Although this is by no means a definitive compilation of the lifetime of work by composer John Barry, it is an excellent starting point for fans of the composer’s work. Many in the world today do not realise the importance of John Barry’s music. Indeed, he was crucially important to the development and sound of many film and television series pieces out there. In addition, he was extremely important for the James Bond films as he scored 11 primary United Artists movies of the James Bond series in total (remember that there are over 25 James Bond films today made by United Artists alone), although it is Monty Norman who created and wrote the James Bond theme that has been a staple of all the 007 films since the beginning of the series. The story goes that Monty Norman created the signature James Bond theme, but his recorded version of it was knocked back by United Artists due to the arrangements present in the song. John Barry remade it over the years to the classic tune that it is today, which debuted on the first ever James Bond film, Dr. No (a 1962 release). To be fair, both Monty Norman and John Barry deserve credit for the creation of this super important piece of music, and Monty Norman successfully sued John Barry over this matter. Although this all occurred, John Barry became internationally famous and accredited for his works, both in the film and TV shows of the day for musical compositions. This compilation is a good taste tester of the music that he made in the early part of his long and interesting music career. Let’s hear it and we shall see where it goes.

You Only Live Twice – Instrumental is from the famous James Bond film released back in 1967. This is a sweet, lovely and dramatic instrumental that serves a great purpose for the film itself, even without the vocals from Nancy Sinatra. Given that connection, this also sounds a lot like Frank Sinatra’s work. Nonetheless, this is absolutely gorgeous to listen to and is a great film musical moment of the time. Really, really great to hear. A fine, sweet and dramatic tune that has some awesome classical guitars throughout, playing sweet melodies for people to hear. A really top listen, through and through. Worth your ears. An excellent piece of music.

Born Free is the theme of the TV series. It begins with some great and loud instrumentation, with some very unforgettable melodies throughout. This is a really great and awesome listen, even if many people have never seen the TV series before in their lives. A really awesome instrumental tune, this sounds magical and captivating to listen to throughout it all. This is amazing music for many listeners to hear and enjoy, to this very day. It sounds magical and sublime, with a great take on orchestral music throughout. A really excellent and dynamic tune. It gradually concludes with sweet melodies and excellent supporting instrumentation to boot. A really great tune, period.

Goldfinger is another famous James Bond film theme. It sounds dramatic at the start and launches into the instrumental theme, minus the vocals. Again, this sounds super awesome and sweet. Immediately, Bond fans will have their hearts and minds cast back to the actual film itself. There are gorgeous strings, muted guitars and horns galore to support this fantastic music. John Barry was certainly a talented composer, and he created some of the best and most memorable film melodies that one can think of. A really awesome and sweet tune to listen to, this was an excellent listen in the film itself. This changes dramatically in the second half, bringing back memories of this fantastic and great film. The film itself is one of the best 007 films as well. The music builds up in intensity and volume in the second half and sounds absolutely awesome to listen to. A great, great piece of music with a ton of suspense throughout it all. All in all, a great listen that has multiple sections used at various points in the film itself. It concludes with banging drums and a sense of real urgency to the music, before concluding loudly. Excellent.

The Whisperers is another important theme song by John Barry. It begins with some eerie harpsichord-styled parts, and piano as well and sounds very unusual in its melodic structure. This is another good tune that sounds amazing and sweet throughout. A really nice listen, this progresses into a moody and low-key piece of music, tinged with melancholy and sadness throughout. This is a sad and strange piece of music throughout, and it sounds very different to most theme music from films. Some flute is present in the second half, followed by a string section. Quite frankly, this is really depressing music. Not the best musical moment overall.

From Russia with Love begins with some synchronised instrumentation, and leads into a fantastic tune that was taken from the James Bond film of the same name. It has some excellent and sweet guitars and what sounds like Mandolin, over the top of rich and flavoursome orchestration. A really good listen throughout, this is a timeless moment in modern film history that sounds great musically. This music no doubt has lasted the test of time throughout, this music flows like a river through a stream, smooth as butter. All in all, a really top-notch and sweet listening experience that counts. Very, very good. It ends with the music from the start of the track. Very nice indeed.

