The Spy Who Loved Me CD soundtrack

soundtrack review

John Barry was not available for The Spy Who Loved Me score, so Marvin Hamlisch takes on the challenge. While Hamlisch does a good job at producing some great cues in the film, sadly this CD soundtrack is very disappointing indeed. With no additional material added this is one of the shorter CD's in the series. That may not be a problem as in the case of From Russia With Love which is short, but filled with great tracks, this isn't. Instead there are number of mediocre tracks and even ones not in the film. The popular 'Nobody Does It Better' is a classic by Carly Simon who sings it very smoothly. The CD appears to get better and better with 'Bond 77' and its disco tones mixed in with Bond themes. However things go decidedly downhill with 'Mojave Club', 'The Pyramids, 'Eastern Lights' and 'Conclusion'. While 'Ride to Atlantis' does earn back some points with variations of the theme that plays throughout the movie, it is not the version used in the film. Similarly although 'Anya' is a relaxing, romantic track, this does not appear in the film and so really is just filler material. Sadly the only other saving track here is 'The Tanker' which brings back the tension, suspense and action missing from the CD. The Spy Who Loved Me is one of Roger Moore's best James Bond films, but sadly one of the worst CD soundtracks with hardly any of the original score included.

play listing

While you may prefer to listen to the tracks as they are presented, below is a list of the tracks arranged in the order they appear in the movie, which is my personal preference of listening to the James Bond CD's.

2. Bond 77 (James Bond Theme) (4:22)
1. Nobody Does It Better* (3:31)
8. The Pyramids (1:28)
10. Conclusion (1:31)
4. Mojave Club** (2:15)
6. Anya*** (3:22) (not in film but fits nicely here)
9. Eastern Lights# (3:39)
5. Nobody Does It Better [Instrumental] (4:47)
3. Ride to Atlantis (3:30)
7. The Tanker (4:26)
11. End Titles - Nobody Does It Better* (3:25)