Your Favorite Rejected Bond theme

HASEROTHASEROT has returned like the tedious inevitability of an unloved season---
edited December 2011 in Music Posts: 4,399
We've had discussions and polls on what our favorite Bond themes and scores are... well, what are your favorites out of the rejected pile?... my criteria for rejected themes, well - it's hard to tell what ones were officially in the running or not, so i am basing my decision off articles looking up the subject.. so whether they were officially in the running or not, who cares - just play along :)

i have snatched up every possible rejected Bond song that I am aware of (currently) - if I am missing ones, please let me know, and i'll add them to the list... which goes as follows..


"Goldfinger" by Anthony Newly


"Thunderball" by Johnny Cash


"You Only Live Twice" by Lorraine Chandler


"You Only Live Twice" by Julie Rogers


"The Man With The Golden Gun" by Alice Cooper


"For Your Eyes Only" by Blondie


"Never Say Never Again" by Phyllis Hyman


"The Goldeneye" by Ace Of Bass


"Searching For The Golden Eye" by Kym Mazelle & Motiv 8
(i could not find a non-techno remix of this song - it might not even exist)


"Tomorrow Never Lies (or Dies)" by Pulp


"Tomorrow Never Dies" by Swan Lee


"The World Is Not Enough" by STRAW


"Beyond The Ice" by Red Flag
(written during the stage where this was the rumored title of what became Die Another Day)


"Forever (I Am All Yours)" by Eva Almer
(another rumored "rejected" theme - not sure what the legitimacy of the claims are though)
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Comments

  • I liked Johnny Cash's song the best. It is very catchy. Sadly it was not "Bondy" at all.

    Alice Cooper's was pretty good, as was Blondie's.

    The rest were terrible.
  • That's what I've been trying to do (Youtube), people make it seem so easy :(

    Keep having problems with things here such as static screens and re-entering from main page,(three times in one visit now) so this will do for this night

    I tried the Blondie one first off as I was an actual fan back in the late 1970s but it didn't work, may have heard it before though and thought it was an improvement on the Easton effort

    Tried the Cooper one next, didn't like it all, would stick with Lulu all day long

    Said it before was never a fan of Bassey but she wins hands down with the Newly effort

    Nothing could ever beat Nancy Sinatra with YOLT, one of the best ever I could listen all day to, tried the Chandler variation and only got half way through I'm afraid

    Anything has to be better than the god awful crapof Quantum Of Solace last time out, and what was presented (lo and behold) was an improvement and I listened to it with some ease even if it did sound a bit shrill at times or I simply had audio on too loud

    The Pulp one was interesting but I'd always have Sheryl Crow in the last good female vocals we had

    It doesn't take much to beat Madonna's abysmal effort from 2002 and the one here, while not really my cup of tea, I would of grabbed it with both hands and sent Ms Ciccone on her way

    Thanks for the videos and all
  • HASEROTHASEROT has returned like the tedious inevitability of an unloved season---
    Posts: 4,399
    i very much like Cash's song too (i am a Cash fan) but i could never picture it in a Bond film though.
  • HASEROTHASEROT has returned like the tedious inevitability of an unloved season---
    Posts: 4,399
    i do like the Eva Almer one as well... but after several listens, it sounds like it belong to a video game, and not a Bond film... maybe with some polish it could've worked - and maybe a couple rewrites with the lyrics.. but i think a strong basis was there for sure.
  • Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang of course! John Barry wanted it for Thunderball.

  • HASEROTHASEROT has returned like the tedious inevitability of an unloved season---
    edited December 2011 Posts: 4,399
    Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang of course! John Barry wanted it for Thunderball.

    I don't consider Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang part of this grouping - because it's melody is still seen in the film during a couple scenes.. and it's officially recognized as a Bond song - just not a title theme.

    same reasoning for KD Lang's "Surrender" ... that was technically a rejected title theme as well... but it still appears in the film (during the end credits), and is an official Bond song.

  • Posts: 1,817
    Excellent discussion!
    I love the Thunderball theme but just because I'm also a big Johnny Cash fan.
    However I wouldn't change none of the original themes for these rejected.
  • Posts: 5,745
    The Goldfinger one, I like, but not for the film. Its not very Bond-ish. Would have been cool if Bond walked into a club in the film and Newly was performing it. A nice little nudge to the audience.

