Rank main theme songs

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  • The Red KindThe Red Kind EnglandPosts: 3,119MI6 Agent
    Love them all except Another Way to Die and Die Another Die

    * James Bond Theme
    1. Nobody Does It Better
    2. OHMSS
    3. Live And Let Die
    4. You Only Live Twice
    5. You Know My Name
    6. Moonraker
    7. From Russia With Love
    8. Goldfinger
    9. Thunderball
    10. All Time High
    11. Skyfall
    12. Diamonds Are Forever
    13. A View To A Kill
    14. The Living Daylights
    15. For Your Eyes Only
    16. GoldenEye
    17. Writings On The Wall
    18. The World Is Not Enough
    19. The Man With The Golden Gun
    20. Tomorrow Never Dies
    21. Licence to Kill
    22. Die Another Day
    23. Another Way to Die
    "Any of the opposition around..?"
  • MilleniumForceMilleniumForce LondonPosts: 1,214MI6 Agent
    I love rankings and I didn't even know this topic existed - so, here we go:

    1. Tina Turner - GoldenEye
    2. Duran Duran - A View to a Kill
    3. Chris Cornell - You Know My Name
    4. A-ha - The Living Daylights
    5. Nancy Sinatra - You Only Live Twice
    6. Adele - Skyfall
    7. Gladys Knight - Licence to Kill
    8. John Barry - OHMSS
    9. John Barry - FRWL theme
    10. Paul McCartney - Live and Let Die
    11. Sam Smith - Writing's on the Wall
    12. Shirley Bassey - Goldfinger
    13. Rita Coolidge - All Time High
    14. Sheena Easton - For Your Eyes Only
    15. Garbage - The World Is Not Enough
    16. Sheryl Crow - Tomorrow Never Dies
    17. Tom Jones - Thunderball
    18. Carly Simon - Nobody Does it Bettr
    19. Shirley Bassey - Diamonds Are Forever
    20. Lulu - The Man With The Golden Gun
    21. Jack White and Alicia Keyes - Another Way to Die
    22. Shirley Bassey - Moonraker
    23. Madonna - Die Another Day


    Also would like to mention I LOVE two of the abandoned themes:
    Shirley Bassey - Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
    KD Lang - Surrender
    1.LTK 2.AVTAK 3.OP 4.FYEO 5.TND 6.LALD 7.GE 8.GF 9.TSWLM 10.SPECTRE 11.SF 12.MR 13.YOLT 14.TLD 15.CR (06) 16.TMWTGG 17.TB 18.FRWL 19.TWINE 20.OHMSS 21.DAF 22.DAD 23.QoS 24.NSNA 25.DN 26.CR (67)
  • Matt SMatt S Oh Cult Voodoo ShopPosts: 6,596MI6 Agent
    Also would like to mention I LOVE two of the abandoned themes:
    Shirley Bassey - Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
    KD Lang - Surrender

    There's also a thread to rank the non-main songs and the few songs that feature in the score but didn't make it in full to the film: http://www.ajb007.co.uk/topic/46045/ranking-the-nonmain-bond-songs/
    Visit my blog, Bond Suits
  • Mr SnowMr Snow Station "J" JamaicaPosts: 1,736MI6 Agent

    Also would like to mention I LOVE two of the abandoned themes:
    Shirley Bassey - Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
    KD Lang - Surrender

    Shirley Bassey is second to none in my opinion as a singer and I rated 'Diamonds Are Forever' as my No. 1 Bond theme.

    In saying that, I like Dionne Warwick's version of Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang a lot more than Shirley's and I think it would have been a better theme than Tom Jones Thunderball. Not that I disliked Thunderball (it is excellent), but my preference would be for Dionne's song. -{

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSxT6mufIyM
    "Everyone knows rock n' roll attained perfection in 1974; It's a scientific fact". - Homer J Simpson
  • MilleniumForceMilleniumForce LondonPosts: 1,214MI6 Agent
    I love rankings and I didn't even know this topic existed - so, here we go:

