AA.VV.
The Best Of Bond... James Bond

As an enthusiast of the world's most famous Secret Agent adventures, I couldn't resist owning a collection of music from his films.

Therefore, I didn't hesitate to purchase this CD, which includes the collection of tracks by artists who, from the first big screen adventure (Dr. No, 1962) have accompanied the opening titles of various films, sequences that have become equally famous not only for the music that accompanied them but thanks especially to the skill and originality of designers like Maurice Binder, capable of turning something so mundane into art.

The CD version I own (from 1999) is a bit outdated, missing tracks from “The World Is Not Enough” (1999) to the latest “Quantum Of Solace” (2008).

If you're interested, however, more updated versions are available on the market, at least including the opening track from “Casino Royale” of 2006.

The most famous tracks are all there, from the mythical “James Bond Theme” to “Goldeneye” by Tina Turner, passing through “Goldfinger” by Shirley Bassey, “Live And Let Die” by Paul McCartney And The Wings, and “A View To A Kill” by Duran Duran.

Even as a Bond fan, I objectively recognize that not all the tracks on this CD have equally withstood the test of time (speaking of time… I was forgetting to mention, among the most notable tracks, “We Have All the Time in the World” by Louis Armstrong).

So, in conclusion, we have a CD of considerable interest, which I would recommend, however, only to genre enthusiasts.

For newcomers, the included booklet is very useful, with 20 rich pages of text accompanied by images to retrace, albeit briefly, the history of Bond on the big screen. However, the text is strictly in English... or rather British!