Battle of the Bands

The Living Daylights BOTB Showdown

March 1, 2022 /
My Tickle Me Tuesday chuckle!

The 15th movie in the James Bond spy thriller series is The Living Daylights casting Timothy Dalton as the new 007.  The Pet Shop Boys was rejected by the studio to do the theme song and given to an unlikely artist, A-ha (original soundtrack version).  

 

The first artist in this battle is, The Narrow, an alternative rock band from Pretoria, South Africa. Please turn your ear to this give this band your attention.

There isn’t a lot of information on my second pick whose a southern boy from Summerdale, Alabama.  The American solo musician has a social media presence including a YouTube channel and Facebook as well as other popular forums.  Contender #2 is Matt Blackwell.  Once more, allow me to ask you to please give your attention to this musician.

Which artist do you think is the best, The Narrow or Matt Blackwell?

I invite you to visit BoTBers with showdowns going on today.

*Unless noted, all other participants will present two battles per month on the 1st & 15th

Don’t forget to leave your vote in comments!

Polls close noon (EST) on March 6.

Mark your calendar for one week from today to catch the results post to see if your favorite artist wins in this battle round! Tomorrow, I’ll be back with my mid-week edition of Wild Wednesday. This is CAAC signing off for now, have a bandtastic day! 


~Cathy


27 Comments

  • Debbie D.

    March 2, 2022 at 12:19 pm

    Hi Cathy, I thought Timothy Dalton was better as Bond than Roger Moore, but I don’t remember this theme song. It doesn’t have the usual drama associated with 007 music. Both covers were good, but IMO, Narrow’s version is even better than the original, so I’m voting for them.

    • Cathy Kennedy

      March 3, 2022 at 11:50 am

      Debbie,

      I think the reason Timothy Dalton’s Bond character didn’t sit right with me is because I was so used to Roger Moore and Sean Connery. By the time Dalton became Bond, the writers wanted his 007 character to be a bit darker which was a huge let down. I prefer the bits of humor rolled into Dalton’s predecessors’.

      WOW, what a bold statement! It’s not often someone will say they like a cover version better than the original. THE NARROW gets another vote!

  • Michael Todd

    March 1, 2022 at 9:19 pm

    Both bands brought it home to the castle, but the straight and narrow path for me was the initial spin.

    A vote for The Narrow, please.

  • John Holton

    March 1, 2022 at 5:58 pm

    I found Matt Blackwell’s cover to be intriguing, which in this case I mean I liked it, even more than The Narrow. I vote Matt Blackwell.

  • Birgit

    March 1, 2022 at 2:46 pm

    Of course I know this song well and i am one of the few who really liked Timothy Dalton in the role. He brought a romantic, tragic soul to Bond and the actor didn’t want to be with a ton of babes as he thought Bond needed to grow up. He also did some of his own stunts. Anyway, I much prefer The Narrow who gave a great version of this song. Matt seems to be a one man rodeo and I didn’t care for that organ sound. I loved the comic at the beginning.

    • Cathy Kennedy

      March 3, 2022 at 11:39 am

      Birgit,

      Looking back on Timothy Dalton as 007, I prefer him over Daniel Craig any day. Daniel is a fine actor so I blame the producers for screwing everything up. All I can say is I won’t pay to see the newer films. If they appear on one of our streaming services for no additional charge and I don’t have something better to watch then I might consider giving them a try.

      Thanks for voting for THE NARROW in this round, my friend!

  • Stephen T. McCarthy

    March 1, 2022 at 12:59 pm

    CAThy, It’s That You! ~
    Does hubby ever question you about your James Bond fetish? This isn’t causing trouble in paradise, is it?

    Ha!-Ha! I just jest!!

    Seriously now, this Battle was a bit tough for me. Primarily because I didn’t care for either recording too much. I liked the more dramatic / suspenseful musical tone and beat in the first one. Unfortunately, it also had those stereotypical whiny-boy (girlie) ’80s & ’90s vocals that I hated so much that I stopped listening to contemporary music on the radio and immeresed myself in the Blues & Jazz instead.

