r/JamesBond

So I read the original Fleming series years ago when I was growing up.

I’ve never read any of the newer ones by other writers except I recently read the On His Majesties Secret Service novella and enjoyed it immensely.

I‘d be interested to know which are the better novels by the other writers, is there an order to read them or are they all stand alone?

I was thinking about this the other day: which Bond actor had the strongest overall run of film scores/soundtracks?

Not just the best individual theme song or the single best score, but the actor whose era had the most consistently great music across their time as Bond.

It ended up being way harder to rank than I expected because Bond music changes so much with the times. Some are timeless and others feel trapped in their era.

1 Lazenby
This almost feels unfair because he only had one, but OHMSS earns the top spot by default. John Barry absolutely peaked here, and it still holds up today. I can listen to this on loop all day.

2 Dalton

This might be my hottest take. TLD for me is right up there with OHMSS as one of the greatest Bond soundtracks ever. It was Barry's final outing and it's just such a beautiful score to listen to. LTK is the only reason Dalton isn’t #1. I actually enjoy parts of Kamen’s score, but compared to Barry’s work it loses some of that timeless Bond identity and leans more into late 80s action scoring.

3 Connery

Once John Barry entered the franchise, the musical tone of Bond was basically born.
That said, Dr. No definitely sounds the most dated to me and lacks the polish, but that is to be expected on the first go. But from FRwL through Thunderball especially, the franchise’s sound became iconic. YOLT might honestly be one of the most beautiful scores in Connery's entire run.

4. Craig

I know this ranking might annoy some people, but I revisit the Craig era scores more than almost any other. Casino, Skyfall and NTTD all feel cinematic in a very modern way while still respecting classic Bond themes. Arnold deserves a ton of credit for evolving the Bond sound without losing its identity. Much like the Connery era, these scores actually help tell the story and shape the emotional tone of the films.

5 Moore

This one was difficult because Moore probably has the widest range. Some of these are incredibly fun, but many feel very tied to the decade they were made in. For example, TSWLM is iconic, but parts of it scream “1977” in a way that takes me out of it sometimes, but in a way makes it great! if that makes sense.

6. Brosnan

Sorry Brosnan fans, but this is the era I revisit the least. They feel too caught in the 90's/00's trends. I just cannot get into these as much as any other Bond tracks.

Curious to see where everyone else lands on this.

Somehow I couldn’t find another one that was complete, in order and accurate.

So here it is

Link - https://music.apple.com/gb/playlist/james-bond-theme-tunes/pl.u-xlyNNkPukeER5k

I’ve summarised all 25 in one short line. Like/dislike? Please share your own hot take in the comments!

1. DR NO
   The first one

2. FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
   The one where he fights on a train

3. GOLDFINGER
   The one with the girl covered in gold paint

4. THUNDERBALL
   The one where he fights underwater

5. YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
   The one where he inexplicably turns Japanese

6. OHMSS
   The one where he gets married

7. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
   The one where Blofeld dresses in drag

8. LIVE AND LET DIE
   The other one where he fights on a train

9. TMWTGG
   The one where he fights Count Dracula

10. TSWLM
    The one with the underwater car

11. MOONRAKER
    The one where he goes into space

12. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
    The one where he climbs up a cliff

13. OCTOPUSSY
    The one where he dresses up as a sad clown

14. A VIEW TO A KILL
    The one where he makes a quiche

15. THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
    The one where he joins the Taliban

16. LICENCE TO KILL
    The one where he quits the secret service

17. GOLDENEYE
    The one with the exploding pen

18. TOMORROW NEVER DIES
    The one with Rupert Murdoch

19. TWINE
    The one where the bad guy turns out to be a bad… woman

20. DIE ANOTHER DAY
    The one where the villain has “gene therapy”

21. CASINO ROYALE
    The one where he gets his licence to kill

22. QUANTUM OF SOLACE
    The one where the villains decide to own… a utility company

23. SKYFALL
    The one inspired by Home Alone

24. SPECTRE
    The one where Blofeld turns out to be his stepbrother… ?!

25. NTTD
    The one where he struggles to look after a small child (having forgotten his earlier quiche-making skills)

"The readers department at Elstree Studios wrote reports in the 1950s saying the James Bond novels weren’t worth making into movies."

https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/film-studio-rejected-james-bond-novels-too-ridiculous-k8n30zqb5