Sam Smith: How his 'Writing's On The Wall' compares to best Bond tunes
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Molly Driscoll Staff writer
Sam Smith鈥檚 song, 鈥淲riting鈥檚 On The Wall,鈥� which will accompany the upcoming James Bond film 鈥淪PECTRE,鈥� has been released.
Smith is best known for his hit songs 鈥淪tay With Me鈥� and 鈥淟ay Me Down.鈥� He has won multiple Grammy Awards, including best new artist and record of the year for 鈥淪tay.鈥澛�
For those who are used to bombastic Bond songs, Smith鈥檚 song 鈥淲riting鈥� is certainly a change of pace. Dramatic strings and horns give way to what is mainly piano and Smith鈥檚 vocals, backed occasionally by more strings. The song is a quiet ballad as opposed to, for example, the theatrical flair of Paul McCartney鈥檚 鈥淟ive and Let Die鈥� or the more recent effort 鈥淎nother Way to Die鈥� by Jack White and Alicia Keys, which accompanied the movie 鈥淨uantum of Solace.鈥澛�
The song does swell near the middle, recalling the full-power vocals of Adele鈥檚 smash hit 鈥淪kyfall,鈥� the most recent 鈥淏ond鈥� song, before it segues into Smith鈥檚 quiet falsetto.
The film that the song is accompanying, 鈥淪PECTRE,鈥� is star Daniel Craig鈥檚 newest turn as the super spy. Craig鈥檚 first film in the role, 2006's "Casino Royale," was critically acclaimed and was viewed as having renewed the franchise creatively.
Craig鈥檚 last film, 2012鈥檚 鈥淪kyfall,鈥� became the highest-grossing Bond movie yet internationally.
The upcoming film includes the return of previous 鈥淏ond鈥� stars Craig, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, and Ben Whishaw and also stars L茅a Seydoux, Dave Bautista, Monica Belluci, and Christoph Waltz.聽
Adele鈥檚 鈥淪kyfall鈥� is the most successful 鈥淏ond鈥� song in recent memory, with White and Keys鈥� song 鈥淎nother Way to Die鈥� and Chris Cornell鈥檚 song for 鈥淐asino,鈥� titled 鈥淵ou Know My Name,鈥� being viewed by fans as not as popular. 鈥淪kyfall鈥� is also the only Bond song to win the Oscar for Best Original Song.
Duran Duran鈥檚 鈥淎 View To A Kill,鈥� which accompanied the 1985 movie of the same name, is still the most popular 鈥淏ond鈥� song in terms of chart history, with the track having reached number one on the . Other top chart performers are Carly Simon鈥檚 鈥淣obody Does It Better,鈥� which reached number two in 1977, and McCartney and Wings鈥� 鈥淟ive and Let Die,鈥� which also reached number two in 1973.
The songs that are usually heralded as the best to accompany the franchise are Simon鈥檚 鈥淣obody,鈥� McCartney鈥檚 鈥淟ive,鈥澛� and Shirley Bassey鈥檚 鈥淕oldfinger,鈥� and 鈥淒iamonds Are Forever.鈥澛�
Adele鈥檚 鈥淪kyfall鈥� was seen as a throwback to the earlier era of Bond songs, with its musical similarities to songs like 鈥淕oldfinger鈥� and 鈥淒iamonds.鈥� Smith鈥檚 song is as well, eschewing the guitars of songs like 鈥淎nother Way to Die,鈥� but it鈥檚 also quieter than songs like 鈥淪kyfall鈥� and 鈥淕oldfinger.鈥�
Both Adele's and Smith's songs recall Bassey's Bond tracks rather than the guitar stylings of "Another Way to Die" and "You Know My Name," but Adele's track is a closer match to the drama of Bassey's songs, while Smith's is a quieter tune.
