Under the Covers with James Bond - "GoldenEye"
One would think as we explore the more modern James Bond title songs it would become harder to find interesting covers of them. That is definitely not the case with 1995's GoldenEye. Composed by Bono and The Edge of U2 for Tina Turner, this is a Bond theme that does exactly what it needed to: transition fans from the previous film era into a new one, complete with a new actor in the role of 007. Not only are there a trio of takes on the song worth checking out, but a rare demo version by the song's creators is especially interesting to hear.
Six years had passed since the last Bond film. During that same window of time between James Bond adventures, U2 had arguably become the biggest band in the world (for the second time) with the release of Achtung Baby, the subsequent Zoo TV Tour and follow up album, Zooropa. This was a highly experimental period of composing for Bono and The Edge, and the song "GoldenEye" was just one of several deviations from the music they were previously known for. First, take a listen to the incredible Tina Turner original.
Now check out a demo version of the same song, where Bono puts his MacPhisto alter-ego on full display.
It is actually a fairly realized demo which displays only a few changes to the final version sung by Tina Turner. It would have been quite interesting to hear a fully produced version by Bono and The Edge or even as a full U2 recording in the vein of "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" which featured on the Batman Forever soundtrack earlier that same year.
The song was re-recorded by Nicole Scherzinger as the theme for the 2010 video game GoldenEye 007.
It doesn't stray far from the original in its sound or intent. For that, you have to point your ears towards Germany and a cappella group, Wise Guys.
Yes, that really was a live a cappella version of "GoldenEye". While this version visually demonstrates what the members of Wise Guys do to create the performance, the studio rendition is actually much better.
Journeying further north and east, Wise Guys' Nordic neighbors End of You rub a bit of 21st Century alt rock gloss on their 2008 cover.
Again, this doesn't stray too far from the original song, but as I have a soft spot for rock bands from Finland (yes, really) and the similarity of End of You's sound to their countrymen H.I.M. and Sonata Arctica, it is still a decent rendition of a neo-classic James Bond theme with just the right amount of crunch added in.
The music of James Bond will return in Tomorrow Never Dies.
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