Nine to go. Well - "tell it like it is", they say. And Tim, from the blog "Antagony & Ecstasy" (http://antagonie.blogspot.co.uk), certainly does, during his treatise on the 1974 Bond film "The Man with the Golden Gun". He's quite merciless, as we shall now read:
"TITLE SONG - A ghastly, caterwauling nightmare. In later years, pop singer Lulu (better known in the UK and Europe than elsewhere in the world, where she is primarily if not exclusively remembered for 'To Sir, with Love') would admit that she was not the right person to sing the John Barry/Don Black title song 'The Man with the Golden Gun', which found her trying too hard to do a really poor Shirley Bassey impersonation.
"My hat is off to Lulu for the openness of that confession; the problem is that it still leaves us with her take on 'TMWTGG', which is really quite meritless altogether. If it's not the general inanity of the lyrics, enough to make 'Thunderball' look positively respectable ('One golden shot means another poor victim / Has come to a glittering end'), it's the profoundly dumb - by Bond theme standards - sexual innuendo ('His eye may be on you or me / Who will he bang? / We shall see').
"And if neither one of those does it for you, there's also the way that the title is stuck into a melodic line too long for it, obliging it to be sung as 'the man with the golden guh-huh-un!'. Lulu, poor thing, could not do anything about these problems, which are endemic to the way the song was written. On the other hand, she also sings every note like a 10-year-old girl who has heard about orgasms but has not the slightest idea what they're actually like.
"And she certainly could have done something about that." Fair enough then. I'm a little biased though, having always fancied the pants off her, so I'll ignore that little lot and just mention her fine cover of Bowie's "The Man who Sold the World" in the same year! However, released as a single in many countries in 1974, it did nothing at all anywhere. Which probably sums it up, and I'll leave that there. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_with_the_Golden_Gun_%28soundtrack%29
Very entertaining analysis! It's a bloody daft record but I still prefer it to a few of the Bond themes that followed. Wonder what others would have made out of it (Cher, for example)?
(Between thee and me, I've never been a fan of Don Black's lyrics. I find them, in the main, to be twee and uninspiring. John Barry's music and orchestration, however, is not to be questioned! Great composer/bandleader. These are purely personal observations, mind you.)
@ErnieBilko Retrospectively - with hindsight - you are probably right. But who was to know then? And, truth be told, Cooper's tune still needed a lot of work to fit into the genre of Bond. Be honest. Love him personally, but I don't expect him to come up with anything orchestrative or balladic! Really.
21 Comments (since 24 Aug 2015)
leejohnson
Nine to go. Well - "tell it like it is", they say. And Tim, from the blog "Antagony & Ecstasy" (http://antagonie.blogspot.co.uk), certainly does, during his treatise on the 1974 Bond film "The Man with the Golden Gun". He's quite merciless, as we shall now read:
leejohnson
"TITLE SONG - A ghastly, caterwauling nightmare. In later years, pop singer Lulu (better known in the UK and Europe than elsewhere in the world, where she is primarily if not exclusively remembered for 'To Sir, with Love') would admit that she was not the right person to sing the John Barry/Don Black title song 'The Man with the Golden Gun', which found her trying too hard to do a really poor Shirley Bassey impersonation.
leejohnson
"My hat is off to Lulu for the openness of that confession; the problem is that it still leaves us with her take on 'TMWTGG', which is really quite meritless altogether. If it's not the general inanity of the lyrics, enough to make 'Thunderball' look positively respectable ('One golden shot means another poor victim / Has come to a glittering end'), it's the profoundly dumb - by Bond theme standards - sexual innuendo ('His eye may be on you or me / Who will he bang? / We shall see').
leejohnson
"And if neither one of those does it for you, there's also the way that the title is stuck into a melodic line too long for it, obliging it to be sung as 'the man with the golden guh-huh-un!'. Lulu, poor thing, could not do anything about these problems, which are endemic to the way the song was written. On the other hand, she also sings every note like a 10-year-old girl who has heard about orgasms but has not the slightest idea what they're actually like.
leejohnson
"And she certainly could have done something about that." Fair enough then. I'm a little biased though, having always fancied the pants off her, so I'll ignore that little lot and just mention her fine cover of Bowie's "The Man who Sold the World" in the same year! However, released as a single in many countries in 1974, it did nothing at all anywhere. Which probably sums it up, and I'll leave that there. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_with_the_Golden_Gun_%28soundtrack%29
ErnieBilko
Should've used Alice Cooper's version...
ErnieBilko
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDjdZoa9L6o
stevefawcett
Very entertaining analysis! It's a bloody daft record but I still prefer it to a few of the Bond themes that followed. Wonder what others would have made out of it (Cher, for example)?
iprefernotto
Fine with me. James Bond is flaming, concupiscent camp. Seems pretty appropriate, haha.
leejohnson
(Between thee and me, I've never been a fan of Don Black's lyrics. I find them, in the main, to be twee and uninspiring. John Barry's music and orchestration, however, is not to be questioned! Great composer/bandleader. These are purely personal observations, mind you.)
leejohnson
I could only really imagine Tom Jones belting this one out, if not Lulu.
3rdillusion
Fantastic!
PeteLaberge
Great Jam! FITS! In case someone has not heard, and sorry to be repetitive: When the party here is over, most of us are going to here: http://www.letsloop.com It is not the fine toy Jam was, but they are young and growing! Also, there is a F/B page for X jammers: https://www.facebook.com/groups/229952510523950/ There is also this: http://bullfrogjams.tumblr.com/ See you there! LLAP! Spread the word.
Sid_Bonkers
Love Lulu but this was truly forgettable, great jam Lee :)
hsmagnet
@leejohnson i always has a crush on Lulu @PeteLaberge ty joined
lynn200
not my favorite Lulu...but she was'our girl...bless
ScreeamingMimi
Love me some James Bond :)
leejohnson
@ErnieBilko Retrospectively - with hindsight - you are probably right. But who was to know then? And, truth be told, Cooper's tune still needed a lot of work to fit into the genre of Bond. Be honest. Love him personally, but I don't expect him to come up with anything orchestrative or balladic! Really.
leejohnson
(There's me, apparently confusing Vince with his band. But, it's so much easier to call him them!)
ErnieBilko
@leejohnson :-D
PeteLaberge
You gotta admit, most of the Bond themes were awesome. And this was one of the best.