By John Hill
It has been a decade since Madonna recorded the theme song
for Die Another Day, which went to
number eight on the US pop chart. For those of you who have given up on seeing
another Bond theme become a hit, you might want to take a seat, because Adele
has come to your rescue.
There is something to be said for sticking to the style of
Bond themes that the public has grown to love, which may explain why the more
recent attempts by Chris Cornell and Jack White & Alicia Keys failed
miserably from the last two 007 movies.
Thankfully, Adele and producer/writer Paul Epworth take “Skyfall” back to the glory days of Shirley Bassey singing “Goldfinger” and “Diamonds are Forever” without ever sounding dated. In fact, “Skyfall” sounds like a track that would have fit in well on her last album 21, just with a 77-piece symphony adding additional drama into the mix. By the time Adele reaches the end of the track, the sheer power of her vocals propelled by the swelling strings launches her into the musical stratosphere and cements her place as one of the finest vocalists making pop music (or any type of music) right now.
Come March of next year, I think Adele may need to make room on her awards cabinet for an Oscar.
Thankfully, Adele and producer/writer Paul Epworth take “Skyfall” back to the glory days of Shirley Bassey singing “Goldfinger” and “Diamonds are Forever” without ever sounding dated. In fact, “Skyfall” sounds like a track that would have fit in well on her last album 21, just with a 77-piece symphony adding additional drama into the mix. By the time Adele reaches the end of the track, the sheer power of her vocals propelled by the swelling strings launches her into the musical stratosphere and cements her place as one of the finest vocalists making pop music (or any type of music) right now.
Come March of next year, I think Adele may need to make room on her awards cabinet for an Oscar.
While his full-time job is in education, John Hill also writes a successful music blog titled Pop Music Notes. He is also active on Twitter @popmusicnotes and lives in Denver with his partners in crime James and Bruiser.
