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Comments
It's nice to see some love for FRWL recently. I can see that as this one comes before the "blueprint" for a Bond song that it may seem too laid back and maybe old-fashioned, plus it wasn't from John Barry.
However for me Matt Monro is the best singer from this selection. Incredible breath control.
Then there is the great instrumental version with that awesome attacking start.
1 A View To a Kill
2 OHMSS
3 You Know My Name
4 Skyfall
5 You Only Live Twice
6 Nobody Does It Better
7 The World Is Not Enough
8 Live And Let Die
9 Goldfinger
10 Goldeneye
11 Thunderball
12 Tomorrow Never Dies
13 From Russia With Love
14 The Living Daylights
15 Die Another Day
16 TMWTGG
17 Diamonds are Forever
18 Another Way To Die
19 Moonraker
20 For Your Eyes Only
21 Licence To Kill
22 All Time High
23 Writing's On The Wall
N.B. The James Bond theme hasn't been included, for obvious reasons. (Dr. No)
I think my ranking will get a lot of flak but that's okay.
1. Goldfinger
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Surrender and Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang would go about here
3. Skyfall
4. You Know My Name
5. Goldeneye
6. Thunderball
7. From Russia With Love
8. The Living Daylights - I like this more than I should because I love the film
9. The Man With The Golden Gun
11. Live And Let Die
12. A View To A Kill
13. For Your Eyes Only
14. The World Is Not Enough - quite Bondian but bland like the movie
15. Nobody Does It Better - the most overrated Bond song of all time
16. You Only Live Twice
17. Moonraker
18. Tomorrow Never Dies
19. Licence To Kill
20. Another Way To Die
21. Die Another Day
22. All Time High
23. Writing's on the wall
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
3. From Russia With Love
4. Nobody Does It Better
5. You Only Live Twice
6. Live And Let Die
7. Skyfall
8. Thunderball
9. Moonraker
11. For Your Eyes Only
12. Writing's on the wall
13. Goldeneye
14. A View To A Kill
15. You Know My Name
16. All Time High
17. The Living Daylights
18. Tomorrow Never Dies
19. Licence To Kill
20. The World Is Not Enough
21. The Man With The Golden Gun
22. Die Another Day
23. Another Way To Die
I actually like From Russia With Love more than Goldfinger, but the GF title song gets to be number one in my list because it's so Bondonian. It just screams 'James Bond'.
The Writing's On The Wall is actually a song better than most, but the whiney singing made it unsuitable as a Bond theme. They should have used the instrumental over the credits. He sounds like a kid's just took his play-station off him.
1. Nobody Does It Better
2. Live and Let Die
3. You Know My Name
4. You Only Live Twice
5. Skyfall
6. Diamonds Are Forever
7. Thunderball
8. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
9. From Russia With Love
10. A View To A Kill
11. The Living Daylights
12. Goldfinger
13. The World Is Not Enough
14. GoldenEye
15. Moonraker
16. For Your Eyes Only
17. Writing's On The Wall
18. All Time High
19. Licence to Kill
20. Tomorrow Never Dies
21. The Man With The Golden Gun
22. Die Another Day
23. Another Way To Die
That said, I liked them all up to 18 so it was a bit difficult to choose.
If it was instrumentals, my list would probably be significantly different.
A female DID sing it...
1. John Barry - On Her Majesty's Secret Service
2. Chris Cornell - You Know My Name
3. Carly Simon - Nobody Does It Better
4. Shirley Bassey - Diamonds Are Forever
5. Gladys Knight - Licence To Kill
Love a great lot of the songs, most would be in the middle of things and too hard to put in an order.
Here are some that I could do without, but they are still a part of Bond and therefore I will kindly listen to these:
Sheena Easton - For Your Eyes Only: it's just too damn cheesy, but ok in the titles.
Rita Coolidge - All Time High: did I just call Sheena's song cheesy? Well this got to be the worst Bond song ever. Still, it fits OP.
a-ha - The Living Daylights: Urgh....80s pop of the worst kind. But ok-ish in the titles.
Madonna - Die Another Day: I rather die instantly than listening to it again (outside of the film).
Alicia Keys and Mr. White - Another Way To Die: ...well there is only one sure way to die. Having this abomination of a so called song battle its way out of the soundbar.
Sam Smith - Writing's On The Wall: it's like the film, a little bit of that, a little bit of this, but nothing done properly.
