Friday, October 5, 2012

Adele's 'Skyfall' is Every Inch a Classic Bond Theme




After snippets had begun to surface online, "Skyfall," Adele's title song for the new James Bond film of the same name, has been unleashed in its entirety.

The single was officially scheduled for a premiere at 7:07 p.m. ET -- or 0:07 a.m. in the U.K. -- but a French radio station has jumped the gun, so to speak, and posted "Skyfall" earlier today. The version posted to the singer's YouTube channel, below, features an animation based on the the song's cover art, and incorporates some of the song's lyrics.

"Skyfall" instantly feels like a Bond theme, with the singer's sultry voice set against a minor chord progression. Done in big, orchestral style, the mood -- like the singer -- is all 1960s throwback, back when Bond themes like "Goldfinger" were smooth, seductive and larger than life.

The lyrics, too, offer the classic Bond vibe -- apocalyptically dangerous and very sexy.

"Let the sky fall/ When it crumbles / We will stand tall / Face it all together/ As sky falls," she sings. 

Adele wrote the song with Paul Epsworth -- a top songwriter and producer who has also worked with Cee Lo Green and Florence and the Machine, among others -- after the reading the script.

 

 

"I was a little hesitant at first to be involved with the theme song for Skyfall," she says in a statement. "There’s a lot of instant spotlight and pressure when it comes to a Bond song. But I fell in love with the script and Paul had some great ideas for the track and it ended up being a bit of a no-brainer to do it in the end."

 

 

Of recording with a 77-piece orchestra at Abbey Road Studios in London, Adele admits, "When we recorded the strings, it was one of the proudest moments of my life. I’ll be back combing my hair when I’m 60 telling people I was a Bond girl back in the day, I’m sure!"

Directed by Sam Mendes, Skyfall opens in the U.S. on Nov. 9th.