Wednesday’s Child (From “The Quiller Memorandum”) launches into it with harpsichord and other sweet instrumentation at hand. The music quickly evolves into a sweet and decent tune conducted by the John Barry Orchestra. This music sounds moving, glorious and wonderful overall, just sounding extremely good as a result. Some flute and other instrumentation enter, making this pretty tune come very much alive. It wraps up nicely after just over two minutes in length, with a majestic fade out.

Space March (Capsule in Space) is a very interesting listen from the start. Indeed, it is an orchestral equivalent of a late 20th-century march into outer space. A really great and established theme song, this sounds extremely wonderful and dramatic throughout this piece of soundtrack glory. It is an awesome and wonderfully suspenseful tune, from the segment of the James Bond film You Only Live Twice (1967). This outlines the drama, themes and majesty of that film. Although that film is extremely dated today, this is a great reminder of the film itself. It sounds very dramatic and interesting throughout it all, which is a very good thing to hear. A wonderful theme song for the outer space segments of the film itself. It fades out at the end.

The Girl with the Sun in Her Hair is another memorable John Barry piece of music that begins dramatically and sounds quite good. It quickly launches into another interesting orchestral instrumental that has power, beauty and finesse throughout. This is a sweet and upbeat-sounding tune that was also likely recorded for a James Bond film. It sounds simple, pretty and beautiful, with Mandolin playing present in the orchestration as well. All in all, a really fine and sweet tune to listen to, especially given the film context of the time. This music will last, hopefully forever, if forever is a given. It does sound really great and interesting throughout, all the same. A sweet tune. The ending is eerie, however.

Thunderball is the main instrumental from the highest-ever grossing (adjusted for inflation today) James Bond film of the 1960s. It begins with some loud and crashing instrumentation and sounds absolutely beautiful and phenomenally awesome throughout. This was obviously used heavily throughout the film itself and has a touch of piano thrown in for good measure. The horn melodies throughout are the best for this film, and are a deep reminder of the scenes and the experience of the film throughout. A really awesome pseudo-Jazz Music piece with strings, classy piano and saxophone-based horns throughout it all. This stands tall, to this very day. A really awesome listen, James Bond fans alike will love this particular tune. A really good listen, and smoother than butter. It ends with loud horn melodies to finish up with. Very, very good.

Dutchman is another theme song for a film. It begins with a clanging piano that has been treated and resonates very well. The ticking of clocks enters, and this piece of music sounds very good indeed. This has some extra instrumentation and percussion-based sounds that sound great in the mix. All in all, this music is supremely fantastic throughout this album, although it would have made more sense for John Barry to divide this compilation up into both James Bond and non-James Bond musical themes. Still, a really flavoursome and interesting listening experience throughout that takes one back to the 1960s, when seeing films at the cinema was a really interesting and exciting thing to do, much unlike most movies being released out of Hollywood today. This ends with a synchronised and clanging conclusion of instrumentation.

The Wrong Box is another theme for the show of the same name. It sounds gloriously beautiful and majestic from the start of it all, and sounds a lot like Tchaikovsky, to be frank in its musical appropriation. Still, it is not that other famous composer. Even so, this particular instrumental is an absolute winner of a listening experience that sounds very good to this day. John Barry certainly could write great music for both film and TV shows during his lifetime. A winner of a listen, all the same. This is a very magical tune to hear, and it puts one’s mind back to the films of the 1960s and 1970s throughout time. Very awesome.

The James Bond Theme (From “Dr. No”) is the key track from this album. It is the iconic instrumental with Fender guitars playing the simple, catchy and memorable theme song from the 007 movies. Any movie fan will easily recognise this theme, provided that they have seen at least one of the many Bond films in existence. After all, it is the longest-running film series in history. This swings like a baseball bat, and sounds amazing throughout. This is definitely one to chuck into a playlist on Spotify for nostalgic value. A legendary song that was originally written by Monty Norman, but has been appropriated by John Barry here. All in all, this sounds absolutely amazing, to this very day. A winner of a tune, and unforgettable upon hearing.

