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In 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Louis Armstrong sang, “We Have All the Time in the World.” But with world’s favorite spy, Agent 007, making his way to theaters around the world for the 22nd time, there’s no time like the present to check out this new compilation of Bond movie themes.
The Best of Bond…James Bond is a 24-track collection of Bond themes through the years—opening with John Barry’s original James Bond theme (which first made its appearance in Dr. No in 1963) and closing with John Arnold’s updated, 2008 version of the theme. In between, you’ll find title themes from every single Bond film (except for Quantum of Solace), ordered chronologically—from Matt Monro’s “From Russia with Love” (1964) through Chris Cornell’s “You Know My Name” from 2006’s Casino Royale.
Despite the action and adventure of the popular spy movies, many of the films’ theme songs are surprisingly mellow—focusing more, I suppose, on 007’s infamous way with the ladies. Still, Bond movies’ testosterone levels are notoriously high. They’re filled with guns and fast cars and gorgeous, scantily-clad women, and they star a suave, love-‘em-and-leave-‘em super-spy. So, on my first time through the CD, I was caught off-guard by the number of songs that are remarkably soft and girly. In the late ‘70s through the early ‘80s, for instance, you’ll find songs like Carly Simon’s “Nobody Does It Better” (from 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me) or Rita Coolidge’s “All Time High” (from 1983’s Octopussy), both of which I’d totally forgotten were Bond themes.
Fortunately, though, the sappiest of themes come in one big bunch in the middle of the album. So, since I prefer the more upbeat themes, I often end up skipping right from Lulu’s “The Man with the Golden Gun” (1974) to my personal favorite, Duran Duran’s “A View to a Kill” (1985).
Musically, this is a fascinating collection—a sort of time machine through musical history, showcasing the various musical styles of the last five decades. There’s a little bit of everything here—from the elaborate “Thunderball” by Tom Jones (1965) to “Lie and Let Die” by Paul McCartney & Wings (1973) to the poppy “The Living Daylights” by a-ha (1987) to Sheryl Crow’s dramatic “Tomorrow Never Dies” (1997) to Madonna’s electronic “Die Another Day” (2002). It’s a compilation that offers a song (or maybe two) for just about every musical taste.
As a nostalgic collection of Bond themes, The Best of Bond…James Bond is a must-own for die-hard Bond fans. Sure, everyone will have their favorites and their not-so-favorites, but it’s just a great collection of all things Bond. And if you ever end up in a high-speed car chase with an international villain and his army of dim-witted henchmen, you’ll want to have a copy of this album handy.
