You Only Live Twice CD soundtrack

soundtrack review

With Sean Connery announcing that You Only Live Twice would be his last James Bond film, John Barry pulls out something special for the You Only Live Twice CD soundtrack. The title theme is sung expertly by Nancy Sinatra and sets the mood for the rest of the cues to come.

With location work being mostly in Japan, you might expect that there would be a Japanese influence to the score, and you wouldn't be far wrong. Barry uses many flavours of Japanese local music in a number of tracks, with 'Mountains and Sunsets', 'James Bond in Japan' and 'The Wedding'. There are a number of great action tracks including 'Fight at Kobe Dock – Helga', 'Countdown for Blofeld' and 'Bond Averts World War Three to name just a few, including the classic 007 theme that returns once again in 'Little Nellie'. It is difficult to pick a highlight on the CD, since all the tracks are equally as good, plus with seven previously unreleased tracks, you will truly be spoilt for choice!

play listing

A number of cues on this CD are difficult to position. The below playlist is only approximate and based on personal preference, so you may wish to move a couple of the tracks around. The only way to get this better would be to chop up the cues and recreate the playlist. Advanced instructions on this method can be found at John Barry : A Life in Music.

2. Capsule In Space (2:42)
1. You Only Live Twice (2:45)
13. James Bond In Japan (10:41)
14. Aki, Tiger and Osato (5:43)
4. Tanaka's World (2:05)
5. A Drop in the Ocean (2:58)
3. Fight at Kobe Dock - Helga (4:01)
15. Little Nellie (3:45)
16. Soviet Capsule (2:05)
17. Spectre and Village (3:46)
6. The Death of Aki (4:19)
8. The Wedding (2:45)
7. Mountains and Sunsets (3:09)
18. James Bond - Ninja (7:06)
9. James Bond - Astronaut? (3:29)
10. Countdown for Blofeld (2:37)
11. Bond Averts World War Three (2:17)
19. Twice Is the Only Way to Live (2:49)
12. You Only Live Twice - End Title (3:33)