twice (Nancy Sinatra) 13
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (John Barry) 10
Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney & Wings) 19
Nobody Does It Better (Carly Simon) 15
For Your Eyes Only (Sheena Easton) 11
A View to a Kill (Duran Duran) 4 +
The Living Daylights (a-ha) 11
The World Is Not Enough (Garbage) 16
You Know My Name (Chris Cornell) 11

Eliminated:
12th: From Russia With Love (Matt Monro)
13th: Moonraker (Shirley Bassey)
14th: Diamonds Are Forever (Shirley Bassey)
15th: Thunderball (Tom Jones)
16th: Tomorrow Never Dies (Sheryl Crow)
17th: GoldenEye (Tina Turner)
18th: Licence to Kill (Gladys Knight)
19th: All Time High (Rita Coolidge)
20th: The Man with the Golden Gun (Lulu)
21st: Die Another Day (Madonna)
__________________

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

From Russia With Love wan an interesting problem. I love the instrumental that is the opening theme, but the version with lyrics is rather lousy. I think that may be what many were going off of.

The James Bond Theme (Monty Norman) 14
Goldfinger (Shirley Bassey) 10
You Only Live Twice (Nancy Sinatra) 13
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (John Barry) 10
Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney & Wings) 19
Nobody Does It Better (Carly Simon) 15
For Your Eyes Only (Sheena Easton) 9 -
A View to a Kill (Duran Duran) 5 +
The Living Daylights (a-ha) 11
The World Is Not Enough (Garbage) 16
You Know My Name (Chris Cornell) 11

Eliminated:
12th: From Russia With Love (Matt Monro)13th: Moonraker (Shirley Bassey)
14th: Diamonds Are Forever (Shirley Bassey)
15th: Thunderball (Tom Jones)
16th: Tomorrow Never Dies (Sheryl Crow)
17th: GoldenEye (Tina Turner)
18th: Licence to Kill (Gladys Knight)
19th: All Time High (Rita Coolidge)
20th: The Man with the Golden Gun (Lulu)
21st: Die Another Day (Madonna)

 

[The Old Mixer]

^I probably should have clarified in the OP, but in putting Matt Monro's name there, I was submitting the vocal song, not the instrumental. It was another choice I made based on what usually represents the film on compilation albums.

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

^Yeah, I got that. I'm just saying that the piece works so much better as an instrumental, which was what was actually used over the opening credits.

 

[The Old Mixer]

^I agree. They did good putting that out in front.

Well, I said the time would come, and it finally has. Time to help with the smackdown....

The James Bond Theme (Monty Norman) 14
Goldfinger (Shirley Bassey) 10
You Only Live Twice (Nancy Sinatra) 13
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (John Barry) 10
Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney & Wings) 19
Nobody Does It Better (Carly Simon) 16 +
For Your Eyes Only (Sheena Easton) 9
A View to a Kill (Duran Duran) 3 -
The Living Daylights (a-ha) 11
The World Is Not Enough (Garbage) 16
You Know My Name (Chris Cornell) 11

Eliminated:
12th: From Russia With Love (Matt Monro)
13th: Moonraker (Shirley Bassey)
14th: Diamonds Are Forever (Shirley Bassey)
15th: Thunderball (Tom Jones)
16th: Tomorrow Never Dies (Sheryl Crow)
17th: GoldenEye (Tina Turner)
18th: Licence to Kill (Gladys Knight)
19th: All Time High (Rita Coolidge)
20th: The Man with the Golden Gun (Lulu)
21st: Die Another Day (Madonna)

 

[Alidar Jarok]

The James Bond Theme (Monty Norman) 14
Goldfinger (Shirley Bassey) 10
You Only Live Twice (Nancy Sinatra) 13
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (John Barry) 10
Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney & Wings) 19
Nobody Does It Better (Carly Simon) 16
For Your Eyes Only (Sheena Easton) 9
A View to a Kill (Duran Duran) 1 -
The Living Daylights (a-ha) 11
The World Is Not Enough (Garbage) 16
You Know My Name (Chris Cornell) 13 +

