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Fans of the "Superseven "webisodes will certainly enjoy the score to "They Call Me Superseven" by Magnus Sellergren whose score captures the sound of a wild, way-out 60's Euro-spy thriller and the modern nutball fun of the Superseven series.
The Piero Umiliani score to "Jerry Land (1966)" has been released by Beat Records
The Stanley Black score the the Roger Moore film, "Crossplot (1969)" is available on the Quartet label. It's combined with Black's score to "War Gods of the Deep (1965)" (Vincent Price) and you can hear some samples at the Quartet site.
"SKYFALL"(2012) has come and gone and of course and the Thomas Newman score is on CD. I recommend finding the import single of the theme with the instrumental as well.
Jon Burlingames' book, "The Music Of James Bond" is out. Get it! Get it, Get it, Get it!
Here's something interesting... A recent Lionel Bart collection, "The Genius of Lionel Bart" includes a "Thunderball" demo performed by an unknown rock group and several instrumental versions.
Harkit released a 50th Anniversary Edition of the "Dr. No" (1962) soundtrack in 2012 with "previously unreleased cues". Now, I don't want to be a spoiled sport, but I think they just took a few tracks from an old video disc with an isolated music and effects track. You can hear crickets in the tarantula track as well as Bond's shoe hitting the floor. Then again, you will have the gunbarrel sounds on a cd as well as some other goodies. They will apparently be giving "From Russia With Love" the same treatment later this year.
If you're missing David Arnold you can find a version of the James Bond Theme he did for the Olympics on the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant album. You can get the mp3 on Amazon U.S. and U.K.
ODD AND UNUSUAL:
Check out the bluegrass version of "You Only Live Twice" on the "Pickin' On Nancy Sinatra" tribute CD. You can just see Jimbo barreling down the Highway in his Q issue pickup with his shaken, not stirred jug of moonshine.
"Cinema: A Romantic Vision" by Dori Caymmi should get an award for his unique and beautiful take on the Bond theme. If only someone had included this in one of the films!
Occasionally we find interpretations of incidental music rather than just themes. Vibraphonist Cal Tjader took a shot at "Moneypenny Goes For Broke" (from "Casino Royale") on "Cal Tjader Sounds Out Burt Bacharach"
Burt Bacharach did his own cover version of "Bond Street" on his "Reach Out" album. (also on CD).
"The James Bond Songbook" was one of those 60's LPs released to cash in on the Bond craze. It was re-released on CD to cash in on the Bond craze once again! This new CD has been mastered from the original tapes and sounds great. "Jimmy" Bond was a Jazz Bassist and plays here with Harold Land on tenor, Buddy Collette on flute and tenor and Bobby Bryant on trumpet.
"Hammond Bond" has been released by Verve as part of their "Jazz Club" series. It's a re-release of a 007 themed, 60's LP by German organist Ingfried Hoffmann. A sharp-eyed reader identified the original LP as "Soul Bond" Warning- there are only three (T-ball, G-finger, and FRWL) real Bond themes. The others are just jazzy little ditties with remotely spy-sounding titles, but it was the 60's, a swingin' Hammond organ, and it's pretty good!
"Secret Agent Men", produced by drummer Akira Tana features jazz men Dr. Lonnie Smith, Rufus Reid, Chuggy Carter, Rodney Jones, and Bob Kenmotsu cutting loose on "Secret Agent Man", "Mission Impossible", "From Russia With Love" and "Charade". (+9 other tracks)
and MORE great jazz: "Masters Of Groove Meet Dr. No" on the Jazzateria label has Reuben Wilson, Grant Green Jr., Tarus Mateen, and Bernard Purdie giving the tracks from the Dr. No soundtrack their treatment and it's GOOOOD! You get Twisting with James, Under The Mango Tree, Three Blind Mice, Jump Up, The James Bond theme and a couple of originals.
The Last Of The International Playboys, earn a mention for covering "Pussy Galore Meets James Bond". It's a made up Bond tune from the "Music To Read James Bond By album"
The "Thrills And Chills" CD by surf band The Moon-rays includes a couple of Gerald Fried numbers from The Man From Uncle as well as an ingenious medley of Martin Denny's tiki tune "Hypnotique" and "Our Man Flint". (Not to mention John Barry's "Beat Girl" Henry Mancini's "A Shot In The Dark" and 6 other tracks).
"Sex Mob Does Bond" may be a little out there for some (more John Zorn than John Barry), but they cover both the incidental music and the themes.
David Shea's CD, "The Prisoner" offers his musical interpretation of the series. While quite avante garde, It might fit nicely into the Prisoner feature film if they ever get it off the ground.
