Does the title song of a Bond movie really matter?

New SPECTRE poster

In the past few days, there have been reports, speculation, etc., about who may be perform the title of SPECTRE, the 24th James Bond film.

Here’s a question that isn’t being asked much: Does the title song, or the selection of a title song performer, really matter that much for a James Bond movie?

For example, the 2006 Casino Royale got a lot of good reviews and is held is high opinion by a lot of fans. But very little of that has to do with “You Know My Name,” the song played over the main titles.

Meanwhile, the title song to 1967’s You Only Live Twice, written by John Barry and Leslie Bricusse and performed by Nancy Sinatra, is considered one of the best 007 title songs.

Yet, a lot of fans feel the film You Only Live Twice isn’t up to the standards of the first four Bond films made by Eon Productions. Part of that stems from how it was the first movie to throw out the main plot of an Ian Fleming novel.

For that matter, 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is another highly regarded Bond film. It didn’t even have a title song. Instead it had a Barry instrumental for the main titles. It was the last time the main titles didn’t feature a song.

Yes, a good title song can enhance the movie (“Nobody Does It Better” for The Spy Who Loved Me being an example), but it’s rarely make or break. In the 21st century, however, the sort of perspective is in short supply.

An announcement may be coming Tuesday. Meanwhile, over at the MI6 JAMES BOND WEBSITE there’s an attempt to make sense of the latest news.

SPECTRE concludes filming, MI6 site says

SPECTRE, the 24th James Bond film, concluded principal photography this weekend, according to a story on the MI6 JAMES BOND WEBSITE.

The website said production officially ended on Sunday, July 5, the MI6 site said. Principal photography began Dec. 8, 2014.

The film is the most costly 007 film and one of the most expensive movies ever, with a budget of $300 million or more. It follows 2012’s Skyfall, which had worldwide box office of more than $1.1 billion. The new movie features a revamped version of the SPECTRE organization featured in the early James Bond films.

The end of filming was referenced on social media. Here’s a July 4 tweet from Donald Mowat, a makeup artist:

hard to believe this is our final day shooting Spectre! what a journey it has been

— donald mowat (@donaldmowat) July 4, 2015

On July 5, he sent out another Tweet:

fantastic Spectre wrap party tonight in London

— donald mowat (@donaldmowat) July 5, 2015

SPECTRE is scheduled to be released in early November by Sony Pictures.