Well, I can see a lot of people clamored to respond to this topic! (by the way that's sarcasm)I ordered this from Intrada and just received it a few days ago. The case is in much the same format as the first Bond Back In Action. Only this time the case is Aston Martin Gold instead of Ferrari Red. The liner notes aren't as extensive as the original, but they are in the same format.
Now on to the score.
I don't own any of these albums originally, and I have only experienced the music from watching the movie. I can't tell if there are any wrong notes or bad tempos as people claim there are in the first one, so I obviously can't talk about any of those.
The album begins with 3 tracks from John Barry's THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN. These are among the most enjoyable. Of all the themes on this album, I like this theme the best(don't confuse theme with title song). It is put through a nice rousing permutation in track 1.
Next is Marvin Hamlisch's THE SPY WHO LOVED ME. There are two tracks from this, including the cool Ride to Atlantis. Nic Raine has thankfully altered this music so it uses the full orchestra, nixing the stupid "Disco Bond" sound. I don't think The Tanker survives this alteration very well though.
John Barry returns for 3 tracks of MOONRAKER. The bond theme makes an apearance in Freefall. The next two tracks contain a "space march" like sound to them, and they actually have a choir! Kinda strange for a bond movie. This is supposed to signify the beauty of space.
The one track from Bill Conti's FOR YOUR EYES ONLY is basically an instrumental version of the main theme. This is by far the worst track on the CD, IMHO. I usually skip it.
OCTOPUSSY has one track which contains the main love theme and the bond theme at the end. Not really much to say.
A VIEW TO A KILL is also graced with only one track. It starts as the main love theme, then moves to a fanfare version where Bond rescues the girl from the fire and everyone claps. Then there is the action music from the beginning of the movie. An electric guitar accompanies.
There are four tracks from THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS, which is John Barry in synth mode. This is pretty good, far better than David Arnold in over-the-top synth mode. The first and third tracks are action music, the second is dark, background music. shimmering drums give it an arab feel. The fourth track is an alternate end title.
As a special treat, the album ends with the film version of Tank Drive Around St. Petersburgh from GOLDENEYE. This good action music that is a permutation of the bond theme.
Overall, this is a good cd to buy if you don't have any bond music from the Roger Moore era. There is a total of 16 tracks with a running time of 65:38. The albums only downfall is it's shortness. The original had 19 tracks running 74:14. Also all of the movies had more than one track, where 4 movies in this album have only one.
Also, curiously left out is LIVE AND LET DIE and LICENSE TO KILL. The producers say in the liner notes that LIVE AND LET DIE had to much of a disco feel, and LICENSE TO KILL had tracks that were too long and they only retread old ground. I personally think a track containing something from the main theme of LIVE AND LET DIE was in order. This movie had the ultimate Bond song! It was sorely missed, IMHO.
Overall I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
NP: BOND BACK IN ACTION 2