Eliminated:
12th: From Russia With Love (Matt Monro)
13th: Moonraker (Shirley Bassey)
14th: Diamonds Are Forever (Shirley Bassey)
15th: Thunderball (Tom Jones)
16th: Tomorrow Never Dies (Sheryl Crow)
17th: GoldenEye (Tina Turner)
18th: Licence to Kill (Gladys Knight)
19th: All Time High (Rita Coolidge)
20th: The Man with the Golden Gun (Lulu)
21st: Die Another Day (Madonna)

 

[Harvey]

The James Bond Theme (Monty Norman) 15+
Goldfinger (Shirley Bassey) 10
You Only Live Twice (Nancy Sinatra) 13
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (John Barry) 10
Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney & Wings) 19
Nobody Does It Better (Carly Simon) 16
For Your Eyes Only (Sheena Easton) 9
The Living Daylights (a-ha) 11
The World Is Not Enough (Garbage) 16
You Know My Name (Chris Cornell) 13

Eliminated:
11th: A View to a Kill (Duran Duran)
12th: From Russia With Love (Matt Monro)
13th: Moonraker (Shirley Bassey)
14th: Diamonds Are Forever (Shirley Bassey)
15th: Thunderball (Tom Jones)
16th: Tomorrow Never Dies (Sheryl Crow)
17th: GoldenEye (Tina Turner)
18th: Licence to Kill (Gladys Knight)
19th: All Time High (Rita Coolidge)
20th: The Man with the Golden Gun (Lulu)
21st: Die Another Day (Madonna)

 

[The Old Mixer]

Ah...a good, clean kill.

I'm afraid Alidar healed two points, so the current tally should read...

The James Bond Theme (Monty Norman) 15
Goldfinger (Shirley Bassey) 10
You Only Live Twice (Nancy Sinatra) 13
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (John Barry) 10
Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney & Wings) 19
Nobody Does It Better (Carly Simon) 16
For Your Eyes Only (Sheena Easton) 9
The Living Daylights (a-ha) 11
The World Is Not Enough (Garbage) 16
You Know My Name (Chris Cornell) 12

Eliminated:
11th: A View to a Kill (Duran Duran)
12th: From Russia With Love (Matt Monro)
13th: Moonraker (Shirley Bassey)
14th: Diamonds Are Forever (Shirley Bassey)
15th: Thunderball (Tom Jones)
16th: Tomorrow Never Dies (Sheryl Crow)
17th: GoldenEye (Tina Turner)
18th: Licence to Kill (Gladys Knight)
19th: All Time High (Rita Coolidge)
20th: The Man with the Golden Gun (Lulu)
21st: Die Another Day (Madonna)

 

[AJBryant]

The James Bond Theme (Monty Norman) 15
Goldfinger (Shirley Bassey) 11 +
You Only Live Twice (Nancy Sinatra) 13
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (John Barry) 10
Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney & Wings) 19
Nobody Does It Better (Carly Simon) 16
For Your Eyes Only (Sheena Easton) 9
The Living Daylights (a-ha) 11
The World Is Not Enough (Garbage) 16
You Know My Name (Chris Cornell) 10 -

Eliminated:
11th: A View to a Kill (Duran Duran)
12th: From Russia With Love (Matt Monro)
13th: Moonraker (Shirley Bassey)
14th: Diamonds Are Forever (Shirley Bassey)
15th: Thunderball (Tom Jones)
16th: Tomorrow Never Dies (Sheryl Crow)
17th: GoldenEye (Tina Turner)
18th: Licence to Kill (Gladys Knight)
19th: All Time High (Rita Coolidge)
20th: The Man with the Golden Gun (Lulu)
21st: Die Another Day (Madonna)
__________________

 

[DRADIS]

The James Bond Theme (Monty Norman) 15
Goldfinger (Shirley Bassey) 9 -
You Only Live Twice (Nancy Sinatra) 13
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (John Barry) 11 +
Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney & Wings) 19
Nobody Does It Better (Carly Simon) 16
For Your Eyes Only (Sheena Easton) 9
The Living Daylights (a-ha) 11
The World Is Not Enough (Garbage) 16
You Know My Name (Chris Cornell) 10

