Recommended music:
Today, from the Bond on Vinyl archives, we’re listening to the next James Bond film, Licence To Kill!
John Glen’s last film as a Bond director marked Timothy Dalton’s final role as “the serious Bond.” The movie always felt so 80s to me, complete with ninjas, a bar fight, and cocaine smuggling. Robert Davi, a young Benicio del Toro, and even Wayne Newton fill the screen as the villains steal the show. The film quickly faded at the box office due to many franchise sequels dominating the summer of 1989.
As John Barry was out of the role as composer while he recovered from throat surgery, Glen brought in Michael Kamen, “the closest thing to John Barry,” to provide a suspense-filled soundtrack in line with other action movies he’d previously scored. Neither Gladys Knight’s main theme nor Patti Labelle’s “If You Asked Me To,” which played over the end credits, failed to soar on the Billboard charts.
Until the more recent resurgence of the vinyl format, this was the last Bond soundtrack released on vinyl. I’ve tracked down the US and UK versions on CD, but I had to get the European vinyl release from Spain, as I’ve yet to find the US vinyl cover.
The soundtrack was released around the same time as the film’s June theatrical debut. My 1987 European vinyl is fine, but I’m ready for an update on vinyl that matches the 35th anniversary La-La Land Records release with a remastered and expanded edition of the score.
19. Licence To Kill (The James Bond 007 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Album)
Dale's Toys 