The Best of James Bond

by Best Of Bond James Bond / Vario

Overview

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

Product Details

Release Date:	09/17/2002
Label:	Capitol
UPC:	0724354055423
Rank:	186839

Tracks

1. James Bond Theme  -  Barry  - Monty Norman  -  Norman  -  Monty Norman Orchestra
2. Goldfinger  - John Barry  - Shirley Bassey  - Leslie Bricusse  - Anthony Newley
3. Nobody Does It Better  - Marvin Hamlisch  - Carole Bayer Sager  - Carly Simon
4. A View to a Kill  - John Barry  -  Duran Duran  - Simon LeBon  - Nick Rhodes  - Andy Taylor  - John Taylor  - Roger Taylor
5. For Your Eyes Only  - Bill Conti  - Sheena Easton  - Michael Leeson
6. We Have All the Time in the World  - Louis Armstrong  - John Barry  - Hal David
7. Live and Let Die  - Linda McCartney  - Paul McCartney  -  Wings  -  McCartney
8. All Time High  - John Barry  - Rita Coolidge  -  Lulu
9. The Living Daylights  - Paul Waaktaar-Savoy  -  a-ha
10. Licence to Kill  - Walter Afanasieff  - Gladys Knight
11. From Russia With Love  - Lionel Bart  - Matt Monro
12. Thunderball  - John Barry  - Don Black  - Tom Jones
13. You Only Live Twice  - John Barry  - Leslie Bricusse  - Nancy Sinatra
14. Moonraker  - John Barry  - Shirley Bassey  - Hal David
15. On Her Majesty's Secret Service  - John Barry
16. The Man With the Golden Gun  -  Lulu
17. Diamonds Are Forever  - John Barry  - Shirley Bassey  - Don Black
18. Goldeneye  -  Bono  - Tina Turner
19. Tomorrow Never Dies  - Sheryl Crow  - Mitchell Froom
20. The World Is Not Enough  -  Garbage
21. James Bond Theme  -  Moby  - Monty Norman
22. James Bond Theme  - Monty Norman  -  Parodi  -  Porodi-Fair

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Tom Jones   Primary Artist
Tina Turner   Primary Artist
John Barry Orchestra   Primary Artist
Rita Coolidge   Primary Artist
a-ha   Primary Artist
Matt Monro   Primary Artist
Duran Duran   Primary Artist
Sheryl Crow   Primary Artist
Gladys Knight   Primary Artist
Shirley Bassey   Primary Artist
Paul McCartney & Wings   Primary Artist
Sheena Easton   Primary Artist
k.d. lang   Primary Artist
Louis Armstrong   Primary Artist
Madonna   Primary Artist
Lulu   Primary Artist
Porodi-Fair   Primary Artist
Nancy Sinatra   Primary Artist
The Monty Norman Orchestra   Primary Artist
Carly Simon   Primary Artist
Garbage   Primary Artist
Chris Cornell   Primary Artist
Parodi   Primary Artist
Wings   Primary Artist
Monty Orchestra Norman   Primary Artist
John Arnold   Primary Artist,Primary Artist,Primary Artist
John Barry & His Orchestra   Primary Artist
John Barry   Primary Artist
Moby   Primary Artist
Paul McCartney   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Lionel Bart   Composer
George Martin   Producer
+   Engineer
Anthony Newley   Composer
Bob Norberg   Remastering,Assistant Engineer
Hal David   Composer
Rita Coolidge   Performer
Michael Leeson   Composer
John Barry & His Orchestra   Performer
Louis Armstrong   Performer
Madonna   Composer
Leslie Bricusse   Composer
Narada Michael Walden   Composer,Producer
Lulu   Performer
John Barry   Arranger,Composer,Producer
Nancy Sinatra   Performer
Walter Afanasieff   Composer,Producer
Matt Monro   Performer
Wings   Performer
Roger Taylor   Composer
Richard Hewson   Arranger
Danny Biederman   Liner Notes
Marvin Hamlisch   Composer
Don Black   Composer
The Edge   Composer
Bono   Composer,Executive Producer
Carole Bayer Sager   Composer
Jason Corsaro   Producer
Wes Farrell   Producer
Linda McCartney   Composer
Nellee Hooper   Mixing,Producer
Nick Rhodes   Composer
Mirwais Ahmadzai   Composer
The Monty Norman Orchestra   Performer
John Taylor   Composer
Darren Wong   Design,Art Direction
Herb Agner   Executive Producer
Marc Rashba   Executive Producer
Sam Gay   Creative Director
Jeffrey Cohen   Composer
Sheena Easton   Performer
Paul Atkinson   Producer,Executive Producer
Tchad Blake   Mixing
Paul Waaktaar-Savoy   Composer
Shirley Bassey   Performer
Paul McCartney   Composer,Performer
Andy Taylor   Composer
Gladys Knight   Performer
Simon LeBon   Composer
Bernard Edwards   Producer
Bill Conti   Composer,Producer
Sheryl Crow   Composer,Performer
Cheryl Pawelski   Producer
Duran Duran   Producer,Performer
Richard Perry   Producer
Carly Simon   Performer
Tim Rice   Composer
Michel Colombier   Composer
a-ha   Performer
Mitchell Froom   Composer,Producer
Monty Norman   Composer
Tina Turner   Performer
Tom Jones   Performer