Adele and Paul Epworthy’s new Bond theme song Skyfall goes straight to number one | Single review

Adele and the Bond team (in the form of Paul Epworthy) have released their single for the newest installation in the 007 franchise. The song seems to both benefit and suffer from its ties with previous tracks. Drawing inspiration from the early Bond theme vocalists, for example, Nancy Sinatra and Shirley Bassey, Skyfall is bluesy, boozy and slick: everything a James Bond tune should be, and is almost completely lifeless.

Adele, no stranger to heartbreak ballads, lets her booming voice do most of the work while the lyrics strain under the maxim that film titles simply do not fit well into songs – although it seems unfortunate no-one ever tried it with Octopussy. Having said that, the song will most certainly thrive off of the deserved hype of the Bond franchise and has all the makings of a catchy tune, if not some of Adele’s most profound work.

Skyfall is currently number one on the iTunes chart and it is expected to reach the top of the singles chart on Sunday.

Verdict: •••

Jack Flanagan

Watch the lyrics video for Skyfall here