The Spy Who Loved Me is blessed with one of the finest of all the Bond songs, Nobody Does it Better. Unfortunately, it also has one of the weaker scores for a Bond movie. The Spy Who Loved Me is very typical for the time at which it was made. At that point in the 70's, disco was dying but still to be found and as such, it is used here to keep the action rolling. However, it doesn't work well without the action taking place in front of us.
It is largely synthesized disco music, with the occasional orchestral track like The Tanker thrown in for good measure. Although there was a good basis for a running theme for the soundtrack in its stellar opening song, there is no real musical theme that recurs over the course of the soundtrack. The Bond theme comes up on occasion which is one indication that yes, this is indeed a Bond film. The rendition of the 1977 Bond theme, heard over the ski chase in the pre-title sequence of the movie, is heard in Bond 77. It is a pretty exciting track and the Bond Theme is heard played in a form that is similar to it's original guitar version. However, that is one of the few times that it is heard at all. Nobody Does it Better is heard once in its lyrical form and then again once in a sultry instrumental rendition but it is not nearly enough to help the soundtrack.
I bought The Spy Who Loved Me for my brother and myself simply because we are big fans of Bond films and we had never seen the soundtrack before so it was also a collector's impulse buy. But one redeeming value was that it was cheap, at five dollars, it isn't much. Strangely enough, though most of the soundtrack listening public calls it one of the worst Bond scores to be composed, it was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Score for a Motion Picture category. Needless to say, it didn't win, but to be nominated is indeed a suprise. The Spy Who Loved Me isn't one of the best soundtracks I've invested in, however, it is better than some I've heard. It had potential but it again was struck down by living in the shadow of John Barry.
Total time: 36:17
1: Nobody Does it Better
2: Bond 77
3: Ride to Atlantis
4: Mojave Club
5: Nobody Does it Better (instrumental)
6: Anya
7: The Tanker
8: The Pyramids
9: Eastern Lights
10: Conclusion
11: End Titles
Review copyright � 1997 Jay Tipnis. Comments always welcome!