Writing's on the wall

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Writing's on the wall
Sam Smith
publication Sept. 25, 2015 (download)
Oct. 23, 2015 (CD single)
Nov. 6, 2015 (vinyl single)
length 4:38
Genre (s) Film music , orchestral pop song , love song, James Bond song
Author (s) Smith & Jimmy Napes
Producer (s) Napes, Steve Fitzmaurice , Disclosure
Label Capitol Records
Award (s) Golden Globe , Oscar

Writing's on the Wall is the theme song of the 24th official James Bond film Specter and was sung by Sam Smith , who wrote the song with Jimmy Napes . It won the Oscar for best movie song as well as a Golden Globe in the same category and is the first James Bond theme song to reach number 1 on the UK singles chart.

description

Writing's on the Wall is a supported pop song in a classical orchestra - arrangement . Smith intended to write an epic love song and a suitably classic Bond song at the same time. Those involved compared the style several times with the first Bond title song Goldfinger . In particular, however, this song was intended to emphasize the romantic undertone of Specter . The song title is an English idiom that corresponds to the German menetekel and goes back to a biblical motif. It means that there are unmistakable omen for an impending and difficult to avert disaster.

For the first time since 1969 ( We Have All the Time in the World - Louis Armstrong ), the theme song of a James Bond film describes a romance from a male perspective. The text is written in the form of a “diary entry”, inspired by Daniel Craig's more vulnerable interpretation of the main character. The first-person narrator confesses his love in the face of a threat from his past from which he cannot escape. This gives him security for the first time and so he takes the courage to oppose himself with all his experience. Finally, he wonders if he should give up everything for this overwhelming love.

The song is written in F minor and recorded at 66 bpm . Smith's voice ranges from A ♭ 3 to D ♭ 5 , the highest note he has ever had to sing. Smith saw this as a great vocal challenge, which he only became fully aware of with the first live performances. Smith deliberately designed the structure of the song in such a way that it sounds like the bridge building up, as if his air had been stolen. The renewed crescendo then culminates in an orchestral figure after the title line.

background

Choice of artist

After the theme song of the previous film Skyfall won many awards such as the Oscar and was commercially successful, this time the attention was significantly increased. Performer Adele quickly became the favorite again for the upcoming song and got public support from James Bond Daniel Craig himself, who is the first Bond actor to also act as executive producer in this film . Studio photos of her with Lady Gaga fueled further rumors about a possible collaboration between the two superstars. Although she was very popular in the betting shops until the end, there have been conflicting reports of her involvement. In retrospect, it was reported that, at Craig's insistence, she was offered a fee of $ 5 million. However, she is said to have suggested FKA Twigs to director Sam Mendes .

While Adele had largely withdrawn from the public after Skyfall , Sam Smith celebrated sales records with his debut album. Together with his high voice volume and a proven sense of pathos, this made him a much-mentioned candidate even before the film title was announced and he remained a constant favorite with bookmakers. He himself was instructed to repeatedly and emphatically deny his involvement and instead brought up his girlfriend Ellie Goulding . Through her work with co-author Jimmy Napes, she was informed at an early stage and, at Smith's request, repeatedly and publicly placed ambiguous messages that were often interpreted as her confirmation. As a result, she was increasingly traded as a favorite in betting shops.

Director Sam Mendes was able to convince producer Barbara Broccoli to be the first to ask the British cult band Radiohead for a song. They then submitted the unpublished Man of War . The composition goes back to the first recordings with their harvest stem Producer Nigel Godrich immediately before their most successful album OK Computer and was already at that time by singer Thom Yorke as James Bond - homage described. Although the piece was found to be suitable, the producers could only consider original compositions for the film with a view to a possible Oscar nomination. The band then interrupted the ongoing work on the album A Moon Shaped Pool to write a contemporary cover story. An anonymous bet for £ 15,000 in the William Hill betting shop also sparked public rumors in July 2015 about the involvement of Daniel Craig's favorite band Radiohead, which was fueled by further reports. Meanwhile, Smith was also contacted and Mendes ultimately decided against Radiohead's more melancholy piece. Elsewhere in the film, he couldn't incorporate the song properly either. The band then made the song their own again and finally released it on Christmas Eve 2015 under the film title Specter , which put an end to speculation. Although the song wouldn't have worked for the film, they are so happy to have released it after all. Radiohead's title, like Writing's on the Wall, combines orchestral arrangements with haunting falsetto singing. A studio version of Man of War was released two years later as part of an anniversary release by OK Computer , after the band had played the song at concerts since the 1990s.

