John Barry's DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (1971) - NEW! 55th Anniversary Remastered & Expanded Edition (LLL)

[Quppa 672]

Really looking forward to this - I was listening to the 2003 release again as preparation and honestly it already sounded great to my ears. I did notice an unpleasant glitch at about 1:35 in track 7 that I hope is fixed in this new release.

 

Having everything in the proper order will also be a relief. Even the first 12 tracks of that 2003 release were a bit odd - even though they share the same names as the 1971 album, half of them have extra content.   

 

[Trope 1,458]

2 hours ago, Quppa said:

Even the first 12 tracks of that 2003 release were a bit odd - even though they share the same names as the 1971 album, half of them have extra content.   

This was the case with the 2003 releases of You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Diamonds Are Forever, and Live and Let Die. Certain tracks that were edited down for the OST releases were "expanded". 

 

And yes, I hope that the click in "Diamonds Are Forever (Bond and Tiffany)" is not an issue with the source, but rather an error on the 2003 pressing.

 

Interestingly, I noticed that the muted trumpet at 1:05 in "Gunbarrel and Manhunt" (2003) is panned to the left channel, whereas it is in the right channel in the LLL sample. I recall Chris Malone discussing on the podcast the various "stems" and microphone placements he had to work with, so I wonder what other little adjustments we will discover in this new mix!

[Quppa 672]

1 hour ago, Trope said:

And yes, I hope that the click in "Diamonds Are Forever (Bond and Tiffany)" is not an issue with the source, but rather an error on the 2003 pressing.

 

It's not present in the '2015 remaster' on digital platforms, so I'm hopeful.

 

https://tidal.com/album/77635334

 

[A. A. Ron 2,485]

I never thought the 2003 album sounded bad, but I got the chance to play most of the main program of the new album this morning and it really does blow every previous edition out of the water. LA to Las Vegas, an old favorite of mine stood as particularly improved. Love it!

[Yavar Moradi 4,427]

22 minutes ago, A. A. Ron said:

I never thought the 2003 album sounded bad, but I got the chance to play most of the main program of the new album this morning and it really does blow every previous edition out of the water. LA to Las Vegas, an old favorite of mine stood as particularly improved. Love it!

https://lalalandrecords.com/diamonds-are-forever-55th-anniversary-remastered-expanded-limited-edition-2-cd-set/

Quote

Produced by Neil S. Bulk, mixed by Chris Malone and mastered by Doug Schwartz

 

 

Yavar

[OneBuckFilms 530]

Been listening to this one. Lots of fun. Sounds great also.

[Holko 12,075]

I was never a fan of the movie and wasn't impressed by the score in it and neither was I too impressed with it on an evaluation listen so this also ended up as just a suite in my collection. Some nice things but overall it really lacks enough fun and cool stuff and interesting instrumentations, it has very little musical storytelling and overall arc, and a lot of the writing is very repetitive. Despite this it ended up being the third longest suite so far by a few seconds, behind OHMSS and LTK.

 

 

The song is the alternate for the extra lyrics.

 

