Music: The Best of Bond...James Bond

What do Duran Duran, Tom Jones, Louis Armstrong, and Sheryl Crow all have in common? They've made opening themes for the James Bond movie series. You know, the songs that play while you see scantily-clad women dancing in silhouette around the main titles?



It's this madcap mix of musical styles that inform the "Best of Bond...James Bond" anthology collection. I have one of the older CDs (which omits everything from "The World is Not Enough" onward), but to be honest, I don't really mind that clunkers like Madonna's "Die Another Day" or Chris Cornell's "You Know My Name" aren't included.

Some of the songs have gone on to be hits in their own right, like "Live and Let Die" or "For Your Eyes Only." Almost all of them contain little flourishes from the brassy Monty Norman Bond theme that has stayed with the series for over forty years. It's kind of neat, and it means you can listen to them back-to-back without finding yourself too disoriented.