Quantum of Solace theme artists confirmed.

[slothian]

Keys and White record Bond theme

Alicia Keys and Jack White have recorded the theme tune for the next James Bond film, Quantum of Solace.

R&B singer Keys has teamed up with the star of rock bands White Stripes and The Raconteurs for Another Way to Die, the first duet in Bond theme history.

The announcement follows speculation that the job would go to British stars Amy Winehouse, Duffy or Leona Lewis.

Quantum of Solace, which will see Daniel Craig return as 007, will be released later this year.

Winehouse was working on a theme with producer Mark Ronson - but that was scrapped because Ronson said the singer was not up to recording.

The new partnership sees the slick and soulful Keys team up with raw and bluesy rocker White.

Despite their different musical backgrounds, both are leading figures in the US scene, with 18 Grammy Awards between them.

White has written, produced and played drums on the track.

The film's producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said: "We are delighted and pleased to have two such exciting artists as Jack and Alicia."

The musicians "were inspired by our film to join together their extraordinary talents in creating a unique sound for Quantum of Solace", the producers said.

Previous iconic James Bond signature tunes have been recorded by stars including Dame Shirley Bassey, Duran Duran and Sir Paul McCartney.

The theme to the last film, 2006's Casino Royale, was recorded by another US rocker, Chris Cornell.

Quantum of Solace, the 22nd official film in the 007 series, picks up from Casino Royale as the secret agent sets out to avenge the apparent death of his lover.

It has a bigger budget than the last film and producers have promised more action.

The title is taken from a short story published by Bond creator Ian Fleming in 1960.

It will hit cinemas on 31 October in the UK, with the rest of the world seeing it from early November.

David Arnold will compose the film's score, with the soundtrack to be released on 28 October.

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/ente...ent/7532438.stm

Thoughts?

Personally I don't know how exactly the two are going to mesh, but I reckon they'll pull something off. And I love the BBC messageboards because half are bemoaning the fact they didn't go with British artists such as Amy "Drugs" Winehouse, Leona Lewis, Duffy or Adele, whilst the other half are calling those ladies crap singers, which is hilarious & awesome!

[Adham]

It's an interesting one. Personally I have not liked anything either artist has done apart from Seven Nation Army (now the Bond theme could be put over that bassline) but, like Ian, I think it could be good.

[turlough47]

I have to admit that, when I first saw the music video, I wasn't too impressed [mainly by the musical style(s) of the song, which seemed to be rather disjointed; perhaps the choice of the two artists working together was awkward], but since then, and especially after seeing it in the film itself, it's definitely grown on me considerably. To further admit, my warming may have something to do with my personal pro-Jack White bias, but apart from such bias, I do think its style is one of the better attempts at meshing more `modern` musical production and sensibility with certain staples of `classic` Bond musical style. Other less successful examples (to my mind) of this stylistic meshing, for comparison's sake, might include Sheryl Crow's theme for Tomorrow Never Dies . The use of brass instrumentation at certain points, for example, was evocative of the jazzy style of the earliest films, as well as being highly reminiscent of the theme to The Man With the Golden Gun in its use of musical phrase consisting of a certain rapid succession of trumpet notes as a recurring motif (if you think back to the opening notes of MWTGG theme, you'll know which notes I mean). I have a feeling this successful meshing has a lot to do with David Arnold's hand in writing and orchestration, which if true, bodes well for his continued role in the series' musical future. His previous efforts, while occasionally succumbing to dated trends (parts of the TWINE and DAD scores), have never been anything less than listenable and frequently exciting, which certainly remains true of his work of QOS, and may even be responsible for reigning in the perhaps more experimental leanings of White and Keys.