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Your favourite Bond theme song from each actor's tenure?
Whirlybird_Fan
Sydney, Australia
What's your favourite Bond songs from each of the Bond actors' eras?
Mine would be
Connery - Thunderball
Lazenby - well gee, um, let me have a think about that...
Moore - Nobody Does it Better
Dalton - The Living Daylights
Brosnan - Tomorrow Never Dies
Craig - Another Way to Die
Mine would be
Connery - Thunderball
Lazenby - well gee, um, let me have a think about that...
Moore - Nobody Does it Better
Dalton - The Living Daylights
Brosnan - Tomorrow Never Dies
Craig - Another Way to Die
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Comments
OHMSS: Great instrumental. Really sums up the grand sound of the era that was '68-69.
AVTAK easily. Especially when I play it on my brightly coloured walkman just like Le Bon.
LTK: Underrated. Really like it, but prefer the whole song to the edit (1st chorus is better).
TND: Always loved this one. Sexy AF, and the title sequence matches it beat for beat.
AWTD: Another underrated one. It's bombastic and that's really all that matters.
Lazenby: On Her Majesty's Secret Service. "The two sweetest words in the English language De Fault, De Fault". Even so it's probably in my top five regardless, one of Barry's finest.
Moore: Nobody Does it Better. As much as I like Duran Duran this fits so well with Moore's portrayal of Bond, smooth and sophisticated.
Dalton: The Living Daylights. I'd say this is a proto-You Know My Name, it's a punchy start to a grittier era but lack the finesse of Casino Royale's theme.
Brosnan: Tomorrow Never Dies. Feels so of its time without overdoing it (looking at you, Madonna), and it's incredibly sleek and stylish.
Craig: You Know My Name. I really could make the case for all of Craig era's themes, and I agree Another Way to Die is underrated but I do think it's standing on the shoulders of this giant. Like with Dr No those first notes hit you in the face and sweep you along, perfect to start a whole new era of Bond and it's one that still feels so fresh and unique all these years later.
Lazenby - OHMSS
Moore - LALD
Dalton - LTK
Brosnan - TND
Craig - YKMN
LALD
TLD
GE
SF
SC - YOLT
GL - OHMSS
RM - LALD
TD - LTK
PB - GE
DC - You Know my Name
Songs that appear in there respective movies...
SC - Mister Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Alternate title track sung by Dione Warwick)
GL - We Have all the time in the World
RM - LALD
TD - Where Has Everybody Gone
PB - Surrender
DC - We Have all the time in the World
- I'm actually not a fan of GF (too brassy), and I find TB a little too bombastic at times. This and From Russia With Love are more subtle and, to me at least, much more interesting lyrically. The arrangement and music for this one just work for me - the vaguely Eastern Asian influence mixed within the Bondian melody, Sinatra's voice, the mysterious lyrics. I dislike this film but the title song has always been a favourite.
Moore - Nobody Does it Better
- I like the fact that the Moore era went with ballads during this stretch of his tenure. It really gives his films a specific identity. This and All Time High are my favourites, but this one really stands out to me for its memorability.
Dalton - License to Kill
- I'm a fan of The Living Daylight by A Ha, but this one just screams 'Bond' more to me, lyrically and musically. Love Knight's voice.
Brosnan - Tomorrow Never Dies
- I think this one is underrated personally. Actually, Brosnan's tenure had generally solid title songs (DAD aside). This is actually one of my favourites. The lyrics are great (I always love when the title songs seem like they're being told from the perspective of a Bond girl, but this one really plays that up), and the 'dun dun dun's of the bass give off this subtly ominous feel, like we're slowly sinking into something dark.
Craig - Skyfall
- Craig's era had this and You Know My Name which I loved. Another Way to Die was ok for me, but his last two had my least favourite Bond songs, so forgettable. I can't even remember to this day how No Time To Die by Billie Eilish actually goes. Anyway, this one is my pick. It sounds classical without being generic, the lyrics are mysterious without being too vague (I love that it could be Bond's own thoughts just as he falls into the river after the PTS). Adele has this powerful, memorable voice that sticks out compared to Smith's high pitched whine, or Eilish's more whispery, low key voice. It's a melancholic song, no doubt, but there's something about the arrangement that weirdly gets you hyped for the film.
