Customer Reviews

Best of Bond James Bond

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'll just cut to the chase, 007 fans: "The Best Of Bond, James Bond" is a must-own CD. It's got *every single* Bond theme on it, from the first film, 1962's "Dr. No," to the 19th film, 1999's "The World Is Not Enough." ALL original recordings by the original artists are here, such as Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Nancy Sinatra, Paul McCartney, Carly Simon, Sheena Easton, Duran Duran, Tina Turner & Garbage. And no Bond CD would be complete without the legendary "James Bond Theme," featured here in no less than *three* versions: Monty Norman's 1962 original, the 1997 version by Moby, and, making it's CD debut, the "Goldeneye Trailer" version from 1995 that has featured in many 007 trailers since then (including the current trailers for the upcoming 20th Bond film, "Die Another Day"). Not only that, but the CD booklet gives you a brief rundown of Bond's history on the silver screen, film by film. Quite simply, "The Best Of Bond, James Bond" is a CD that no Bond fan should be without. It's also a great testament not only to the longevity of the world's most famous superspy, but also to the power of Bond's music. Buy it. Just buy it. :-)

It appears that MGM/Capitol are going to make a regular event of updating "The Best of Bond...James Bond" and that is just great. The changes will involve the addition of the more recent Bond vocals/themes and, as in this release, maybe an extra cut or two. Two disappointments, however..."Tomorrow Never Dies...Surrender" SHOULD be included in this package...David Arnold's song was the real main theme for that film, and the addition of Madonna's "Die Another Day" would have been a nice promotional touch. There are two versions of the James Bond theme from Moby and Parodi/Fair, the latter never released, that will be interesting for many Bond fans but the big plus here is that apparently for the first time all of the songs and themes have been remastered for what is the best production values ever. This is a must for Bond fans...trade in the earlier versions if you have them (except for the special edition with additional pieces of John Barry's scores...hang on to that). As a 40th Anniversary album this is nice, BUT, somthing like the 30th Anniversary two disc set would have been welcomed with more unreleased music (especially Barry's) from earlier films. Very well produced and nicely packaged (an outstanding collection of photos and notes). In two years or so we can expect that "James Bond Will Return."

If you are a fan of the Bond movies and particularly the various musical themes, this CD is a must-have for your collection. Of course, the classic Bond theme is here in its full orchestral glory. Other well-know classics include "Goldfinger" by Shirley Bassey (who actually sings three different Bond themes offered here), "Nobody Does It Better" from Carly Simon, and "Live and Let Die" by Paul McCartney and the Wings. More recent Bond themes have been included as well, from the 80s hits "For Your Eyes Only" by Sheena Easton and "View to a Kill" from Duran Duran to "Golden Eye" (Tina Turner) and "Tomorrow Never Dies" (Sheryl Crow) from the late 90s Bond films. Missing from the most recent Bond movie is Madonna's "Die Another Day," but few will be saddened by this loss. This is a great collection of great music for Bond and non-Bond fans alike.

I am sorry everyone but sometimes "newer isn't always better". If you have the oportunity to do so, GET THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION! With the exception of the two latest movies, It has everything that the 40th ed. has PLUS a second disc of radio promo spots, out-takes, and.... GET THE 30TH ed.

I had to go and dig this one out of my collection after Channel 4 screened a countdown of the most popular 22 James Bond tunes (according to a national MORI poll) the other night. I haven't stopped playing it since. It might sound like a cliche but I had genuinely forgotten how good this CD actually is.

The documentary was in commemoration of the new 2006 "Casino Royale" with the new James Bond, Daniel Craig. The poll excluded the new movie and it's theme tune (by Chris Cornell?) but did include the spoof original "Casino Royale" starring David Niven and Peter Sellers, and the unofficial "Never Say Never Again", which starred Sean Connery. (The CD ignores both these movies).

It was a very enjoyable and very educational two hours of TV. I've loved James Bond movies since I was a kid and have probably watched them all more than a few times but I knew very little about the gestation of the theme tunes.

