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The Best Of Bond...James Bond
Various Artists:  The Best Of Bond...James Bond

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Album Review

Released: 2008
Label: Capitol
Selection #: 174302
Shirley Bassey: Goldfinger; Paul McCartney & Wings: Live And Let Die; Carly Simon: Nobody Does It Better; plus Chris Cornell, Madonna, Sheryl Crow, etc.
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1 James Bond Theme - Barry, John & Orchestra
2 From Russia with Love - Monro, Matt
3 Goldfinger - Bassey, Shirley
4 Thunderball - Jones, Tom [1]
5 You Only Live Twice - Sinatra, Nancy
6 On Her Majesty's Secret Service - Barry, John Orchestra
7 We Have All the Time in the World - Armstrong, Louis
8 Diamonds Are Forever - Bassey, Shirley
9 Live and Let Die - McCartney, Paul & Wings
10 The Man with the Golden Gun - Lulu
11 Nobody Does It Better - Simon, Carly
12 Moonraker - Bassey, Shirley
13 For Your Eyes Only - Easton, Sheena
14 All Time High - Coolidge, Rita
15 A View to a Kill - Duran Duran
16 The Living Daylights - A-Ha
17 Licence to Kill - Knight, Gladys
18 Goldeneye - Turner, Tina
19 Tomorrow Never Dies - Crow, Sheryl
20 Surrender - Lang, K.D.
21 The World Is Not Enough - Garbage
22 Die Another Day - Madonna [1]
23 You Know My Name - Cornell, Chris
24 James Bond Theme [#][*] - Arnold, John
  
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Album Review

One of the signature aspects of a James Bond movie is its theme song, and, as demonstrated on this collection of those songs, there is a remarkable consistency to them. 1962's "Dr. No", the first Bond film, featured Monty Norman's "James Bond Theme," a distinctive instrumental piece that has figured in every Bond picture since and that leads off the disc. But with the second entry in the series, 1963's "From Russia With Love", there was a specially written title song sung by a contemporary pop artist during the opening credits. And as of the third entry, 1964's "Goldfinger", that song, as often as not, would become a hit. Shirley Bassey's melodramatic performance of "Goldfinger" remains a standard for Bond themes, but, just as the films have been subtly updated through the years, so the theme songs have reflected changes in pop music. Echoes and approximations of Norman's theme turn up over and over as a basis for the songs, even though they make room for individual interpretation. For example, Gladys Knight's "License To Kill" from 1989 may be an '80s power ballad complete with synthesizer accompaniment, but it still uses familiar orchestral elements. And some of the least-characteristic songs are also some of the most successful. Carly Simon's "Nobody Does It Better" doesn't even use a film title, yet it is one of the better-remembered theme songs. Many of the artists who sing the songs are pop footnotes (a-ha, Sheena Easton), but they were hot when they were asked to participate, and their performances hold up. [Originally released in 1999, the album was reissued in a 40th anniversary edition in 2002 containing three additional tracks, one of which was Garbage's theme song for "The World Is Not Enough" and another, Moby's electronica-styled reconstruction of the original theme. It was reissued again in 2008 with Madonna's contribution to 2002's "Die Another Day" and Soundgarden/Audioslave front man Chris Cornell's "You Know My Name" from 2006's "Casino Royale", the first film to feature Daniel Craig as James Bond.] ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

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