Plot: A look behind the scenes at the music of 007, from the crafting of theme songs to the scores themselves.
Review: I think the first time I ever noticed film music was in a James Bond film. My love of the James Bond film series has been well-documented here on JoBlo. After all, Nick Bosworth, our director of YouTube Operations, and I did a whole series about the 007 franchise – James Bond Revisited. But, one of the areas he and I always wanted to explore was the “James Bond sound,” most notably the music and work of John Barry. Indeed, the franchise as it exists today would not have survived were it not for the Barry sound. Everyone credits Monty Norman as the composer of the James Bond theme, and there’s some truth to that. Still, the orchestration by John Barry with the distinctive guitar playing by Vic Flick...
Review: I think the first time I ever noticed film music was in a James Bond film. My love of the James Bond film series has been well-documented here on JoBlo. After all, Nick Bosworth, our director of YouTube Operations, and I did a whole series about the 007 franchise – James Bond Revisited. But, one of the areas he and I always wanted to explore was the “James Bond sound,” most notably the music and work of John Barry. Indeed, the franchise as it exists today would not have survived were it not for the Barry sound. Everyone credits Monty Norman as the composer of the James Bond theme, and there’s some truth to that. Still, the orchestration by John Barry with the distinctive guitar playing by Vic Flick...
- 10/5/2022
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
Billie Eilish has officially filed her James Bond theme, and for anyone who worried that she was too young — dare it be said, too green — for the task, there was no need to worry. The 18-year-old gets it, even if she wasn’t yet born when the Broccolis were commissioning what some of us still think of as “late period” Bond themes from the likes of Garbage and Sheryl Crow. The teen with the Midas touch has not picked this occasion to develop a cold finger.
“No Time to Die” is one of the better Bond songs of the last 25 or 30 years, coming in ahead of a lot of entries that seemed promising and didn’t really work: besides Garbage’s and Crow’s, there were underwhelming efforts from Chris Cornell and the team of Jack White and Alicia Keys, worthy artists that tried to contemporize the idea of what a Bond theme should be,...
“No Time to Die” is one of the better Bond songs of the last 25 or 30 years, coming in ahead of a lot of entries that seemed promising and didn’t really work: besides Garbage’s and Crow’s, there were underwhelming efforts from Chris Cornell and the team of Jack White and Alicia Keys, worthy artists that tried to contemporize the idea of what a Bond theme should be,...
- 2/14/2020
- by Chris Willman
- Variety Film + TV
At the 2013 Oscar Ceremony, Bond girl Halle Berry introduced the montage of homage made to honor 50 years of 007, calling the music in the films, “a genre all its own.”
While a very nice thing to say, she may have been more right than she realized. Through the classic riff played by Vic Flick in Dr. No, the power pop of Shirley Bassey in Goldfinger, and Tom Jones’ booming performance of Thunderball, James Bond music definitely has a unique sound. It’s easy to tell when the Bond theme is being parodied or recycled in other forms of music.
However, there are only twenty-three Bond films (25 including the Non-Eon rogue films) and even fewer themes to define this so-called “genre.” Or is there?
James Bond is a legacy that everyone wants to be part of. So it comes as no surprise that for every Bond film song that got picked, there...
While a very nice thing to say, she may have been more right than she realized. Through the classic riff played by Vic Flick in Dr. No, the power pop of Shirley Bassey in Goldfinger, and Tom Jones’ booming performance of Thunderball, James Bond music definitely has a unique sound. It’s easy to tell when the Bond theme is being parodied or recycled in other forms of music.
However, there are only twenty-three Bond films (25 including the Non-Eon rogue films) and even fewer themes to define this so-called “genre.” Or is there?
James Bond is a legacy that everyone wants to be part of. So it comes as no surprise that for every Bond film song that got picked, there...
- 3/5/2013
- by Michael Thompson
- Obsessed with Film
Goldfinger. GoldenEye. The Man with the Golden Gun. The world's most famous Martini drinker (shaken not stirred, naturally) has long been synonymous with that most precious and coveted of metals, but given his illustrious half century on the cinema screen there's one area in which gold has eluded him time and again – the Oscars.
Prior to last year's Skyfall (2012) the fifty year old, 24 movie series had garnered just nine nominations, two of which bagged 007 a statue at the 1965 Academy Awards for different films. The Best Effects, Sound Effects award was given to Norman Wanstall for Goldfinger (1964) and John Stears walked off with the Best Effects, Special Visual Effects Oscar for Thunderball (1965).
Though U2 were second choice for the job after the Rolling Stones had turned down a request to come up with a song, Bono was particularly pleased to land the gig as he'd spent his honeymoon at Ian Fleming's house in Jamaica.
Prior to last year's Skyfall (2012) the fifty year old, 24 movie series had garnered just nine nominations, two of which bagged 007 a statue at the 1965 Academy Awards for different films. The Best Effects, Sound Effects award was given to Norman Wanstall for Goldfinger (1964) and John Stears walked off with the Best Effects, Special Visual Effects Oscar for Thunderball (1965).
Though U2 were second choice for the job after the Rolling Stones had turned down a request to come up with a song, Bono was particularly pleased to land the gig as he'd spent his honeymoon at Ian Fleming's house in Jamaica.
- 2/9/2013
- Shadowlocked
After Adele's Bond theme failed to top the charts, we wonder if all Bond themes are commercially cursed
There were high hopes for Adele's theme song to the new James Bond film, Skyfall – not least the expectation that this would be the first 007 signature track to top the UK charts. It's not as if a number one chart position has been a problem for the multi-award winning Adele, after all.
