As mentioned on Friday, I have a few worthwhile covers from the 1997 Bond theme tribute album Shaken and Stirred to share with you all. This album was produced and masterminded by film composer David Arnold, who has since gone on to score for every Bond film from Tomorrow Never Dies onward. (According to Wikipedia, John Barry, upon hearing this album, recommended Arnold for the job.)
First up, as promised, is a swell version of “Thunderball” sung by ABC’s Martin Fry, who proves here that fops can have a manly swagger of their own.
Next, we have a rendition of “Nobody Does It Better” from Aimee Mann, aided and abetted by Jon Brion, as was often the case in those halcyon days. This track is a pretty wild collision of the Mann/Brion aesthetic with the electronic leanings of Arnold, who has some Bjork credits in his background.
Aimee Mann, “Nobody Does It Better”
Finally, a track that is obviously close to my heart, Pulp‘s “All Time High.” As I see it, Jarvis Cocker decided to sing this song in the guise of James Bond as an aging, dissolute, has-been drunk pleading some sweet young thing for her time. He has no intention of really taking this relationship beyond a one-night stand, but he’s so suddenly committed to the task at hand — a task that was once effortless — that he finds himself really meaning the things he’s saying, in spite of himself. Incidentally, Cocker maintains this persona on much of Pulp’s album of ’97, This Is Hardcore.