Stereophonics and Noel Gallagher , among others, had publicly competed for the song , the latter also being popular in betting shops. Lana Del Rey's interest in the theme song also met with some response . Some of the songs on her album Honeymoon , which was released shortly before Specter , she herself admitted a suitable style; One of these reportedly corresponds to her revised entry for the 24th James Bond film. Even Bonnie Tyler , in 1983 the theme song to Never Say Never had refused taught himself this week. Paloma Faith publicly expressed interest, but knew early on that she would be denied the opportunity. The Arctic Monkeys were often mentioned in fan circles ; Frontman Alex Turner applied for a theme song back in 2011 and, in particular, showed insider knowledge in 2008 when he made Jack White 's participation public.

Composition & recordings

Smith asked his agent to apply for the Specter theme song for him . He was then invited to Pinewood Studios and received the script from producer Barbara Broccoli and director Sam Mendes at an early stage . He dealt with it intensively and, as a result, discussed it several times with director Mendes. The idea for the song came to him spontaneously in the studio, after which he and his co-author Jimmy Napes had completed the composition within 20 minutes. The demo recorded in January 2015 convinced the producers that no further vocal recordings were necessary. Smith had no contact with Daniel Craig until a later joint talk show appearance. Smith describes the song as the most important task of his career to date. He was particularly proud of the harmonies and the text. For the latter, Smith had to put himself in the shoes of a strange character for the first time. Mendes himself has adjusted the lyrics a bit to make James Bond less vulnerable. The British dubstep duo Disclosure was later involved in the production for a contemporary and airy sound . Since the song was finished early, it also had a certain retroactive effect on the finished film. In retrospect, Smith described his approach as "naive".

publication

Shortly after filming began, actor Ben Whishaw indicated that a certain artist was planned for the theme song. In March, the film producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson spoke of a list of interested parties. In July 2015, director Sam Mendes stated that the song had already been recorded and promised to announce it soon. On September 7th, a picture was posted on Smith's social media channels showing his hand with the ring belonging to the secret organization Specter . The next day, at the start of worldwide cinema ticket sales, the title and the cover image of the single were officially announced. On September 21, Smith published - again via social media - an excerpt of the first two bars with the orchestral intro. The full song premiered on the morning of September 25th, 2015 on the worldwide radio channels and was made available shortly afterwards on all well-known online music services. On October 23, the song was on CD published, a vinyl - single followed on 6 November. The song is only included as an instrumental on the official soundtrack.

The music video was filmed before the announcement, directed by Luke Monaghan, and released online on the morning of October 5th. Smith sings the song there in Rome - a location for Specter  - while various film clips from romantic scenes between James Bond ( Daniel Craig ), Lucia Sciarra ( Monica Bellucci ) and Madeleine Swann ( Léa Seydoux ) can be seen.

reception

criticism

The choice of Smith was initially welcomed as a logical consequence due to his musical direction and his success, and the casting of an openly homosexual singer for the theme song of an emphatically masculine franchise was considered courageous. The opinions on the song, however, differed; This is how the Süddeutsche called it "Weak Whimper", the Berliner Zeitung in turn heard the "best Bond song for 38 years". While the dramatic orchestral arrangement was often emphasized, the text and singing in particular were often viewed as inappropriate.

