Best of Bond...James Bond: 40th Anniversary Edition [Bonus Track]

1	James Bond Theme / John Barry & His Orchestra 1:47
2	From Russia with Love / Matt Monro 2:34
3	Goldfinger / Dame Shirley Bassey 2:49
4	Thunderball / Tom Jones 3:03
5	You Only Live Twice / Nancy Sinatra 2:46
6	On Her Majesty's Secret Service / John Barry & His Orchestra 2:35
7	We Have All the Time in the World / Louis Armstrong 3:13
8	Diamonds Are Forever / Dame Shirley Bassey 2:41
9	Live and Let Die / Paul McCartney & Wings 3:13
10	The Man with the Golden Gun / Lulu 2:35
11	Nobody Does It Better / Carly Simon 3:29
12	Moonraker / Dame Shirley Bassey 3:09
13	For Your Eyes Only / Sheena Easton 3:04
14	All Time High / Rita Coolidge 3:03
15	A View to a Kill / Duran Duran 3:35
16	The Living Daylights / a-ha 4:14
17	Licence to Kill / Gladys Knight 4:11
18	Goldeneye / Tina Turner 3:29
19	Tomorrow Never Dies / Sheryl Crow 4:53
20	Surrender / k.d. lang 3:56
21	The World Is Not Enough / Garbage 3:56
22	Die Another Day / Madonna 4:39
23	You Know My Name / Chris Cornell 4:04
24	James Bond Theme / John Arnold previously unreleased / Bonus Track 2:14

Barnes & Noble

Ushering in the longest running series in film history were three words unforgettably uttered by Sean Connery: "Bond. James Bond." One of the most familiar musical passages of our time and no less memorable is John Barry's "James Bond Theme," performed by the Monty Norman Orchestra. The songs accompanying the opening credits for each film have always been an eagerly anticipated and intrinsic part of the Bond phenomenon. Small wonder that top pop artists from Paul McCartney to Tom Jones to Nancy Sinatra were eager to do a Bond song. Among the 19 knockout original performances included in this very fun collection are Shirley Bassey's clarion sounding of "Goldfinger," Duran Duran's "A View to a Kill," Carly Simon's droll "Nobody Does It Better," and Matt Monro's crooning "From Russia With Love." Bassey turns up twice more with "Diamonds Are Forever" and "Moonraker," and Louis Armstrong reassuringly reports "We Have All The Time in the World." Liner notes that include recording info and photos add to a very tasty collection worthy of Mr. Bond. Andrew Velez

All Music Guide

One of the signature aspects of a James Bond movie is its theme song, and, as demonstrated on this collection of those songs, there is a remarkable consistency to them. 1962's Dr. No, the first Bond film, featured Monty Norman's "James Bond Theme," a distinctive instrumental piece that has figured in every Bond picture since and that leads off the disc. But with the second entry in the series, 1963's From Russia With Love, there was a specially written title song sung by a contemporary pop artist during the opening credits. And as of the third entry, 1964's Goldfinger, that song, as often as not, would become a hit. Shirley Bassey's melodramatic performance of "Goldfinger" remains a standard for Bond themes, but, just as the films have been subtly updated through the years, so the theme songs have reflected changes in pop music. Echoes and approximations of Norman's theme turn up over and over as a basis for the songs, even though they make room for individual interpretation. For example, Gladys Knight's "License to Kill" from 1989 may be an '80s power ballad complete with synthesizer accompaniment, but it still uses familiar orchestral elements. And some of the least-characteristic songs are also some of the most successful. Carly Simon's "Nobody Does It Better" doesn't even use a film title, yet it is one of the better-remembered theme songs. Many of the artists who sing the songs are pop footnotes (a-ha, Sheena Easton), but they were hot when they were asked to participate, and their performances hold up. [Originally released in 1999, the album was reissued in a 40th anniversary edition in 2002 containing three additional tracks, one of which was Garbage's theme song for The World Is Not Enough and another, Moby's electronica-styled reconstruction of the original theme. It was reissued again in 2008 with Madonna's contribution to 2002's Die Another Day and Soundgarden/Audioslave front man Chris Cornell's "You Know My Name" from 2006's Casino Royale, the first film to feature Daniel Craig as James Bond.] William Ruhlmann