Why Diamonds Are Forever Is Forever From Western Mail, By Gareth Morgan,
Jul 2 2005
It propelled Shirley Bassey to global super-stardom, and has returned this
summer as the sample behind a cool and controversial rap track. Gareth Morgan
finds out why diamonds and the song are forever...
When the brains behind James Bond decided 1971 was the year to recapture old
glories, they looked to two people to provide the sparkle that would make their
project a classic. Sean Connery was redrafted in to play the lead character, of
course, and Shirley Bassey was signed up to sing the score: Diamonds Are
Forever.
It was Bassey's second appearance on a Bond soundtrack, as she had previously
sung Goldfinger, but this marked her emergence as THE quintessential voice for
Bond films. Now almost 35 years later, another artist is using the classic score
and Bassey's voice to pave his way into rap's superleague.
Kanye West's Diamonds From Sierra Leone rips our Shirl's classic chorus out of
its familiar setting and introduces rhymes about bling and him being the best
rapper since sliced bread - as well as the darker side of the gem trade.
Already on heavy rotation on national radio, it is set to explode and be heard
everywhere this summer - introducing a new generation to the singer from Tiger
Bay. James McLaren, editor of Soundnation in Cardiff, said the original song has
shown incredible endurance. "Whether or not this type of song is your cup of
tea, you have to admire the longevity of it," he said.
"Diamonds Are Forever is probably the archetypal Bond song: over-the-top,
classic chorus and Bassey's belting vocal." In fact the song stands out more
today than the dodgy diamonds plot, in which arch villain Blofeld holds the
world to ransom. With a diamond-powered laser. In outer space.
Mr Mclaren added, "Obviously, lyrically it has resonance to the bling culture,
and I can only assume that Kanye West is fond of diamonds." Very fond of
diamonds in fact - so much, that critics are already rounding on the star for
misrepresenting the real issues about diamonds coming from Sierra Leone, where
the trade funded civil war.
One of the big issues for jewellers are these "conflict diamonds". West can
afford a lot of diamonds these days, but the video shows a group of children
working in an underground mine under the watchful eye of an armed guard, while
the lyrics say they are working from dusk to dawn for rebels.
"I wanted to do whatever I could to learn more and educate people about the
problem," West told a US entertainment magazine. He has also claimed, "I'm just
one messenger and I felt like God wanted me to deliver this message." Some have
acclaimed this black artist for recognising the plight of the poorer African
nations - a hot topic with today's Live8 concert in full swing.
But even this righteousness has caused controversy, as the US Diamond
Information Centre told West to stop slating the industry. Spokesman Carson
Glover said that this issue is one which the industry takes seriously and that
"all members of the trade stand united against conflict diamonds." He added,
"While we have not viewed Mr West's new video, the lyrics of the song certainly
do not reflect the tremendous work the diamond industry has done. The volume of
conflict diamonds in circulation is believed to have dropped below 1%, if any at
all."
Music critics have also said that the song has fallen between too stools, and
fails to press the political message home hard enough - it was originally just
going to be called Diamonds Are Forever, but was changed at a late stage. And
West still spends a lot of time rapping about how cool, successful and rich he
is on the track.