Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A CD No James Bond Fan Should Be Without., January 12, 2007
As someone who has been a huge James Bond since before he could walk, you can bet I love every aspect of the films, including the music. Many of the theme songs to the films are classics, while the ones that have slipped under the radar remain awesome underrated numbers.
In 1992, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of 1962's "Dr. No", the 2 cd "The Best Of James Bond" was released. Itr included all the theme songs for the movies from 1962's "Dr. No" up to 1989's "License To Kill", as well as a second disc of rarities.
This is an excellent compilation that all 007 fans must have in their collection. You get all the classic Bond themes, such as Shirley Bassey's "Goldfinger", Paul McCartney & Wings' "Live And Let Die", Carly Simon's "Nobody Does It Better", Sheena Easton's "For Your Eyes Only", and Duran Duran'a "A View To A Kill", as well as some lesser heard but equally great songs, such as Nancy Sinatra's luscious theme for "You Only Live Twice", Bassey's sexy rendering of "Diamonds Are Forever" and her mysterious, sweet "Moonraker", Lulu's thrilling "The Man With The Golden Gun", Rita Coolidge's glorious "All Time High", and a-ha's excellent "The Living Daylights". There are a few rough spots (Tom Jones' over the top "Thunderball" and Gladys Knight's awful "License To Kill"), but other than that, it's a nearly flawless compilation.
The second disc is a great treat for hardcore Bond fans. For starters, you get several radio spots for "You Only Live Twice", "Thunderball" and "Live And Let Die", some great instrumental scores, two different recordings of the scrapped "Thunderball" theme song "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" (sung by Dionne Warwick and Shirley Bassey, respectively), Anthony Newley's boring but coll to have early demo of "Goldfinger", and best of all, Louis Armstrong's absolutely beautiful "We Have All The Time In The World", one of the loveliest songs in music.
It's true that there were Bond films made after 1992 (five to be exact). But as far as their theme songs go, only Tina Turner's theme for "Goldeneye" and Chris Cornell's "You Know My Name" (from the recent "Casino Royale"), are worth having. My advice is to get this excellent two cd and download the 2 later numnbers. Then, you will truly have all the best of James Bond.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Must for Any Bond Fan, October 17, 2002
Capitol's "Best of James Bond -30th Anniversay" collection is still a definitive album...it is what an "anniversary" collection should be. Combining all of the main themes, vocal and instrumental (it includes the vocal version of "From Russia With Love" rather than Barry's instrumental treatment, and both Barry's instrumental "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" and "We Have All the Time in the World")with a second disc that includes some amazing odds and ends that had never been released, this is a must for Bond fans. Among those odds and ends are many John Barry cues that never made it to soundtrack albums, including a stunning suite from "Thunderball," and several vocals that were not used. Perphaps the most interesting addition is the tremendous vocal version (by two different artists, no less-Dionne Warwick and Shirley Bassey)of "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang," that had been scheduled to be the vocal theme for "Thunderball." Well produced, and nicely packaged with abundant notes and photos, this is a treat. In some ways the later, 40th Anniversary album is a better sound production (and includes newer vocals), but it also failed to give us much of the unreleased music that so many of us have been hoping for. Something closer to the 30th Anniversary collection would have been nice in 2002, but as we all know...James Bond will return.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Cracking collection, a little biased towards 60s, October 29, 1999
By A Customer
For anyone getting into the music of the James Bond films, this is an essential collection. Even if you own every Bond soundtrack album (I know, it's sad, isn't it?) you will still find plenty here to make up for the repeat material.It's neatly arranged with all the main themes in chronological order on one disc, and a second disc mixing familiar incidental music with recently rediscovered rarities, so it makes a fitting celebration, not just another cheap cash-in. The liner notes are a treat, too, complete with comments on the films themselves and background info on the new material. My only criticism is the bias towards the 60s. Apart from the 'Live and Let Die' radio trailer, everything on the second disc comes from the 60s. Popular wisdom says this was the golden era of Bond, but fans of anything so enduring tend to have a more comprehensive appreciation. By being biased towards the 60s, it is also biased towards John Barry who surely deserves a special place in Bond history, but we shouldn't forget the other contributions which add to the richness of the whole story. Hopefully, the balance will be redressed if the rumoured reissue of the soundtrack back-catalogue takes advantage of the opportunity to unearth a few more nuggets, as illustrated by the 'Deluxe Edition' of 'The Living Daylights'. On the whole, an undeniably worthwhile and fascinating compilation.
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