Under the Covers with James Bond - "The Man with the Golden Gun"
The name is Barry. John Barry. After not taking on the mission of scoring Live and Let Die, the composer returned to the James Bond series in 1974 for The Man with the Golden Gun. The film didn't fair well among critics and even Barry reportedly didn't care for this theme song. Personally, I think this particular Bond title song is unfairly maligned. Yes it is dripping with innuendo. Yes it is a bit ridiculous, but that is partly what makes it fun to listen to.
Following the collaboration of George Martin and Paul McCartney on the previous film, John Barry returning to the Bond franchise logically meant a return to the classy and brassy Barry sound in the title song. Martin and Macca's influence is still apparent though, notably the rock beat and electric guitar which play very well together with the orchestral elements of the song as belted out by British singer Lulu.
The rock side of this song gets explored further on a cover version by Icelandic singer Emilíana Torrini. Note the heavier guitars and very Björk-like vocal delivery.
This track comes from Torrini's 1995 album Crouçie D'où Là, which was an Iceland exclusive release. Emilíana Torrini has a talent for crafting entertaining covers, further demonstrated by her take on "White Rabbit" on the Sucker Punch soundtrack album.
While this cover sticks fairly close to script in terms of its overall sound, the same can't be said of this next one by Desert Rock adherents, Thin White Rope. Listen carefully to this one.
The only thing about this track which you can identify with Bond music is the reverb style of the guitar line. Davis, CA experimental rockers Thin White Rope push the boundaries on this cover from their 1988 Red Sun EP and it took some deeper research to confirm this was in fact a cover of "The Man with the Golden Gun". There's a bit of a Latin guitar riff running through it and as an instrumental Bond cover it is a unique and interesting alternative spin to the usual Surf Rock renditions of Bond songs.
There is one more song which is very closely associated with The Man with the Golden Gun by a man named Alice, but that is a story for another day.
The music of James Bond will return in The Spy Who Loved Me.
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