Bond Intros are a classic staple of movie music. Because Bond movies are a popular action franchise, artists are under pressure to make something identifiable and serious, which is why it's not unusual for a Bond theme to be the best work from a certain artist.
Nancy Sinatra
Forgettable.
26. Moonraker
Shirley Bassey
Somewhat bland and monotonous. A half-hearted late effort from Bassey
25. Octopussy ("All Time High")
Rita Coolidge
A bit of a snoozer, but then again so was the movie.
Sheena Easton
Decent song, I suppose.
Michel Legrend, Lani Hall
Aside from the 80's feel, it's generic.
22. Thunderball
Tom Jones
Not one of the more famous songs from the Connery era, but it’s my favorite. The visuals mix it up by making the imagery black in contrast with psychedelic colored backgrounds.
21. Live and Let Die
Paul McCartney
Not a bad song, but easily the most overrated Bond theme. In keeping with their proud tradition of only playing middling music, music stations have all made the universal agreement that this would be the only Bond theme to ever be aired.
20. The Spy Who Loved Me ("Nobody Does It Better")
Marvin Hamlisch, Carole Bayer Sager
A nice song, but the movie deserved better.
19. Die Another Day
Madonna
The purposefully glitched editing is annoying as is Madonna's nasally voice, which is a shame because there's actually a good melody in there. The notes are a too abrupt for vocals so it's practically begging for an instrumental cover. Apparently must of what I can find simply removes that entire portion of the song.
Monty Norman and John Barry
It’s the first appearance of the Bond theme and the gun barrel, and I like the 60’s aesthetic. Still, it’s not a true Bond intro yet, and it trails off with the “Three Blind Mice” thing. I'm not sure I shouldn't rank it higher for being the first appearance of the Bond theme.
Another step toward a full-fledged Bond intro, but it doesn’t have a dedicated song with vocals until later in the movie. The visuals of the credits being shown on women’s bodies is tacky even by today’s standards. The absurdly bold cheesecake is hilarious.
16. View to a Kill
Duran DuranIt’s just pure 80’s cheese, especially with the video. I love it. Still sticks to the black background, though.
15. Diamonds are Forever
Shirley Bassey
A pretty good song.
Jack White and Alica Keys
Even though this was song was widely panned, I like it. Nice video portion with the retro 60’s touches mixed with modern imagery.
13. License to Kill
Gladys Knight
I love 80’s music, and this sounds pretty 80’s
12. Spectre
Sam Smith
It has a good melody, but it suffers from Smith's annoying falsetto, and the lyrics are a little too obviously inane. The rejected Radiohead song is not only superior, but it syncs up with the video far better.
11. Casino Royale
Chris Cornell
I love the song. It really brings out what the character of Bond means to us.
Mya
It sounds a bit tacky, but I like it. The best part of the video is that it has TANKS WITH SPINNERS.
9. Goldfinger
Shirley Bassey
The first full-fledged Bond intro, with the women and the
dedicated theme. The visuals are not much to talk about after From Russia with Love, but the song is great.
John Barry
It breaks from tradition with an instrumental with some synth boosts. It’s a good tune and it was used well in
Goldeneye 64, so it has some nostalgic value for me. The visual portion is a little more
distinctive than the generic videos of the time, but at least the blank backgrounds are not always black, so there's that.
Lulu
I think it’s a pretty groovy song. Energetic with a good progression. In one of my more heretical opinions, I seem to be the only person on the planet who actually prefers this over the rejected Alice Cooper song, despite my being a big fan of him. Then again it's a little softer than what I'm used to from our king. Despite its dabbling in genres of varying repute, the Bond franchise has scandalously avoided metal, as if there are no great metal bands with a history of British patriotic imagery.
Sheryl Crow
The visuals for this entry are very interesting and really go for the
computer theme (it was the 90’s). I like
the heavy piano notes in the beginning.
Billie Eilish
An appropriately heavy and morose song for movie,
Garbage
Actually a very melodic song. I like the clever visual of the oil being
poured on invisible women.
2. Skyfall
Adele
The song is great and so is the video portion. I like how it foreshadows the plot without
really giving it away. Apparently it took fifty years for the Academy to realize that Bond songs are good, popular, and stand the test of time and give out the first deserving Best Song in over three decades.
1. GoldenEye
Tina Turner
Apparently EON woke up and had the bright idea to make a Bond into whose visual were something other than "stuff against black background." My favorite song and favorite video from my favorite Bond movie. Kicked off the modern era of Bond Intros that Don't Literally Look Just Like Each Other.
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| Me after being tried by jury of my peers for preferring the Lulu version of "Man With the Golden Gun" |
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