Quantum Solace Theme a White Elephant?

After taking forever to nail down someone to actually write and perform the theme for Quantum of Solace, there's been a tremendously quick turnaround for the Jack White/Alicia Keys duet -- perhaps to quick. The theme, titled "Another Way to Die," was rushed to release this week after it intentionally/unintentionally leaked in new Coke Zero ads which began running last week (which had White a bit nonplussed).

Now that the song is out there, the reaction has been quick, and mostly brutal. I understand some of the knee-jerk from both ears. James Bond fans want something more like "Goldfinger" and Jack White fans want a White Stripes song and White tries to walk the fence, coupling his trademark bluesy distorted riffs backed by the traditional Bond orchestration of horns and strings.

My main complaint is that Alicia Keys seems like an afterthought in the recording, like she walked in as White was already playing and just sort of joined in. But other than that, the song works well enough and ultimately, we should all hold final judgement until we see in the context of a film. I think too often people forget that a theme to a film requires visuals for it to be complete, and after seeing it used in a film, the opinion often changes and morphs over time. A great example would be "Live and Let Die" from Paul McCartney, a song which all agree now is a classic. But if you heard it the first time, with that reggae middle part, you'd have been scratching your head not knowing the context of the film. I think we'll find that the song holds up well, especially compared to the themes of the past 25 years, as low a bar as that seems.

Of course, Noel Gallagher (Oasis) thinks (colorfully) otherwise. "It's a pisstake that the greatest British agent of all time has to be soundtracked by a bunch of f****** Americans" he told NME recently.

I've written a couple of theme tunes. They haven't got very Bond-esque titles, so I would have to tailor the title accordingly. The latest one that I wrote, I listened back to it thinking, 'F****** hell, man! That'd make a f****** great Bond theme.'

Here's hoping those themes will one day see the f****** light of day.

007 Duet for White, Keys

The musical chairs game played by the latest James Bond film, Quantum of Solace is finally over. Jack White (White Stripes, Raconteurs) and Alicia Keys have been officially signed on to record the theme song, a duet entitled "Another Way to Die," written by White. It's the first duet ever for the series, and with White doing the writing and producing, there's potential for a "Live and Let Die"-style burner. White has a (short) history of working well with other vocalists outside his idiom (Loretta Lynn, Brendan Benson) and the combination could be pretty dynamic.

The news is quite a relief for the ill-named film, after running through a myriad of options (Duffy, Leona Lewis, Amy Winehouse, Beyonce, Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz) and The Killers have all been previously linked to the theme,) it was starting to look like they might have to just hand out instruments and microphones with your ticket to the movie. The soundtrack already has an initial release date of October 28 set for it (the film comes out November 7).

I know it was only last month that I was lobbying for Duffy, but I really thought the Jack White rumors were too good to be true. It could be the best Bond theme ever. Heck, with how the last few have gone, I'd settle for one in the top 10.

Playlist: James Bond Themes

Previously: 007's Quantum musical chairs

007's Quantum musical chairs

You can now add Welsh singer Duffy and UK pop diva Leona Lewis to the long list of names that have been rumored to be singing the theme to the latest Bond film Quantum of Solace. For a film that's got a tentatively scheduled release date for the fall, you'd think that this would be wrapped up by now, but the list of artists that have come and gone has grown to include Amy Winehouse, Beyonce, Jack White (White Stripes, Raconteurs,) Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz) and The Killers. All have been eliminated like it's 007 Idol, either by passing on it, asking for too much money (Beyonce,) never getting beyond an initial conversation, or, in the case of Winehouse, just not being able to get your sh*t together enough to pull it off. It's Quantum of Solace people, not quantum physics.

Supposedly it's narrowed down to Lewis and Duffy as far as who gets the honor. Lewis is there at the insistance of her manager, American Idol's Simon Cowell, while Duffy has just been coy about the rumors, only saying "a lady never exposes her secrets." Assuming that the rumors are true, then Duffy should be the obvious choice, and I'll tell you why:

1. The Welsh Factor: Shirley Bassey, pride of Wales, was tapped three different times to sing Bond themes, including the most famous, "Goldfinger." Add to that, fellow Wales product Tom Jones with "Thunderball" and when it comes to Bond themes, being Welsh has it's privileges.

2. Timelessness: While Leona Lewis has a decent enough voice, she's a Cowell product, which translates into bland pop with a short shelf-life. Having the band a-ha doing "Living Daylights" is still a black mark on the franchise. Meanwhile, Duffy's style is timeless, reminiscent of the white soul of Dusty Springfield, which brings me to..

3. A Dusty Do-over: One of the very best Bond songs ever recorded wasn't even a theme song, or even for that matter, from an official Bond movie. The Burt Bacharach/Hal David song "The Look of Love," sung by Dusty Springfield, was written for Casino Royale (1967.) As much as Duffy would love to see an end to the Dusty comparisons, her reverb-soaked blue-eyed soul would be a perfect fit for a franchise subtly looking back to the past with it's eyes on the future.

4. More Bond Babes: By choosing Duffy, the new Bond series now has a slew of retro-chic artists to work with for the next film. Besides Duffy, there's Adele, Estelle, Lily Allen and of course, a second chance for Amy Winehouse if she gets enough rehab.

Now all we need is a producer/collaborator. Generally in the past, the film's composer has worked with the artist and songwriters on the theme song, to making it work with the film's score, but it appears they were willing to forgo that this round (and that ship has sailed with a release date in the fall). Duffy's done alright working with Bernard Butler (Suede) but for James Bond, you have to dial it up a notch, and I of course have my own suggestions, both obvious in different ways:

1. Danger Mouse - The man known to his mom as Brian Burton is an obvious choice only in that he's essentially the obvious production choice for nearly everything now, from Gnarls Barkley to the forthcoming album from Beck. He's another artist that looks to the past to inspire the future, and it's guaranteed his take on Bond would be subtle and exciting. Unfortunately, he's more than likely too busy working on his hundredth project of the year.

2. Barry Adamson - The name for most isn't going to be obvious, but if you've heard any of his work, it seems like he's been producing music for Bond films for years already. The former Bad Seeds bassist has been creating soundtracks for movies that don't exist now since his solo debut Moss Side Story in 1989. He's more likely to be available, closer in proximity (Manchester, UK) and closer enough in style to composer David Arnold that what comes out of it won't seem too disjointed from Arnold's score.

Dina Eaton has been the music editor for the past four Bond films, so I'd have to assume she's on board for this one (there's not one named currently for Quantum,) so she knows the crunch she faces. In case there's any doubt as to the levity of the choice, here's a playlist of all the Bond themes throughout the years (see which ones stick out like as sore thumb).

Playlist: James Bond Themes