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service / We Have All the Time in the World – peak John Barry for me. So good that I can’t choose between them.
Live and Let Die – a tough one since the Roger Moore era gave us several excellent contenders (Duran Duran’s AVTAK, Carly Simon’s Nobody Does It Better, for example). But as a major Paul and Linda McCartney fan LALD gets my vote.
The Living Daylights – chosen by default really, even though I love Gladys Knight. Her theme from LTK apes GF so closely that it loses points. In fact, whenever I play the theme songs in chronological order, I normally skip over either LTK or Tina Turner/Bono-The Edge’s GoldenEye. While separated by almost six (6) years they are too similar IMO. Plus, ah-ha did a good – if not great - job here.
The World Is Not Enough – Shirley Manson and Garbage did a great job with this Don Black/David Arnold penned song. I normally love Sheryl Crow, Tina Turner and even Madonna, but this is the best of the bunch in the Brosnan era. Good music video as well BTW.
You Know My Name – Adele’s Skyfall might be the popular choice here, but YKMN (combined with the accompanying titles) always gets my heart pumping. Chris Cornell and David Arnold give us a great start to the Craig era.
Live and let die, for the Moore era. An increadably powerful and mysterious song, that has the vengeance part so neetly stuck in there.
Well, lazer's songs are increadable, but I'll go for the title track.
The living Daylights. Solid song, and I never really cared for ltk.
Brosnans era is musically interesting, I'll go for twine. I love those lyrics the most.
A difficult choice again, but I'll go for skyfall. I solidly hate awtd, nttd is beautiful and hounting but slightly forgettable, and Sam Smith even more so. Ykmn was bold and I loved it, but Adele is an amazing artist that put out quite the memorable and timeless song, although I regret it isn't as good as some of her other work.
Laz: John Barry's Main title theme
Moore: Nobody does it better
Dalton: If there was a man
Brosnan: Surrender
Craig: You know My Name
Connery: You Only Live Twice (and that's a hard decision, since Goldfinger and Diamonds Are Forever are also great!)
Lazenby: There is no real competition between WHATTITW and Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown, is there?. WHATTITW is definitely one of the top three Bond songs ever.
Moore: Also a tough choice, since I love Nobody Does It Better and Moonraker. But Live And Let Die beats all of the others.
Dalton: Licence To Kill. If There Was A Man as runner-up. I don't like that a-ha and "Dern Dern" stuff that much. (Edit: Yes, I know that Duran Duran was not in a Dalton movie, but I found them to be part of the same problem: Getting mediocre pop bands popular at the time to perform a Bond title, just because they were popular.)
Brosnan: Surrender, hands-down and with no regrets. For me, possibly the best Bond song ever, not just for the Brosnan "era". No. 2 is Tina Turner's GoldenEye, probably the only occasion where Tina Turner is just No. 2 for me.
Craig: I'll vote for You Know My Name. While even that one came up as alien to myself, I found the following attempts even worse. Including the latest Academy-Award winning dirge.
You Only Live Twice
We Have All The Time In The World
Live And Let Die
The Living Daylights
The World Is Not Enough
You Know My Name
The OHMSS theme
Live & Let Die
The Living Daylights
The World Is Not Enough
Skyfall
OHMSS theme. (Hands down, Barry's best score)
Nobody Does It Better
Licence to Kill
Tomorrow Never Dies
You Know My Name
Laz- I'll get back to you
Moore- Live and Let Die
Dalton- Living Daylights if limiting to title themes, might put If There Was a Man ahead of it
Brosnan- Similarly, The World is Not Enough if just title themes, the KD Lang Tomorrow Never Dies if including end title themes
Craig- You Know My Name
Moonraker
Licence To Kill
Goldeneye
You Know My Name
The OHMSS theme (though I do love the Louis Armstrong song!)
