Nobody Does It Better (From The Spy Who Loved Me) - Carly Simon
A View To A Kill (From A View To A Kill) - Duran Duran
For Your Eyes Only (From For Your Eyes Only) - Sheena Easton
We Have All The Time In The World (From On Her Majesty's Secret Service) - Louis Armstrong
Live And Let Die (From Live And Let Die) - Paul McCartney & Wings
All Time High (From Octopussy) - Rita Coolidge
The Living Daylights (From The Living Daylights) - A-Ha
Licence To Kill (From Licence To Kill) - Gladys Knight
From Russia With Love (From From Russia With Love) - Matt Monro
Thunderball (From Thunderball) - Tom Jones
You Only Live Twice (From You Only Live Twice) - Nancy Sinatra
Moonraker (From Moonraker) - Shirley Bassey
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (From On Her Majesty's Secret Service) - The John Barry Orchestra
The Man With The Golden Gun (From The Man With The Golden Gun) - Lulu
Diamonds Are Forever (From Diamonds Are Forever) - Shirley Bassey
Goldeneye (From Goldeneye) - Tina Turner
Tomorrow Never Dies (From Tomorrow Never Dies) - Sheryl Crow
The World Is Not Enough (From The World Is Not Enough) - Garbage
James Bond Theme (From Tomorrow Never Dies) - Moby
James Bond Theme (Goldeneye Trailer Version) - Parodi/Fair
James Bond themes tend to be just as memorable as their movie counterparts and, to a certain extent, just as time sensitive. While many fans can remember the Monty Norman Orchestra's steamy Dr. No theme or Shirley Bassey's... more » "Goldfinger," how many of us remember Rita Coolidge's dated "All Time High" from Octopussy or A-Ha's theme from The Living Daylights? Yes, just as we all have our favorite Bonds, we all have our favorite eras of Bond movie music. But surprisingly, whether they're New Wave, soul, or just Euro-pop inspired, most are still worth hearing. There are some real gems on this compilation: On Her Majesty's Secret Service's "We Have All the Time in the World" by Louis Armstrong, the Thunderball theme sung by Tom Jones, and the spunky theme to The Man With the Golden Gun by Lulu. Just overlook those sporadic lean years and you have a pretty stiff soundtrack cocktail here. --Jason Verlinde« less
James Bond themes tend to be just as memorable as their movie counterparts and, to a certain extent, just as time sensitive. While many fans can remember the Monty Norman Orchestra's steamy Dr. No theme or Shirley Bassey's "Goldfinger," how many of us remember Rita Coolidge's dated "All Time High" from Octopussy or A-Ha's theme from The Living Daylights? Yes, just as we all have our favorite Bonds, we all have our favorite eras of Bond movie music. But surprisingly, whether they're New Wave, soul, or just Euro-pop inspired, most are still worth hearing. There are some real gems on this compilation: On Her Majesty's Secret Service's "We Have All the Time in the World" by Louis Armstrong, the Thunderball theme sung by Tom Jones, and the spunky theme to The Man With the Golden Gun by Lulu. Just overlook those sporadic lean years and you have a pretty stiff soundtrack cocktail here. --Jason Verlinde
"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. :-)"
Best of the "Best of Bond"
G M. Stathis | cedar city, utah USA | 10/08/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"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.""
James Bond at his musical best!
Beth Cholette | Upstate NY USA | 08/06/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"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."
Not Quite all there
M. Chitiea | 07/09/2003
(3 out of 5 stars)
"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."
Bond music is great music!
Olukayode Balogun | Leeds, England | 11/26/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"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.