    The vocal was a little bit better in the second version, but the music had NONE of that James Bond-ish suspensefully dramatic flair.

    I guess I’ll give my lukewarm bote to THE NARROW. Now if only they could find a “real man” to do the singing for them.

    ~ D-FensDogG
    STMcC Presents BATTLE OF THE BANDS

    • Cathy Kennedy

      March 3, 2022 at 11:37 am

      Stephen,

      As dashingly handsome James Bond is, we all know why people flock to the theaters to see these movies. It’s the Bond Girls! Well…it used to be that way anyhow. I haven’t seen the last two 007 flicks nor do I really want to. The producers in recent years have totally screwed up a fantastic series. Gone are the fun days when men can be men and women can be women. Beautiful barely dressed women with the good guy saving the day, fast cars, guns, cheeky humor, and get this no one got offended by any of this! Boy, do I miss those days!! Anywho, to answer your question, nope James Bond isn’t causing trouble in paradise. 🙂 I knew you were just pulling my leg anyhow.

      I can’t see either of these covers ever being used in a James Bond film but just about the best versions to my ears that I came across. I agree, I think Matt’s voice is better than the frontman of The Narrows but the arrangement lacks the charisma that the first one brings out. In the end it’s easy to understand why you went with THE NARROW in this showdown. Thanks for playing along, my friend!

  • Arlee Bird

    March 1, 2022 at 12:10 pm

    This is a Bond song that I don’t recall ever hearing. Probably saw the movie, but I guess the theme song didn’t particularly impact me. It’s okay. Reminds me of Duran Duran or some other 80’s group.

    Tough choice. I do like the band interaction in the version by the Narrows. But in the end I lean toward the sound of Matt Blackwell.

    Yeah, put me down as a vote for Matt Blackwell.

    Arlee Bird

    • Cathy Kennedy

      March 3, 2022 at 11:25 am

      Lee,

      We saw the movie and at the time I wasn’t crazy about the theme. I prefer the more classic Bond theme songs done by Shirley Basssey.

      MATT BLACKWELL gets his first vote! Thanks for stopping by, my friend.

  • Thomas Anderson

    March 1, 2022 at 6:25 am

    Hi, Cathy!

    Happy March, Tickle Me Tuesday and BOTB Day, dear friend!

    I got a giggle from your Bond cartoon at the top. That’s what I call “multitasking.”

    I think I only saw one Bond film that did not star Sean Connery, and The Living Daylights starring Timothy Dalton wasn’t it. The influence of the new wave 80s is apparent in the theme song of this late 80s film. The Pet Shop Boys and A-ha are two major acts of the genre, but I don’t think they are a good fit for Bond themes. In my opinion, the theme songs should all have been recorded by women, and the closer to Shirley Bassey’s style the better.

    In your battle, artist #2, Matt Blackwell, has a fine voice, and the style of his cover sounds a lot like the A-ha original. However, since I was not overly fond of the A-ha version, Matt’s recording doesn’t do much for me. It also has a thin, one-man-band sound that I find lacking. I much prefer the heavier, fully produced alternative rock version laid down by artist #1 The Narrow. Their version is bolder, more masculine and conveys the element of danger present in all 007 films. My buddy Foghorn Leghorn does not need to bop me over the head with his ACME mallet to get me to vote (although he probably will just because he can). Please assign my vote to act #1 The Narrow.

    Thank you, dear friend Cathy, and enjoy the rest of your week (and month)!

    • Cathy Kennedy

      March 1, 2022 at 8:30 am

      Tom,

      I couldn’t agree more on the band choice for this movie theme song. As good as many of the 80s bands were, I don’t think they suit the James Bond movies series as nicely as a classic Bond singer such as Shirley Bassey.

      After reading your assessment of the two cover artists, I turned my ear to each recording and I totally connect with your analysis of these singers. Your details help me to understand why I like one song version over another and for this I thank you. Frequently, I can’t put my finger on why I’m drawn to an artist or song. I learn much from reading valuable comments such as yours.

      The first vote goes to THE NARROW!

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