Customer Reviews

The Living Daylights [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It seems inevitable that with all the legal wranglings going on between John Barry's agents and EON productions that, sadly, The Living Daylights will prove to be Barry's last outing into the world of James Bond - but what an incredible swansong it is! John Barry is the grandfather of the soundtrack genre. It was he who created the "James Bond Sound" and this CD is Barry at his best. The title song, (performed by the Norwegian group a-ha) is present in various instrumental guises throughout this CD, though it is the numerous interpretations of "Where Has Everybody Gone" and "If There Was A Man" (both performed by The Pretenders), which make this CD a "must have" for all collectors of quality film music. This remastered and expanded masterpiece is the most complete version of this soundtrack ever available - with a total of 9 additional tracks which were not available on previous releases - which in fact adds up to almost an extra 30 minutes of Barry genius.

The sweeping majesty of tracks such as Mujahadin and Opium are indicative of just how versatile and broad the Barry spectrum is. As is customary with this composer, there's plenty on this CD to set the blood coursing through your veins at an increased rate - "Hercules Takes Off" and "Exercise At Gibraltar" to name but two. Not only that, but romance as well! Typified in the sheer excellence of "Kara Meets Bond" and "Into Vienna", (itself a romantic take on the "If There Was A Man" theme). Of course, no Bond score would be complete without a track which contains "The James Bond Theme", and this is to be found within "Ice Chase". To my mind, one of Barry's greatest interpretations of this classic piece of cinematic history, which has appeared in every official EON Productions Bond movie since the release of Dr. No in 1962.

This album is not just for the John Barry fan. It is not even solely for collectors of James Bond or other soundtracks. It is for everyone who appreciates quality and perfection!

If you've never had the inclination to buy a film soundtrack, change your ways now and make sure that you add this one to your CD collection. You will be both Shaken AND Stirred and you won't regret either!

In his final time at the helm of James Bond music, John barry gives an all out performance in his music for The Living Daylights. Returning to the synthesizer, but updating it with a more modern beat is the criteria for a perfect James Bond score!
a-ha performs the riveting title song that charted at #5 is a personal favorite of mine. Chrissy Hynde and the Pretenders also include their two songs If There Was A Man and Where Has Everybody Gone on the CD as well. Ice Chase, Hercules Takes Off, Necros Attacks and endless other tracks are filled to the brim with excitng, adventerous and action filled beats. Romantic music is here as well with Bond Meets Kara and instrumental If There Was A Man. The eerie tracks such as Afghanistan Plan and Mujhadin and Opium are also very welcome on the CD. With 21 tracks and 65 minutes of nonstop great James Bond music, The Living Daylights score is a personal favorite of many Bond music buffs. NO Bond fan should be without this fantastic score!!!

John Barry's "The Living Daylights" is a treasure trove of masterfully written James Bond music. It is a stallion in a stable of stallions of Barry "Bond" scores, the flavour of which I'm sure we have'nt seen or tasted before. Only after the release of this 'crash-hot' remastered and updated soundtrack score does one realise what a divine piece of work this well and truly is and that John Barry may have saved or written arguably one of his best and most memorable "Bond" scores for last, along with (1985's) "A View To A Kill". With it's pulsating synthesized rhythm driven themes and variations on a theme it's unlike anything we've heard before from Mr Barry, when it comes to "Bond" scores anyway and I welcome this new approach with open arms.

My favourite track from "The Living Daylights" score is the exquisitely written "Exercise At Gibraltar" all 6 minutes and 21 seconds of it! From the dashing opening barrel sequence John Barry gradually builds up the tension with every note hinting that something sinister is about to transpire - which it does of course, and which makes this track such a great listen with its mixture of styles.
A few of my other favourites that are worth mentioning are "Hercules Takes Off", "Koskov Escapes" , "Assassin And Drugged", "The Sniper Was A Woman" , "Ice Chase" ,and "AirBond".

This score unfortunately for one reason or another seems to have been John Barry's last for the James Bond films but nonetheless he finished on a high note with this Fab addition and has left the stage with an encore, I'm sure!

