The Man with the Golden Gun (soundtrack)

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The Man with the Golden Gun
The Man with the Golden Gun cover
Soundtrack by John Barry
Released 1974
Recorded 1974
Length 42:17
Label EMI
Producer Frank Collura (Reissue)
Professional reviews
John Barry chronology
The Dove
(1974)
The Man with the Golden Gun
(1974)
King Kong
(1976)
James Bond soundtrack chronology
Live and Let Die
(1973)
The Man with the Golden Gun
(1974)
The Spy Who Loved Me
(1977)
Alternate cover
Re-release cover
Re-release cover

The Man with the Golden Gun is the soundtrack for the 9th James Bond film of the same name.

The theme tune was performed by Lulu, composed by John Barry, and the lyrics to the song were written by Don Black. Alice Cooper claims his song The Man With The Golden Gun was to be used by the producers of the film until it was dropped for Lulu's song instead. Cooper's song appears on his album Muscle of Love.

The theme tune and score are generally considered to be among the weakest of Barry's contributions to the series – an opinion shared by Barry himself "It's the one I hate most... it just never happened for me." [1] Certainly the title song is notable for having especially suggestive lyrics, and during a TV celebration for the 40th anniversary of the series, Lulu's performance was introduced with reference to its being the raunchiest of all Bond songs. For the first time, the song's end theme is not a straight reprise of the opener, as it begins with different lyrics (subsequent films followed suit with variations in arrangement, ahead of a new practice of using a different song altogether).

The film was also the first to drop the distinctive plucked guitar from the Bond theme heard over the Gun Barrel sequence - in all subsequent John Barry Bond scores, this theme would be heard on strings and trumpet. Not present on the album but heard in the film is a brief reprise, for recognition purposes, of the Live and Let Die theme when a character (Sheriff JW Pepper) from the previous film reappears. The next three Bond films would wittily feature excerpts from the familiar music of other films, too (though classics rather than Bond films), while OHMSS had included a janitor character whistling the theme from Goldfinger as an in-joke.

[edit] Track listing

  1. The Man With The Golden Gun - Main Title – Lulu
  2. Scaramanga's Fun House
  3. Chew Me In Grisly Land
  4. The Man With The Golden Gun (Jazz Instrumental)
  5. Getting The Bullet
  6. Goodnight Goodnight
  7. Let's Go Get 'Em
  8. Hip's Trip
  9. Kung Fu Fight
  10. In Search Of Scaramanga's Island
  11. Return To Scaramanga's Fun House
  12. The Man With The Golden Gun - End Title – Lulu

[edit] References

  1. ^ Barry, John (interviewee). (2006). James Bond's Greatest Hits [Television]. UK: North One Television.