“A Little Traveling Music, Please,” Part I

The other day, I had to drive to work instead of taking the train, so that I could leave early for a doctor’s appointment, and I grabbed an “Ultimate Bond” tape I’d compiled several years ago to listen to in the car. I believe it was in an early Jim Jarmusch feature, probably Stranger Than Paradise (1984), that one character uttered the immortal line—oft quoted among the BOF household—“This is driving music.” As is widely known, I’m in love with the sound of my own voice (I suppose most bloggers are), which extends to singing as well as speaking, and in my opinion, for both “singability” and pulse-raising, it’s tough to beat Bond themes as driving music.

I’m speaking primarily of the actual theme songs (i.e., those played over the opening credits, which often have the same title as the film), as opposed to the remainder of the score, which in many cases is excellent as well, especially when written by the legendary John Barry. And in that context I would venture to say that the Bond oeuvre, if admittedly uneven, is unique among film series for its length, diversity, and generally high, uh, caliber. The producers secured the services of some of the biggest recording stars of their respective eras, of which each song is like a little time capsule, for better or—in some cases—worse.

It should be noted that I am less familiar with, and thus have less of an opinion regarding, the Bond themes since “Tomorrow Never Dies” (where my compilation ends), in many cases from films I have seen only once. Not surprisingly, having been recorded by Madonna, “Die Another Day” got a fair amount of play, but my predominant reaction to that was simply that it didn’t sound like a Bond theme. Others featured Garbage (“The World Is Not Enough”), Chris Cornell (“You Know My Name” from Casino Royale [2006]), Jack White and Alicia Keys (“Another Way to Die” from Quantum of Solace [2008]), all unfamiliar to me, and I don’t remember being impressed by any of those songs.

To begin at the beginning, I rank the original James Bond theme, credited to Monty Norman (see “The Music, Man”), among the great compositions of the last century, along with the likes of Vince Guaraldi’s immortal “Linus and Lucy” and Henry Mancini’s Pink Panther and Peter Gunn themes. This guitar-heavy masterpiece epitomizes both the swingin’ sixties and driving music, ’cause I don’t know about you, but when I’m behind the wheel and that thing comes on, I FEEL like James Bond (luckily, I don’t drive like him). There are umpteen recordings of the Bond theme, but none will ever approach the original, which debuted as the main title for Dr. No (1962), segueing into Norman’s calypso “Three Blind Mice.”

Most compilations include only Sinatra-soundalike Matt Monro’s deliciously schmaltzy vocal version of “From Russia with Love,” not featured in the film until the closing credits. That’s a shame, because the instrumental used at the beginning (accompanying titles superimposed on a belly dancer, which doesn’t hurt) is replete with pulse-pounding excitement, wisely morphing immediately into the Bond theme to kick it up another notch. Monro inaugurated the trend of the interminably held last note, belted out as the orchestra cuts loose in a climactic frenzy, a fixture in numerous Bond themes to come.

Goldfinger (1964) is now my favorite Bond film (a sentiment in which, for once, I am not in the minority), as well as the first to use a vocal for the main title, and one could argue that it was all downhill from there. “Goldfinger” is perhaps the ultimate exemplar of the form: it’s bold, it’s brassy, it’s Bassey—as in Shirley Bassey, lending an incredible set of pipes to the first of her record three Bond themes. And in this particular case, I must give a special shoutout to the rest of Barry’s score, which ranks with, and perhaps is, the finest in the series, full of excitement and intrigue.

When they were kids, my wife and her sisters thought Tom Jones was the hottest thing coming (as did a former GoodTimes colleague of mine), and even though my brother and I had a, shall we say, diametrically opposite opinion, Jones has since endeared himself to me with his self-deprecating turn in Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks! (1996). His theme from Thunderball (1965) is another classic, helping to make that film my boyhood favorite Bond, perhaps because of its spectacular underwater battle, with Barry’s music somehow managing to create an aquatic feel, a trait that served him well when he scored The Deep (1977). Legend has it that Jones even passed out at the end of the song’s final-note endurance test.

To be concluded.