We learned, for example, that Rita Coolige's "All Time High", (the theme from "Octopussy"), didn't have any chart success due to the lack of cross title promotion - and that no one was really prepared to write or sing a song with that name. We learned that discomania stopped "Moonraker" from having a success even though a disco version was later re-recorded. We also learned that although Gladys Knight was up for doing a James Bond tune in principle and was definitely up for working with producer Narada Michael Walden, she wasn't sure about the licence to kill ethic. Apparently, it clashed with her religious beliefs. Eventually the song was re-written and mellowed out by making it a threat to anyone who tries to come between her and her man. That, she could live with.

We were also told the story of how "We Have All The Time In The World", from "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was made by Louis Armstrong. Not the actual theme song, it was saved for later in the movie and for the ending credits. But it was to become a huge hit, and fittingly so, albeit 25 years after it was made. Armstrong was retired at the time he was approached and in very poor health but he pulled it off. The song is pure magic and believed to be the last he recorded before he died.

I could go on and on but this review isn't really about the TV show, it's about this CD. I have to agree though with an earlier viewer that a DVD of how the tunes were made would be a great idea. I would definitely buy it.

However, on this music CD you get The James Bond Themes from all the movies up to 2002, including contributions from the likes of the iconic John Barry and his orchestra, the equally iconic Shirley Bassey, Carly Simon, Duran Duran, Sheena Easton, Louis Armstrong, Paul McCartney & Wings, Rita Coolige, A-Ha, Gladys Knight, Matt Munro (the UK's answer to Frank Sinatra, apparently), Tom Jones, Nancy Sinatra (Frank reportedly turned the offer down but offered his daughter instead), Lulu, Tina Turner, Sheryl Crow (her song always makes me cry for some inexplicable reason), Garbage and Moby.

I love most of them and I love this CD. One other movie, "Die Another Day" has been released prior to the current "Casino Royale" and since this compliation was released but as much as I love Madonna, I can live without her contribution. It was one of the least popular unpopular among the critics apparently, though very popular among the under-24s that were polled for the programme. Moby's remake/remix of the theme tune is on here though, thankfully.

I also agree with another earlier reviewer who suggested it would've been nicer if the songs were arranged on the CD in the order the films were released but after a couple of listens I was prepared to let that go.

The bottom line is that I think you will enjoy this music if you are a music fan. If you are a James Bond Music fan, you will absolutely love it. If you haven't got it already, that is.

Five Stars easily.

PS. The #1 song according to the poll was Shirley Bassey's "Goldfinger". She also scored #2 with "Diamonds are forever" and #3 was the Paul McCartney & Wings hit, "Live And Let Die" (a personal favourite). Although I was surprised that Bassey with in her camp glory would rate so high, I was nonetheless reassured that us Brits do have some taste when it comes to good music.

"The Best of Bond... James Bond" is *the* 007 soundtrack CD to own, featuring 22 tracks in total, including three Bond theme tracks (the original one arranged by John Barry and two recent ones arranged and performed by Moby and Parodi/Fair) and an additional band track from one of the films. The remaining 18 tracks are the title songs from the 18 MGM/UA 007 films, spanning 1962 to 2002. (Thank God they didn't try to include the song for that crappy phony Bond film starring Connery from the mid-80s) As you can see, this is just the best collection of Bond music, period.

Unfortunately the sound quality of the tracks is quite uneven, reflecting the status of studio sound recording over the four decades of Bond films. Some tracks are very soft while others are overly loud. The older songs sound harsh. I have "For Your Eyes Only" and "Live and Let Die" (and a couple others) on the artists' own albums, and they all sound much better there than on this CD, attesting to the at best perfunctory at worst degrading remastering MGM Music gave to the tracks.

Nonetheless, this is the Bond CD to own for any true 007 aficianado.

The latest edition of "The Best of Bond...James Bond" does exactly what 007 himself has usually done over the last 40 years: Give the people what they want.

The CD is updated from its 1999 version with "The World Is Not Enough," a tasteful movie theme performed by Garbage and co-written by the band and current chief Bond composer David Arnold. There are also delightful alternate "James Bond Theme" versions by Moby and Parodi/Fair -- the latter from the trailer of Pierce Brosnan's first 007 outing, "GoldenEye."

