Orchestrated and Conducted by John Barry

Produced by Phil Ramone and Lukas Kendall

Release Date: February 11, 2003

            EMI / Capitol Records

     Since its release, On Her Majesty's Secret Service has faced an uphill battle in winning support of the general Bond fandom. It was the first film to see the departure of Sean Connery, and his replacement's lack of previous acting experience translated into some painful moments onscreen. Still, Lazenby showed great potential, and had he stayed on for Diamonds Are Forever, he might have been a fondly remembered Bond, instead of the "odd-man-out" figure that he did become. While the lead may have been a little rusty, the script by Richard Maibaum and Simon Raven, along with John Barry's score, are considered to be the finest in the entire series.

     It was for the new Bond that Barry made a slightly drastic turn from the style that he had previously encompassed in From Russia With Love all the way through to You Only Live Twice. This time, the music has a more sinister edge and a darker tone. Gone is the slightly humorous, tongue-in-cheek feel of the previous scores, with Barry instead opting for a driving melody (in the form of the main theme) and a synthesizer. Yes, in 1969 a James Bond score utilized a synthesizer, long before David Arnold had come on the scene. Its use is definitely unique, and nothing else has so far come along to match the effect it has on the score (not even with David Arnold's electronically-driven cues).

     The second track opens the film with the Holy Grail of Bond Soundtrack Collecting: the gunbarrel sequence. Instead of the usual electric guitar however, we're treated to the synthesizer doing its rendition of the James Bond theme. It's different, but it still works. The cue the jumps into one of my favorite opening musical sequences out of the franchise, as Bond encounters Tracy for the first time on the beach. Another standout cue, Journey to Blofeld's Hideaway, deftly portrays the beauty of the snowy, mountainous setting in a way I've heard few composers manage before. Gumbold's Safe is a typical Barry cue that continually repeats a musical phrase over and over again throughout its entire length, but since it is Barry, he pulls it off quite nicely. The uses of We Have All The Time in the World are very effecting, and never cease to be emotionally moving.

     On the flipside, the action music here is built around the pounding main theme, with little references to the Bond theme itself. It's good the first time around, but by the second time around it can get a little disheartening. I'm also not too fond of the saxophone theme featured in Bond Meets the Girls. It too gets overplayed, but Barry does get some interesting uses out of it. Still, these are minor complaints and this is one of the finest Bond scores ever written in my opinion.

     When this score was first released on CD, it contained the exact same cues that had appeared on the original LP release. Given that this is one of the most beloved Bond scores from the Barry era, it would seem that an expanded release was a no-brainer. Well, it took a long time, but it's finally here, and I must say thanks to all of those involved since this is a stellar effort. My only complaint is that the new material follows after the original LP cue order, and not the order of appearance in the film. Aside from that admittedly small gripe, everything else is perfect. The re-mastering job is top notch, with plenty of additionally material inserted into the original cues, along with all new tracks located on the last two-thirds of the disc. The liner notes are beefy and contain plenty of information and adorned with crisp photos of the cast.

1 - We Have All The Time In The World (3:15)

2 - This Never Happened To The Other Feller (5:06)

3 - Try (3:26)

4 - Ski Chase (3:39)

5 - Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown? (3:21)

6 - Main Theme - On Her Majesty's Secret Service (2:35)

7 - Journey To Blofeld's Hideaway (4:53)

8 - We Have All The Time In The World (2:59)

9 - Over & Out (3:11)

10 - Battle at Piz Gloria (4:03)

11 - We Have All The Time In The World /

        James Bond Theme (4:38)

Previously Unreleased Bonus Tracks

12 - Journey to Draco's Hideaway (3:41)

13 - Bond and Draco (4:34)

14 - Gumbold's Safe (4:59)

15 - Bond Settles In (2:16)

16 - Bond Meets the Girls (3:27)

17 - Dusk at Piz Gloria (2:32)

18 - Sir Hillary's Night Out

       (Who Will Buy My Yesterdays?) (4:46)

19 - Blofeld's Plot (5:19)

20 - Escape from Piz Gloria (4:53)

21 - Bobsled Chase (2:03)