Customer Reviews

Another Way to Die (Limited Edition 7 inch vinyl single)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Imagine the pressure of being commissioned to compose the theme song for a new James Bond movie. Expectations are enormous and for good reason: Monty Norman's iconic original theme for Dr. No with Vic Flick on guitar, John Barry's Goldfinger featuring Shirley Bassey's knockout performance, Paul McCartney's reflective ballad to explosive show stopper Live and Let Die, Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager's gorgeous Nobody Does it Better are giant pillars amongst the Bond theme songs. The best you could possibly hope for is fifth place!

Like many of Jack White's compositions, Another Way to Die is heavily influenced by the guitar riffs of Jimmy Page (in this case he borrows hooks from Whole Lotta Love, ironically, a song lifted from Willie Dixon's You Need Love). Based on a simplistic B-G-E progression, Another Way to Die has the required components: staccato horns, strings and hints of Barry's past Bond themes. If those elements were removed, it's a White Stripes song. Personally, I'd like to hear a version of the song with only Alicia Keys on vocals. (Note: Keys does not play the piano on this. It's Nashville chartreuse Laura Matula adding the singular notes that punctuate White's creeping lyrics like a ticking bomb).

On this 7" vinyl version, there's little depth to the sound, which is what you might expect from a record. It's as if it was recorded analog (liner notes claim reel-to-reel), then converted to digital, compressed and then compressed again to sound like an mp3. It's par for today's fill-the spectrum-to-the-limit production standard, but what's the point of releasing it on vinyl if you don't take advantage of the medium's sonic potential? The flip side features an instrumental version of the tune, not included on the album's soundtrack.

I'm giving Another Way to Die three+ stars for three reasons. It has a stylistic sex appeal to it, with Jack White and Alicia Keys delivering sparring vocals - the first duet of the series' theme songs. White's minimalist approach combines familiar elements of John Barry's themes with hip-hop vocal phrasing over White's also-familiar White Stripes sound. Although Sir Ian Fleming might be rolling over in his grave, it is modern and fitting for the Daniel Craig Bond era. Finally, and perhaps the most noteworthy, Another Way to Die features legendary Stax recording artist Wayne Jackson on trumpet. Nicely done, Jack. Bonus star: This limited edition is pressed on gold vinyl. Cool.

This man, Jack White, can do no wrongs.
Even when he does Bond, no one can touch him.

this is an incredible james bond theme. its unforgettable!
the drumming is first class. and everything about it is great.

the colored vinyl is great as well.

alicia needs to do a track with funkadelic or bad brains or burnt sugar if she wants to expand her mind.

Obviously some marketing guy thought Jack White + Alicia Keys means: we'll get the "kids" to come to the Bond franchise.

You might want to have a song, first. THEN you might want to think that White's garage guitar grunge may not mesh well with Keys' piano tinkling. THEN you might want to have somebody at some point in the process who ran this track pas the erase heads and said "Oh, HELL no!"

Unforunately, we have none of those things. This song is entertaining more as a trainwreck and example of how you can stick two "stars" together and still come up with something as awful as this. Ooof.

With such a huge history in music and visual media,you would think that an artist performing a theme for one of film's biggest franchises would not only be original, but also be far better. The beginning sounds as if they had just recently heard "You Know My Name" ("Casino Royale" theme) and said, "Well, that sounds good. Let's try that and something new!". The duet is a first and should be a last. The voices, which are used for very different purposes in their original music, clash against eachother making it hard to concentrate on vocals. Not to mention the fact that Alicia Keys, no matter how good she is, is not a good choice to perform a Bond theme. The voice is far better in a realm it recognizes and that is R&B. The lyrics are very dark and not fun to listen to. Sure, Bond isn't all about gushy songs ("From Russia with Love" by Matt Munro) or villains ("Goldfinger" by Shirley Bassey), and yes, this film does deal with revenge, but what all the theme songs have in common with eachother is that they are a show. They are a specatacle for the ears and, once good ol' Daniel Kleinman gets to work on the main titles, the eyes. This is a major disappointment. Not since Shirley Bassey's "Moonraker" have I ever wanted to pull the plaug on my computer, iPod, or radio that was playing a 007 theme. Oh, and Patti LaBelle's "Licence to Kill" wasn't all that great either, but still better than this.

This was the best Bond song since Duran Duran. Way better than the rotten crapola they've plagued us with for the last couple decades (Madonna, etc). I'd put this in a list of the "Top Ten Bond Songs" ever, up there with McCartney/Wings, and all the classics from the Sean Connery era. So there!

This lame excuse of a title song is actually painfull to listen to. Sounds like some amateur school band were trying to create a Bond soundtrack after getting smashed. I can't believe that people in charge of a carefully planned movie and marketing campaign would allow something as laughably tuneless, annoying and badly written as this to promote their blockbuster. I feel for all people with english as their native tongue because of those lyrics. At least it's not sung by Amy Whinehouse as was initially planned...although it's hard to imagine the results being any worse. What a waste..

i give this one two thumbs down, way down. is this a prelude on how the movie is going to be? i read winehouse version was recorded but put on the shelf do to her drug habits. who ever gave the go ahead for white and keys must have been doing drugs with winehouse. they need to put a man in charge at the bond studios cause chubby's daughter is messing things up. nuff said.

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want this kind of song as the new Bond title song tradition! But as a one-off, its minimalism works fantastic! Moreover, it's deliberately silly, thus hopefully adding a slice of unforgivable silliness to a not so silly film - just like a Bond film should be!