50 Years of James Bond

The OVP will be finished up by Sunday, but I couldn't let the momentous occasion of James Bond turning 50 pass by without a mention.  James Bond has had limited success at the Oscar's, but that doesn't mean that he hasn't left an indelible imprint on the world of cinema.  While I can't claim that I have seen every single Bond film (someday, perhaps), I can claim that I know every single Bond theme by heart.  The pride and joy of my iPod is that I have created a playlist of every Bond theme, and in honor of 007, let's grab our martinis and rank the 25 (I'm cheating on three) best Bond songs.

25. "Never Say Never Again," Never Say Never Again performed by Lani Hall
A very paint-by-numbers Bond song that is one of three questionable inclusions on this list (I'm a sucker for a round number, and this got me to 25), this song from Sean Connery's final performance as 007 sounds an awful lot like lounge music.  Considering that so many singers at the top of their careers get Bond songs, it seems odd that Lani Hall, never a huge star, got this opportunity.

24. "The Living Daylights," The Living Daylights performed by A-ha
Again, an odd choice in hindsight, though A-ha was a fairly big band at the time, so who knows.  Either way, a slow-moving and dull addition to the Bond catalog (something many people said about this Timothy Dalton outing).

23. "For Your Eyes Only," For Your Eyes Only performed by Sheena Easton
Sheena Easton was a huge act at that time, and seemed like a solid chanteuse for the likes of Bond, but her song seemed a little bit too sweet for the Bond franchise.  This film in general is largely forgotten, save for the scandalously leggy poster.  The song did earn Bond one of his four Oscar nominations for best song, however (it lost to Arthur).

22. "Tomorrow Never Dies," Tomorrow Never Dies performed by Sheryl Crow
I love Crow, and her "soak up the sun" infectiousness definitely has its time and place, but it isn't in the world of Bond.  Even though she's trying to reach to the darker depths, she's clearly out of her element when compared with sirens like Shirley Bassey or Tina Turner.

21. "All Time High," Octopussy performed by Rita Coolidge
Coolidge may have been a little bit out of her comfort zone, but I love her just the same, and this is a surprisingly effective Bond outing, if again, a little bit too sweet.  Though it needs to be said-don't you kind of wish someone had tried to tackle the Bond tradition of singing a true title song?  Can you only imagine what they would have done here?

20. "The Man with the Golden Gun," The Man with the Golden Gun performed by Lulu
Lulu got a bum deal-first, she has to follow McCartney's classic Bond outing, and then got stuck with this clunker of a title.  She pulls it off with a zesty, if not always memorable, ditty.

19. "Die Another Day," Die Another Day performed by Madonna
Madonna brought the Bond music back to the Billboard charts, and it seems wildly appropriate that the Material Girl, who has contributed a lot of memorable music to the screen, managed to be part of the Bond tradition.  That said, the techno music coupled with an aging Pierce Brosnan was probably not the best mix.

18. "Another Way to Die," Quantom of Solace performed by Jack White and Alicia Keys
This is one of the few Bond films I've seen in theaters, and it's probably one of my least favorite outings.  After reinventing the franchise just a few years earlier, this was a convoluted mess, and the song didn't help that-the duet idea doesn't work, and Keys, whom I love (hence the higher ranking), doesn't fit the Bond mix enough with her bluesy sound rather than soul.  In some perfect alternate universe, Amy Winehouse rightfully got to take the Bond theme for this movie, as was rumored at the time.

17. "A View to a Kill," A View to a Kill performed by Duran Duran
I was nothing but a wee thing during the 1980's, so I do not have a strong affinity to Duran Duran, and their ballad-y approach doesn't seem to fill the dark moodiness that we typically associate with Bond.  Of course, that isn't to say this isn't a solid piece of music by itself, and as this was the last of the Roger Moore movies, perhaps a sense of whimsy was in order.

16. "You Know My Name," Casino Royale performed by Chris Cornell
This song was much maligned upon its first release, despite the actual film revitalizing the Bond franchise to the point of perhaps being the finest film in the series.  I never understood the vitriol, however, and I found this energetic and just manic enough for the newer, darker, but still debonair 007.

15. "Moonraker," Moonraker performed by Shirley Bassey
Forget Ursula Andress or Halle Berry-Shirley Bassey is the true Bond girl.  This, one of her three Bond themes (the only artist to tackle three), is probably the least-it doesn't have that Bassey feel of cutting like a perfectly-tuned jackhammer.  It was originally planned for Johnny Mathis, which probably would have been a much, much better fit for the ethereal song.  That said, it's still Shirley Bassey, and it more than gets the job done.

14. "A License to Kill," A License to Kill performed by Gladys Knight
The other installment of the Dalton years had a far superior theme, sung by a solo Gladys Knight.  It doesn't have the drama of the Bassey numbers or the evil mischief of Tina Turner, but it has that marked soul that Knight always brings to a performance, and a sweeping full orchestra to back up her desperate tuneful pleas.

