We decided to attempt listing soundtracks especially deserving of attention. While every Bond fan worth his martini can easily pick off his or her all time favourite score, we put together a list of what we thought were the best five soundtracks to date.

Dr No.

To exclude 1962's Dr No would be tantamount to ignoring the theme music itself, which has now become permanently associated with Agent Double O Seven.

Apart from the now legendary theme tune, the soundtrack boasts an interesting blend of pop music and other oddities, most with a Caribbean style finish. This provides more reasons for why the album is worthy of consideration because it seems so alien when compared to the richer, more refined sound of later soundtracks.

The Caribbean touch is no doubt meant to mirror the film’s Jamaican setting, with songs like the delightfully garish Underneath the Mango Tree and Kingston Calypso standing out for good measure.

Jump Up is another song with strong Jamaican overtones performed by Byron Lee & The Dragonaires, considered pioneers of Jamaican music.

Apart from the original version of the theme song (composed by Monty Norman), the album also boasts the version orchestrated and performed by John Barry, which is the version that grew famous. In reality, just about half of the 18 songs found on the soundtrack are actually featured in the film, but no one's complaining.

Text: Dwayne Pereira

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