Roland Shaw did a DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER lp which featured bikini clad babes as human pistol shot targets. Including gun shot wounds and scores for "best" shots. Bulls-eye!
I just listened to Roland Shaw again, on the Deram CD. The big standouts for me tonight were "007" and "Goldfinger." Those two really rock. Wild backbeats. Also "From Russia with Love," such a great arrangement. And the jingling percussion in FRWL is very organic. Today it would be done on a machine and be the same every time. This was played by hand and you can tell.
But the track I played twice was "The Wedding." It took me back to a different time. It's a whole vintage feeling, a patience with quiet beauty that unfolds at its own pace, a headspace that doesn't happen in 21st century life. And because it's not the (beloved) OST, it doesn't put you in the movie. It becomes its own thing.
I had the time and I played the right music. That's a good night.
The unfortunate cover image probably hurt sales. It's a detail from a Casino Royale production still.