02. LIVE AND LET DIE
03. YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
04. ONE HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE
05. THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
06. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
07. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
08. THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH
09. THUNDERBALL
10. A VIEW TO A KILL
11. SKYFALL
12. ALL TIME HIGH (OP)
13. LICENCE TO KILL
14. GOLDFINGER
15. THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN
16. YOU KNOW MY N AME (CR)
17. GOLDENEYE
18. FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
19. TOMORROW NEVER DIES
20. WRITING'S ON THE WALL (SP)
21. NOBODY DOES IT BETTER (TSWLM)
22. ANOTHER WAY TO DIE (QOS)
23. MOONRAKER
24. DIE ANOTHER DAY
25. NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN
2. A View to a Kill
3. OHMSS
4. You Only Live Twice
5. Nobody Does It Better
6. Skyfall
7. Goldfinger
8. You Know My Name
9. Thunderball
10. Goldeneye
11. Writing's on the Wall
12. From Russia with Love
13. Another Way to Die
14. Diamonds Are Forever
15. The living Daylights
16. The Man with the Golden Gun
17. The World Is Not Enough
18. Moonraker
19. Licence to Kill
20. Tomorrow Never Dies
21. All Time High
22. Die Another Day
23. For Your Eyes Only
1. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
2. Skyfall
3. You Know My Name
4. Live And Let Die
5. Thunderball
6. From Russia With Love
7. Writing's On The Wall
8. Goldfinger
9. Diamonds Are Forever
10. James Bond Theme/Kingston Calypso
11. You Only Live Twice
12. For Your Eyes Only
13. The World Is Not Enough
14. Goldeneye
15. The Living Daylights
16. Nobody Does It Better
17. License To Kill
18. Tomorrow Never Dies
19. Another Way to Die
20. Moonraker
21. A View To A Kill
22. The Man With The Golden Gun
23. All Time High
24. Die Another Day
I forgot how obnoxious 'Another Way to Die' is and I forgot how nice 'For Your Eyes Only' is. 'Writing's On The Wall' is a bit better than I remembered, although Smith's singing, while good, is quite sloppy to me. If a truly great singer performed it, I'd like it even more.
2. Nobody Does It Better
3. Live and Let Die
4. For Your Eyes Only
5. OHMSS
6. Diamonds Are Forever
7. James Bond Theme
8. Thunderball
(If You Asked me To)
9. All Time High (Don't judge)
10. From Russia With Love
(All The Time In the World)
11. Moonraker
12. Skyfall
13. Goldfinger
14. A View To A Kill
15. Goldeneye
16. License To Kill
17. You Know My Name
18. The Living Daylights
19. Tomorrow Never Dies
20. The Man With The Golden Gun
21. The World Is Not Enough
22. The Writing's On The Wall
23. Die Another Day
24. Another Way To Die
2. You Know My Name
4. A View to A Kill
3. Diamonds Are Forever
4. You Only Live Twice
5. The World is Not Enough
6. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
7. Live and Let Die
8. GoldenEye
9. Nobody Does it Better
10. Moonraker
11. Goldfinger
12. Tomorrow Never Dies
13. The Living Daylights
14. Writing's on the Wall
15. Another Way to Die
16. All Time High
17. From Russia With Love
18. All Time High
19. Die Another Day
20. The Man with the Golden Gun
21. License to Kill
22. For Your Eyes Only
1. Skyfall
2. Goldeneye
3. The Living Daylights
4. Live and Let Die
5. You Know My Name
6. Diamonds Are Forever
7. A View to a Kill
8. Thunderball
9. You Only Live Twice
10. Goldfinger
11. Die Another Day (I know I know. It's catchy)
12. Another Way to Die
13. Tomorrow Never Dies
14. The World Is Not Enough
15. Nobody Does It Better (Great song but it's been overplayed to death)
16. Licence to Kill
17. For Your Eyes Only
18. All Time High
19. From Russia with Love
20. Moonraker
21. Writing's on the Wall
22. The Man with the Golden Gun
2.live and let die
3.skyfall
4.goldfinger
5.writing on the wall
6.Dr.no
7.The living daylights
8.on her majesty's secret service
9.you know my name
10.the man with the golden gun
11.the spy who loved me
12.another way to die
13.Goldeneye
14.Diamonds are forever
15.A view to a kill
16.moonraker
17.you only live twice
18.thunderball
19.from Russia with love
20.For your eyes only
21.tomorrow never dies
22.the world is not enough
23.Die another day
24.All time high(OCTOPUSSY)
Nobody Does it Better
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
Live and Let Die
James Bond Theme
You Only Live Twice
You Know My Name
GoldenEye
We Have All the Time in the World
Writing’s on the Wall
A View to a Kill
SkyFall
License to Kill
Goldfinger
Thunderball
For Your Eyes Only
The World Is Not Enough
From Russia With Love
The Living Daylights
Another Way to Die
Moonraker
Tomorrow Never Dies
All Time High
The Man with the Golden Gun
Die Another Day
2. Live and Let Die
3. Diamonds Are Forever
4. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
5. You Only Live Twice
6. Skyfall
7. You Know My Name (CR’06)
8. Nobody Does It Better
9. Thunderball
10. A View To A Kill
Honorable Mentions: The World Is Not Enough, The Living Daylights, GoldenEye, Casino Royale (’67) – vocal end titles (I actually enjoy the soundtrack to this movie quite a lot!!)
