Song 20 - Skyfall by Adele

Adele's "Skyfall" was the theme song to the 23rd Bond film of the same name and the 3rd film that Daniel Craig played the title lead. Released in 2012, Adele's invitation to write and performed the song came at the time when Adele herself had received acclaimed success as a soul artist. For me, her voice radiates emotion and passion; which radiates throughout the lyrics of the "Skyfall" theme.

Adele had just released her second album "21" when she was approached by Sam Mendes and rumour has it that she was a little bit nervous about accepting the job of writing the Bond song, stating that all her songs had a personal reference for her. Persuaded that she could follow her usual composing, she accepted the job. Paul Epworth, a producer who worked on Adele's album, helped her write the song. It took Adele 18 months to complete as she wanted it to match the darkness of the plot of the film. Adele stated after the song won an Academy Awards that the first version of the song took 10 minutes to write. The final recorded version was cut at Abbey Road Studios in London; where she sung with a 77-piece orchestration.

The song for me without any association to James Bond is another masterpiece of Adele that shows the raw emotion of Adele's vocal talent; but when you add in the plot of the film and the ultimate ending of M played by the magical Judy Dench adds another layer to the lyrics and the dark heartache that comes through with Adele's soulful voice. I must admit this song didn't really mean anything to me the first few times I listened to it but now I recognised it for the classic it is.

The composition of the song is in C-Minor using common time of 76 notes per minute. When reviewing the James Bond Theme I had already mentioned how "Skyfall" uses the Monty Norman's theme. When Epworth and Adele were writing the song; Epworth spent along time listening to other Bond songs so that they could match the history of theme that had gone before theirs. Epworth said the song is about "death and rebirth" and avoids the romance that some themes  have contained in in the past. The song won both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe and Adele's vocal has been compared to Shirley Basset.

To listen to the Soulful Bond Theme
Adele's Skyfall

Written by: Adele & Paul Epworth
Album: Skyfall Soundtrack
Released: 2012