Written by:
Alex Green
Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon has taken sides in the ongoing Who Wrote A Better Bond Theme debate.
Mind you, this piece is just about two Bond songs: Duran Duran’s “A View To A Kill” and Sam Smith’s “Writing’s On The Wall.”
In other words, Sheena Easton’s “For Your Eyes Only” has nothing to do with this article.
Or does it?
It doesn’t.
This is just about Duran Duran and Sam Smith.
The former handled the Bond theme for 1985’s “A View To A Kill” while the latter has taken on “Spectre” duties and contributed the plaintive number “The Writing’s on The Wall.”
Which is better?
Well, if you were chatting with Le Bon, he’d be in his band’s camp. He recently told Gigwise this: “I caught a little bit of [Smith’s song], it’s not my favourite – I prefer ours”.
Ever the gentleman, Le Bon then added: “But he’s Sam Smith, he’s got a beautiful voice and I’m a big fan of him. I support him and what he stands for.”
We have to agree with Le Bon. Sam Smith is great, but their theme song is better.
“A View To A Kill” is vintage Duran Duran who recorded the track at a point in time where they were fully aware of their musical powers. “A View To A Kill” is the sound of a band flexing their musical muscles with swagger and belief. The song is dramatic and cinematic and features one of the most memorable choruses of the decade. Le Bon takes the turns on the chorus at high speed and never falters once. It might be awash with ’80s production, but the song has a prowling groove and a swashbuckling sonic center that remains one of their most memorable compositions.
Lyrically the band interpreted the movie frame by frame and the narrative of the film is decidedly present in the song.
In case you’ve forgotten the plot, an evil dude wants to blow up Silicon Valley. There’s Russians, oil, drugged racehorses, the KGB, Nazi’s, airships and Grace Jones.
But back to the song: In it, Le Bon sings cryptically and poetically about “…a sacred why” and references assassination, snowflakes, broken dreams and a phoenix searching for flames to rise from.
Not bad for just over four minutes, yes?
Le Bon also told Gigwise that a classic Bond song needs: “…something exciting, something surprising, something that shocks you a little bit. Whether it’s a chord change, a rhythmic shift or even a lyrical twist – a surprise is always a good thing.”
