Orchestrated and Conducted by John Barry

Produced by Lukas Kendall

Release Date: February 11, 2003

          EMI / Capitol Records

     With George Lazenby's announcement that he would not return for a second outing, the search for Bond was on again. Sean Connery was enticed to return for the sixth (and last) time as James Bond for the official franchise (he would play the role once more in the Thunderball remake, Never Say Never Again). Following the gritty, realistic script of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Diamonds Are Forever goes for a more over-the-top approach which I found to be unsettling. The Connery Bonds are some of the best of the lot and I have all of them except for this one, which is my least favorite.

     Keeping in touch with the stylistic change in direction, John Barry's score returns to the slightly tongue-in-cheek attitude of the previous Connery films, deviating from the darker tone of the last film. The blaring brass bits are here again in full force (always a fun thing), and Barry even goes so far as to slightly reference the space theme from his last Connery Bond score, You Only Live Twice. Though the film may have been a bit too much, Barry's score is quite entertaining, and even manages to overcome some of the 70s funkiness that is apparent in the music at times (especially in areas concerning source music). The use of the James Bond theme is picked up more, a refreshing change from On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and the numerous sub-themes, from the eerily mysterious theme for the assassins Wint and Kidd, to the refrains of the main song title, the score flows smoothly and moves along at a nice pace. John Barry's own 007 theme even makes a nice appearance in To Hell With Blofeld.

     The original soundtrack release was decent, but the new expanded edition really allows this score to shine on CD. The re-mastering job is excellent, and there were no flaws to the sound quality that I could detect. The liner notes by Jeff Bond are nice and informative though not too heavy. And there are even full color photos of the cast included (as we all know how impressive that is). The bonus tracks add over a half-an-hour of new material. As with the On Her Majesty's Secret Service, they only appear after the sequence of the original album. While I wish the tracks would have been arranged chronologically. it is a small complaint and otherwise this is an excellent release.

     There's really nothing like a good John Barry score for the Bond franchise, and the efforts of those at EMI/Capitol records are to be highly applauded. Diamonds Are Forever is a great release and any serious Bond score fan should have this one in his or her collection. 

1 - Diamonds Are Forever (2:52)

2 - Bond Meets Bambi and Thumper (3:09)

3 - Moon Buggy Ride (4:16)

4 - Circus, Circus (2:50)

5 - Death at the Whyte House (4:53)

6 - Diamonds Are Forever (Source Instrumental) (3:45)

7 - Diamonds Are Forever (Bond and Tiffany) (3:39)

8 - Bond Smells a Rat (1:52)

9 - Tiffany Case (3:46)

10 - 007 And Counting (3:31)

11 - Q's Trick (2:26)

12 - To Hell With Blofeld (5:09)

Previously Unreleased Bonus Tracks

13 - Gunbarrel and Manhunt (3:11)

14 - Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd / Bond to Holland (4:03)

15 - Peter Franks (2:55)

16 - Airport Source / On The Road (3:00)

17 - Slumber, Inc. (2:22)

18 - The Whyte House (2:21)

19 - Plenty, Then Tiffany (2:26)

20 - Following the Diamonds (4:03)

21 - Additional and Alternate Cues (9:11)