So, as I’m sure you’re aware, the theme song for the latest James Bond film, ‘Spectre’, was released today.
It is performed by 23 year old Londoner Sam Smith, who has already achieved incredible success in his short career.
In February this year, he walked away with four Grammy Awards, having been nominated for six. Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year for ‘Stay With Me’, and Best Pop Vocal Album. It is fair to say therefore, that when it was announced he would be releasing ‘Writing’s On The Wall’ as the 24th official Bond Theme, expectations were pretty high.
Smith is an artist who divides opinion, and ‘Writing’s On The Wall’ has certainly followed suit with a very mixed reaction.
It is the first time that a British male has performed the Bond Theme since Sir Tom Jones’ ‘Thunderball’ back in 1965.
Personally, I think the largely negative reaction to the song is slightly harsh and I also think people are being too quick to judge. Smith himself has admitted that the song is a “grower” and I tend to agree. By the time Spectre is released on October 25th in the UK, November 6th worldwide, I think the negativity will have largely subsided and it will be deemed a song worthy of a James Bond film. Don’t hold me to that…
Predictably, comparisons were instantly drawn to the previous Bond theme, ‘Skyfall’ performed by Adele in 2012. Now I must agree that compared to Adele’s effort, in my opinion it doesn’t even come close. ‘Skyfall’ screamed Bond. It’s a much more powerful song and I’m not saying subtlety is a bad thing at all, in fact at times it can be a fantastic thing, but I just feel that a James Bond theme song should grab hold of you from the get go and mesmerise you with its power.
No James Bond theme has ever claimed the #1 spot in the charts, Adele coming closest, and I would be very surprised to see that change with this addition but you never know. Sam has said himself that he is far more concerned with contributing to Bond’s legacy than achieving a #1 in the singles chart and he isn’t “even thinking about the Oscars”.
I find the song quite repetitive but I do enjoy the falsetto elements, of which there are many. Of course though, I am far more concerned with the film itself and I am itching to see how it turns out.
The song is available for download right now from iTunes, and you can also hear it on Spotify.
Alternatively, if you only fancy listening to 15 seconds of the song, feel free to check out the teaser below.
Film Night Podcast 