So with the Connery films behind us, we'll move on to the more elegant Bond, Roger Moore. It was during Moore's tenure as the super-spy that the movies and their theme songs became more erratic - with impressive highs and depressing lows. Part of the problem musically was that era in general, the 1970's through the mid-80's. If not produced spot on, with an eye toward durability, a song could feel extremely dated a couple of decades (or more) later. Case in point: The Man With the Golden Gun. But we'll get to that in a minute.
To kick off the Moore film series, we've got Live and Let Die. As for the movie itself, I feel torn: first we have a brand new Bond actor in debonair Roger Moore, who fairly successfully fills Sean's boots and brings his own sleek and smirking qualities to the character. Good in his own way. The story, though, suffers today due to the race-insensitive portrayals and attitudes of that time (1973). It varies from corny to downright awful... it's almost laughable to think these big-budget films depicted such stuff so blatantly.
Live and Let Die does have a killer theme song, though, in the powerful Paul McCartney ballad/rocker of the same title. The intro and verses are soft piano that build to the sinister crunch of the chorus. Big sound and world famous... one of the best-known Bond tunes.
Next up was The Man With the Golden Gun, which I alluded to earlier. While I admire this movie far more than Live and Let Die (hey, you can't go wrong with Christopher Lee as the bad guy), the music, including the theme song, is pretty rotten. The theme sung by Lulu makes me cringe every time I hear it... her screechy vocals, noisy horn section, and the extremely dated guitar sounds serve to underline a bizarrely-written song. It's far too 70's-2nd-tier-rock-band in tone. Perhaps the worst of all the Bond themes.
Moore's third outing as 007, The Spy Who Loved Me, featured what most agree is among the best of the Bond theme songs, Nobody Does It Better. This was the first Bond theme not to bear the name of the movie as its title. This is my favourite Bond movie theme of all. Sung by pop artist Carly Simon, the tune is quite beautiful in its own right... effective contrast of soft and powerfully emotional, displaying Simon's considerable vocal talent, and very nice blending of Bond-isms into the piece. Without the insertion of the try-too-hard brash horns of Golden Gun, here we get little lyrical references to the movie itself. Worthy of its Number Two chart position back in '77.
My 45-rpm single of Nobody Does It Better, sung by Carly Simon,
lives on in my record collection - still my fave Bond theme song
Moonraker, while a bit of a cinematic mess (or at least a joke, right?), was lucky enough to snag Shirley Bassey (also of Goldfinger and Diamonds Are Forever fame) back into the fold to sing its sublime theme song. And it's a beauty, with Bassey's full range vocals soaring above the wash of John Barry's orchestral arrangement, replete with tasteful Bond signature motifs.
It was in 1981 that For Your Eyes Only hit the big screen, wowing audiences with yet another James Bond adventure. Moore was back, though beginning to show his age a little. The theme song was every bit a modern hit, though. Pop songstress Sheena Easton earned a Grammy nomination for her performance on the song... very well deserved, as I feel this, too, is among the best Bond theme songs. It sure helps when the singer is gifted with such an angelic voice. Fun fact: this is the only Bond film to show the theme singer right in the opening credits.
Octopussy, while not one of the best Bond flicks, is still fun and has its classic moments (Moore as Bond disguised as a clown, anyone? The makeup hid his wrinkles.). All Time High is the theme song, delivered by the classy Rita Coolidge. Just a little on the tepid side, the track, thanks to more than adequate vocals, remains very listenable and inoffensive to this day. A light and saxophon-y piece, it's easy to forget this one in the vast canon of Bond themes. Pretty good.
In 1985, the mighty franchise popped out A View to a Kill, the final Roger Moore picture. It was about time. Ol' Rog was huffing and puffing as he climbed those stairs in a chase scene. Kinda looked like a toupee during windy scenes, and I swear I saw a stunt double a bit too clearly in spots. Still, it was Bond... and young Christopher Walken as the baddie stole the show with his maniacal machine gun sequence. As for the theme song, well, it's not that it's bad, it just doesn't do it for me. Never much of a Duran Duran fan, I can take it or leave it. Just a standard 80's pop song, though dressed up a bit with Bond horn motifs. Nothing special, in my mind.
That's it for the Roger Moore-Bond era... seven films, seven theme songs. Next time around, I'll look at the Timothy Dalton years as 007. And maybe I'll make that a double-header with the Pierce Brosnan films, since these guys had shorter runs with the franchise.
Til then, bottoms up!
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