For Your Eyes Only (1981)

Composer(s):
Bill Conti

Released in:
1981

Reviews

Bill Conti does James Bond...?
by Bret Wheadon (January 22, 2008)
I'm surprised by the high score this soundtrack receives from most listeners; yes, it's atypical of other Bond scores, and rather than pay homage to John Barry's sound, Conti strikes out on his own with a unique score which services the film; but as a stand-alone listen, it's clear that this soundtrack has not aged well. Alone among the James Bond soundtracks, this one sounds stuck in the 1970s - replete with synthesizers, disco rhythms, wailing electric guitar and muzak-style reiterations of the theme song, "For Your Eyes Only" only has a couple of bright spots: the eerie "St. Cyril's Monastery" and the Barry-like "Gunbarrel/Flowers For Teresa/Sinking The St. Georges" which succeeds by utilizing a full orchestra and eschewing the modern synthesizers which otherwise keep this soundtrack sounding more like a tense episode of "The Love Boat" than a James Bond thriller. The bonus tracks on the CD reissue display a greater breadth of orchestra color than the original album issue, but the album still leaves me hankering for the meatier John Barry scores.

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