Bond Cover Version Albums
IanFryer
Posts: 327MI6 Agent
After a successful day at the charity shops, I thought I'd post details of two Bond-related LPs I bought today.
On the Marble Arch label from 1965, 007 James Bond Thrillers by The Zero Zero Seven Band.
And on Decca from 1967, Hollywood by Mantovani and his Orchestra with covers of Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice. Dig that groovy cover art!
On the Marble Arch label from 1965, 007 James Bond Thrillers by The Zero Zero Seven Band.
And on Decca from 1967, Hollywood by Mantovani and his Orchestra with covers of Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice. Dig that groovy cover art!
Comments
Anyone else got CD/LP finds to share?
https://youtu.be/uLs39_UQJ7o
And here's You Only Live Twice (only upload I could find, but it'll give you a feel for it)
https://youtu.be/5IfNNvVRTf4
Much as I love the Roland Shaw recordings from the same period, these have a much lighter touch and a really lush feel to them.
https://play.google.com/music/m/Bftze2x2ex57zawmy77fygqe56a?t=Shaken_And_Stirred_-_David_Arnold
Oh yes, I love that album. Except the version of The James Bond Theme, which as I recall bears no relation to the original whatsoever.
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Ooh, I actually have a copy of that and clean forgot. I like some of Pourcel's stuff - he recorded over such a long period that his style changed a fair bit. He does a nice cover of Casino Royale, a tune which is, to be fair, absolutely bulletproof.
https://youtu.be/m3qCdKUkor0
I love this album, play it all the time. I had it on cassette on 1973, played it until it was worn out, and I've now downloaded it on iTunes.
Roland Shaw And His Orchestra - The Return Of James Bond In Diamonds Are Forever And Other Secret Agent Themes. 2 LP set from 1971. This, along with Shaw’s other Bond related LPs, have been released on CD by Cherry Red’s Poker label.
Here’s the US cover of The Zero Zero Seven Band’s 1965 “James Bond Thrillers” LP on the Somerset label.
Several good ones I've found over the years.
Most notable one for me has to be Grantby - Timber which is a remix of 007 And Counting as it gives a totally different feel from the original.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwlHguZWHGI
I like the look of that album.
I have Hugo Montenegro's album of covers from Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy, so I really ought to have the spy album to go with it. I've just found the album on Apple Music so will give it a listen.
Here’s another good CD with Hugo’s various movie themes. Has all the tracks from ‘Come Spy With Me’ as well as several of his Spaghetti Westerns themes. Out of print, but inexpensive on Amazon.com or Discogs.
Hugo Montenegro And His Orchestra – All-Time Greatest Movie Themes & Schemes
https://www.discogs.com/Various-Come-Spy-With-Us/release/5711717
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrp9qey2Zc4 Geoff Love & his orchestra
(After a complaint from Eon, the cover was changed to this...
...though the music stayed the same.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPmjN4NfprA Various
Just to go off-topic, it does contain this absolute gem - a version of Barry Gray's UFO theme which sounds very Bondian.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=811SCXJ2fKY
Also, trivia fans, the sleeve image contains a painting of the actor and model David Warbeck, well-known to fans of Hammer films and Italian horror and adventure movies.
https://www.discogs.com/Hugo-Montenegro-The-GoodBad-And-The-Ugly/master/502717
I did not know about anything he did besides write the theme to I Dream of Jeannie. This is really interesting!
Shaken Not Stirred - performed by The Hollywood Studio Orchestra
James Bond Themes - performed by The London Theatre Orchestra
I remember the latter featured very close vocal covers, although a couple of tracks including FRWL were instrumentals.
An interesting version of the NTTD theme.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgRoucrBIgI
One early. 70s Bond cover album had a version of The Man With The Golden Gun before the film had come out! It was what the author figured it might sound like! It's almost kind of wistful, like he felt it might get picked up by the producers.
Didn't Count Basie Do Bond at some point?
All this stuff used to be the rage when there were loads of LPs with 'songs in the style of' rather than the originals. It was a bit like the band on Strictly doing their versions of big hits. The Top of the Pops albums were all covers, not the originals.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
It's enjoyable enough.
The "fake" TMWTGG still occasionally turns up on cover albums to this day.
I like Basie round this period, and I've heard tracks played from the album on my local jazz station.
Actually my local jazz station plays a lot of jazz covers of the vintage Bond toons. There's a version of From Russia with Love I've heard a lot, and an instrumental version of Goldfinger. Don't remember who did them, I need to start making notes when I hear them and will post here if folks are interested.
(I do always crank up the radio when such Bond covers come on, so my neighbours down the street can enjoy the music also!)
related, Diana Krall has made The Look of Love something of a signature toon, but that's just one song and not a Barry Bond toon.
Turns out it was by a contemporary saxophonist and bandleader named Harry Allen.
I presume its from this 2010 album called 007 Songs
I can't find his version of Goldfinger on youtube, but here is:
The James Bond Theme
Thunderball
Surrender
Album cover itself is a bit weak, especially compared to those vintage 60s LPs upthread. I guess this sort of a graphic is designed as a thumbnail to be viewed on a phone or Windows Media Player, rather than a nice LP jacket...