The rest of the gang's all here...from the elegant warbling of Bond all-star Shirley Bassey ("Goldfinger," "Diamonds Are Forever" and "Moonraker") to the poignant crooning of Louis Armstrong's "We Have All the Time in the World" from "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." Too bad not even Lulu could rescue the mediocre theme from "The Man With the Golden Gun," but it's here too.

At its best (on the screen and in music) the James Bond genre combines excitement, and alluring imagery. Unlike many of the too-operatic anthems that dominate movies and Broadway these day, Bond movie melodies are usually catchy and well orchestrated.

It's no surprise that the man who composed the music for the most Bond movies, John Barry, also provided the best Bond music -- including "Goldfinger," "You Only Live Twice" and (with Duran Duran) "A View to a Kill," the biggest chart-topper of the Bond title songs. Barry was aided by excellent lyricists like Don Black, Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley. (To be fair, he and Black also contributed "Golden Gun," so not even the Babe Ruth of Bond films can have a perfect batting average.)

Also meriting praise are Marvin Hamlisch's "Nobody Does It Better," which may rival "Goldfinger" in identification to Bond (thanks to Carly Simon's shining vocals), and Bill Conti's "For Your Eyes Only," sung perfectly by Sheena Easton.

Even with the high-profile platform the franchise gives to every new song, a generation of moviegoers compares each new title song to the original and all-time champ, the "James Bond Theme" that first premiered over the "Dr. No" titles. Composer Monty Norman provided the original melodies, from which Barry used his own jazz background to create one of the most compelling movie arrangements ever.

Helped by good production and the addition of new jacket photographs since the '99 version, this edition of "The Best Of Bond...James Bond" is a keeper for any fand of Agent 007.

It appears that MGM/Capitol are going to make a regular event of updating "The Best of Bond...James Bond" and that is just great. The changes will involve the addition of the more recent Bond vocals/themes and, as in this release, maybe an extra cut or two. Two disappointments, however..."Tomorrow Never Dies...Surrender" SHOULD be included in this package...David Arnold's song was the real main theme for that film, and the addition of Madonna's "Die Another Day" would have been a nice promotional touch. There are two versions of the James Bond theme from Moby and Parodi/Fair, the latter never released, that will be interesting for many Bond fans but the big plus here is that apparently for the first time all of the songs and themes have been digitally remastered for what is the best production values ever. This is a must for Bond fans...trade in the earlier versions if you have them (except for the special edition with additional pieces of John Barry's scores...hang on to that). As a 40th Anniversary album this is nice, BUT, somthing like the 30th Anniversary two disc set would have been welcomed with more unreleased music (especially Barry's) from earlier films. Very well produced and nicely packaged (an outstanding collection of photos and notes). In two years or so we can expect that "James Bond Will Return."

This is a CD with all the theme songs from Dr. No (1962) through The World Is Not Enough (1999), as well as two alternative versions of the James Bond Theme: one of them by Moby that came from Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), and a previously un-released version from the GoldenEye (1995) trailers. My favorite songs are Licence To Kill (Gladys Knight), The Living Daylights (a-ha), For Your Eyes Only (Sheena Easton), Live And Let Die (Paul McCartney and Wings), You Only Live Twice (Nancy Sinatra), Goldfinger (Shirley Bassey), Nobody Does It Better (Carly Simon, from The Spy Who Loved Me [1977]), the original James Bond Theme (John Barry and Orchestra), the opening credits theme from On Her Majesty's Secret Service (John Barry and Orchestra), A View To A Kill (Duran Duran)\), From Russia With Love (Matt Munro), and the Bond Theme from GoldenEye trailers (by Parodi/Fair). This is a great CD for anybody who likes 007, especially the songs.

THE BEST OF BOND ...JAMES BOND is a fabulous CD. It contains the main title music to each film from the James Bond series from DR. NO to THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH. Also included is MOBY's version of THE JAMES BOND THEME. However, what really makes this an indispensable CD is that it contains the music from the trailer for GOLDENEYE, which is essentially an innovative and vibrant updated version of THE JAMES BOND THEME. This is the music that re-introduced and revitalized the James Bond series for the 90s yet remained faithful to the musical roots first introduced by THE JAMES BOND THEME as orchestrated by John Barry.