Dis-Honorable Mentions: Die Another Day, Another Way to Die, The Writing's on the Wall
And here is an exception. The song No Good About Goodbye was not written for Bond film purposes, as far as I'm concerned, but it has all that Bond theme song should be. It sounds just like it was made for Quantum of Solace. I can't resist it.
1. James Bond Theme (Dr. No)
2. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
3. Live and Let Die
4. Goldfinger
5. You Know My Name
6. A View to a Kill
7. Skyfall
8. You Only Live Twice
9. Nobody Does It Better (The Spy Who Loved Me)
10. Moonraker
11. No Time to Die
12. From Russia with Love
13. Thunderball
14. GoldenEye
15. The World Is Not Enough
16. For Your Eyes Only
17. Licence to Kill
18. The Living Daylights
19. Diamonds Are Forever
20. All Time High (Octopussy)
21. Another Way to Die (Quantum of Solace)
22. Tomorrow Never Dies
23. The Man with the Golden Gun
24. Writing’s On the Wall (Spectre)
25. Die Another Day
2. Live And Let Die
3. Thunderball
4. Goldfinger
5. Nobody Does It Better
6. Diamonds Are Forever
7. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
8. Moonraker
9. The World Is Not Enough
10. You Know My Name
11. From Russia With Love
12. The Living Daylights
13. A View To A Kill
14. The Man With The Golden Gun
15. Tomorrow Never Dies
16. Goldeneye
17. All Time High
18. Skyfall
19. For Your Eyes Only
20. Writing On The Wall
21. Licence To Kill
22. Die Another Day
23. Another Way To Die
2. The James Bond Theme
3. Live and Let Die
4. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
5. A View to a Kill
6. Goldfinger
7. Diamonds are Forever
8. GoldenEye
9. You Know My Name
10. The Living Daylights
11. Nobody Does It Better
12. Skyfall
13. The World is Not Enough
14. From Russia with Love
15. Moonraker
16. Licence to Kill
17. Thunderball
18. Tomorrow Never Dies
19. No Time to Die
20. For Your Eyes Only
21. All Time High
22. The Writing’s on the Wall
23. The Man with the Golden Gun
24. Die Another Day
25. Another Way to Die
2. Live and Let Die
3. Licence to Kill
4. All Time High
5. On Her Majestys Secret Service
6. Moonraker
7. A View to a Kill
8. Diamonds Are Forever
9. The Living Daylights
10. For Your Eyes Only
11. Goldfinger
12. Thunderball
13. Nobody Does it Better
14. Another Way to Die
15. The Man with the Golden Gun
16. From Russia with Love
17. The World is not Enough
18. You Only Live Twice
19 Skyfall
20 The Writings on the Wall
21. No Time to Die
22 Tomorrow Never Dies
23 Goldeneye
24 Never Say Never Again
25 Die Another Day
1. You Only Live Twice
Nancy Sinatra singing brilliant lyrics to a brilliant John Barry composition. What could go wrong?
2. Live and Let Die
One of the few Bond songs which are truly about James Bond; the frantic passages blending with the slower ones works to great effect.
3. You Know My Name
Chris Cornell's contribution was the first great Bond song in almost 20 years.
4. The Living Daylights
Maybe it's John Barry's use of it in the soundtrack, but this songs always stays in my head for days when I've watched the film. Very energetic.
5. For Your Eyes Only
A wonderfully romantic song, beautifully sung by the beautiful Sheena Easton. Always loved it.
6. Nobody Does It Better
It fits the film it represents like not many title songs.
7. Diamonds Are Forever
Shirley Bassey is the First Lady of Bond songs, of course. This is my favourite of hers.
8. From Russia with Love
A very classic-sounding song that fits the old-fashioned style of the film.
9. All Time High
A song that works as an instrumental as well as when it's sung. And Rita Coolidge sings great.
10. A View to A Kill
Duran Duran truly wanted this gig. And they delivered! Together with Barry, of course.
11. Goldfinger
Not my number one favourite, but iconic.
12. Thunderball
This song is big and majestic, it prepares you for a big and majestic movie.