    Johnny Cash is always amazing, and I think I'm going to go write a plot for a short western film based around the song :P (I L O V E classic westerns)

    Chandler's YOLT is a no from me. Sounds.. just out of tune or something. I love YOLT the way it is.

    Rogers' YOLT is a better performance than Sinatra, but as the comments on the video will tell you, the lyrics are off. If Rogers had done the Sinatra version, I'd still be happy with it.

    Flat out didn't like Cooper's MWTGG.

    Blondie's FYEO is defeated by the original, however its not too bad.

    NSNA doesn't exist in my book. So there's that.

    Ace of Base - VERY 90's. Something about it makes me like it though..

    The "Searching for the Golden Eye" is the one that had me tapping my foot, and I like it, but not as a Bond theme. Perhaps a non-techno would have out-performed Turner's. Yea.. definitely.

    The two Tomorrow Never Whatevers, well the first was too slow and I didn't like it, and Lee's was just annoying. The voice.. everything.
  • HASEROTHASEROT has returned like the tedious inevitability of an unloved season---
    Posts: 4,399
    I dont mind the Pulp version of Tomorrow Never Dies... something about the lead's vocals remind me of Bowie - and i've always wanted Bowie to do a Bond theme...

    i initially wasnt going to throw NSNA on this list - as the film itself isn't official Bond cannon.. but i figured, eh - why the hell not. lol.
  • I'm glad it wasn't the final theme, but I really like the Ace of Base song. It's so... catchy.

    And I absolutely love Swan Lee's Tomorrow Never Dies song. But that's largely because it's also featured in Hitman Blood Money (one of my favorite videogames). ;) Again though, I don't think it would have worked as a Bond theme.
  • edited December 2011 Posts: 5,745
    Continuing -

    The World Is Not Enough by STAW reminds me of something a Muse theme would sound like.. and I enjoyed it thoroughly . Very good song. Almost better than Garbage.

    Red Flag's Beyond the Ice was FAR more enjoyable than Madonna. I like the movie title references too, a nice tough if you listen close. Again, though, its just.. weird. Not AS weird or terrible as Madonna's techno hell, but still not my choice for a Bond film. Would I replace DAD with BYTI, yes.

    Eva Almer's QoS is superb. Beautiful Bond theme. Can't see why they'd deny her that honor, and the movie the honor of holding her name. Infinitely better than Keys and White. I will forever pause the film at this part and play this song while the movie is muted :P
    -Haha, this was one of the comments on the video: "They gave up this for Alicia Keys and Jack White? I'll admit, I do like their song, but this just screams BOND, whereas theirs just, well, screams lol." Hilarious.

    Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was amazing as well. Can't decide I'd prefer.. I'll go with Jones. Simply because I like sparcity in the sex of Bond's theme. This was beautiful though, and easily equal's Jones submission. Definitely a credit song. Possible a title theme for the future 'Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang' film! That BAH BAH, BAH BAH of the brass just gets to me.

    EDIT: Jones' live performance of Thunderball is magnificent.

    And thats it. I'd only change DAD's and QoS's. Then again I'd do alot different with those two :P

  • Some of the songs are fun to listen to (I especially like FYEO by Blondie) but for the love of god WHY didn't they use that rejected theme for Quantum of Solace?? I love that song!!! Very much a 'Bond' sounding song, and it even sets it up as a true sequel to CR. A damn shame they didn't use that...
  • Posts: 1,310
    Of the ones you mentioned, I really like the Straw rendition of The World Is Not Enough. As a matter of fact I have it on my iPod. ;)
  • HASEROTHASEROT has returned like the tedious inevitability of an unloved season---
    Posts: 4,399
    i have all of these as a part of my Bond mix on itunes :D
  • edited December 2011 Posts: 4,813
    Here's one I'd like to add-- I guess technically it wasn't 'rejected' because they did play it during the end credits. But 'Surrender' by KD Lang suits the Tomorrow Never Dies title sequence MUCH better than Sheryl Crow's song (which I never liked)




    *edit- that one TND by Swan Lee sounds like it could have been the theme to Nip/Tuck, lol
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,351
    Swan Lee's Tomorrow Never Dies! I first heard it in Hitman: Blood Money and I loved it. I'd take it over Crow's version.
  • Posts: 5,634
    I would never swap Sheryl Crow's intro with anything, It's an almost perfect theme and one of the best ever of the entire series. Pity about the film that followed it
  • 002002
    Posts: 581
    Forever (I Am All Yours)" by Eva Almer
    Hands Down!!! i am amazed how stupid The producers were to reject this for AWTD which beats DAD as the worst bond song ever
  • edited August 2012 Posts: 12,837
    Alice Coopers TMWTGG. Hands down. No idea why this wasn't used. Alice should do the SF theme.
  • edited August 2012 Posts: 3,494
    @ Haserot- No mention of Dame Shirley Bassey's song for QOS that was rejected? You can hear it in the soundtrack. That's the one I'd pick.

