Review: The New York Pops Soar with 007 UNLEASHED at Carnegie Hall

Nobody does it better than James Bond, so the saying goes, and nobody does James Bond better than The New York Pops!  As the famed franchise’s new producers are actively in the process of choosing a new actor to portray the iconic superspy, The New York Pops presented the unique six decades of Bond history via music. Every seat was filled for  007: James Bond Forever at the famed Carnegie Hall last evening, as maestro Steven Reineke led the renowned orchestra in celebrating the debonair and suave man of Britain’s MI6.

As soon as the first notes of the famous “James Bond Theme” (Dr. No) filled the hall, theatergoers went wild.   This reviewer is sure that visions of THAT silver Aston Martin DB5 cruising with a young, handsome Sean Connery flashed through everyone’s mind.  Tony Award-winning Broadway guest vocalist Lena Hall joined the Pops onstage to give some singing chops to the known John Barry repertoire.  Hall announced from the stage that the evening’s songs were truly divided by their cultural timeline from the bombastic and macho 1960s and 1970s through the maniacial villainy of the 1990s to the analytical most recent James Bond of the 2020s.  Lena Hall's fantastic wardrobe of the night mirrored her version of the decade’s evolving music.

Starting with a black tuxedo with wide-leg trousers and an open white shirt, Lena Hall began the evening with her powerful yet sultry vocals to themes from “From Russia with Love” and “Thunderball,” which was originally performed by the ultimate in 1960s masculine energy, the incomparable Tom Jones.  Hall relayed that Jones held that last high note so long he actually passed out, which was the version they used for the film.  The Pops moved on with orchestrations of the theme from 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, which featured the “virtually” forgotten one-off James Bond, George Lazenby.

As Hall re-emerged clad in a powder-blue one-shouldered evening gown, she sought to embrace the edgy yet classic feel of the 1970s.  “Nobody Does It Better” from 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me showcased Lena Hall’s tremendous vocals.  Sir Paul McCartney and Wings’ “Live and Let Die” brought the 1973 Bond film of the same name along with Roger Moore into the world of Rock and Roll.  

Now clad in a white sequined backless slinky gown, Hall perfectly reflected the glitter of those fabulous gems in Shirley Bassey’s iconic rendition of the 1971 “Diamonds Are Forever” theme. The over-the-top exuberance of the 1980’s kicked off with Duran Duran’s 1985 theme of “A View To A Kill,” which was the first James Bond theme to hit #1 on the Billboard charts.  

The fashion show post intermission continued with a dramatic purple / gold sequined gown complete with thigh-high one side slit and killer heels as James Bond moved into R&B with Gladys Knight’s version of the 1989 “License to Kill” theme.  The songstress explained that the 1990s into 2000s became what she called “the Villain’s Era” of Bond.  The bad guys evolved into smarter mega-criminals as their diabolical plots for world domination became more outrageous. Yet our hero James Bond always won the day!  The 1990s saw the suavity of Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond came to the fore. A devastatingly handsome Brosnan’s Bond faced fear with a grin and a quip while winning the day.  Lena Hall’s rendition of Garbage’s 1999 “The World Is Not Enough” theme gave evidence of this darker decade.  The instantly recognized vamp led into the NY Pops’s musical interpretation of 1995’s “Goldeneye.”  This reviewer only wishes that the amazing voice of Lena Hall had supplied the vocals on this intense song of Tina Turner’s as the collection of James Bond themes rolled along.

A final change of attire saw Lena Hall dressed to impress in a cobalt blue sequined gown with a dramatic front slit and those heels.  A Radiohead fan herself, Hall proceeded to tell the tale of the “overlooked” theme for the 2018 film Spectre.  Apparently, the group Radiohead was offered to create the next James Bond theme, but it had to be a new song.  Due to timing issues Sam Smith’s “Writings On the Wall” was chosen.  Radiohead did complete a theme, entitled “Spectre,” but alas too late.  Unbelievably, Lena Hall gave the audience this evening the chance to hear this “almost” James Bond theme song.   

Onward the 2020’s  were a dramatic change for the James Bond franchise. 
Controversially besides being the first “blonde-haired” Bond, Daniel Craig also set tongues wagging with his traumatized and very tense characterization of the role. Craig, while just as  fierce as his predecessor Sean Connery, showed that some of that volatility actually stemmed from an internal strife.  It was the “Craig Era” epic theme song “Skyfall” from singer Adele that for the first time won an Academy Award.  As soon as Lena Hall began with the first notes of that iconic hit song the entire house erupted in standing applause.  Where do you go on from here? Well, an unexpected encore of the poignant “Goldfinger” theme song was the only one that could do the trick.  Renowned James Bond singer Shirley Bassey would have been proud!!

The New York Pops surely earned their musical “license to kill” with this concert!  A true James Bond fan myself, Lena Hall and the NY Pops gave this reviewer a major jolt of adrenaline from start to finish with the music that uplifts you from your daily life and transports you into the fantastical and glamorous world of Ian Fleming.  Now we need to wait to find out who will fill these large shoes for the next few years in the role.  Well folks, you’ll find me center row for the next James Bond movie.

---

007: James Bond Forever featured the amazing New York Pops which was conducted by Musical Director Steven Reineke.  Guest artist was Lena Hall.

Reader Reviews

To post a comment, you must register and login.