Sunday, December 16, 2007


Moonraker is the soundtrack for the 11th James Bond film of the same name.
This was the third Bond film where the theme song was performed by Shirley Bassey. The soundtrack was composed by John Barry. The film uses two versions of the song; a ballad version heard over the main titles, and a disco version heard over the end credits. The song failed to make an impact on the charts, though it remains popular among fans.
The score for Moonraker marked a turning point in John Barry's output, abandoning the Kentonesque brass of his earlier Bond scores and instead scoring the film with slow, rich string passages - a trend which Barry would continues in the 80s with scores such as Out of Africa and Somewhere in Time.
Moonraker uses for the first time since Diamonds Are Forever a piece of music called "007" (on track 7), the secondary Bond theme composed by Barry which was introduced in From Russia with Love.
Unusually, the score was recorded in Paris - all previous John Barry Bond scores had been recorded at CTS Studios in London. A general strike in Britain had forced the production to relocate to France and it was decided the film would be scored there as well. Unlike all of the other Bond films, the score for Moonraker has never received an extended release, due to the loss of the original session masters which appear to have been misplaced in France.

All Music Guide 3/5 stars link Moonraker (soundtrack) Track listing
Some familiar pieces of music also appear in the film:

"Moonraker - Main Title" - Shirley Bassey
"Space Lazer Battle"
"Miss Goodhead Meets Bond"
"Cable Car and Snake Fight"
"Bond Lured to Pyramid"
"Flight into Space"
"Bond Arrives in Rio and Boat Chase"
"Centrifuge and Corrine Put Down"
"Bond Smells a Rat"
"Moonraker - End Title" - Shirley Bassey
Frédéric Chopin's Prelude no. 15 in D-flat major (op. 28), "Raindrop"): Drax playing a piano when Bond arrives.
Richard Strauss' "Also Sprach Zarathustra" (op. 30) (forever associated with 2001: A Space Odyssey): a hunting horn plays its distinctive first three notes.
Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka by Johann Strauss II: during the hovercraft scene on Saint Mark's square.
The alien-contacting theme from Close Encounters of the Third Kind: as the key-code for a security door.
Elmer Bernstein's theme from The Magnificent Seven: when Bond appears on horseback in gaucho clothing.

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