Right now, I'm pretty disappoitned. I wanted to hear a really fast, aggressive, dark, almost metal-type of song to emphasize the rawness and ruthlessness of the rookie 00 and to complement the brutality of the images of Bond's two kills. (Especially the one that went "not well") It sounds too cheerful.
It's not bad. I'm just really disappointed, because they could have done much better than this. They even had a great opportunity to pay homage to Fleming, as the chapter title "A Whisper of Love, A Whisper of Hate" would be a perfect Bond song title.
I don't like this guy, but I must admit this song's pretty awesome. I'm definitely pumped...
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,990Quartermasters
Played it for my brother (over the phone!) and he's as pleasantly surprised as I am. Neither of us were sure what to expect, and the first listening left him as intrigued as mine left me. I've played it quite a lot, now; even got the lyrics from a helpful fellow over on MI6.
It sounds good loud B-)
Here's to The Unexpected. -{ May we continue to get more of it.
:007)
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Second, as of right now I believe it is the worst Bond theme song ever. Arthur hit the nail on the head, very 80's, Eye of the Tiger or Slayer sound to it. Musically very uninspired and I didn't care for Cornell's voice. Also found the lyrics very generic.
Sorry folks!
Barry,
I agree that it's pretty disappointing, but I don't see how any song could ever take the "Worst Bond Song Ever" title from Die Another Day by Madonna. I was genuinely ashamed to be a Bond fan when I heard that song, and I still am every time I hear it played.
What is SO bad about the DAD theme? I have never understood why people dislike it so. I love it.
This one, the jury is still out.
1. Madonna. That's never a good first start.
2. It doesn't sound Bond to me. It sounds more like something you would hear gay guys blasting at max volume in a bright-yellow Volkswaggon Beatle than a cold, ruthless song with a bit of class characteristic of Bond.
I've listened to it a few times, and I like the song itself, and I find some of the lyrics to be particularly good. It's just not my vision of what the song should be, especially considering the rumoured layout for the PTS, which would seem to require a much darker, more aggressive, more ruthless melody, sans horns. All in all, I would say that this is a lot better than I was expecting from Cornell. But I'm still disappointed.
On first listening, I realised when it ended that I had been tapping away at a PM for a good 3/4s of the way through it, and my attention to it had run out. It was that bland.
However, I've since listened to it a good few times, and had plenty of time on the way into work this morning to put it loud on the car.
It's not a bad song, by any manner of means. I don't hate it. I don't even dislike it. Though I don't like it either.
The opening is truly, utterly awful. That crunching guitar is contrived, dated and jars me with each crash. It's just garbage, crap. Then it recovers into, well, a melody-less rock song, really. It was what I was expecting, exactly. A generic North American-style rock song, rather atonal and boring, something that you'd drink "Bud Lite" too. In fact, that's what sums up the song in general really, "Lite".
Whoever said it had the same energy as Live And Let Die, can't remember whether it was Cornell or Arnold, should have their mouth washed out with soap. This is no where NEAR the same league. LALD brims with energy, character, soul and has a banging melody that you can't shake off. It grabs you by the throat and shakes you wildly with a good dose of voodoo flavour. This has NONE of that.
It doesn't need much tinkering to make it sound much better though. Loeffs said if they played up the orchestra elements it would make a helluva difference - I agree. That dreadful guitar opening could be replaced with brass or horns, and that dreadful guitar riff all the way through perhaps with strings. Basically, ditch the awful guitar.
Also, knowing what I know about the film, the mood, the colours, the "timelessness" of it - this just doesn't sit right at all. It's way too hard.
Actually, as I think about it - I keep getting Muse's Black Holes & Revelations playing in my head. That kind of sums it up. Going down the "rock" road, they could have done so much better with the likes of Muse.
As a song, I don't hate it, but I don't care for it either. As a Bond song, it's just, well, crap.
