Kids these days. There was a time when you could say with some reasonable degree of certainty that singers like Matt Monro and Shirley Bassey weren't really that cool at all, especially when you pitted them against the likes of The Adverts and the Gang Of Four. In these post-rock days, though, anything goes - and goes wherever it likes. Which is why, when producer/arranger/general know-it-all David Arnold was asked to update the songs from James Bond films, which were scored by John Barry and sung by the likes of Monro and Bassey, he found that today's chart parade heroes were beating down the doors of the studio trying to get on the album.
The resultant collection of updated Bond songs, Shaken And Stirred, proved so popular with the musicians that there simply wasn't room to include Radiohead, Oasis, Bjork and Portishead - all of whom were desperate to contribute to the album.
It's probably an age/nostalgia thing - most of today's bands would have had their first cinematic experience in the presence of 007 - and while the films' "narrative development and exploration of character" weren't exactly Fellini-esque, John Barry's sweeping soundtrack music compensated for the more pantomime-type moments. In much the same way as Burt Bacharach has been rehabilitated as a pivotal and influential composer, Barry is now regarded by his musical offspring as a dormant genius.
The evidence is right in front of your ears: take one listen to Portishead's Dummy and try telling me that John Barry shouldn't have got a writing credit for some of the music - similarly anything by Stereolab and their ilk owes a respectful bow to Barry's trademark lush arrangements, the sweeps and cascades of the orchestration and the off-beat manner of using harmonies. Coincidentally, or perhaps not, John Barry's finest moments have just been collected together and released in compilation form, called Themeology. A few listens to Goldfinger, Diamonds Are For- ever and Born Free (which was once covered by Vic Reeves) will convince you that this man was the Geoff Barlow or Jason Pierce of his day. Like Bacharach, everyone can hum one of his songs - whether you like it or not.
Back to the Bond album: David Arnold (who once auditioned for The Clash) and has since scored films like Independence Day (yes, I know it's crap) and the current A Life Less Ordinary was the man charged with selecting who should do what on Shaken And Stirred. Getting Iggy Pop to do We Have All The Time In The World (from On Her Majesty's Secret Service) doesn't look great on paper, but good ol' Iggy emotes the lyrics as if his haircut depended on it - a mini-triumph. David McAlmont almost out-Basseys Bassey with his diva-esque vocals on Diamonds Are Forever, while Shara Nelson (from Blue Lines period Massive Attack) gets all breathy and ethereal on Moonraker.
Strangely enough there was a battle royal between Radiohead, Tori Amos and Aimee Mann over who should get to do one of the weaker of the Bond songs, Nobody Does It Better; it was eventually won by Aimee Mann, who goes on to put the original version by Carly Simon in the shade. The first single off the album, and already in the top ten, is Propellerheads' reading of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, which is interesting in a sort of "that's different" way - but generally the more dance-orientated acts on the album like Leftfield and LTJ Bukem show a paucity of imagination, particularly when a lot of the Bond theme songs are just asking for a decent drum'n'bass overhaul.
Pulp sure come up trumps on the little-known All Time High (they were originally slotted in to do From Russia With Love, but Jarvis threw an indie tantrum and insisted on the former song) with a particular highlight being Jarvis's spoken word intro. Liam Gallagher was supposed to come up with a new version of McCartney's Live And Let Die but couldn't make it on the day, so instead the song was handed over to Chrissie Hynde, who gives it an ill-judged metal-lite veneer. One of the few dips in an otherwise fascinating, if not compelling, compilation.
Such has been the positive reaction to David Arnold's work of updating Bond (in a musical fashion) that the producers of the next Bond film (the 18th) have asked him to score the music for the upcoming Tomorrow Never Dies. He has already made his mind up as to who is going to sing the theme song, so following in the studio steps of Matt Monro, Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Wings, Carly Simon and Duran Duran is: k d Lang. A noble tradition continues.
Shaken And Stirred, compiled by David Arnold, is on East West Records. Themeology by John Barry is on the Columbia label.
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