007 is the alternate theme song for the James Bond films, played in many of those films. It has a huge sense of urgency throughout it all, and it sounds absolutely wonderful, heroic and brilliant. A really great and adventurous tune throughout, this has a catchy, fast-paced and memorable melody. It will cast your mind back to the glory days of Sean Connery’s appearances as James Bond, and the iconic scenes throughout those early Bond films. A great second theme song by John Barry, this ends subtly and darkly.

Mister Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a club based on the Thunderball (1965) James Bond movie, and this is the music based on that particular scene, which is interesting and memorable for film fans out there (no spoilers here, watch the film instead). It is slow, pretty and full of moody 007 melodies that still sound absolutely wonderful, to this very day. An awesome listen, even if you haven’t seen the film, but especially if you have done so. A really great snippet of music that sounds just like it should have done way back in 1965. A really thematic and sweet listen, there is a sustained note horn melody in the second half, followed up by a completely different section of music utilised throughout that film. A really great tune to hear, do see the early James Bond films if you have not done so already. They are magical, and so are these pieces of music.

Main Title: The Chase – Alternate Version is another dark-sounding piece of music that sounds very different throughout. It sounds deep, dark and disturbing and is enough to raise the hairs on your body a bit. Nonetheless, this does sound very fantastic. There is a strange instrument in this tune, which is an unusual-sounding wind instrument of sorts here. Even so, this sounds very dramatic and awesome for what this is. A great reminder of the legendary film music of John Barry. All in all, an unusual tune but something very valuable. There are both moments of light and shade in this tune, and it sounds really suspenseful and animated as a track itself. Great to hear, all the same. Wonderful. It concludes smoothly.

Theme From ‘King Rat’ is another theme song that sounds very dark from the start. It soon emerges into a good piece of piano and harpsichord playing that sounds sweet and different. A very good listening experience throughout, this launches into a smooth and lovely wind instrument piece that sounds very sad and moody throughout. John Barry definitely knew how to write and compose great music, much like John Williams, the famous film composer did with the Star Wars films and other similar films alike. In any case, this is another really good listen which is mostly melancholy with lush fragments of instrumentation entering into this tune. All in all, this is a really great and fantastic piece of music that sounds incredibly inspired. It sounds super good and makes one want to go and watch some classic films from the 1960s and 1970s. A very good listen indeed. This wraps up gradually after over four minutes in length with some moody instrumentation and what sounds like Chinese Zither melodies.

The Knack is a much lighter theme song for a film. It has some wordless harmonies throughout and sounds different and sweet. It launches into a Jazzy section with double bass playing and other orchestration to match the music at hand. This sounds super lovely as well, with organ and other unusual instrumentation for a theme song to match it all. Another winner of a track, this paints the music of John Barry in a good light. It sounds fantastic and magically done throughout. The organ solo becomes noticeable in the second half, with bongo beats and some very snazzy, Jazzy drumming as well. Another great theme song to listen to and enjoy. Very, very good. It sounds extremely animated throughout.

Seance On a Wet Afternoon begins with some interesting and mournful musical melodies, which sound very different and dark indeed. This progresses along nicely and sounds very deep and dark throughout. This has some interesting sounds and playing throughout, and it sounds deep and dark throughout. A suspenseful piece of music that has some interesting piano, orchestration and other dark and subdued sounds throughout. Towards the end, this slowly builds up nicely to a singular brass section conclusion. Sweet.