I've now listened to it a few more times on my iPod on the way into work. I have to say the lyrics aren't bad, but they're strangely broken; the verses have a number of lines that seem to meander all over the place.
The intro is dreadful. Just awful. There is no power to it at all. And the part where he echoes himself is so cheesy it hurts. I keep having flashbacks to the dread Tim Feehan, I'm sorry.
I totally agree with the people who have said this could work with more orchestra, but it would still be saddled with this drab rawk voice.
The first time I heard DAD, I was grinning; it was absolutely what a Bond theme should be in the 21st century - contemporary, powerful, performed by a huge international star and perfectly melded to Daniel Kleinman's title sequence. It wasn't a pastiche like TWINE, it was just good and modern, and felt like Bond to me. I'll have to wait and see about the titles (you can never totally judge a Bond theme until you have seen naked women dancing to it) but the omens aren't good. This is just generic rock. It doesn't inspire me at all. In fact, I went to bed last night more than a little despondent at how bad it was. It's grown on me a little after listening to it 8 or 9 times, but I didn't have to listen to DAD, or GE or most of the other Bond themes a few times before I decided I liked them. It's just uninspired.
I listened to it again and it still sounds very 80's and generic. It sounds like the sort of music Sly Stallone would have for a montage scene in a Rocky film circa 1986.
Have you tried the new My Chemical Romance song? You've just described that one to a tee; it's particularly awful. You might even feel better about this one after listening to that!
A generic North American-style rock song, rather atonal and boring, something that you'd drink "Bud Lite" too. In fact, that's what sums up the song in general really, "Lite".
I don't disagree- it doesn't really go anywhere and I do tend to lose interest towards the end. Your comments here make me think of Nickelback and bands like those doing songs for Spider-Man. Perhaps Sony wanted Cornell so that he could give them something similar?
I think it's clearly a Bond song, but I would have preferred if they'd pushed it a bit more- I'd have liked to have seen the Mariachi angle pushed a bit further.
Actually, as I think about it - I keep getting Muse's Black Holes & Revelations playing in my head. That kind of sums it up. Going down the "rock" road, they could have done so much better with the likes of Muse.
Indeed- ; something like Supermassive Black Hole would have been even better; that's a cracking and nicely surprisingly innovative, fresh sounding song. Although this one feels fairly fresh for Bond after all the stagnant TWINEs etc. we've had, it's nothing new rock-wise. A Muse-type would have been great.
First pass at the lyrics, if anyone's interested... Lyrically it's very relevant and is perhaps strongest element of a weak song. Musically, the verses and bridge are strongest, then the shouty chorus arrives to that wearisome guitar again.
If you take a life
Do you know what you'll give?
Odds are you won't like what it is
When the storm arrives
Would you be seen with me
By the merciless eyes of deceit?
I've seen angels fall from blinding heights
But you yourself are nothing so divine
Just next in line
Arm yourself because no one else here will save you
The odds will betray you
And I will replace you
You can't deny the prize
It may never fulfil you
It longs to kill you
Are you willing to die?
The coldest blood runs through my veins
You know my name
If you come inside
Things will not be the same
When you return to the lies
And if you think you've won
You never saw me change
The game that we have been playing
I've seen diamonds cut through harder men
Than you yourself but if you must pretend
You may meet your end
Arm yourself because no one else here will save you
The odds will betray you
And I will replace you
You can't deny the prize
It may never fulfil you
It longs to kill you
Are you willing to die?
The coldest blood runs through my veins
Try to hide your hand
Forget how to feel (forget how to feel)
Life is gone in just a spin of the wheel (spin of the wheel)
Arm yourself because no one else here will save you
The odds will betray you
And I will replace you
You can't deny the prize
It may never fulfil you
It longs to kill you
Are you willing to die?
