James Bond For Your Eyes Only [Capitol]

For Your Eyes Only represented the most refreshing of the Roger Moore/ James Bond movies, and was the only one of Moore's films as 007 that even attempted to emulate the best of the Sean Connery James Bond films, From Russia with Love. It didn't entirely succeed, mostly due to Moore's inadequacy for the role by that point in his life and career, and some loose ends in the script (and a silly opening sequence); but it was, for many longtime fans, the most watchable of the series '70s and '80s releases. Bill Conti's music is a decidedly mixed bag, however, comprised of synth-disco hybrid music that now sounds more dated than any of John Barry's '60s-era scores. The title track is an exception: a hauntingly melodic, passionately sung ballad (featuring Sheena Easton) that's as good as anything in the post-'60s series entries; and some of the later tracks on the original soundtrack, such as "St. Cyril's Monastery," recall Barry's work on From Russia with Love in a favorable manner (in terms of subtleties, dynamics, and mood). "Make It Last All Night" is also a reasonably successful piece of effect music, thought hardly germane to the Bond series. The February 2003 expanded and remastered edition of James Bond For Your Eyes Only comes with seven bonus tracks that were assembled from various short cues that weren't included on the original LP -- they comprise 22 minutes of music, not much of it open to analysis -- most of the best of it derives from the title track's melody. "Ski...Shoot...Jump..." offers some unusual (for this series) extended keyboard effects, and "Sub Vs. Sub" and "Run Them Down"/"The Climb" recall John Barry's music from the early part of the series. The notes are devoted somewhat more to the movie than to the music, but the sound is excellent.