    Anything submitted for DAD beats what we got.
  • HASEROTHASEROT has returned like the tedious inevitability of an unloved season---
    edited August 2012 Posts: 4,399
    @ Haserot- No mention of Dame Shirley Bassey's song for QOS that was rejected? You can hear it in the soundtrack. That's the one I'd pick.

    Anything submitted for DAD beats what we got.

    Dame Shirley's "No Good About Goodbye" was never officially submitted, nor considered for the theme to QOS - the fact that there are similarities is coincidental... at the same time that this song was being written, Arnold was doing the score to QOS - so he admits that some elements bled over, but it was never written to be a Bond theme..... fact.
  • edited August 2012 Posts: 3,494
    I missed that article, sorry. In that case, put me down for Almer. Anything submitted for QOS had to beat that "wo-oh-oh-oh-oh" that makes my ears feel like they are about to start oozing blood.
  • X3MSonicXX3MSonicX https://www.behance.net/gallery/86760163/Fa-Posteres-de-007-No-Time-To-Die
    Posts: 2,635
    KD Lang with Surrender, from TND.
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    You missed this for TND by St Etienne



    I think its a remix of the original but still not up too much.

    Theres none of them too good. The Blondie one with a bit of polish might have been OK and the QOS one although as someone said it is more like a generic Bond game song.

    I quite like the Piulp one as a song but the rest are pretty abject.

    Incidentally can anyone tell me was Beyond The Ice ever seriously mooted as a title for DAD? I always understood it was The Sun that made that up.

    This is well worth a watch for those that havent seen it.



    Gives a lot of background about the choices of song, artist, different versions etc
  • edited August 2012 Posts: 2,341
    Alice Cooper's THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN
    QoS Rejected theme
  • Posts: 1,971
    I'm really late to this party, but I just heard Forever (I Am All Yours)" by Eva Almer today.
    Far superior to AWTD. A lot of the rejected songs needed to be rejected, but not this.
  • Posts: 1
    "Forever: with its own video clip:
    <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value=" name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cAEuRZTRqGo?list=PLCE56C6943F3482BD&hl=en_US"; frameborder="0" allowfullscreen;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="385"></object>
  • edited October 2012 Posts: 74
    JWESTBROOK wrote:
    Continuing -

    Eva Almer's QoS is superb. Beautiful Bond theme. Can't see why they'd deny her that honor, and the movie the honor of holding her name. Infinitely better than Keys and White. I will forever pause the film at this part and play this song while the movie is muted :P
    -Haha, this was one of the comments on the video: "They gave up this for Alicia Keys and Jack White? I'll admit, I do like their song, but this just screams BOND, whereas theirs just, well, screams lol." Hilarious.

    Just like Bond, a man with fine taste. Mr...?

    That YouTube comment is hilarious and true. Whenever I listen to "Another Way to Die" (with that song I would) I instantly think of a couple 'venting' over a piano during a marriage counselling session. There's no music, it's just a cacophony of screams and instruments being abused. A real, real shame that Forever - I Am All Yours wasn't used. The lyrics are so beautiful and poignant and there's a direct thematic transition from CR to QoS which is referenced in the lyrics. I don't think that was attempted before?

  • HASEROT wrote:
    @ Haserot- No mention of Dame Shirley Bassey's song for QOS that was rejected? You can hear it in the soundtrack. That's the one I'd pick.

    Anything submitted for DAD beats what we got.

    Dame Shirley's "No Good About Goodbye" was never officially submitted, nor considered for the theme to QOS - the fact that there are similarities is coincidental... at the same time that this song was being written, Arnold was doing the score to QOS - so he admits that some elements bled over, but it was never written to be a Bond theme..... fact.

    Arnold may have said this but I am finding it very hard to believe. The song screams Bond plus it even has the word Solace in the lyrics. There is no way that this song was not written with the intention to be the theme from QOS.
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