While Sam Smith’s theme song for the new James Bond movie Spectre has become the first in the history of the franchise to top the UK pop charts last weekend, reactions to it have varied widely. Roger Moore, who played the role of the secret agent in seven feature films between 1973 and 1985, called Writing’s on the Wall “very haunting and wonderfully orchestrated.” But others on Twitter have been less polite, saying “the new Sam Smith Bond song sounds like a sad drunk man shouting into a saucepan.”
On first listen, it’s a decent enough ballad. The tender piano accompaniment and dramatic strings prove there’s more to co-producers Disclosure than trendy dance music. When you hear it for the fifth time, however, the novelty of a male singer using a Bond theme to convey vulnerability would have long worn off and what you’re left with is an awfully weepy, slightly off-key sequel to Adele’s Skyfall, which sold millions of copies, won an Oscar, and made the Bond song respectable again. That 23-year-old Smith admitted the track only took 20 minutes to write — Spectre director Sam Mendes had to tweak the lyrics to make sure Bond did not seem too soft. Makes you miss the days when songs were not crafted during one’s coffee break.
Important Factors
Those charged with devising the theme songs to the 007 films have a lot of factors to consider. “The franchise’s best songs are simultaneously timeless and representative of the eras in which they were recorded. They capture the specifics of each movie while embodying, in a larger sense, the franchise’s rich history,” according to The Week. “And while the songs feel inseparable from the context of the movies that inspired them, they’re also strong enough to stand on their own.”
Most of all, these singers and songwriters have to bear in mind that their contributions will be picked apart — and most likely mocked — by generations of fans. Madonna’s Die Another Day, the first Bond theme of the new millennium, has been derided for its overuse of Auto-Tune and electronic blips since its release in 2002. Another Way to Die by Jack White and Alicia Keys, from 2008’s Quantum of Solace, was a daring rock and R&B fusion that, unfortunately, looked better on paper than it sounded on screen.
Brassy Bassey
On the other hand, the most iconic Bond title ballads are bold and unforgettable. They capture the spirit of the films that spawned them while promising the audience a fantastic time at the cinema. Shirley Bassey’s brassy Goldfinger from 1964 seems to be the template that every 007 song has since tried to follow. Originally, producer Harry Saltzman wanted Bassey to perform Live and Let Die in 1973 instead of Paul McCartney and Wings, but breaking with tradition with a full-on rock-and-roll composition proved to be the right decision.
If Sam Smith’s Bond track is the musical encapsulation of the upcoming Spectre, I couldn’t help but imagine that the movie might send me to sleep or in some way test my threshold for falsettos. As a fan of the reinvigorated James Bond franchise, I truly hope I’m mistaken.