Monday, November 10, 2008

The Best of Bond...James Bond

I've never been a fan of James Bond movies. Until the franchise reboot Casino Royale starring Daniel Craig. Then the series went from gadgets to grit, from blow-dried suave to raw hotness, from slick techno to hardcore action.

I'm really looking to Quantum of Solace which releases this weekend, but in the meantime I've been listening to a compilation of Bond film theme songs called The Best of Bond...James Bond. Featuring 22 songs from Bond movies such as Thunderball, Goldfinger and Diamonds are Forever--along with two versions of the James Bond theme--the CD is a time capsule of Bond franchise and how its evolved over the years.

Interesting to note, that while much is made of each film's "Bond Girl," when it comes to theme songs Shirley Bassey--who is a vocalist on three of the songs on the CD--is THE Bond Girl. Other Bond "girl" vocalists include Gladys Knight, k.d. lang, Sheryl Crow, Nancy Sinatra, Tina Turner and Madonna.

My favorite Bond tunes are Live and Let Die by Paul McCartney and Wings and Nobody Does It Better by Carly Simon. In addition to performances by Tom Jones, Louis Armstrong and Lulu, the CD also features one-hit wonder A-Ha. It's a pretty eclectic group of performers and performances: from Garbage and Chris Cornell to Sheena Easton and Rita Coolidge.

The CD is available now at Amazon.com--or you could win a copy from Well Above Average!

Just leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite Bond theme song is and keep checking back. I'll randomly select a winner in a couple of weeks and send you the CD.

The only restrictions are: you must have a U.S. address for me to send the CD to (sorry, Tokyo!) and you can't be related to me (sorry David!).

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Posted by Stella Louise at 2:45 PM

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Well Above Average



3 comments:

  1. My high school friend, Rob, had that CD. It is very impressive to hear all of those songs together. There were so many great theme songs over the years. I've been wanting that CD for awhile and I would be buying it for myself eventually anyway so I can't feel bad about being excluded from the contest. It should probably go to someone who wouldn't otherwise purchase it.

    But, to start things off, my favorite Bond theme is also "Live and Let Die". I saw Paul McCartney perform that live at Veteran's Stadium (2nd row seats!) and I'll always remember the explosions that went off on the sides of the stage during that song.
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  2. I was a big fan of James Bond movies as a kid and I especially loved the music. The themes by John Barry are movie soundtrack classics and as you say, Shirley Bassey was the ultimate bond girl.

    One of my favorite Bond soundtrack albums is "The Spy Who Loved Me" by Marvin Hamlisch.

    My favorite song? "License to Kill" by Gladys Knight, though a close second would be "Goldfinger," by Ms. Bassey, and third would be "You Only Live Twice" by Nancy Sinatra.

    Great post.

    Megan
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  3. I love James Bond movies. I have seen every single one at least 5 x.. (except the one where Duran Duran did the theme song. The current one will be seen but I *hate* the song from Keys and White. YUCK.

    Sheena Easton's song is pretty damn cool. She's got the chops for it and the range.
    The one by Rita Coolidge (all time high) was good too.
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