• Starting section:
  • Gun Barrel And Manhunt of course, with 1:03-1:12 and 2:20- removed.
  • Peter Franks 0:55-2:00 replaces the ending action part, thought this was a better fuller way to introduce the action theme.
  • Mrs Whistler And Hovercraft to Holland 0:46-1:51 for its big Bond theme and introducing DAF.
  • Mr. Wint And Mr. Kidd with 0:04-0:33, 1:01-1:25, 1:37-2:02 removed mostly for the repetition
  • Peter Franks 2:01-end for its cool DAF march
• Vegas section
  • Los Angeles to Las Vegas (love this cue that seems to anticipate LALD's groovy funk) with 1:02-2:09 removed for repetition and 2:16-end chopped off, instead transitioning straight to...
  • The Whyte House with the rhythm unbroken (but with the time signature obviously changing), fading out early between 1:07 and 1:32. This cool as hell track not having a proper ending even in the extended version might be my only gripe with this set productionwise.
  • Diamonds Are Forever (ugh thanks for the creative and not at all confusing OST names Barry... D1T5) with 1:27-2:36 removed for repetition, wonderful Bondy jazzy version
  • Q's Trick with 0:15-1:25 removed for repetiton, bringing the section opening's energy back up a bit
• Middle developments
  • Moon Buggy Ride (film version) with 1:16-0:32 removed for repetition and 1:08-1:38 replaced with Moon Buggy Ride (alternate segment) with 0:00-0:49 for a fuller exploration of this cool 007 derivative, then 1:58-end chopped off.
  • Bond Meets Bambi And Thumper (Extended Version) 1:10-end for its real cool sounding Bond theme
  • We Lost Her And WW Tectronics 2:52-3:18 transitioning into 1:53-2:50, this gave the DAF march a better escalation.
• Tension rise and low point
  • 007 and Counting 0:56-1:20, 2:12-2:28, 3:08-3:16, 0:00-0:55, 3:16-end (this last section with some speed massaging to fit). Just... don't ask. I love and hate this track at the same time because of how close it is to going into YOLT space march stuff but never does (now that one will be an instabuy!) so this is the result of multiple rounds of trying to cut down on the repetitions and constant edging and get to a fuller more constant buildup.
  • Slumber Inc. 0:35-end, which in this context put next to the YOLT-ey space cue in my head functions more as a Moonrakery space cue predecessor than as the comedically over the top source music that it actually is.
  • Bond Smells a Rat with 0:28-0:30 and 0:56-1:03 removed for tempo and repetition respectively. Awesome tense cue, then hard overlap with...
  • We Lost Her And WW Tectronics 0:00-0:30 to play it off, so interesting that he brought back the OHMSS finale action music!
  • The End Of Mr. Wint And Mr. Kidd
  • Breaststroke Lessons to bring the action theme back
• Finale
  • Oil Rig Attack with its cool dramatic buildup and awesome 007 intro
  • To Hell with Blofeld joined in straight to continue the rhythm
  • Diamonds Are Forever (Extended Version) 0:51-end as another wonderful jazzy version to play the whole thing off.

[Rachael Foley 10,189]

Isn't We Lost Her a variation of the DAF theme? 

[Jay 46,387]

Bulk & Malone back on the Music of Bond pod

 

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2319576/episodes/18937172-diamonds-restored-at-55-the-mob-interview-with-la-la-land-records-producer-neil-s-bulk-mixer-chris-malone

[mstrox 7,351]

Got mine today.  Something I’ve never seen before in a pressed/sealed CD - paint/ink fingerprints in a couple places on disc 2. 

 

 

Thankfully they buffed off without too much effort, and I’m hoping that it was able to be ripped all right - will be listening soon.

[Quppa 672]

17 hours ago, Jay said:

Bulk & Malone back on the Music of Bond pod

 

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2319576/episodes/18937172-diamonds-restored-at-55-the-mob-interview-with-la-la-land-records-producer-neil-s-bulk-mixer-chris-malone

 

This is the same March 31 episode posted earlier.

 

 

 

[Jay 46,387]

My mistake!

[Luke Skywalker 2,387]

is there a chronological playlist of this with all the source music included?

[Trope 1,458]

This is a fantastic release, I've been listening to it non-stop for over a week since it arrived.

 

The sound is excellent. Interesting choice for Malone to alter the main program mix and place the trumpets in the right channel (along with a few other adjustments). And cool that he left those instruments in their original stereo placement for the OST reconstruction.

 

Diamonds is such a colourful and vibrant score, sleek and mysterious yet punchy and hard-hitting, dramatic and fun at the same time - everything one would want in a Bond score. This and Thunderball are tied as my favourites in the LLL expanded Bond catalogue. I feel like Barry nailed the atmosphere with these two scores.

 

I can't get enough of "Gun Barrel and Manhunt". To me, it's the most "hell yeah, James Bond is back!" opening he wrote. It goes through so many moods in three minutes:

- A killer opening gun barrel (the last Barry score to use electric guitar for the theme).

- Faux-peaceful Japanese "YOLT" textures, suddenly interrupted by awesome brass stabs and tension. 

- Smooth, sensual strings transitioning to a no-nonsense reprise of the Bond theme on guitar.

- Mysterious, evocative, "swimming" textures from 1:30 (my favourite section). It's amazing how Barry is able to create these moods with such simple instrumentation and so few/repeated notes. I love the subtle hint of danger when the horns enter at 2:03.

[Andy 7,753]

9 hours ago, Trope said:

This and Thunderball are tied as my favourites in the LLL expanded Bond catalogue. I feel like Barry nailed the atmosphere with these two scores.

I agree!

 

This was a first time listen for me, and I loved it.  I think the Song is a top 3 for me, especially a minute in when the groove really digs in.  Barry makes excellent use of it, as expected in very seductive quotes.  It’s a winner. And yeah the sound is phenomenal.