Thunderball – SOUNDTRACK****

Thunderball/Chateau Flight/The Spa/Switching The Body/The Bomb/Café Martinique/Thunderball/Death Of Fiona/Bond Below Disco Volonte/Search For Vulcan/007/Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

The soundtrack album from the fourth James Bond movie Thunderball. Based on the Ian Fleming spy novel the film starred Sean Connery. Music again scored by James Barry with Tom Jones singing the title track. (US:10)

"Thunderball, stands as Barry's most evocative and memorable Bond score. Tom Jones's rendition of the title track has all the muscular bombast of Bassey's previous effort, but Barry's scoring quickly shifts the mood to one of dark mystery. The brassiness of the Goldfinger score is supplanted here by jazz-inflected winds and Barry's distinctive, haunting string arrangements; a nigh-perfect cocktail of action, adventure and suspense elements."

"Definitely, one of my favourite John Barry scores for the 007 series. Thunderball perfectly captures the essence of Bond and his world. In fact, you could say that the 007 music fully evolved with this. Unlike the sparse sounding music of the first three films, Thunderball has a fully orchestrated sound filled with exciting musical motifs."

"This is one of the best James Bond soundtracks by John Barry. The Tom Jones' vocal has real power. A spectacular and haunting score. It really has that 'Bond Sound'. Highly recommended."

"Sassy, brassy, exciting and fun. Sometimes dark and deadly. Not only is this a description of Bond, but of the soundtrack to Thunderball, one of Barry's better efforts. This movie had Bond escaping death so many times, and it's reflected in pieces like Chateau Flight and Death Of Fiona. Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and 007 are classic Bond pieces. And then there is Tom Jones doing a memorable job with the main theme."

"I would say that this soundtrack is a little too dark and mysterious to be the best Bond soundtrack, but I rate it very high on my list."

"Tom Jones creates a true masterpiece with his title song that is played in many versions throughout the movie. With a powerful voice, inspired lyrics and slam-bang ending to the song, Thunderball is a James Bond theme of the highest order."