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These colours don't run..
:)>-
BTW I love WONTW :-)
Admit it. :D
Writing’s on the Wall doesn’t feel anywhere near as striking as Skyfall. That may be because it’s essentially offering more of the same, while Skyfall felt like a break with the recent past, or it may be because it just isn’t as good a song.
There’s something quite bold about a male singer using a Bond theme to convey vulnerability – you need a high falsetto threshold to get through the whole thing – but the melody doesn’t dig into your brain: you keep expecting it to arrive at a showstopping chorus that never comes.
Perhaps there’s something telling about Smith’s boast that it took him 20 minutes to write: the result feels less like a Bond theme song than a latterday pop ballad – the kind of thing that X Factor contestants have a crack at – with big strings and 007 references bolted on.
http://www.thepoke.co.uk/2015/09/25/twitter-reacts-sam-smith-bond-theme/
Up to this point, I have loved everything I've seen associated with SP. This is the first misstep.
I don't think Smith's voice works for this film. I like Sam Smith. And this song isn't bad. But the falsetto just doesn't work. I keep imagining it playing over the scenes in SP (much like I'd seen done with SF) and...it seems out of place.
I'll keep listening. Maybe my opinion will change. But right now I'm disappointed.
I mean, COULD they dicide to do it now?
Because THAT would be PERFECT.
The lyrics are very fitting, too, but sadly I have to agree about the voice. The high pitched notes are cringeworthy and out of place. Seems he just put them in to show, he can do it.
If it stays that way, its a missed opportunity, because the sound is there.
Lets say, it can only get better from her. ;)
I love Sir Roger. By jolly, he has proven again and again that he's more of a Bond nerd than us :-P. Love him!
I'm a softy. I feel bad for Sam, if this ends up being a clunker and universally disliked Bond theme. It's not his fault that his voice isn't good for this...it's Mendes's for calling on him to do it. I don't like the sound (yet); that doesn't mean I like seeing someone getting publicly skewered over their creative efforts.
I know we're in the days of epic political correctness and everyone's really touchy and ready to be offended, but I don't care and I'm going to say it...
He sounds like a great big sissy and it just ain't Bond!
There. I feel better now.
The high-high parts kind of scream 90's soul/r&b to me. It just doesn't resonate with the Bond character. This is a real shame, because Sam's voice is pleasant and he does have vocal strength. He made this a Sam Smith song instead of a James Bond theme.
Mark Gatiss
✔
@Markgatiss
My two penneth. Bond themes rarely succeed when they pastiche. The best and most memorable are just great songs, pure and simple.
10:24 AM - 25 Sep 2015
Yup. I'm no Adele fan, but for my money her Bond theme was the best since Goldeneye. Someone mentioned YKMN as a good theme, and I agree, it's miles above the horrors of DAD and QoS, but I do like a trad Bond sound. Lush orchestra, those sinister sounding semi-tone hooks, all of which this new song has. But then there's his voice.
Mark my words, in time, after seen in context of the film, the song will be appreciated more than now for its simplicity and strength of Sam's vocals. But obviously not by everybody, I realize that.
I've seen the initial reactions to the last 4-5 themes and maybe with the exception of Skyfall all were met with a 'meh' reaction - even YKMN. I remember reading that Cornell's vocals were not suitable for Bond and it wasn't as edgy as CR needed. Then the film came out, the song blazed over the credits awesome title sequence in a great Bond film, and now the song is seen as great theme. Again, not saying by everyone.
The fact the vocals are front and center here show me Smith and co. are confident his singing will stand the test of time. And over time the strengths of the song will surface. I appreciate that in a song. Reactions on social media or Twitter are so knee jerk anymore I think seeing how it works with a general audience in the film is all that counts.
But if you don't like Smith then the song was highly unlikely to please you. I feel he gave it his all.