The coldest blood runs through my veins
You know my name (x7)
I personally don't think it sounds that bad, but I don't think it will replace our current favourite Bond theme songs. It's different recently, I didn't like the idea of a rock song, but it actually sounds alright. I'm sure it is a grower. There is some Bondian touches in the song and I think I can certainly picture the climax of the song, and then it continuing to the film. I can almost picture the title sequence to the music too. I'll listen to it a bit before November 17th and I think I won't know fully how I like it until I see it with the title sequence.
(M5 - Since it is a streaming file and therefore cannot be illegally downloaded, I see no reason to remove the link. What people have on their Myspace profile is Myspace's problem.)
I hope the song appears in instrumental form in the score. It could really set the scene, and I like the pace. I would be very interested in hearing a non-vocal orchestrated version...
Second, as of right now I believe it is the worst Bond theme song ever. Arthur hit the nail on the head, very 80's, Eye of the Tiger or Slayer sound to it. Musically very uninspired and I didn't care for Cornell's voice. Also found the lyrics very generic.
Sorry folks!
Barry,
I agree that it's pretty disappointing, but I don't see how any song could ever take the "Worst Bond Song Ever" title from Die Another Day by Madonna. I was genuinely ashamed to be a Bond fan when I heard that song, and I still am every time I hear it played.
Klaus, I do prefer DAD to this song, I really liked the opening to DAD it has an ominous sounding opening which I like, whereas the opening to You Know my Name is awful. Also DAD worked really well with the opening credits IMO.
I think Willy is right, the part of the song where he echoes himself is laughable, really garage bandish. I also don't like to strain to hear and understand the lyrics
The song seems to change pace several times through it and the guitar work is annoying. I will agree with Loeffs that if they lost the guitar and built up the horns the song would be better.
Maybe TMWTGG is worse than this song, but it is close.
That really stinks! I am really disappointed. Way to phone that one in Eon! Babs and Mickey, what is the problem??? You have not had a good theme in YEARS.
They should have gone with Goldfrapp, something along the lines of "Utopia." Something dark and haunting that suits the mood of the film. The rest of you hit the nail on the head - it sounds like a generic 80's rock song. Not as bad as Maddona's DAD, but that isn't exactly saying much is it?
I would have preferred a straight instrumental like OHMSS or FRWL. I know Barry won't do any more tracks, but you clowns should have thrown all the money you could at him - and Shirley Bassey! She still sounds great. This is the last Fleming title, why didn't they go for a timeless sound???
A friend of mine here at work said "they should have gone with a "royale with cheese!" which made me think I would rather listen to a loop of Sam Jackson shouting "Casino Royale MOTHER*$@$#!!!"
Boring, harmless and non-original. Today's rock has no style.
The lyrics are cornball city, "I've seen diamonds cut through harder men" and the ending, "You know my name....!" Pleeze...
I haven't been impressed with a title song since TLD. with the exception of Garbage. Call it the old Bondish formula, whatever you like. But that's what I bloody well expect with my Bond!
They should have called up the CoopMan or seen what Aerosmith was doing if they were going to go rock. I was hopeful when I heard the announcement but this is almost as bad as Sherryl Crowe.
Mind you I've only heard it once, things have a way of growing on you.
Comments
It's not bad. I'm just really disappointed, because they could have done much better than this. They even had a great opportunity to pay homage to Fleming, as the chapter title "A Whisper of Love, A Whisper of Hate" would be a perfect Bond song title.
It sounds good loud B-)
Here's to The Unexpected. -{ May we continue to get more of it.
:007)
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Barry,
I agree that it's pretty disappointing, but I don't see how any song could ever take the "Worst Bond Song Ever" title from Die Another Day by Madonna. I was genuinely ashamed to be a Bond fan when I heard that song, and I still am every time I hear it played.
"The games that WeeeEEE...EeeeEE...'ve been plaaAAaayEeeee-n."
Who's strangling the cat, indeed.
Bottom of the barrel for Bond songs, but still better than TMWTGG.
MBE
This one, the jury is still out.
I like it too Mo.
I can see how DAD's style might not appeal to some but musically I think it's certainly more interesting, mature and inventive than this thing.
