Published on Dec 1, 2000
Every once in a while, I get the urge to give myself an
education in all things James Bond, and promise myself that I’m
going to start watching all the James Bond films from the start –
and by that, I mean by scrounging up a copy of “Casino Royale”. But
somehow, this personal pledge always seems to fall by the
wayside… meaning I have now gone almost 30 years without seeing
an entire James Bond film from start to finish. (I also have gone
that long without seeing “The Wizard Of Oz” – an admission that
usually earns me drop-mouthed stares from those I tell this
to.)
There has been a rebirth in interest in the music of the James
Bond films – and
Bond Back In Action, a collection of selections from scores
as recorded by the City Of Prague Philharmonic, helps to capture
the Sean Connery years well, though there are times this collection
lags. But we’ll talk about that soon enough. (This disc also
examines the one film from the George Lazenby era, “On Her
Majesty’s Secret Service”.)
This disc is not meant to mimic the soundtracks, nor is it meant
to replace them. Instead, with the inclusion of selections labeled
as “previously unrecorded,” this disc means to present elements of
the individual scores the way that composers Monty Norman and John
Barry meant them to be heard.
Possibly the one item that should send Bond fans into manic
rejoicing is the appearance of Vic Flick on guitar for “The James
Bond Theme”. Flick was the guitarist on the original version of the
theme, and hearing his presence on this new recording gives both it
and the entire project much credence.
Interestingly enough, it is the suite of the three earliest
films that provide the listener with the most interesting
selections. The two selections from “Goldfinger” – “Into
Miami/Alpine Drive” and “Dawn Raid At Fort Knox” – provide the
listener with almost as much excitement as if they were watching
the film. Likewise, the selections taken from “From Russia With
Love” (co-written by Lionel Bart) fit the mood perfectly, and suck
the listener into a magical experience.
The one selection (save for the title track) from “Dr. No”
(“Death Of The Tarantula/Killing The Guard/Death Of Dr. No”) should
easily be enough to send longtime Bond fans scurrying back to their
DVD drives to watch this film again – and to try and differentiate
how the score sounds with how it was supposed to sound. The liner
notes for this particular track are absolutely fascinating.
What I have to wonder, though, is why the music for the next
three films – “Thunderball,” “You Only Live Twice” and “On Her
Majesty’s Secret Service” – doesn’t have the same kind of energy
and interest level as the earlier works. It’s not that these
portions of the scores are boring, nor is it that the orchestra
does a subpar job on these performances. It’s just that they don’t
pack the same kind of emotional power as the early works – or, for
that matter, the selections from “Diamonds Are Forever”, which
closes this disc. The only thing I can think of – and I’m not
claiming this to be gospel truth – is that Barry settled into a
comfort pattern, and didn’t feel challenged enough by the task.
(This would soon change, as we’ll see in the review for
Bond Back In Action 2.)
Is
Bond Back In Action still worth checking out? Absolutely –
though I would dare say this is the kind of disc that is aimed
towards the diehard fan of James Bond. But who knows? Listening to
this disc might pique someone’s interest in the early films of the
series – and I’m again promising myself I’m going to start renting
the films and watching them in order… though now I’ll get them on
DVD.