Customer Reviews

Casino Royale [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The 1967 film CASINO ROYALE did less than big business at the box office, and it would be a decade or so before the public really learned to appreciate its charms and turn it into a cult-favorite--but even while the film was struggling in theatrical release the Burt Bacharach soundtrack was very much admired, and to my mind it remains one of the best film soundtracks of that decade.

This is not the 1960s of Haight-Ashbury, Jimi Hendrix, and Grace Slick; it is instead the playboy-ish, tuxedoed-swinger 1960s: hip, sophisticated, and playful. And Bacharach not only does an over-the-top riff on the scores for the Sean Connery "Bond films," he also cleverly gives the whole pastiche a surprisingly retro feel; with such hits as "Winchester Cathedral" popular on the radio, 1920s musical idioms were all the rage in 1960s instrumental music, and Bacharach neatly filters those idioms into his "swinging spy" tone to create some truly unique musical moments.

Like most good soundtracks, the music for CASINO ROYALE rings changes on a precious few themes--and in this case there are three basic ones: the "Casino Royale Theme," recorded by Herp Albert and The Tijuana Brass, which pops with a harpsichord lead-in to one of the most memorable trumpet solos going; the "Miss Moneypenny Goes for Broke" theme, which uses hard brass and percussion to create a slightly humorous, slightly sleazy tone; and the soundtrack's centerpiece: the absolutely stunning Dusty Springfield interpretation of "The Look of Love." This is a knockout piece of music with a great lyric, and Springfield's full-throated, dreamy, and super-steamy vocal is quite possibly the single best thing she ever did in her long and distinguished career.

I did have a few issues with the CD, however. The selections are not in the sequence in which they are used in the film; at least one of the more memorable bits of music--the vocal for the closing titles--is not included; and the titles of the selections (and the way they are described in the otherwise amusing notes) are somewhat misleading re how they were actually used in the film. But on the whole, this is one knockout CD. If you're a fan of the film, or of Burt Bacharach, Herp Albert, or Dusty Springfield, it's also a must-have for your collection.

--GFT (Amazon Reviewer)--

It took a rebel like Butch Cassidy and a drunk like Arthur to cure it, but back in the Swinging 60s long before those two showed up, Burt Bacharach, who was the toast of the music publishing world and the pop charts, really couldn't get a song on a bona fide hit film.

Case in point: "Casino Royale," a film that was the sloppiest of messes, with directors quitting in the middle of the project, and two stars who hated each other working on the movie! But the calm and evocative centerpiece was the score that Bacharach crafted, in all its super spy spoof superbness!

The disc will give you the bulk of the music cues from the film, though not completely in order. But the true test of a soundtrack recording is can you enjoy it without having seen the film? The answer here is a resounding yes! In fact, you might enjoy it MORE if you haven't viewed the movie.

The orchestrations are top notch, and very espionage evocative! Plus you get Dusty Springfield crooning what could be the sexiest mainstream pop song in history: "The Look Of Love!"

The disc isn't perfect, but it's a lot better than the film turned out to be! It's one of the more unique efforts and Bacharach fans must have this disc in their collection!

Recommended.

As soon as you listen to the main theme, performed by Herp Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, you know straight away this music is anything but serious. Burt Bacharach's zany score is the perfect addition for Charles K. Feldman's 1967 James Bond spoof "Casino Royale". This soundtrack, released in 1990 by Varése Sarabande, contains most of all the original score used. The main thing that makes this music successful is that is it the exact opposite of what you would expect in a real Bond film. If a real "Casino Royale" film were made, you would expect the smart, stylish, serious and suspensful music by John Barry as in all the other "serious" Bond films. Here, Bacharach goes the exact opposite way by composing the music as silly as possible. This is best demonstrated at the end of the film were all the patrons at the Casino Royale have a massive fight along with Indians, Cowboys and a flying roulette wheel that sprays laughing gas everywhere before exploding. Also, the music takes a rather sleazy tone when 007 (one of them, anyway) is brought into a gymnasium full of gorgeous women and he is supposed to resist them. The music also has a tacky 1960s feel to it which adds to the spoof (the film makes fun of the horrible 60s fashions).

