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Today, from the Bond on Vinyl archives, we’re still listening to music from Licence To Kill!
Following up on yesterday’s post… Yes, I also have the 12” Licence to Kill UK single, but this one is in the more common gold sleeve, even though there was also a UK exclusive 12” with the red sleeve…
This release has the extended version of the title track on the A-side. It features a repeat of the instrumental “Pam” and also the shortened version of LTK on the B-side. Before American composer Michael Kamen recorded the film’s score with the National Philharmonic Orchestra, he had previously collaborated with them for films such as The Dead Zone and Highlander. There was never an official soundtrack released for Highlander. However, some of the vocal tracks appeared on the Queen album A Kind of Magic. A handful of Kamen’s music cues were finally released nearly a decade later on the compilation album Highlander – The Original Scores.
In addition to theatrical releases, Kamen teamed up with Eric Clapton to score the 1985 BBC mini-series adaptation of The Edge of Darkness, for which they won a BAFTA Award for Best Original Television Score. This mini-series was directed by Martin Campbell, who went on to direct both GoldenEye and Casino Royale (2006). While Casino Royale was not a winner after being nominated for Outstanding British Film, like Kamen, Campbell had also taken home a BAFTA for The Edge of Darkness as Best Director, with the series itself winning for Best Drama Series/Serial.
Though Campbell did not bring Kamen back for further work on a Bond film score, Kamen did reunite with both Eric Clapton and the National Philharmonic Orchestra the year after Licence to Kill for Clapton’s live album 24 Nights. The album was recorded when Clapton played twenty-four consecutive nights at Royal Albert Hall in London, with Kamen leading the orchestra.
120. Gladys Knight – Licence To Kill (12″)
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