Eliminated:
11th: A View to a Kill (Duran Duran)
12th: From Russia With Love (Matt Monro)
13th: Moonraker (Shirley Bassey)
14th: Diamonds Are Forever (Shirley Bassey)
15th: Thunderball (Tom Jones)
16th: Tomorrow Never Dies (Sheryl Crow)
17th: GoldenEye (Tina Turner)
18th: Licence to Kill (Gladys Knight)
19th: All Time High (Rita Coolidge)
20th: The Man with the Golden Gun (Lulu)
21st: Die Another Day (Madonna)

 

[TheArsenal]

The James Bond Theme (Monty Norman) 15
Goldfinger (Shirley Bassey) 10 +
You Only Live Twice (Nancy Sinatra) 13
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (John Barry) 11
Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney & Wings) 19
Nobody Does It Better (Carly Simon) 16
For Your Eyes Only (Sheena Easton) 7-
The Living Daylights (a-ha) 11
The World Is Not Enough (Garbage) 16
You Know My Name (Chris Cornell) 10

Eliminated:
11th: A View to a Kill (Duran Duran)
12th: From Russia With Love (Matt Monro)
13th: Moonraker (Shirley Bassey)
14th: Diamonds Are Forever (Shirley Bassey)
15th: Thunderball (Tom Jones)
16th: Tomorrow Never Dies (Sheryl Crow)
17th: GoldenEye (Tina Turner)
18th: Licence to Kill (Gladys Knight)
19th: All Time High (Rita Coolidge)
20th: The Man with the Golden Gun (Lulu)
21st: Die Another Day (Madonna)

 

[RaymondJames]

The James Bond Theme (Monty Norman) 15
Goldfinger (Shirley Bassey) 10
You Only Live Twice (Nancy Sinatra) 13
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (John Barry) 11
Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney & Wings) 17 -
Nobody Does It Better (Carly Simon) 16
For Your Eyes Only (Sheena Easton) 7
The Living Daylights (a-ha) 11
The World Is Not Enough (Garbage) 17 +
You Know My Name (Chris Cornell) 10

Eliminated:
11th: A View to a Kill (Duran Duran)
12th: From Russia With Love (Matt Monro)
13th: Moonraker (Shirley Bassey)
14th: Diamonds Are Forever (Shirley Bassey)
15th: Thunderball (Tom Jones)
16th: Tomorrow Never Dies (Sheryl Crow)
17th: GoldenEye (Tina Turner)
18th: Licence to Kill (Gladys Knight)
19th: All Time High (Rita Coolidge)
20th: The Man with the Golden Gun (Lulu)
21st: Die Another Day (Madonna)

 

[Star Treks]

The James Bond Theme (Monty Norman) 15
Goldfinger (Shirley Bassey) 10
You Only Live Twice (Nancy Sinatra) 13
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (John Barry) 11
Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney & Wings) 17
Nobody Does It Better (Carly Simon) 16
For Your Eyes Only (Sheena Easton) 8 +
The Living Daylights (a-ha) 11
The World Is Not Enough (Garbage) 17
You Know My Name (Chris Cornell) 8 -

Eliminated:
11th: A View to a Kill (Duran Duran)
12th: From Russia With Love (Matt Monro)
13th: Moonraker (Shirley Bassey)
14th: Diamonds Are Forever (Shirley Bassey)
15th: Thunderball (Tom Jones)
16th: Tomorrow Never Dies (Sheryl Crow)
17th: GoldenEye (Tina Turner)
18th: Licence to Kill (Gladys Knight)
19th: All Time High (Rita Coolidge)
20th: The Man with the Golden Gun (Lulu)
21st: Die Another Day (Madonna)

 

[IJD GAF]

Just to explain myself a bit more, what I like best in a Bond theme is a catchy hook or riff that you can remember, and that is echoed throughout the film. Only three films on the list execute this perfectly in my opinion. And those are Goldfinger, You Only Live Twice, and Casino Royale.

