No one who has ever seen a James Bond film (and this probably takes in half the population of the Western world) will forget the driving, beat-filled music of John Barry which accompanied the adventures of the high-living spy. A parallel to the world of fast cars, ready women, and sudden death in which James Bond moved, the vibrant guitars and rich orchestral arrangements of John Barry’s themes have thrilled all who heard them, and set new standards in the business of setting excitement to music.
The themes from Dr. No, From Russia with Love and Goldfinger, together with the 007 theme, which wove its way through each of these wild adventures, are here played with dash and bravado by Danny Davis and his Orchestra. Another sensuous tension-filled composition, Henry Mancini’s great Peter Gunn theme, will bring back memories of that rugged. hard-hitting private eye; and tunes like Kenyon Hopkins’ eerie Chamber of Horrors and Monster Meeting show that you never can tell what might be lurking behind the microphones in a recording studio.
This is an album full of the pace and excitement of modern life. Here is sophisticated music with undertones of menace, hard-bitten tunes played with worldly insouciance, and music of mystery tainted with the threat of horror. Each note is alive with a tension ‘hat will set you on the edge of your chair. So don’t settle back —sit forward and enjoy it.
BLASE MACHIN