The Ipcress File is another theme for a non-James Bond film. It begins with some dramatic piano, and brass instrumentation and eventually launches into a catchy and memorable theme song that sounds really brilliant throughout. A slower tune, but retaining all the necessary melodic ingredients that make this track another John Barry winner. A really great piece of music with particular emphasis on clanging piano sounds, this also has some excellent melodies from an orchestra. All in all, a really great listen throughout. This isn’t Pop Music per se, instead, it is a really phenomenal-sounding soundtrack. The music and instrumentation sound really great and memorable throughout. The clanging piano sounds very different. Another good theme song, this is again, good listening. It ends with some horn sections.

Midnight Cowboy surprisingly begins with a harmonica melody and quickly launches into a great-sounding theme for another film at hand. This is much lighter and more upbeat than you would initially think and the harmonica and other sounds throughout are really fantastically good. The accompanying arrangements are also quite nice to hear. All in all, this is another good listen from a film from many decades ago. Worth a listen if you want to feel nostalgic about Spaghetti Western-styled films. This does sound very, very good to hear. Worth your ears and time. It fades out at the end.

Theme from “Romance for Guitar and Orchestra” is a gorgeous theme tune that has some nice strings, acoustic classical guitar and clacking percussion throughout. This sounds extremely pretty and wonderful to listen to and is a glorious look back at films of the past. A really great piece of music, almost as amazing in reality as the pieces of Classical Music that legends such as Bach, Beethoven or Mozart did, but with a 20th-century twist. There is a lovely guitar and flute in the second half, this sounds really sweet and great throughout. All in all, a very awesome and moving piece of music. Just fantastic to hear. It wraps up with some neat classical guitar to fade out with.

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is the instrumental track to the James Bond film that, although was good, had George Lazenby in it. Enough said. It begins with some awesome and dramatic instrumentation, followed by some interesting keyboard melodies, perfect for the late 1960s. This sounds very interesting and nicely layered throughout and is a great reminder of the film itself. Too bad that United Artists, namely the organiser of the 007 films, Albert Broccoli, picked the wrong guy as the main actor for the film required. Still, this music is classy, wonderful and decent sounding throughout. The keyboard melodies, in particular, are very, very good. A memorable tune, if anything. Very top-notch and awesome to listen to, this is a winner. Great music. It ends with some sustained keyboards.

Theme from “The Appointment” is another decent theme song that is slow, moody and sweet. This music is incredibly beautiful and has some lovely harpsichord throughout. This is a very romantic and European-sounding piece that sounds perfect to listen to on holiday in somewhere like Italy. A really excellent piece with what sounds like a Mandolin as well, this music lives on today. John Barry obviously could make some sensational listening experiences for films and TV shows. The second half has some frenetic Mandolin-styled playing that is really fantastic. Another awesome theme song, this is legendary. Worth a listen for sure, even if you don’t know what these recordings are from in relation to the films and TV shows that they were a part of.

The Lion In Winter is the final track on this compilation. It begins with some glorious vocal harmonies, loud horns and sounds very unusual indeed. This quickly follows into an organ-led and rather Jazzy tune that sounds sweet and brilliant. A really cool and excellent listen, this music is a bit of a mish-mash between some Progressive Rock sensibilities and orchestral sounds. A bit weird, but that is perfectly fine for the intention at hand. In the second half, horns and organ solos are very prominent throughout. This is yet another good listening experience that sounds varied and very sweet. There is a call-and-response section of brass, drums and vocal harmonies versus the organ here. It ends with the wordless harmonies to conclude with, along with organ and drum rolls.

This compilation isn’t the most ideal way of experiencing the legendary music of John Barry. As mentioned before, it would have been better to release this as a double album with James Bond musical pieces on one side, and other musical pieces on the other side. Still, having said that this is most definitely a good starting point to hear how good John Barry’s musical works were. It has a large dollop of musical style and flair. If you have never seen a James Bond film in its entirety, now is the time to change that and one would be advised to watch the films from Dr. No (1962) onwards. This is a good listen regardless. Should you hear this? If you are a bit of a film buff then yes. Otherwise, you may miss the point of this compilation.

A decent but imperfect collection of major musical pieces from decades ago.

7/10