    1. Duran Duran - A View to a Kill
    2. Gladys Knight - Licence to Kill
    3. Chris Cornell - You Know My Name
    4. Tina Turner - GoldenEye
    5. A-ha - The Living Daylights
    6. Nancy Sinatra - You Only Live Twice
    7. Adele - Skyfall
    8. Paul McCartney - Live and Let Die
    9. Sam Smith - Writing's on the Wall
    10. John Barry - OHMSS
    11. Rita Coolidge - All Time High
    12. Sheena Easton - For Your Eyes Only
    13. Garbage - The World Is Not Enough
    14. John Barry - FRWL
    15. Lulu - The Man With The Golden Gun
    16. Cheryl Crow - Tomorrow Never Dies
    17. Shirley Bassey - Goldfinger
    18. Carly Simon - Nobody Does it Better
    19. Shirley Bassey - Diamonds Are Forever
    20. Tom Jones - Thunderball
    21. Jack White and Alicia Keyes - Another Way to Die
    22. Shirley Bassey - Moonraker
    23. Madonna - Die Another Day
    1.LTK 2.AVTAK 3.OP 4.FYEO 5.TND 6.LALD 7.GE 8.GF 9.TSWLM 10.SPECTRE 11.SF 12.MR 13.YOLT 14.TLD 15.CR (06) 16.TMWTGG 17.TB 18.FRWL 19.TWINE 20.OHMSS 21.DAF 22.DAD 23.QoS 24.NSNA 25.DN 26.CR (67)
  • Agent PurpleAgent Purple Posts: 857MI6 Agent
    Not counting "Writing's On the Wall" or the medley used in Dr. No, here is my ranking, from least fave to fave:

    22. "For Your Eyes Only": There's a nice live version on YouTube which imo sounds MILES better. But to me, the film version is just terrible. It just sounds annoying, Easton's voice just irritates me on the chorus, just an utter failure as a Bond theme song imo.

    21. "Moonraker": No doubt that Shirley Bassey was a highly talented singer. But to me this song has the radical opposite effect to "For Your Eyes Only". It just feels too much like a dull and underwhelming lullaby, just makes me want to fall asleep. The end credits version is MILES better imo.

    20. "Die Another Day": Yeah, I couldn't rank this one too highly. I used to hate it a lot, but now I like it a little more. Still, let's face it, it's just a weak cheap pop song.

    19. "Licence to Kill": This one is okay, but I'm not too crazy about it. It's a bit syrupy for my taste, and I wish it felt darker and more menacing, in the spirit of the film it's used in.

    18. "You Know My Name": Even though I happen to be a Soundgarden fan, I'm just not too crazy about this one. To me, it feels like it's missing some extra oomph, but it's kinda entertaining.

    17. "Another Way to Die": I think it's alright, but definitely not one of the stronger Bond songs. It does fit the film's dark tone well though, but it lacks punch.

    16. "All Time High": I like this one, but I can't say I'm too crazy about it. Not the most Bondian of theme songs, but I feel it gets the job done well enough in OP.

    15. "Diamonds Are Forever": It's okay, but for some reason it doesn't inspire me too much.

    14. "Tomorrow Never Dies": I think it's a good enough Bond song, but it's certainly not great. Personally, I like some of Sheryl Crow's music, especially "All I Wanna Do" and the "The First Cut is the Deepest" cover, but her singing of this Bond song just doesn't impress enough. It must be said, the end credits song "Surrender" is much better.

    13. "Skyfall": I know, I know, how dare I rank an Academy Award-winning song so low? How dare I? As you people can tell, I'm not a big fan of the use of ballads as Bond songs, I generally prefer the more upbeat songs. I do like the use of ballads as Bond songs though, provided that I connect with them enough. But I'm just not as crazy about this song as many people are. I do like it, but I'm not totally crazy about it.

    12. "From Russia With Love" (instrumental): Yeah, this is a nice instrumental, but I can't say I'm head over heels about it.

    11. "Goldfinger": I'll probably get stoned for this one. It's definitely my favorite of the Bassey songs, and has plenty of punch. But I just like other theme songs a bit more.

    10. "A View to a Kill": I love this song. I can't say I'm the biggest Duran Duran fan, but I do like songs such as "Hungry Like the Wolf", "Save a Prayer", and "The Reflex". As for the Bond song, I just find it a lot of fun to listen to, it's very 80's and makes it clear to you (in case you weren't thinking about it) that AVTAK came out in that decade.

    9. "The Man With the Golden Gun": I listen to this one a lot, I find it quite fun and enjoyable. I will say that there's a live version on YouTube that sounds better, but still, I like the TS version. I also like the end credits version.

    8. "Thunderball": Man, what a great voice did Tom Jones have. Epic, epic singing here. Even if the film itself isn't one of my faves, I quite love this Bond song.

