Song of the Day: You Know My Name (Chris Cornell)

This was the opening song for the 2006 James Bond flick "Casino Royale"--though it's not on the soundtrack album. Instead, it's on Chris Cornell's 2007 "Carry On" disc.

That's a shame, because this is the most James Bond-ish song in quite some time to grace the all-important opening credits, especially considering the vomitous offerings of Madonna (Die Another Day) and Jack White/Alicia Keyes (Another Way to Die). Granted, I'm not a big fan of Shirley Bassey (Goldfinger, Diamonds are Forever, Moonraker), but she's still lightyears ahead of them, and she's got some impressive pipes.

Cornell--formerly of Soundgarden and Audioslave--is probably my favorite male singer, period, and "Name" holds good examples of his style, from the intimate, dangerous crooning of the verses (great vibrato!) to his signature scream of the title in the end.

The lyrics are smart and straightforward, very James Bond (especially the Bond of the novels).