13. "The World is Not Enough," The World is Not Enough performed by Garbage
Remember Shirley Manson?  The incredibly sexy lead singer of Garbage lent her pipes to this sweeping ballad, which may have been a little lax, but Manson's impressive alto carries it all the way through.  Plus, it managed to maintain its gravitas despite being attached to a movie where Denise Richards plays a nuclear physicist named Christmas Jones, so yeah, it deserves a lot of credit.

12. "From Russia with Love," From Russia with Love performed by Matt Munro
Munro, largely unknown in the United States, still managed to have bit of a crossover with this slick, perfectly-themed entry into the Bond canon.  I love the cliffhanger aspect of the song, which works perfectly for an introductory theme (which is typically where a Bond theme plays), though for the record, this film does not play over the opening credits.

11. "Thunderball," Thunderball performed by Tom Jones
Jones' song has not always been appreciated (come to think of it, neither has Jones), but come on-how many singers could crescendo for a complete three minutes without bursting.  Those final notes are huge, and you know that Shirley Bassey had that ending in mind when she tried (and succeeded) in topping it in Goldfinger.

10. "The Look of Love," Casino Royale performed by Dusty Springfield
The second of our three "cheats," as this film was more Bond spoof than actual Bond film, but Springfield deserved a Bond theme at some point, so we're going to count it.  Dusty lived up to her name with this moody and, though a parody, totally legit Bond croon.  Also OVP Alert!: this received an Academy Award nomination in 1967, but sadly lost to Doctor Doolittle.

9. "You Only Live Twice," You Only Live Twice performed by Nancy Sinatra
One of the more epic Bond films, it's fitting that it gets a soaring and stunning ballad by the super hot and famous (at the time, and for those of us who enjoy wearing boots, for all time) Nancy Sinatra.  Though her pops oddly never headlined a Bond movie, she did the family brand proud with this dreamy number.

8. "Skyfall," Skyfall performed by Adele
I may regret giving it this high of a ranking, but it moved me.  A truly haunting, very much in the theme of the Bond franchise, entry from everyone's favorite singer.  I love the proud British tradition she carries on with the film, not only being a blockbuster vocalist, but native to James Bond's homeland.

7. "We Have All the Time in the World," On Her Majesty's Secret Service performed by Louis Armstrong
The final quibble (since technically the instrumental introduction is the theme, and not Armstrong's number), but it's just too good of a piece of music to discount.  Armstrong, who was in ill health at the time, still knocks out a home run, combining both a wink and a tear in this love ballad (appropriate, considering that this is one of the most romantic Bond films).

6. "The James Bond Theme," Dr. No performed by John Barry
It could so easily be number one-it's so iconic, I don't really no where to put it, so we're going with sixth, just to sort of highlight the break between the strong songs and the iconic.  It's a credit to Barry, though, that this is one of the most instantly recognizable themes in the history of cinema.

5. "Nobody Does it Better" The Spy Who Loved Me performed by Carly Simon
The spy who loved me is keeping all my secrets safe tonight...you can't help but smile while listening to Carly's easy-listening, but still high-flying, take on a Bond song.  This record blew-up the charts, and actually received an Academy Award nomination as well, though somehow lost to Debby Boone's "You Light Up My Life."  Don't feel too bad for Carly-eleven years later, she'd take home the gold guy for Working Girl.

4. "Live and Let Die," Live and Let Die performed by Paul McCartney & Wings
Paul McCartney has more completely recognizable hits than any living person (or, quite frankly, any pop singer, ever).  It must be impossible to plan his concerts-so many hits, so little time.  However, it's hard to see a way that this one doesn't always make it into the lineup, one of his biggest post-Beatles songs.  The song received an Academy Award nomination, but lost out to The Way We Were (can you imagine a time when the Oscar Best Song category had two hits that big?!?)

3. "Goldeneye," Goldeneye performed by Tina Turner
Bond had long been out of commission when Pierce Brosnan took over, and it was a bit of a risk to bring back the flailing franchise.  Tina also hadn't been tearing up the charts for a while prior to taking on this song.  But just as surely as Brosnan revitalized the Bond franchise, Tina gave a shot to its theme songs.  You can tell the entire song that she's having a blast, and when she hits that note (you know the one), it gives me chills every time.

2. "Diamonds are Forever," Diamonds are Forever performed by Shirley Bassey
Yes, it may be a little overkill to give this the second spot (since even the most casual of Bond fans knows where number one is going), but Dame Shirley Bassey is the perfect Bond chanteuse-mysterious, over-the-top, and with pipes (and gams) to next Tuesday.  Harry Winston probably signed over the vault after hearing her demands.

1. "Goldfinger," Goldfinger performed by Shirley Bassey
The perfect Bond song-Bassey continues the crescendo leading into one of Bond's best movies with a set of cheesy lyrics that she sells to the rafters.  You need a woman with vocals of steel to sell the man who only loves gold, but Bassey's voice just gets bigger and bigger and bigger, until you're sure it'll fill Fort Knox.

And those are my rankings-what about you?  Who falls where in your favorite Bond themes?  Is Shirley your ultimate Bond girl, or are you more partial to Adele, Madonna, Tina, Gladys, or Nancy?  And if you're handing out Oscars-which Bond themes most were in need of them?