Mar 19, 2025
MATT MONRO FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE 1963
Italian 7-inch single
seen from United States
seen from Netherlands
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from Sweden
seen from Belgium
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from Malaysia
seen from Malaysia
seen from Malaysia
seen from Malaysia
seen from Finland
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from China
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
MATT MONRO FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE 1963
Italian 7-inch single
Matt Monro.
TANTALIZING TUNES TOURNEY - ROUND ONE
"From Russia With Love" by Matt Monro
"Por una Cabeza" by Carlos Gardel
Propaganda for "From Russia With Love": none
Propaganda for "Por una Cabeza": none
Most underrated James Bond song?
“From Russia with Love” by Matt Monro
“Thunderball” by Tom Jones
“You Only Live Twice” by Nancy Sinatra
“Moonraker” by Shirley Bassey
“The Living Daylights” by a-ha
“If There Was a Man” by the Pretenders
“Licence to Kill” by Gladys Knight
“GoldenEye” by Tina Turner
“Surrender” by k.d. lang
“Tomorrow Never Dies” by Sheryl Crow
“The World Is Not Enough” by Garbage
Other
Frank Sinatra said of Monro after his death: “If I had to choose three of the finest male vocalists in the singing business, Matt would be one of them. His pitch was right on the nose; his word enunciations letter perfect; his understanding of a song thorough.”
Various Artists: James Bond - 13 Original Themes (1983) [Soundtrack]
This 40-year-old collection of 13 Original Themes from almost as many James Bond films is a remnant of my youth, when Ian Fleming’s thrill-a-minute novels about the dangerous, debonair, and invincible British spy filled my teenage shelves, alongside the works of Stephen King, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Douglas Adams.
Don’t forget, the Cold War ‘80s were still in full swing and most of the music I was listening to -- heavy metal -- devoted a fair amount of attention to describing apocalyptic scenarios -- just like the ones agent 007 was constantly averting, or at least delaying, for a little while longer.
And, no matter where you stand on Fleming’s books and the often campy, kitschy and, yes, sexist, action pictures starred by Sean Connery, Roger Moore, and that other guy (*), you have to appreciate how no expense was spared in delivering chart-worthy hits (invariably synched to memorable opening credit sequences) performed by some of the world biggest stars.
Let’s see, there’s Tom Jones’ bombastic “Thunderball,” Nancy Sinatra’s romantic “You Only Live Twice,” Carly Simon’s mildly jazzy “Nobody Does it Better,” Sheena Easton’s sultry “For Your Eyes Only,” and, greatest of them all, Paul McCartney & Wings’ colossal “Live and Let Die” and Shirley Bassey’s gloriously histrionic “Goldfinger”! (**)
Don’t force me to pick one of the final two, and, yes, an exclamation mark is required for the latter.
Of course there were also some relative misfires (not even Bond always hit his target), including Matt Monro’s “From Russia with Love,” Lulu’s “The Man With The Golden Gun,” Rita Coolidge’s “All Time High,” and an odd choice in Louis Armstrong’s “We Have All the Time in the World,” but then, everything about ‘69’s In her Majesty’s Secret Service was odd.
And many of these songs owed their menacing but immediately recognizable chord sequence to the original, instrumental Bond theme composed for 1962’s franchise-launching Dr. No by Monty Norman, arranged by John Barry, and performed by session veteran Vick Flick and his almost surf-y guitar.
This musical tradition evolved in the latter half of the ‘80s to include hit-making groups like Duran Duran (“A View to a Kill,” inescapable on MTV) and A-Ha (“The Living Daylights”), but I gradually lost interest in the Bond franchise as it cycled through Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig because, well, I grew up. (***)
But the best of these Bond themes still evoke welcome nostalgic memories, just like any other period-defining soundtracks (Star Wars, Jaws, The Godfather, The Blues Brothers, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Raiders of the Lost Ark, etc., etc.) of our impressionable years -- and the impressionable years of subsequent generations.
* Speaking of the other guy, one-and-done Bond George Lazenby, there’s a compelling documentary about his strange life and career (currently available on Hulu), which paints him as something of a lovable maverick and hustler who couldn’t seem to get out of his own way.
** So well matched were Bassey and 007 that she may be the only artist (I haven’t checked) invited back for an encore, specifically “Diamonds are Forever” and “Moonraker,” albeit with less spectacular results.
*** “This point is debatable,” my wife says.
More Soundtracks: 200 Motels, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Animal House, The Blues Brothers, Chariots of Fire, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Goldfinger, The Harder They Come, Hawk the Slayer, Help!, The Hitch-Hikers’ Guide to the Galaxy, Jesus Christ Superstar, Labyrinth, Lawrence of Arabia, Magical Mystery Tour, Mel Brooks’ Greatest Hits, The Muppet Movie, The Pick of Destiny, The Pink Panther, Popeye, Profondo Rosso, Purple Rain, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Singles, The Sound of Music, Star Wars, This is Spinal Tap, Thunderball, Yellow Submarine.