    7. "GoldenEye": I absolutely love this Bond song. I think it fits the TS perfectly from a melodic standpoint. We could argue about the lyrics, but to be honest, I don't think too much about them. Love the transition from the PTS to the TS to the rest of the film, the song works very effectively in this context. BTW, despite my love for this Bond song, I'm not that much of a Tina Turner fan.

    6. "You Only Live Twice": Solid song by Nancy Sinatra. Very smooth song which imo works well in getting you into the mood for the rest of the film.

    5. "Nobody Does it Better": Great, great ballad from Carly Simon. Very inspiring stuff. Can't go wrong with this one.

    4. Instrumental for OHMSS: Yeah, this is a fabulous composition. Great, great stuff from the great Barry.

    3. "The World is Not Enough": Go ahead and kill me for having this one so high. Apart from loving this song, I happen to be a fan of Garbage (as you can probably tell, I listen to plenty of rock bands). Love songs from them such as "I Think I'm Paranoid", "Push It", "Medication", and "Only Happy When it Rains". Shirley Manson happens to be one of my fave female rock vocalists, so it's only natural to expect me to love the way she sings this song.

    2. "Live and Let Die": What Bond fan doesn't like this song? It's fantastic, uplifting, and Paul sings it with great energy. No, I'm not an expert on Paul McCartney's solo material or his work with Wings. I'm fairly familiar with The Beatles though (although many are) but I'm not too crazy about them and am more of a Stones guy. But yeah, this is a terrific Bond song.

    1. "The Living Daylights": The theme song for my favorite Bond film. Not an expert on A-Ha's music by any means, but I just love this song, it's so entertaining to listen to.
    "Hostile takeovers. Shall we?"
    New 2020 ranking (for now DAF and FYEO keep their previous placements)
    1. TLD 2. TND 3. GF 4. TSWLM 5. TWINE 6. OHMSS 7. LtK 8. TMWTGG 9. L&LD 10. YOLT 11. DAD 12. QoS 13. DN 14. GE 15. SF 16. OP 17. MR 18. AVTAK 19. TB 20. FRWL 21. CR 22. FYEO 23. DAF (SP to be included later)
    Bond actors to be re-ranked later
  • Mr SnowMr Snow Station "J" JamaicaPosts: 1,736MI6 Agent
    I love rankings and I didn't even know this topic existed - so, here we go:

    1. Duran Duran - A View to a Kill
    2. Gladys Knight - Licence to Kill
    3. Chris Cornell - You Know My Name
    4. Tina Turner - GoldenEye
    5. A-ha - The Living Daylights
    6. Nancy Sinatra - You Only Live Twice
    7. Adele - Skyfall
    8. Paul McCartney - Live and Let Die
    9. Sam Smith - Writing's on the Wall
    10. John Barry - OHMSS
    11. Rita Coolidge - All Time High
    12. Sheena Easton - For Your Eyes Only
    13. Garbage - The World Is Not Enough
    14. John Barry - FRWL
    15. Lulu - The Man With The Golden Gun
    16. Cheryl Crow - Tomorrow Never Dies
    17. Shirley Bassey - Goldfinger
    18. Carly Simon - Nobody Does it Better
    19. Shirley Bassey - Diamonds Are Forever
    20. Tom Jones - Thunderball
    21. Jack White and Alicia Keyes - Another Way to Die
    22. Shirley Bassey - Moonraker
    23. Madonna - Die Another Day

    I know it's a woman's prerogative to change her mind, but your order is way different than the one you posted on the 12th Nov -{
    "Everyone knows rock n' roll attained perfection in 1974; It's a scientific fact". - Homer J Simpson
  • MilleniumForceMilleniumForce LondonPosts: 1,214MI6 Agent
    It's been 6 months, might as well update mine.