13. Licence to Kill
Solidly average. I wish the producers had stuck with Michael Kamen's new arrangement of the Bond Theme, though, played by Eric Clapton and Vic Flick.
14. Moonraker
Desperate to work in the title of the film, but a beautiful ballad.
15. Skyfall
A little too repetitive and same-sounding, still an okay song.
16. GoldenEye
Not Tina Turner's best song, but serviceable. I prefer the Ace of Base effort.
17. Tomorrow Never Dies
Quite generic, yet it does the job - like the film. Of course it should have been Surrender.
18. The Man with the Golden Gun
One of the few cringeworthy Bond songs. It sounds as if penned by a child.
19. The World Is Not Enough
This has got to be one of the shallowest songs ever written. Strange that Don Black did the lyrics.
20. Another Way to Die
Hate to give Alicia Keys a thumbs down, but this is horrible in every way.
"Another ringer with the slick trigger finger for Her Majesty" - alright.
21. Writing's on the Wall
Good Lord! Can you image Connery starring in movie with this title song?
22. Die Another Day
I don't think I need to explain this.
Not included are: Dr. No, since it uses the Bond Theme, and On Her Majesty's Secret Service, where the title sequence is a fantastic track, but not a song.
Also not included is the new one, which I haven't had the nerve to sit through yet.
1. Diamonds Are Forever
2. A View to A Kill
3. Nobody Does It Better
4. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
5. From Russia with Love
6. Thunderball
7. Live And Let Die
9. The Living Daylights
10. Goldfinger
11. You Only Live Twice
12. All Time High
13. For Your Eyes Only
14. The Man with the Golden Gun
15. The World Is Not Enough
16. You Know My Name
17. Licence to Kill
18. GoldenEye
19. Moonraker
20. Tomorrow Never Dies
21. Skyfall
22. Another Way to Die
23. No Time to Die
24. Writing's on the Wall
25. Die Another Day
It's difficult to rank the top 19. As for the rest…well, I don't really enjoy any of them (the Craig era has some really bad theme songs, IMO).
1. Live And Let Die
2. Skyfall
3. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
4. Thunderball
5. You Know My Name
6. Diamonds Are Forever
7. Goldfinger
8. For Your Eyes Only
9. You Only Live Twice
10. Nobody Does It Better
11. From Russia With Love
12. James Bond Theme/Kingston Calypso/Three Blind Mice
13. Moonraker
14. Goldeneye
15. The Living Daylights
16. The Writing’s On The Wall
17. No Time To Die
18. Licence To Kill
19. A View To A Kill
20. The World Is Not Enough
21. Tomorrow Never Dies
22. The Man With The Golden Gun
23. All Time High
24. Another Way To Die
25. Die Another Day
2. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
3. Live and Let Die
4. You Know My Name (Casino Royale)
5. Goldfinger
6. A View to a Kill
7. Skyfall
8. You Only Live Twice
9. Nobody Does It Better (The Spy Who Loved Me)
10. Moonraker
11. From Russia with Love
12. Thunderball
13. No Time to Die
14. GoldenEye
15. For Your Eyes Only
16. The World Is Not Enough
17. Licence to Kill
18. The Living Daylights
19. All Time High (Octopussy)
20. Diamonds Are Forever
21. Another Way to Die (Quantum of Solace)
22. Tomorrow Never Dies
23. Writing’s on the Wall (Spectre)
24. The Man with the Golden Gun
25. Die Another Day
26: Any fanmade Bond theme, perhaps even one sung by a preschool choir if such a thing exists
25: Die Another Day
24: The Man with the Golden Gun (title sequence version; also a massive combo break after what had to this point been a run of excellence)
23: Moonraker
22: Tomorrow Never Dies
21: No Time to Die
20: All Time High
19: For Your Eyes Only
18: Writing's On the Wall
17: GoldenEye
16: Goldfinger
15: The World is Not Enough
14: From Russia with Love (both versions)
13: Licence to Kill
12: The James Bond Theme (Dr. No)
11: Thunderball
10: Surrender (yeah, it counts)
9: You Only Live Twice
8: Live and Let Die
7: Diamonds Are Forever
6: The Living Daylights
5: A View to a Kill
4: Skyfall
3: On Her Majesty's Secret Service (instrumental)
2: You Know My Name
1: Nobody Does it Better
2. FRWL (instr.)
3. OHMSS
4. LALD
5. YOLT
6. TB
7. TLD
8. OP
9. GF
10. CR
11. TWINE
12. TND
13. MR
14. LTK
15. FYEO
16. SF
17. DAF
18. NTTD
19. GE
20. AVTAK
21. DAD
22. SP
23. TSWLM
24. TMWTGG
25. QoS