“The sumptuous ballad acts […] as a showcase for Smith's gorgeous falsetto […] a grand accomplishment”

"The lush ballad presents Smith's gorgeous falsetto [...] a great achievement"

“He certainly gets the drama of the gig. […] A well-produced track […] very Bond ”

"He certainly captures the drama of this performance [...] a well-produced title [...] very Bond"

- Mark O'Connell

"A radical gesture"

“Writing's on the Wall doesn't feel anywhere near as striking as Skyfall. [...] you keep expecting it to arrive at a showstopping chorus that never comes. "

“Writing's on the wall doesn't feel nearly as compelling as Skyfall. [...] the show stopper expected in the chorus does not appear. "

Smith got approval from Specter director Mendes, who called the song "fantastic". The former James Bond Roger Moore also praised Smith's song as "haunting and wonderfully orchestrated". Composer David Arnold , who contributed the music to the James Bond films from 1997 to 2008 , said one should consider oneself lucky that Smith took on this task “at the height of his ability”. The song would fit very well in the context of the film. Moneypenny actress Naomie Harris also agreed . Disclosure, who were involved in the production, were just as impressed. They called the piece "fantastic" and complimented the classic sound. It is the best that Smith and Napes have written together so far. Thunderball -Interpret Tom Jones also showed support for Smiths occupation. Smith was surprised by both the direct reactions and the commercial success.

Commercial win

Writing's on the Wall marks the first time in the more than 50-year history of the Bond films that a theme song has reached number one on the British music charts. Nor did the extremely popular Skyfall and A View to a Kill succeed . Writing's on the Wall also achieved first place in Scotland and for Europe-wide downloads. In Germany the song rose to number 17, in Austria to 11 and in Switzerland to fifth. In the United States, the song advanced to number 20. The song also reached the top 5 positions in Belgium, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Luxembourg and New Zealand. and Lebanon

Use in film

Writing's on the Wall can be heard over the title sequence from Specter , which was again designed by Daniel Kleinman . He has been recognized for all of the iconic Bond leaders since 1995 with the exception of Quantum of Solace . After completing an operation in Mexico City , James Bond examines a newly obtained octopus- themed ring , whereupon the orchestral intro of the song plays. With the use of Smith's vocals, the title sequence begins, which takes up the octopus symbolism; it shows, for example, James Bond fluently embraced by a multitude of women's arms. The broken glass from the past mentioned in the lyrics are also visualized using motifs from the last three films. Once again, Kleinman has added hints about the themes and plot of the film. For example, one sees Christoph Waltz 's Oberhauser as the injured head of an octopus.

On the basis of the script, Kleinman collected ideas at an early stage in close cooperation with director Sam Mendes. The shooting took place at Pinewood Studios London, where the actual film was shot. While cameraman Hoyte van Hoytema preferred analog film for Specter , Kleinman used digital cameras for the opening credits as in his previous work ; he describes his work as more spontaneous and intuitive.

Oddities

  • Writing's on the Wall is the first theme song by a non-female British solo artist since Tom Jones ' Thunderball from 1965.
  • Again, Thomas Newman, as the composer of the film soundtrack, was not involved in the composition of the theme song. John Barry , who shaped the musical identity of the film series in a lasting and massive way, introduced the tradition of theme songs with From Russia with Love and from then on they were always an integral part of the film and also woven into the corresponding soundtrack. Since Barry left in 1987, however, only two theme songs have been written in collaboration with the respective film composer: The World Is Not Enough and You Know My Name with David Arnold .
  • After All Time High and You Know My Name , Writing's on the Wall is only the third James Bond title song with no reference to the film title in the text.
  • As with Skyfall before , an artist was selected who is still at the beginning of his career. At 23, Smith was the second youngest performer of a theme song at the time of publication, only beaten by Sheena Easton ( For Your Eyes Only ) , who was a year younger.

Track list of the single

# title length
1 Writing's on the wall 4:38
2 Writing's on the Wall (Instrumental) 4:38

swell

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