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 WELCOME TO THE NEW
and hopefully improved James Bond 007 Soundtrack
Review site. I have given the entire site a fair facelift—almost
exclusively in the appearance department, as the content has not changed
to any substantial degree. There are still things I would like to bring
onto the site, though time for maintaining this little corner of the Web
tends to be very limited, since it's strictly a hobby, and there are
forever more pressing issues to occupy my time and energy.
I have been a
knocked-out Bond fan since I first saw Diamonds Are Forever in
early 1972, and Goldfinger and Dr. No a few months later.
Like most of my generation, I have a slight preference for Sean
Connery as 007. (Note: Read the preceding sentence bearing in mind
my penchant for understatement.) I have never particularly cared for Roger
Moore in the role; I did like Timothy Dalton, and I was rather sad to see
him not continue the part after Licence to Kill. But despite some
severe deficiencies in the scripts of the films from the late 90s and
early 2000s, Pierce Brosnan sewed up the part of 007 with admirable
style. And now, with Casino Royale having hit the screens, Daniel
Craig has proven to be not only capable of filling some very big
shoes, he brings to the cinematic Bond a solid portrayal that may be the
closest to Fleming's character yet. I went into Casino Royale
wanting to like it, and I was anything but disappointed.
All that
said, however, my favorite Bond film remains On Her Majesty's
Secret Service. While George Lazenby may not have been world's most
convincing 007, he
did a respectable enough job in a film that is truer to Fleming's
original, both literally and in spirit, than any other (at least until
Casino Royale). John Barry's score
to OHMSS ranks as his all-time best and adds
significantly to the quality of the film as a whole. I've always thought
it a pity that most casual Bond viewers are quick to dismiss both Lazenby
and the movie as "deadly dull," when in reality it's a
suspenseful, beautifully directed gem with all the elements that made the
early Bond films successful. Expectations of Sean Connery as Bond no doubt
played a part in its lackluster reception from the public, but among most
of the die-hard Bond fans that I know, OHMSS rates deservedly high.
New, re-mastered editions of several of
the original soundtracks, some including extra music cuts, were released a
few years back; those that I own have been reviewed on the
relevant pages. Also: since
there are quite a few Bond music compilations on CD, those reviewed on
this site are limited to the ones I actually own. And for those who
have asked, I haven't included the scores to 1967's Casino Royale and
1983's Never Say Never
Again because I don't own them. At some point, they may yet be
included.
If you
discover any errors or omissions in the text, feel free to email me and set me straight. In my research, I occasionally found inconsistent or
conflicting film info; I have attempted to cross-reference as much
material as possible to ensure something resembling accuracy.
Enjoy the
site, and thanks for stopping by.
PLEASE
NOTE: For the time being, I've had to move the individual album
review pages to a different server (Yahoo). These pages now have pop-up
ads, so if you have a pop-up blocker, please enable it. Sorry for the
inconvenience, and I hope to have these back on my regular server soon.
Also note that the guestbook has been disabled to due spamming asswipes.
Not worth the bother.
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