An interesting oddity on the "Rare, Collectable, And Soulful Vol. 2" collection is "You Only Live Twice" written by Jack Ashford, Andrew Terry, Randy Scott and performed by Lorraine Chandler! The booklet says it was written for the film, but isn't clear whether it was commissioned or freelance.
Shirley Bassey recorded "Diamonds Are Forever" in Italian (Una Cascata Di Diamante). Same backing tracks, different vocals. Both versions are on this Italian 45. (Any one know if they did this with any other Bond themes?)
A 45 released in Germany by Alan Corb has his cover versions of Thunderball and Mr. Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang in German. This is one of the few vocal versions of Mr. KKBB released when the film came out and...
Tucked away on this limited 5 CD set of Ann-Margaret recordings is her unreleased (until now) version of "Mr. Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang". It was probably scrapped when the films title was changed. It had previously only been available on a legendary promo 45.
Don't let the lousy cover art fool you. "Music To Spy By" by The David Whitaker Orchestra is a great LP to find. It probably falls into the music library category and sounds similar to Whitaker's score to "Hammerhead" which is pretty good.
"The Mad, Mad World Of Soundtracks" has the themes to "The Ambushers, "The Last Of The Secret Agents", and "Deadlier Than The Male" as well as "Agent X" by Peter Thomas (from a German spy film) and a cover of "It takes A Thief". The other tracks are equally exciting.
Volume two is a little more laid back, but includes covers of "Diamonds Are Forever" by male vocal group, The Bachelors, and Bacharach's "Bond Street" played on Accordions!
"The Bedside Bond" was a promo LP of some sort offered through Penthouse magazine in 1966. The Dutton Vocalion label has put it on CD paired with another LP. Des Champ and James Economides are the artists. Not a note of real Bond music, but sound library tunes with 007-esque titles. A couple of tracks are on the "The Thriller Memorandum" compilation.
Get this Propellerheads single at all costs. It has the short version of the incredible OHMSS/YOLT medley from "The David Arnold Project" CD and the long version from the "Sex And Drums And Rock And Roll" CD, but it also has David Arnold's original orchestral version before The Propellerheads got a hold of it. Excellent!
...and speaking of the Propellerheads, they do an unbelievable remix of "Goldfinger" on "Shirley Bassey The Remix Album". There are also remixed versions of Moonraker and Diamonds by other artists.
"The Bond Collection" should have been a major event. Shirley Bassey singing all the Bond themes up to A View To A Kill", but lackluster arrangements played on a synthesizer or a kazoo make it a disappointment.
They snuck a very good 8 1/2 minute suite from Live And Let Die" into "George Martin Plays The Beatles".
"The World Is Not Enough" by Garbage was remixed by U.N.K.L.E on this CD single.
"Bond Back In Action" volumes 1 & 2 are from the same bunch that gave us "The Essential James Bond" (which wasn't). On the plus side we get to hear music not included on the soundtrack albums, but none of it packs the punch we expect from Bond tunes.
Spy Guise, purveyors of all things spy, put together this "James Bond and Beyond" CD with Mike Boldt's interpretations of various spy themes, but the real treats are the 60's radio spots for "The Spy With My Face", "The Spy With My Face & To Trap A Spy Double Feature", "Our Man Flint", "The Venetian Affair", and "Number One Of The Secret Service" (1977) included as bonus tracks.
Weird Al Yankovic's great theme to "Spy Hard" only came out on CD singles and some versions have an instrumental of the theme.
"Power Themes 90" on Telstar has various DJ types remixing British adventure themes. A lot of it is so-so, but "The Avengers" and "Stingray" are knock-outs with "The Prisoner running a close second.
"The Thriller Memorandum" has covers and originals of spy tunes you know and many you probably don't from obscure 60's albums we can only dream about. The liner notes are as good as the music.
"Secret Agent Sounds" on the Mai Tai label has modern surf bands cutting loose on 60s spy tunes.
"Spies And Dolls" by Chaquito (John Gregory) on Dutton Vocalion is paired with his "TV thrillers" LP. Not all spy themes, but great covers of some hard to find ones like "When Eight Bells Toll" and "It Takes a Thief".
An oddity to be sure... After "The Avengers", Dianna Rigg got mixed up in a project to make a couple of short spy-type films to be watched while pumping gas or something. Honest (check You-tube). The music from "Das Diadems" and "The Mini-killers" has turned up on the "Pop Shopping Vol. 1" CD.
"Hooper" was a movie about a Stuntman on a spy film and has one very Bondish cut, "Old James Bonded Bourbon".
Al Caiola's "The Power Of Brass" has versions of "Mission Impossible" and "The Look Of Love", but the real reason I mention it is the spy treatment they give "The Odd Couple". "My name is Unger...Felix Unger" You've got to hear it!