Customer Reviews

The Essential James Bond (Film Score Re-recording Anthology)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The City of Prague Orchestra provides powerful and very accurate renditions of the Bond movie themes. I have probably disturbed my neighbors this week but I could not help but play it at near maximum volume (a near criminal breach of the peace for this country by the way). Those expecting the original versions will not be disappointed in any way whatsoever.

Bond, of course, is super cool, and, finally, here's a CD that is likewise! But be very careful with this one: play it just once and you're instantaneously addicted (and, without the aid of a support group, you may never get it out of your CD player!). Track 10 (LIVE AND LET DIE) is especially dangerous. If you're like me, your Bond CD collection is already in overload. What this digital gem brings to the proverbial table is a whole new audio perspective on the classic Bond film scores. And it's brought to you by the original arranger of most of the Bond scores, Mr. Nic Raine. Raine has done his magic yet again with new arrangements of many of his originals. The emphasis here is on laid-back jazz (instead of the heavy-metal--often irritating--pulsation usually present in Bond sound tracks). As I've often noted before, anything that Mr. Raine is involved with is a knee-jerk must have! No exception here. But, this CD has been out for a while, and may be close to "out-of-print" status. Like they say on late-night commercial TV: Act Now!

A very good CD with excellent orchestrations of all the Bond themes thru License to Kill. 3 of the better tracks include the OHMSS/AVTAK suite, The Living Daylights suite, and the License to Kill suite. Although pretty good the For Your Eyes Only theme is more suited for an elevator.The 2 James Bond themes on the CD are good version of the now famous song with track #1-Dr. No-James Bond theme sounding more like the James Bond themes of the late 70's and 80's and track #18 James Bond theme sounding more like the theme of the early 60's. If you enjoy the Bond music you should enjoy this CD, although they are not the original themes, they are still good versions and a delight to hear!

John Barry's pal and favourite orchestrator, Nic Raine faithfully leads the Prague Philharmonic through a beautiful and passionate rendition of the Bond repertoire. The playing is excellent, with an emphasis on the romantic myth of the secret agent and the recording quality brings out dynamics you can feel through the floor. The Australian Silva release is superb HDCD with Dolby Surround. The classic "Bond Theme" and "Goldfinger" sound wonderful. The standout track is the "On Her Majesty's Secret Service/A View To A Kill" suite , with its poignant cues amid the heart-thumping action music. Often overlooked is "We Have All The Time In The World" which is played sweetly here. Even the lesser Bond themes are given a nice treatment.
Note there is no singing , just the orchestra.
A mixture of dangerous sonic fireworks and lovely tender bits, just like a Bond Girl !

The first half of this collection is exquisite. The interpretations are faithful and fanciful. We could have used a guitar version of Monty Norman's theme in addition to the full orchestral treatment here, but I wouldn't have left the orchestral version off. Its just too good.

The collection pays homage to two films in particular, which are noted by Bond fans around the globe as being particularly significant. "From Russia with Love" is honored with two songs, the lush title track, rife with Eastern European flavor, and the "007" theme from that film which would come to dominate the action sequences for the next ten installments in the series. This song is actually the reason I asked for this collection for Christmas last year.

The other film that gets double treatment is "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", which is often noted as having the best soundtrack of the series (I disagree...the aforementioned FRwL is handsdown the best). You get its title track, matched elegantly with that of "From a View to a Kill," and an instrumental version of Louie Armstrong's "All the Time in the World".

The set starts to sputter toward the end, as Barry's compositions did. The last treat is the playful "Man with the Golden Gun" romp. Fun music, dreadful film.

This is a great sampler of the Bond scores. Don't expect Duran Duran, aha, or Sheena Easton here...its INSTRUMENTAL! And listening to it is instrumental to understanding the series.

Great stuff...

This cd has the instrumental scores from the James Bond movies. As I was watching a movie marathon recently, I started to pay attention to the background music. The movie themes are very soothing and evocative. I ordered this cd because it does not contain the "hit" vocal recordings, and have not been disappointed. I was surprised at how many memories I had associated with the various theme songs of the movies. 007 has been around for a long time! I use it as background music at work, among other things.

Nic Raine does a very good job with his interpretations of the James Bond Scores especially those composed by John Barry. Track 7: ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE / A VIEW TO A KILL is a very innovative combination of the key themes from these two films. This track has real drive behind it. Track 16: THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS (suite) is excellent. Track 17: LICENCE TO KILL (suite) is also very good. Nic Raine's interpretation of the main title is truly unique as he makes it sound like a John Barry composition! This is a very good CD and Nic Raine has taken more than just a passing interest putting this James Bond music together.

This is a great collection of James Bond scores from most of the first 15 007 films. My personal favorite is "Nobody Does It Better," the theme from The Spy Who Loved Me, and is also the background music in the tribute to Desmond Llewelyn in the World Is Not Enough. I highly reccomend this album of songs.

Dynamicly beautiful!One of the best Bond soundtracks I've heard.A must have,very exciting!

One of the best and most dynamicly beautiful Bond Cd's I've ever heard.A must own,very exciting.