MBE
1. Madonna. That's never a good first start.
2. It doesn't sound Bond to me. It sounds more like something you would hear gay guys blasting at max volume in a bright-yellow Volkswaggon Beatle than a cold, ruthless song with a bit of class characteristic of Bond.
I've listened to it a few times, and I like the song itself, and I find some of the lyrics to be particularly good. It's just not my vision of what the song should be, especially considering the rumoured layout for the PTS, which would seem to require a much darker, more aggressive, more ruthless melody, sans horns. All in all, I would say that this is a lot better than I was expecting from Cornell. But I'm still disappointed.
On first listening, I realised when it ended that I had been tapping away at a PM for a good 3/4s of the way through it, and my attention to it had run out. It was that bland.
However, I've since listened to it a good few times, and had plenty of time on the way into work this morning to put it loud on the car.
It's not a bad song, by any manner of means. I don't hate it. I don't even dislike it. Though I don't like it either.
The opening is truly, utterly awful. That crunching guitar is contrived, dated and jars me with each crash. It's just garbage, crap. Then it recovers into, well, a melody-less rock song, really. It was what I was expecting, exactly. A generic North American-style rock song, rather atonal and boring, something that you'd drink "Bud Lite" too. In fact, that's what sums up the song in general really, "Lite".
Whoever said it had the same energy as Live And Let Die, can't remember whether it was Cornell or Arnold, should have their mouth washed out with soap. This is no where NEAR the same league. LALD brims with energy, character, soul and has a banging melody that you can't shake off. It grabs you by the throat and shakes you wildly with a good dose of voodoo flavour. This has NONE of that.
It doesn't need much tinkering to make it sound much better though. Loeffs said if they played up the orchestra elements it would make a helluva difference - I agree. That dreadful guitar opening could be replaced with brass or horns, and that dreadful guitar riff all the way through perhaps with strings. Basically, ditch the awful guitar.
Also, knowing what I know about the film, the mood, the colours, the "timelessness" of it - this just doesn't sit right at all. It's way too hard.
Actually, as I think about it - I keep getting Muse's Black Holes & Revelations playing in my head. That kind of sums it up. Going down the "rock" road, they could have done so much better with the likes of Muse.
As a song, I don't hate it, but I don't care for it either. As a Bond song, it's just, well, crap.
Agree that it ends better than it starts. Seems like Sony is going for something like what they had for SPIDERMAN.
Yep. I'm with you there. I think I am going to have to listen to it a few more times. It did get better as it went along, so maybe it will grow on me.
The intro is dreadful. Just awful. There is no power to it at all. And the part where he echoes himself is so cheesy it hurts. I keep having flashbacks to the dread Tim Feehan, I'm sorry.
I totally agree with the people who have said this could work with more orchestra, but it would still be saddled with this drab rawk voice.
The first time I heard DAD, I was grinning; it was absolutely what a Bond theme should be in the 21st century - contemporary, powerful, performed by a huge international star and perfectly melded to Daniel Kleinman's title sequence. It wasn't a pastiche like TWINE, it was just good and modern, and felt like Bond to me. I'll have to wait and see about the titles (you can never totally judge a Bond theme until you have seen naked women dancing to it) but the omens aren't good. This is just generic rock. It doesn't inspire me at all. In fact, I went to bed last night more than a little despondent at how bad it was. It's grown on me a little after listening to it 8 or 9 times, but I didn't have to listen to DAD, or GE or most of the other Bond themes a few times before I decided I liked them. It's just uninspired.
@merseytart
Have you tried the new My Chemical Romance song? You've just described that one to a tee; it's particularly awful. You might even feel better about this one after listening to that!
What a shock!
I don't disagree- it doesn't really go anywhere and I do tend to lose interest towards the end. Your comments here make me think of Nickelback and bands like those doing songs for Spider-Man. Perhaps Sony wanted Cornell so that he could give them something similar?
