As a huge fan of Billie Eilish and James Bond, it is easy to see how this guy would be supremely excited about the arrival of the latest in a long list of stellar cinematic movie themes. The entity that is the James Bond theme song started off with the biggest bang possible with that guitar and trumpet driven instrumental theme that has to be one of the two biggest theme songs of all-time (the other, obviously, is Mission Impossible).
When it was announced that recent Grammy Awards sweeping winner Eilish had been tapped to write and perform the latest Bond theme, I was a little worried. The uber talented singer is 18-years-old. That’s not a whole lot of living to capture sonically the tones of love, loss and supreme duty to one’s country. Yet, her talent, as we have seen prolifically, goes way beyond her years and if there was any teenage artist out there who could be up for the challenge, it certain had to be Eilish.
The singer took to social media and let the world in on what, until now, had been a mystery.
The track shares the moniker of the movie—as is traditional, but not always required. For example, one of the best Bond themes of all-time is Nobody Does it Better and that was from the flick The Spy Who Loved Me. The last Bond theme, from Sam Smith, was Writing’s On the Wall from Spectre. Prior to Smith’s track, the always awesome Adele delivered a first for the Bond franchise—an Academy Award for Best Song for her incredible work on Skyfall. That track captured the essence, the pain and loss and everything else that came along with Sam Mendes’ extraordinary Bond film (that is easily top 3 for the series).
So, how does Eilish’s effort stack up against some of the most beloved theme songs? It is clearly influenced and inspired by the last several tracks. It has a Writing’s On the Wall feel and Skyfall tone, but never comes at you with that chill-inducing chorus that I kept waiting for to arrive. Eilish’s voice is a match in heaven and one can almost imagine the opening credits that will surely accompany her vocal prowess on No Time to Die.
As this is the final foray into the Bond-ian world for Daniel Craig as 007, I did expect a little more umph from the track … but it does give off one impression that is hard to shake. Does James Bond perish in No Time to Die? Kind of makes you think. Of course, the series would immediately “reboot” and come at us with a brand new Bond. Just thinking out loud.
Look for Eilish’s track and the entire entity that is the final Craig lacing up as 007 when No Time to Die explodes into theaters on April 10.