I will burn a CD with the score more or less in chronological order, and then I'll finish with Roland Shaw's instrumental version of the title tune from that particular film.
I disagree. Some of Barry's instrumental versions are sleepy and lethargic. The Roland Shaw arrangements are closer to the vocal versions!
I have to agree with Onya. Many of Roland Shaw's interpretations of Barry's Bond themes are first rate arrangements, with real energy: 007; Goldfinger; Thunderball; OHMSS. That said, I could do without his choral arrangement of You Only Live Twice; one version of DAF is better than the other. Capping the album assembly this way is an interesting idea. I tend to separate Barry originals and covers. Shaw definitely leads all the cover artists. Stan
You're right that Shaw's have more energy, but is that a good thing? Just a matter of opinion. I see the appeal of Roland Shaw--who was arranging for a record-buying market--but my preference is Barry. My favorite instrumental version of any Bond theme is for a song that's not even one of the very best--and that's Barry's Thunderball instru from the soundtrack album. You could call it sleepy and lethargic, but I'd describe it as more seductive and mysterious.
What I find interesting is that the Arnold / Dodd arrangement of the Bond theme ("The Name's Bond, James Bond" which concludes Casino Royale) looks more to the Roland arrangement for inspiration than it does any of Barry's.
You're right that Shaw's have more energy, but is that a good thing? Just a matter of opinion. I see the appeal of Roland Shaw--who was arranging for a record-buying market--but my preference is Barry. My favorite instrumental version of any Bond theme is for a song that's not even one of the very best--and that's Barry's Thunderball instru from the soundtrack album. You could call it sleepy and lethargic, but I'd describe it as more seductive and mysterious.
I agree with you about the Thunderball instrumental. I like both the soundtrack album version and the version that opens the Great Movie Sounds of John Barry LP. As I lifelong Barry fan, I enjoy most everything he did. I just happen to enjoy most of the Shaw versions as well. Stan
You're right that Shaw's have more energy, but is that a good thing? Just a matter of opinion. I see the appeal of Roland Shaw--who was arranging for a record-buying market--but my preference is Barry. My favorite instrumental version of any Bond theme is for a song that's not even one of the very best--and that's Barry's Thunderball instru from the soundtrack album. You could call it sleepy and lethargic, but I'd describe it as more seductive and mysterious.
... Barry's Thunderball instru from the soundtrack album. ... seductive and mysterious.
My favourite piece of music ... of all time.
The Roland Shaw arrangements/recordings are mostly very good - great and for their intended market, generally better than all others. But I wouldn't let them anywhere near the OSTs ... they're for a different listening experience at a different time. Mitch
The Roland Shaw arrangements/recordings are mostly very good - great and for their intended market, generally better than all others. But I wouldn't let them anywhere near the OSTs ... they're for a different listening experience at a different time. Mitch
...My favorite instrumental version of any Bond theme is for a song that's not even one of the very best--and that's Barry's Thunderball instru from the soundtrack album. You could call it sleepy and lethargic, but I'd describe it as more seductive and mysterious.
Oh, I completely agree, it is seductive and mysterious in the context in which it is used. I was describing Barry's instrumental versions as "sleepy and lethargic" only if we are considering using them as score cappers. That is why I like to end all of these albums with Roland Shaw's instrumental versions. They pack a punch, and function as exit music. They improve the albums tremendously.
In the context you describe, your use of the Roland Shaw covers serve a suitable purpose, and I get that people have different preferences. Of all the Bond cover artists, Shaw was definitely the most prominent and made the most it. Slightly off topic, if you want to hear a really great cover of a Barry tune, go to youtube and look for Sir Julian Seance on a Wet Afternoon. Even though he's an organist, the cover features the guitar as lead instrument with the organ jabbing away in the background--the overall affect sounds like something that would have been used to score an acid trip in a Peter Fonda film. Highly recommended to imbibers everywhere!
Slightly off topic, if you want to hear a really great cover of a Barry tune, go to youtube and look for Sir Julian Seance on a Wet Afternoon. Even though he's an organist, the cover features the guitar as lead instrument with the organ jabbing away in the background--the overall affect sounds like something that would have been used to score an acid trip in a Peter Fonda film. Highly recommended to imbibers everywhere!
I will look for it!
EDIT: Just played it. It is like proto-Combustible Edison!
It sounds like it was patterned after Barry's 45 version!
So gather round, children, and let me tell you the story of how your beloved koala got the brilliant idea of capping off the Bond scores with the Roland Shaw title versions.
For decades, I have had all of the Roland Shaw LPs, which over the years I've spun at least as often as the actual Bond LPs.
Then I started buying the expanded Bond OST CDs in the early 2000s. (I check out after the Connery era.) Around the same time, I also found a Decca Roland Shaw Bond CD compilation in the budget bin.
When I got "Goldfinger," I was annoyed that they used the inferior US track listing, and tacked the other four tracks onto the end.
So, I resequenced the album using the UK running order, and then I wanted to cap it off with Barry's rockin' version of the "Goldfinger" theme from the US version, where he tacks on some of "Dawn Raid" at the end.
In an ideal world, this is exactly what i would have done. Except for one thing: Instead of using the clean mono version of the instrumental, the producer of the expanded "Goldfinger" CD took UA's out-of-phase fake stereo version, and collapsed it back to mono, making it sound even worse than the fake stereo version. It sounds like it is being suffocated by a pillow.
So instead of ruining my running order with that sonic aberration, I used the Roland Shaw instrumental version of "Goldfinger." And guess what? It is PERFECT.
And this got me thinking: Should I do this with all the others? And this is precisely what I did, with a few exceptions.
I couldn't do it with "You Only Live Twice," because Roland Shaw's version is vocal and not instrumental.
However, I did it with all of the others.
For "OHMSS," I use something close to the film order, bump the godawful Christmas tree song, and end it with Roland Shaw's version of the theme.
For "Diamonds," I use something close to the film order, bump the godawful 9-minute track with the Dixieland and rejects, and end it with Roland Shaw's version of the theme.
On "From Russia with Love," I use the album order, add "Zagreb Express" from "Bond Back in Action" right before "Gypsy Camp," and after the LP sequence, I add Roland Shaw's version of the title track, followed by one of the two Barry versions of "The James Bond Theme."
On "Goldfinger," I use the UK album order, followed by Roland Shaw's version of the title track, followed by the other of the two Barry versions of "The James Bond Theme."
Why do I add "The James Bond Theme" to those two albums? Because I don't own "Dr. No" on CD, and considering how terrible it is, I probably never will.
For "Thunderball," I have 2 CDs: The first uses the original LP sequence, with Dionne Warwick's version of "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" opening side 2. For the Second CD, I open with Roland Shaw's instrumental version of "Thunderball" and then use all of the bonus material from the expanded CD, with Shirley Bassey's version of "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" closing side 1.
So there you have it folks, OnyaBirri's guide to adding Roland Shaw to the Bond soundtracks. If you think I am committing a crime by adding these tracks to Barry albums, you can blame the guy who produced the "Goldfinger" CD and ruined Barry's own instrumental version. I probably never would have gotten this brilliant idea, were it not for the tin ears of that amateur.