Even though nearly all of James Bond music (especially John Barry) is considered awesome, the last few seconds of Casino Royale (with a score that noticeably left out the James Bond theme for most of it) stand out. The Big Bad gets a phone call.
Mr. White:Who is this?
He gets shot in the knee and crawls to a flight of stairs. Standing above him is none other than...
"Into Miami", complete with sizzling sax solo. It oozes with the swanky cool, a perfect mood-setting piece conveying luxury, allure, and just a hint of danger.
"A Drop in the Ocean" starts out with some solid action music, but when the Gunship Rescue with the Big Damn Electromagnet happens, the music changes abruptly to this absolutely gorgeous, swoop-y, waltz-y theme.
"Nobody Does It Better" and "Bond '77" from the same film. Yes, it's disco, but it still manages to be awesome. Think about that for a second — The James Bond theme is so awesome that it can withstand a disco remix. Yikes.
Most of the For Your Eyes Only soundtrack is pure Eighties Narm Charm, but "Submarine" is a genuinely cool and atmospherice remix of the ever-awesome Bond theme.
This cover of "A View to a Kill" by the Northern Kings has to be heard to be believed.
A View to a Kill might not be the best Bond movie but it has some of John Barry's best cues like "He's Dangerous" which mixes his trademark Bond bombast with an electric guitar.
The Living Daylights has some incredible music for its major actionsequences.
Not to mention the action scene with the freakin' Bond theme in smooth, cool synths. So cool, in fact, that the track name, "Ice Chase", was very appropriate.
Not all of GoldenEye's songs in the score succumb to the Synthesizeritis; there's some which are good, including Bond's first meeting with Janus, the chase in St. Petersburg, and his dash to the transmitter on the giant dish.
GoldenEye's score may not be memorable, but how about you talk to the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll and say that about hertheme.
If the title song doesn't suit your fancy, there's always "Night at the Opera", a low-key, but utterly brilliant bit of spy music.
"Time to Get Out", the music for the opening car chase, starts off slowly and build into an insanely badass version of the Bond theme. But it really kicks into high gear at 2:15, where, according to the music, Bond has joined forces with The Terminator in the cause of awesome.
has their own interpretation of the classic Bond theme (apart from Casino Royale, which has the opening bars to "You Know My Name" instead), and they are all kickass.
Before David Arnold was hired as John Barry's replacement, he produced an album called Shaken and Stirred, a collection of Bond theme covers. Quality-wise, they range from "meh" to "holy crap, no wonder they hired him". Highlights include:
And the Propellerheads' epic cover of "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", which has been described as "nine minutes of majestic". That's about the size of it.