I think it's clearly a Bond song, but I would have preferred if they'd pushed it a bit more- I'd have liked to have seen the Mariachi angle pushed a bit further.
Indeed- ; something like Supermassive Black Hole would have been even better; that's a cracking and nicely surprisingly innovative, fresh sounding song. Although this one feels fairly fresh for Bond after all the stagnant TWINEs etc. we've had, it's nothing new rock-wise. A Muse-type would have been great.
If you take a life
Do you know what you'll give?
Odds are you won't like what it is
When the storm arrives
Would you be seen with me
By the merciless eyes of deceit?
I've seen angels fall from blinding heights
But you yourself are nothing so divine
Just next in line
Arm yourself because no one else here will save you
The odds will betray you
And I will replace you
You can't deny the prize
It may never fulfil you
It longs to kill you
Are you willing to die?
The coldest blood runs through my veins
You know my name
If you come inside
Things will not be the same
When you return to the lies
And if you think you've won
You never saw me change
The game that we have been playing
I've seen diamonds cut through harder men
Than you yourself but if you must pretend
You may meet your end
Arm yourself because no one else here will save you
The odds will betray you
And I will replace you
You can't deny the prize
It may never fulfil you
It longs to kill you
Are you willing to die?
The coldest blood runs through my veins
Try to hide your hand
Forget how to feel (forget how to feel)
Life is gone in just a spin of the wheel (spin of the wheel)
Arm yourself because no one else here will save you
The odds will betray you
And I will replace you
You can't deny the prize
It may never fulfil you
It longs to kill you
Are you willing to die?
The coldest blood runs through my veins
You know my name (x7)
I really like to hear it.
www.myspace.com/chrisgilson
(M5 - Since it is a streaming file and therefore cannot be illegally downloaded, I see no reason to remove the link. What people have on their Myspace profile is Myspace's problem.)
www.scottacademymartialarts.co.uk
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Klaus, I do prefer DAD to this song, I really liked the opening to DAD it has an ominous sounding opening which I like, whereas the opening to You Know my Name is awful. Also DAD worked really well with the opening credits IMO.
I think Willy is right, the part of the song where he echoes himself is laughable, really garage bandish. I also don't like to strain to hear and understand the lyrics
The song seems to change pace several times through it and the guitar work is annoying. I will agree with Loeffs that if they lost the guitar and built up the horns the song would be better.
Maybe TMWTGG is worse than this song, but it is close.
They should have gone with Goldfrapp, something along the lines of "Utopia." Something dark and haunting that suits the mood of the film. The rest of you hit the nail on the head - it sounds like a generic 80's rock song. Not as bad as Maddona's DAD, but that isn't exactly saying much is it?
I would have preferred a straight instrumental like OHMSS or FRWL. I know Barry won't do any more tracks, but you clowns should have thrown all the money you could at him - and Shirley Bassey! She still sounds great. This is the last Fleming title, why didn't they go for a timeless sound???
A friend of mine here at work said "they should have gone with a "royale with cheese!" which made me think I would rather listen to a loop of Sam Jackson shouting "Casino Royale MOTHER*$@$#!!!"
"Cloth-eared runts at EON" if I read that correctly...
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I have to agree with MBE...it definitely has an amateurish sound to it. I can see any local bar band cranking out something equitable to this.
And the ending? "YOU KNOW MY NAME! YOU KNOW MY NAME! YOU KNOW MY NAME!" It sounds like a speed-freak having a temper tantrum!
The lyrics are cornball city, "I've seen diamonds cut through harder men" and the ending, "You know my name....!" Pleeze...
I haven't been impressed with a title song since TLD. with the exception of Garbage. Call it the old Bondish formula, whatever you like. But that's what I bloody well expect with my Bond!
They should have called up the CoopMan or seen what Aerosmith was doing if they were going to go rock. I was hopeful when I heard the announcement but this is almost as bad as Sherryl Crowe.
Mind you I've only heard it once, things have a way of growing on you.