Yet it seems the singer may have been struck down by what many regard as a Bond-related curse. Skyfall only reached number two in this week's charts, and was held off top spot by Swedish House Mafia, of all people. Here are a few past Bond themes that also failed to make it to the top of the charts – and a few that didn't make them at all ...
Duran Duran – A View To A Kill (UK: 2, Us: 1, 1985)
The...
There were high hopes for Adele's theme song to the new James Bond film, Skyfall – not least the expectation that this would be the first 007 signature track to top the UK charts. It's not as if a number one chart position has been a problem for the multi-award winning Adele, after all.
Yet it seems the singer may have been struck down by what many regard as a Bond-related curse. Skyfall only reached number two in this week's charts, and was held off top spot by Swedish House Mafia, of all people. Here are a few past Bond themes that also failed to make it to the top of the charts – and a few that didn't make them at all ...
Duran Duran – A View To A Kill (UK: 2, Us: 1, 1985)
The...
- 10/15/2012
- The Guardian - Film News
As part of the global 50th anniversary celebration of James Bond, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present “The Music of Bond: The First 50 Years,” on Friday, October 5, at 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Held 50 years to the day after the U.K. opening of the first Bond film, “Dr. No,” the evening pays homage to the memorable title songs and indelible scores that have become as celebrated as the films themselves.
Check out Vanity Fair’s latest Bond spread Here.
Hosted by music historian and writer Jon Burlingame, the program will feature many of the people who made the music, including composer Bill Conti (“For Your Eyes Only”), songwriter Carole Bayer Sager (“Nobody Does It Better” from “The Spy Who Loved Me”), lyricist Don Black (title songs for “Thunderball,” “Diamonds Are Forever,” “The Man with the Golden Gun” and “The World Is Not Enough...
Check out Vanity Fair’s latest Bond spread Here.
Hosted by music historian and writer Jon Burlingame, the program will feature many of the people who made the music, including composer Bill Conti (“For Your Eyes Only”), songwriter Carole Bayer Sager (“Nobody Does It Better” from “The Spy Who Loved Me”), lyricist Don Black (title songs for “Thunderball,” “Diamonds Are Forever,” “The Man with the Golden Gun” and “The World Is Not Enough...
- 9/21/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Academy To Celebrate The Music Of James Bond
Beverly Hills, CA – As part of the global 50th anniversary celebration of James Bond, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present "The Music of Bond: The First 50 Years," on Friday, October 5, at 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Held 50 years to the day after the U.K. opening of the first Bond film, "Dr. No," the evening pays homage to the memorable title songs and indelible scores that have become as celebrated as the films themselves.
Hosted by music historian and writer Jon Burlingame, the program will feature many of the people who made the music, including composer Bill Conti ("For Your Eyes Only"), songwriter Carole Bayer Sager ("Nobody Does It Better" from "The Spy Who Loved Me"), lyricist Don Black (title songs for "Thunderball," "Diamonds Are Forever," "The Man with the Golden Gun...
Beverly Hills, CA – As part of the global 50th anniversary celebration of James Bond, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present "The Music of Bond: The First 50 Years," on Friday, October 5, at 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Held 50 years to the day after the U.K. opening of the first Bond film, "Dr. No," the evening pays homage to the memorable title songs and indelible scores that have become as celebrated as the films themselves.
Hosted by music historian and writer Jon Burlingame, the program will feature many of the people who made the music, including composer Bill Conti ("For Your Eyes Only"), songwriter Carole Bayer Sager ("Nobody Does It Better" from "The Spy Who Loved Me"), lyricist Don Black (title songs for "Thunderball," "Diamonds Are Forever," "The Man with the Golden Gun...
- 9/21/2012
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Composer John Barry may be best known for his 007 scores, but we look beyond Bond for a detailed look at the rest of his extraordinary career...
Timeless, innovative, expansive and sensual, the music of John Barry Prendergast is a thought-provoking testament to a man who set the bar high and kept on raising it.
For many of us, the work of British composer, Barry, is synonymous with the Bond franchise, and there's no mistaking his contribution to that legacy. His work (along with that of Monty Norman) came to signify the arch, dangerously seductive swagger and cool, ambivalent melancholy that is the man behind the martini glass. He captured a world of intrigue, code and double meaning, of subterfuge, ambiguity, covert operation and sexuality. His was a trenchant and identifiable yet intriguingly elliptical and diverse musical sensibility that lassoed widely different vocalists from Louis Armstrong to Duran Duran, invariably producing something magnetic and memorable.
Timeless, innovative, expansive and sensual, the music of John Barry Prendergast is a thought-provoking testament to a man who set the bar high and kept on raising it.
For many of us, the work of British composer, Barry, is synonymous with the Bond franchise, and there's no mistaking his contribution to that legacy. His work (along with that of Monty Norman) came to signify the arch, dangerously seductive swagger and cool, ambivalent melancholy that is the man behind the martini glass. He captured a world of intrigue, code and double meaning, of subterfuge, ambiguity, covert operation and sexuality. His was a trenchant and identifiable yet intriguingly elliptical and diverse musical sensibility that lassoed widely different vocalists from Louis Armstrong to Duran Duran, invariably producing something magnetic and memorable.
- 7/25/2011
- Den of Geek
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