The Best of James Bond: 30th Anniversary Collection (Compilation)

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

What's more then expected with the James Bond features then of course the gadgets, the ever reliable good ending, the smart one liners and the beautiful women? Well, the Bond songs and these have featured all the big names of the business, with of course every era having their group or solo performer which at that point had success. From the obvious choices like Shirley Bassey to the not so obvious ones like Tom Jones to even dreadful performances like the recent Madonna, they all have given one way or another their own Bond feel to the movies, and if you all rang these songs (but stop at Licence to Kill because Goldeneye and the following ones aren't featured here) you figure out that there is a wide variety of styles, often bringing also the underscore of mostly Bond composer John Barry to the fore. This of course always made the link with the actual score and song and therefore, it usually worked. However, I didn't know all the Bond songs and its fair to say, some of them come out and really surprise me while others simply fail big time because they simply don't fall in the category of Bond song. For instance I admire the success Louis Armstrong had in his career but what about 'We Have all the Time in the World' because this is simply a boring and basically non Bond song, so you have to understand that not everything will be the taste of your Bond style. The love light disco feeling of 'For your Eyes Only', performed by Sheena Easton is admirable and lovely in a way but doesn't feel like a Bond song, but a love theme and one that will work in a way inside the story, but not as the song that presents the movie. Then for instance 'Goldfinger' and 'Diamonds are Forever' of Shirley Bassey work well with both their voice and leading fanfares. Or what about the much beloved 'Licence To Kill' (which still captures in my eyes the best Bond opening for a song) which brings the right kind of Bond fanfares with the right kind of attitude and strong female vocals, they simply present the Bond feel and therefore I like this more then a boring Armstrong or someone else.

Of course there are other examples, the '80 feel is revisited and with style through many various groups, Duran Duran's 'A View to a Kill' is another appreciated hit that worked well when John Barry used it as a love theme and A-Ha's equally classic hit from 'The Living Daylights' was working inside the context and as score material adapted by again Barry in the successful and perhaps most successful Bond score. McCartney's 'Live and Let Die' has good underscore with tempo and a growling link to the baddies but the song portion is too happy and occasionally bouncy that it feels one way or another tricky to be sure. 'Nobody does it Better' is a nice song, even though it feels a non Bond song to be sure, but it has a nice ending with some good underscore, but feels too relaxed for the often action packed adventures of James Bond. Rita Coolidge proves that her voice works well even though the song is once more too happy to be associated with Bond for one and the same for Matt Monro's 'From Russia with Love' that is too romantic to be really going for it. For whatever the reason, the pace of 'You only Live Twice' is so slow, it should bore. But the interesting theme (used by Robbie Williams in Millennium) and voice by Nancy Sinatra do enthrall much. Besides the songs we have some score material too, the Bond theme in its original form is ever known and opens the disc, 'On her Majesty's Secret Service' presents another frequently used theme for the Bond genre and is a nice addition to the music while '007' has an attacking theme out of the Goldfinger soundtrack. Altogether, its difficult to put a rating on this soundtrack because each song will have its fans and each song is different from the rest but this actually creates a nice and diverse listening experience, so in that regard The Best of James Bond is a nice addition. But not every song is liked by me, and not every song fits with the Bond as we know it. So, I guess this is for Bond fanatics and guess what? I'm not really one of them! So Shoot me 7 times why don't ya!

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. James Bond Theme * (1.47)

2. Goldfinger: Shirley Bassey (2.49)

3. Nobody Does It Better: Carly Simon (3.30)

4. A View To A Kill: Duran Duran (3.35) Excellent Track

5. Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: Dionne Warwick (3.04)

6. For Your Eyes Only: Sheena Easton (3.05)

7. We Have All The Time In The World: Louis Armstrong (3.14)

8. Live & Let Die: Paul McCartney & Wings (3.14)

9. All Time High: Rita Coolidge (3.03)

10. The Living Daylights: A-Ha (4.16) Excellent Track

11. Licence To Kill: Gladys Knight (5.14) Excellent Track

12. From Russia With Love: Matt Monro (2.34)

13. Thunderball: Tom Jones (3.03)

14. You Only Live Twice: Nancy Sinatra (2.46)

15. Moonraker: Shirley Bassey (3.09)

16. On Her Majesty's Secret Service ** (2.34)

17. The Man With The Golden Gun: Lulu (2.35)

18. Diamonds Are Forever: Shirley Bassey (2.42)

19. 007 ** (2.45)

* Performed by The Monty Norman Orchestra

** Performed by The John Barry Orchestra

Total Length: 59.10

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