Live and Let Die
Licence to Kill ( very underrated theme)
Stand by your Ma.....just kidding, TWINE as I was a fan of Shirley Mansons band, though its low par for them!
You know my Name
Good choices.
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
Live and Let Die
The Living Daylights
The World Is Not Enough
You Know My Name
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
All Time High (Octopussy)
The Living Daylights
The World Is Not Enough
No Good About Goodbye (if not count: Skyfall)
Lazenby: On Her Majesty's Secret Service Theme
Moore: All Time High
Dalton: Licence to Kill
Brosnan: Tomorrow Never Dies
Craig: You Know My Name
No Good About Goodbye - the perfect "Non-Bond Song-Bond Song" for the Craig era IMO.
Lazenby: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service Theme (OHMSS)
Moore: Live and Let Die (LALD)
Dalton: Licence to Kill (LTK)
Brosnan: GoldenEye (GE)
Craig: You Know My Name (CR)
With the exception of TMWTGG, I find Connery through Moore’s songs to be very consistent and strong. TLD was alright, I like TWINE, SF, and NTTD, and the others not so much.
Sean Connery : Best : Goldfinger, of course. Worst : Never Say Never Again : Michel Legrand shouldn't have been chosen as composer for this movie.
David Niven : Best : The Look of Love. Worst : Casino Royale (End song) : Sorry, that theme didn't need lyrics.
George Lazenby : Best : We Have All The Time in the World : So good they used it twice. Worst : Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Born. One of my acquaintances thought it was Chantal Goya that sang it when he heard it the first time. Believe me, that was not a compliment.
Roger Moore : Best : Live and Let Die. Worst : The Man With the Golden Gun.
Timothy Dalton : Best : License to Kill. Worst : The Living Daylights.
Pierce Brosnan : Best : The World is not enough. Worst : The Experience of Love.
Daniel Craig : Best : Skyfall. Worst : Another Way to Die.
YMMV, of course.
Lazenby - We Have All The Time In The World
Moore - View To A Kill
Dalton - The Living Daylights
Brosnan - Surrender
Craig - You Know My Name
Worst songs - Die Another Day, Another Way To Die.
Lazenby- OHMSS
Moore- LIVE AND LET DIE (close tie with NOBODY DOES IT BETTER)
Dalton- THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
Brosnan- TWINE (SURRENDER close 2nd)
Craig- NO TIME TO DIE
Lazenby - OHMSS
Moore - AVTAK (my absolute fave theme song)
Dalton - TLD
Brosnan - TWINE
Craig - CR
lazenby-title theme pips whattitw
moore -lald my personal fav bond song
dalton-tld
brosnan-surrender from tnd [if thats in dispute then twine]
craig-ykmn
Connery - This is tricky as I love a lot of themes from the 60s, but 'Goldfinger' really set the gold standard. Honourable mention to 'You Only Live Twice', which I think is a beautiful song.
Lazenby - 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' lol
Moore - This is tricky as there are so many good ones to pick from, but I'd probably say 'Live And Let Die'. It broke the Bond formula and paved the way for future rock oriented themes. Also it bangs. Honourable mentions to 'Nobody Does It Better', 'Moonraker' and 'A View To A Kill' (I know, I know).
Dalton - Barry's swansong 'The Living Daylights' for sure
Brosnan - 'Goldeneye' - the first was the best and, like Brosnan's films, the theme songs got worse and worse
Craig - I was really underwhelmed by 'You Know My Name' at the time, but the more I've lived with it over the years, the more I love it. It's probably my fave, with 'Skyfall' a close second (although it's Adele's fault that we've had two soppy ballads follow her ~X( )
Lazenby - The main title
Moore - A View to a Kill
Dalton - License to Kill ( It's not a great song but I consider the excellent opening
moments the to be the end of the classic era)
Brosnan - Tomorrow Never Dies ( With a stronger vocal, this very good song could have
great; Crow was not up to the task)
Craig - You Know My Name
AVTAK- one of my favorite songs in general
TLD- straddles the line between traditional and pop very well
TWINE- a return to bombast after many years of experimental tracks
YKMN- one of Cornell's best songs