While some of the others are good tunes, notably Live and Let Die, none of them has quite that magic as those three.

The James Bond Theme (Monty Norman) 15
Goldfinger (Shirley Bassey) 10
You Only Live Twice (Nancy Sinatra) 13
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (John Barry) 11
Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney & Wings) 17
Nobody Does It Better (Carly Simon) 16
For Your Eyes Only (Sheena Easton) 6 -
The Living Daylights (a-ha) 11
The World Is Not Enough (Garbage) 17
You Know My Name (Chris Cornell) 9 +

Eliminated:
11th: A View to a Kill (Duran Duran)
12th: From Russia With Love (Matt Monro)
13th: Moonraker (Shirley Bassey)
14th: Diamonds Are Forever (Shirley Bassey)
15th: Thunderball (Tom Jones)
16th: Tomorrow Never Dies (Sheryl Crow)
17th: GoldenEye (Tina Turner)
18th: Licence to Kill (Gladys Knight)
19th: All Time High (Rita Coolidge)
20th: The Man with the Golden Gun (Lulu)
21st: Die Another Day (Madonna)

 

[Star Treks]

IJD, not to disagree with you, but I'm honestly curious: what is the hook of "You Know My Name"? While it's a passable tune, and probably better music than, say, "For Your Eyes Only," one of the reasons why I don't rank it highly is precisely because it lacks, to my ears, anything really memorable, any great hook, anything that I could hum. I had to see the movie three times before I could really bring any part of this song to mind.

I'm not saying you're wrong, just trying to figure out what it is about this particular song that you like. For me, Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice are both perfect because of their hooks (the main sung title melody in the first case, and the background erhu-like riff in the second), and that's also why I value, for example, Live and Let Die and Nobody Does It Better - both have decent hooks.

For the theme to CR, the only hook I can think of is a slightly effective use of (what I think are) the same chords as the opening of "Goldfinger" used melodically, in the chorus (namely, what sounds like I-VI or maybe I/iii-I).

I guess what I'm saying is that, after one hearing, I could always recall at least part of the chorus of "For Your Eyes Only" (one of the lesser songs still on the list) but not "You Know My Name".

 

[IJD GAF]

Live and Let Die has a pretty great hook as a song. But in context with the film, it doesn't quite jive. To me, it feels like a prototype for any generic action movie nowadays that has Godsmack playing over a fight scene. Not to compare the quality between Godsmack and Wings by any stretch. I really dig the tune. But I hear it during the movie itself and I think it sounds like it's trying too hard to be badass.

Nobody Does it Better has an okay hook, but it's a little too... melodic? drawn out? It lacks punch (Goldfinger, Casino Royale) or simplicity (You Only Live Twice).

a refresher course on Casino Royale

That first eight notes is what does it. The song itself? The lyrics? I like Chris Cornell but that's not what gets me. It's just those eight notes. Particularly in this film, where we don't get a whole Bond theme until the credits. It actually serves as the single theme for the film as a whole, where the other flicks tend to throw in the Bond theme as often as the theme song's hook.

I realise I'm probably approaching this question from a different angle as was intended, but that's okay. IMO it's the best hook since the Connery era, and just one reason why I absolutely love this new direction with Daniel Craig. I can only hope the (actual, non-youtube farce) theme of Quantum of Solace is along the same lines.

 

[Star Treks]

Thanks, IJD, I appreciate your resposne, and you did answer my question. Those first 8 notes didn't grab me the way they grabbed you, but I can appreciate their effectiveness, especially as they are essentially a compressed form of the original Bond theme. The song certainly grew on me with time, although it's still not one of my favorite Bond themes.

Also, probably one of the reasons (and it's a sad one) that I really like "Nobody Does It Better" is that I grew up here in California, and Safeway supermarkets used it as their theme for all their radio ads for years, and as I was growing up my dad had the radio permanently tuned on to political talk as we drove around every day. I would hear their ads almost every commercial break, many times every day, for years. So it kind of was intravenously forced into my brain.