Also, the hit song "The Look Of Love" by Dusty Springfield fits in well amongst everthing else.

The booklet, which has 4 pages to it, features the famous 007 girl on the front which was used in most of the movie posters. Inside, there is a page of very odd commentary by Mort Goode (I have no idea who this is) and 4 monochrome photos - David Niven (Sir James Bond) and Terence Cooper (another James Bond), Peter Sellers (Evelyn Tremble), Woody Allen (Dr. Noah/Jimmy Bond) and the guests at the Casino Royale during the end fight scene, Peter Sellers and Ursula Andress (Vesper Lynd). The back contains the credits for the film.

My only disappointment with this CD is that not all songs are present. This really annoys me and whats worse is that I never know why they do this! The song at the end where someone sings "Seven James Bonds at Casino Royale..." and then a vocal version of the main theme isn't present which is a shame because I think this was just a memorable as the main theme itself. This and a few other songs are missing.

This CD, however, is a MUST for any fan of the film and the music. But beware to the people who saw Casino Royale and hated it... you'll probably hate the music even more.

In reply to the question from KIRSTEN J. WALSTEDT, I have both CD versions of Varese Sarabande's CASINO ROYALE. Both versions have the same 13 tracks, but the 2nd version has two major improvements over the first: 1. It has far superior audio quality---which justifies buying it even if you already have the 1st version. 2. The 2nd comes with an informative booklet with narrative about the movie and the soundtrack.

Also, I prefer the cd cover of the 1st version which is the original poster art for the movie, so I inserted it into the 2nd version's jewel case---which gives me the best of both worlds.

As for the score itself, I think the Oscar-nominated "The Look of Love" is the best love theme ever written for a film and was wrongly not awarded an Oscar. Mike Myers has said the song inspired him to develop the Austin Powers movies and he pays tribute to the song by using it in his first Austin Powers movie in the hot tub scene with Lotta Fagina.

This 2nd version cd is definitely a must-have for those seeking the absolute best in film music.

This imaginative and fulfulling soundtrack is full of whimiscal but serious music that recalls a magical time. Even though Casino Royal is not a classic bond film, the theme is as memorable as the classic bond theme.

This is one of the best music scores ever,buy this CD because satisfaction is Guaranteed.I fell in love with the music of Bacharach after hearing this album in 92. It's jazzy and extremely sexy and you wont be dissapointed with the song the "Look of Love'.

This is what I call great jazzy music,with a touch of traditional Bond.You might hate the film,but the soundtrack is definetly a keeper.It looses one star because of the fact that the wonderful vocal version of the opening theme,played over the end-titles,is not featured on the soundtrack.

The soundtrack to Casino Royale features the best thing in the movie... THE MUSIC. Even if you have not seen the movie, you will enjoy every second of the album.

Burt Bacharach does an absolutely magnificent job of bringing the music together for this film. The title song "Casino Royale" performed by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass is non-stop excitement and filled over the top with thrills. The Look of Love by Dusty Springfield is romantically wonderful and captivates the listener with every time. Le Chiffre's Torture of the Mind and Moneypenny goes for the broke are truly inspired tracks as well. Casino Royale is TOO much for one James Bond, AND TOO much for one person. Everyone should own this soundtrack, buy it now!

I don't believe you can really appreciate this soundtrack properly unless like me, you were young in the 60s. If that sounds too snarky for you young people, take consolation in the fact that now I'm old and you're young. Anyway, this record is one of my all-time favorites. I love Bacharach and Herp Alpert, and they both are at some of their best in this soundtrack. The film itself is one of the characteristic slap-stick farces of the 60s. I thought it was pretty bad even then, give or take a couple of scenes, and my opinion has not improved with time. But if I didn't have the record, I'd gladly sit through the whole silly thing again, just to hear the soundtrack. I intend to download it in my IPod (and yes, I know what an IPod is; I even know how to use it).--LucilleV