    1. Duran Duran - A View to a Kill
    2. Gladys Knight - Licence to Kill
    3. A-ha - The Living Daylights
    4. Tina Turner - GoldenEye
    5. Nancy Sinatra - You Only Live Twice
    6. Adele - Skyfall
    7. Chris Cornell - You Know My Name
    8. John Barry - OHMSS
    9. Paul McCartney - Live and Let Die
    10. Rita Coolidge - All Time High
    11. Sheena Easton - For Your Eyes Only
    12. John Barry - From Russia With Love
    13. Carly Simon - Nobody Does It Better
    14. Shirley Bassey - Diamonds Are Forever
    15. Shirley Bassey - Goldfinger
    16. Tom Jones - Thunderball
    17. Lulu - The Man With The Golden Gun
    18. Jack White and Alicia Keyes - Another Way to Die
    19. Garbage - The World Is Not Enough
    20. Sam Smith - Writing's On The Wall
    21. Cheryl Crow - Tomorrow Never Dies
    22. Shirley Bassey - Moonraker
    23. Madonna - Die Another Day
    1.LTK 2.AVTAK 3.OP 4.FYEO 5.TND 6.LALD 7.GE 8.GF 9.TSWLM 10.SPECTRE 11.SF 12.MR 13.YOLT 14.TLD 15.CR (06) 16.TMWTGG 17.TB 18.FRWL 19.TWINE 20.OHMSS 21.DAF 22.DAD 23.QoS 24.NSNA 25.DN 26.CR (67)
  • MarcAngeDracoMarcAngeDraco Piz GloriaPosts: 564MI6 Agent
    I've tried to do this so many times in the past, but have never been satisfied.

    24. Another Way to Die
    23. All Time High
    22. Writing's On The Wall

    21. The Man With The Golden Gun
    20. Nobody Does It Better
    19. Licence to Kill
    18. Moonraker

    "This is the tricky part"

    17. For Your Eyes Only
    16. Die Another Day
    15. Dr. No
    14. You Know My Name
    13. Goldfinger
    12. The Living Daylights
    11. You Only Live Twice
    10. Skyfall
    9. Thunderball
    8. The World Is Not Enough
    7. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    6. From Russia With Love
    5. Diamonds Are Forever
    4. Tomorrow Never Dies
    3. Live and Let Die
    2. Goldeneye
    1. A View to a Kill

    Something like that. The bottom three are definitive, the top seven, no the top seventeen are interchangeable. Much harder when you throw in the likes of We Have All The Time In The World, Where Has Everybody Gone, Only Myself to Blame, Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and my personal favourite Bond song, Surrender.

    And I have to say, Dr No's opening number is fantastic. It effectively sets the tone of the film and captures the atmosphere of the novel.
    Film: Tomorrow Never Dies | Girl: Teresa di Vicenzo | Villain: Max Zorin | Car: Aston Martin Volante | Novel: You Only Live Twice | Bond: Sir Sean Connery
  • heartbroken_mr_draxheartbroken_mr_drax New Zealand Posts: 2,073MI6 Agent
    I've written this mostly in context as songs on their own right...

    1. AVTAK - Perfection as a Bond song and as a song on its own.
    2. FYEO - Conti and Easton teamed up to create gold.
    3. TWINE - Shirley Manson's sultry/grungy voice works perfectly with excellent lyrics and arrangement.
    4. TSWLM - A beautiful song and a great fit - transcends the film.
    5. TLD - A good sequel to the better first one (AVTAK).
    6. LALD - It's the best, but I like the ones above (personally) more.
    7. YOLT - Trippy and beautiful.
    8. TB - Jones' belts this out perfectly, essentially a male version of GF.
    9. GF - Classic - although a little harsh on the ears.
    10. DAF - Carries so much impact, but it misses something as a song on its own. Great title song.
    11. MR - Soft, slow and achingly beautiful.
    12. CR - An awesome, punchy, rocky song. Great stuff for the reboot.
    13. LTK - It's a little long, but it's a guilty pleasure.
    14. DAD - Guilty pleasure. I think Madonna did a good job with this.
    15. GE - Attempts to be like GF/DAF but feels shallow, weak lyrics, brilliant intro.
    16. FRWL - It's good, but has dated.
    17. SP - I liked this when it came out, but it's whiney and slow - not enjoyable to listen to.
    18. OHMSS - Stunning in the film, but that's it really.
    19. TND - Extended version is good, shortened version isn't.
    20. SF - Boring, not a fan of Adele.
    21. OP - Boring, strange song.
    22. TMWTGG - Horrible, end title is more enjoyable because of slower intro before descending back into chaos.
    23. QoS - The worst, singing sounds botched and shouty.
    1. TWINE 2. FYEO 3. MR 4. TLD 5. TSWLM 6. OHMSS 7. DN 8. OP 9. AVTAK 10. TMWTGG 11. QoS 12. GE 13. CR 14. TB 15. FRWL 16. TND 17. LTK 18. GF 19. SF 20. LaLD 21. YOLT 22. NTTD 23. DAD 24. DAF. 25. SP

    "Better make that two."
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