Tomorrow Never Dies (song)

"Tomorrow Never Dies"
Single by Sheryl Crow
from the album Tomorrow Never Dies (soundtrack)
B-side
  • "Strong Enough"
  • "The Book"
  • "No One Said It Would Be Easy"
  • "Ordinary Morning"
Released 1 December 1997
Genre Rock
Length 4:50
Label A&M
Songwriter(s) Sheryl Crow, Mitchell Froom
Producer(s) Mitchell Froom
Sheryl Crow singles chronology
"Home"
(1997)		 "Tomorrow Never Dies"
(1997)		 "My Favorite Mistake"
(1998)
James Bond theme singles chronology
"GoldenEye"
(1995) GoldenEye1995		 "Tomorrow Never Dies"
(1997) Tomorrow Never Dies1997		 "The World Is Not Enough"
(1999) The World Is Not Enough1999

"Tomorrow Never Dies" is the song, performed by Sheryl Crow, which served as the theme song to the James Bond film of the same name. The song was co-written by Crow and the song's producer Mitchell Froom,[1] and became her fifth UK Top 20 hit, peaking at No. 12 in 1997.[2]

History

Another song, "Tomorrow Never Dies", written by the movie's composer David Arnold and performed by k.d. lang, was originally produced as the official theme tune. When Crow's song became the official theme the k.d. lang song was relegated to the end credits, and renamed "Surrender". The melody of "Surrender" still remains in Arnold's score.[3]

In addition to k.d. lang's song, the James Bond producers solicited tracks from others including Pulp, The Cardigans, Saint Etienne and Swan Lee. These ultimately were rejected in favour of Sheryl Crow's song.[4]

Reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Entertainment Weekly[5]

Entertainment Weekly music critic Jim Farber negatively reviewed the song, explaining "While Crow's music has the right swank and swing, her brittle voice lacks the operatic quality of the best Bond girls and boys, like Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, or even Melissa Manchester. Tomorrow Never Dies should be for her ears only."[5] Farber called the choice of Crow "the worst hire since A-ha fronted one of these themes."[5] [NB: Melissa Manchester never did a Bond song.]Rolling Stone was also critical, and believed Lang's song to be superior.[2] Writing for Filmtracks.com, Christian Clemmensen wished Lang's song had remained, and thought Crow's "beach-bum voice and lazy performance was a disgrace to the film."[6]

Awards and nominations

At the 55th Golden Globe Awards, "Tomorrow Never Dies" received a nomination for Best Original Song, but lost to "My Heart Will Go On" by James Horner and Will Jennings.[7] The song also received a nomination at the 41st Grammy Awards for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media, losing again to "My Heart Will Go On".[8]

Track listing

2-track CD Single

  1. "Tomorrow Never Dies" (Sheryl Crow, Mitchell Froom) – 4:47
  2. "Strong Enough" (Bill Bottrell, David Baerwald, Crow, Kevin Gilbert, Brian MacLeod, David Ricketts) – 3:10

European CD Single (Cat. No. 582 457-2)

  1. "Tomorrow Never Dies" (Crow, Froom) – 4:47
  2. "The Book" (Crow, Jeff Trott) – 4:34
  3. "No One Said It Would Be Easy" (Bottrell, Crow, Gilbert, Dan Schwartz) – 5:29
  4. "Ordinary Morning" (Crow) – 3:55

Chart performance

Chart (1997)[9] Peak
position
Australia (ARIA) 65
Belgium (Ultratop) 19
Finland (IFPI) 5
France (SNEP) 21
Germany (Media Control Charts) 52
Japan (Oricon)[10] 28
Netherlands (Mega Top 100) 43
Poland (ZPAV)[11] 5
Scotland (Official Charts Company) 14
Sweden (Topplistan) 30
Switzerland (Swiss Music Charts) 12
UK Singles (Official Charts Company) 12

Alternate rejected theme songs

After the financial and critical reception of Tina Turner's "GoldenEye" which bolstered and revamped her career, the theme to its sequel was an unusual hot commodity. Producers took the opportunity to offer the job to several different artists, allowing them to submit their best effort. Sheryl Crow's was ultimately chosen, but just as other Bond themes before it, it was not the only song recorded for the film. Top contender, alternative rock band Pulp wrote a song for the film, which was later retitled "Tomorrow Never Lies" and released as a B-side to their This Is Hardcore album in 1998. Britpop band Saint Etienne recorded their own version of a song titled "Tomorrow Never Dies", which was later released as an exclusive to their fanclub on their Built On Sand album in 1999. Canadian country and pop singer, k.d. lang's optioned theme, "Surrender" which was co-written by the film's composer David Arnold, ended up being used as an end-title song.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Maslin, Janet (December 19, 1997). "FILM REVIEW; Shaken, Not Stirred, Bond Is in Business". The New York Times. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
  2. 1 2 "Crow, Sheryl Crow Debuts At No. 11". Rolling Stone. December 17, 1997. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Filmtracks: Tomorrow Never Dies (David Arnold)". Filmtracks.com. Retrieved 2007-05-08.
  4. ↑ "Five Other Great Rejected Bond Themes". Vulture. 2008-08-13. Retrieved 2015-02-10.
  5. 1 2 3 Farber, Jim (November 21, 1997). "Music review: Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
  6. ↑ Clemmensen, Christian (November 25, 1997). "Editorial Review: Tomorrow Never Dies". Filmtracks.com. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
  7. ↑ "The 55th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1998)". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Archived from the original on December 29, 2010. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Grammys high on Hill". CNN. January 5, 1999. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
  9. ↑ http://www.lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Sheryl+Crow&titel=Tomorrow+Never+Dies&cat=s
  10. ↑ Tsort. "Song artist 167 - Sheryl Crow". tsort.info.
  11. ↑ SA, Polskie Radio. "Lista Przebojów Trójki - Polskie Radio Online". lp3.polskieradio.pl.
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