Shaken and Stirred: The David Arnold James Bond Project

by

David Arnold

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For the most part, the originals are ingrained (or seared) in our collective memories so it's always difficult to remake songs that we have set expectations of.

With that said, these are fine efforts. Basically, if you like/love the James Bond songs but feel unhip listening to the original versions by Carly Simon, Matt Munro, or Shirley Bassey, here is a chance to drop in versions that are from artists with more, er ... street cred ... personally, I find nothing wrong with the originals and love them for their very 60's brassy exotica sound ... so these are fine supplements but not nearly as great as the original versions.

You get a variety of styles - you get updated POP with Natacha Atlas doing FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, David McAlmont doing DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER and Shara Nelson and MOONRAKER.

You get ALTERNATIVE POWER POP with Chrissie Hyde doing LIVE & LET DIE and AIMEE MANN and NOBODY DOES IT BETTER.

You get TRIP HOP with Propellerhead's ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE, LTJ Bukem with the JAMES BOND THEME and Leftfield with SPACEMARCH.

You get an ALTERNATIVE BALLAD with Iggy Pop's WE HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD.

These are all fine and interesting efforts but better than the originals - no. They take these songs into different genres and while interesting, they do not replace the original efforts.

Still, interesting enough if you like the artists or the songs and want a different interpretation.