Le Bon puts himself into the action of the song with his frantic singing delivery but ultimately there’s not much in the song to sell so it all just comes across as forgettable.Īlso forgettable is the music video which was directed by the duo of Kevin Godley & Lol Creme, both former members of the ‘70s studio-rock band 10cc. I don’t know and it’s not like the rest of the lyrics offer any explanation either. If Le Bon’s describing the kiss and broken dreams as fatal then how can he and his lover dance into the fire if they’re both dead. Simon Le Bon is telling this lover that until they can dance into the fire all they need is a fatal kiss, the fatal sounds of broken dreams, and when all they see is the view to a kill. The lyrics to “A View to a Kill,” like a lot of Bond themes, are all poetic gibberish but it’s more apparent here. It’s all a bit much and along with the gated drums weighs down any enjoyment from a song that has the skeletons of something better. Those stabs pop up so much in the song, so loud, and so randomly that it sounds like a kid was fooling around with the keyboard in the studio. Unfortunately, the rest of the song falls apart falling victim to a lot of the cheap sounds common in many mid-‘80s productions especially with those keyboard orchestra stabs from Nick Rhodes. I also like how John Taylor’s bass gets into a good groove throughout but especially when the chorus hits as well as the occasional funky guitar scratches from Andy Taylor. The best part of “A View To A Kill” is easily the orchestra that manages to bring the classic orchestral grandness of a Bond theme into the ‘80s pop landscape and still sounds nice when they play. Listening to the song, I can’t exactly say Barry managed to pick out all of the good parts. Duran Duran and Barry wound up writing the song together with the group producing along with Chic bassist Bernard Edwards and fellow producer Jason Corsaro. The idea for Duran Duran recording “A View To A Kill” came about after John Taylor, himself a Bond superfan, ran into the longtime Bond producer Cubby Broccoli at a party all drunk wondering, “When are you going to get someone decent to do one of your theme songs?” (Considering the last two Bond themes I’ve talked about, I’d have been wondering the same thing at the time.) Soon enough, the band met with the legendary Bond composer John Barry where they often got drunk at songwriting meetings but Barry helped to flush out Duran Duran’s idea for the theme picking out all the good parts and putting it all together. It’s also a 5.) But when Duran Duran was offered the opportunity to perform the theme for the latest Bond flick A View To A Kill, creative differences weren’t going to stop them from doing it. Arcadia’s highest-charting single, 1985’s “ Election Day,” also peaked at #6. (The Power Station’s highest-charting single, 1985’s “ Some Like It Hot,” peaked at #6. Probably as a testament to Duran Duran’s popularity, both the Power Station and Arcadia immediately hit it off landing singles in the Top 10. On one hand, you had John and Andy Taylor joining with Robert Palmer and Chic drummer Tony Thompson in the Power Station, a hard rock/funk fusion band, while on the other hand, you had the other members Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, and Roger Taylor forming the more experimental group Arcadia. In 1985, the members of Duran Duran had split themselves into two smaller acts showing the creative divisions within the band. It may not make a lot of sense but that’s the pop charts for you. Instead of “Goldfinger,” “ Live and Let Die,” or “ Nobody Does It Better,” we got Duran Duran’s extremely ‘80s sounding theme to a movie that many consider the absolute nadir of the 007 series. Even if you’re the least bit familiar with 007 you probably still have the themes memorized in your heads.īut in the US, only one Bond theme has managed to go all the way to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 so far and it’s one that you probably wouldn’t have guessed off the top of your head. After the success of “Goldfinger,” the franchise has gotten an impressive list of artists to sing the themes to their movies, and as we’ve been seeing many of those themes have become legitimate charting hits. In the almost 60 year history of the James Bond franchise, there has been a theme for each movie but it wasn’t until 1964’s “ Goldfinger,” that it was discovered that the theme could function as its own magical pop culture moment and become a hit outside of their respective movies. If you like what I’m doing, comment and let me know what random Hot 100 hit song you want me to review. In Random Tracks, I’m reviewing a random hit song from any point in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 going from the chart’s beginning in 1958.
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