EMI/Capitol/MGM did a marvelous job with their "Remastered" 2003 release of John Barry's last (to this date) James Bond epic, "The Living Daylights." The sound quality and general production are first rate as is the packaging and the low-price. By 1988 Barry's productions had become something of a rarity, especially as concerned the 007 series. His return with "Living Daylights" was greatly anticipated, and Barry's score was a welcome addition to the collection. The vocals were a cut above average, but the orchestral score was outstanding. This remastered version includes all of the original sountrack cuts and those added to a later Rykodisc "Deluxe Edition." Of particular note is the pre-credit music in "Exercise at Gibraltar." One of the best slections on this album, and one of Barry's best Bond cuts, is "Final Confrontation," a dramatic and fitting climax to the film, and a worthy coda for Barry and Bond. Barry was approached to score the next Bond film, "Licence to Kill," but was forced to decline because of ill health (he is credited as part of a committee that produced the title vocal, however). Since that time, Barry has turned to other interests, and David Arnold has appeared in the recording studio. There are from time to time hints that John Barry would like to return to this series one more time, but to date there is nothing definite to report. If this turns out to be the last Barry score for Bond it is a very good one, and this album is a must for all Barry/Bond fans!

This soundtrack is one of John Barry's best if not the best. John Barry should come back and score other Bond films because his music actually sounds good. David Arnold is good to but uses too much techno sound to his music. If you're a fan of the James Bond soundtracks or John Barry himself, you'll love this one. Highly Recommend!

OK, maybe I'm a bit biased because I was thrilled to death when Tim Dalton became Bond. I felt that he nailed the written Bond better than any of the other fine actors (meaning Connery and Brosnan).

Regardless of how much I enjoyed the movie, this soundtrack is awesome! It thrilled The Living Daylights out of me when I learned it was available again. This movie had the best soundtrack of the first 20. If you enjoy Bond music, grab this while you can.

The soundtrack to "The Living Daylights" was the first John Barry soundtrack I ever purchased. Subsequently, I have gone on to acquire nearly every Barry soundtrack which is available (some at great cost I'll tell you)! However, I continue to come back to "The Living Daylights" as my favorite.

Perhaps it is the use of synthesized rhythm by John Barry which makes this one stand out, but it is just an unbelievable score. I'm a huge a-ha fan, but will agree that the title track is not the best Bond song ever (can you say "Diamonds are Forever"), but it is still very good. Anyway, your reason for purchasing this album has got to be Barry's superb tracks.

Fortunately, this disc, as well as the Rykodisk reissue in 1998, include the complete "Living Daylights" score. Among the recovered gems the fantastic pre-barrel roll track "Exercise at Gibraltar" and the powerful and mesmerizing "Airbase Jailbreak" (those horns send a chill up my spine!!!). I'd list other highlights, but they're all highlights.

Don't miss out on this disc!

I bought this soundtrack on CD when it first came out in 1987/88. Very enjoyable, but short: with 12 tracks it clocked in at about 35 mins.

The reissue has those tracks as the first 12, then 9 tracks listed as bonus tracks. The 9 additional tracks run about 29 mins, so this new addition is nearly double the running time of the original. The bonus tracks include "Exercise at Gibralter", "Approaching Kara", "Airbase Jailbreak" and "Final Confrontation", which other reviewers have tagged as some of the best tracks on the disc. The disc insert is a huge foldout page with photos and a long text piece about the film and the music. It also has directions for programming the CD to match the order in which the pieces are heard in the film.
(An alternate possible track order is given at [...] , where they recommend programming track 8 "Into Vienna" between "Ice Chase" and "Murder at the Fair", which is what I've adopted.)

Musically, it's a little dated. Very 80s, with synths and drum machines: it doesn't have quite the snap and power of John Barry's brassy jazz-combo stuff for the mid-60s Bond films, like "From Russia With Love" or "Goldfinger". (That's a tough standard, of course: those are absolute classics of move soundtrack making.) Barry's attempt to update the Bond music for a more modern sound, while very successful by 80s standards, sort of takes the orchestration out of his strike zone. But it's fine in its own right; and it's the last John Barry James Bond score, which makes it special.

The disc is a terrific job of updating for reissue: hats off to the producers. If you like this music, you'll like this disc very much.

Best Bond? No. Best film of the series? No. Best title song? No. Best soundtrack? YES. John Barry proves himself as one of the most innovative composers with his amazing mix of synth beats and orchestral beauty. Barry knows how to take pure feelings--danger, affection, suspense--and mold them right into the music. The dramatic scenes of The Living Daylights (which is still a great film in its own right) can easily be remembered from these great works, especially Exercise in Gibraltar, Mujadhin and Opium, Necros Attacks, and Ice Chase.

I recommend this to any lover of quality music, any James Bond fans (like the good movies instead of the crappy ones like Die Another Day). NO SOUNDTRACK COMES CLOSE. Why else would it still sell 20 years after the movie was in theaters?

In 'The Living Daylights' John Barry makes a comeback to some of earlier dynamic work, and while the script for the movie wasn't exactly inspired, the music gave it a certain amount of lift. One of the better ones of the later Bonds, worth having.