 |  | Worth buying, but don't expect to find all of the music... |  |
The soundtrack for Licence To Kill is a curiosity worth having. The title theme, which sounds like Shirley Bassey's Goldfinger at the beginning, is surprisingly good, and rates among the better title songs. "Wedding Party" and "Dirty Love" are throw-aways, I always skip them when I listen to the CD. "Pam" really is a beautiful track, Michael Kamen (the composer) really shines here. Next is the love track "If you asked me to" which is OK, but to me seems to have aged in the 15 years since it was released. The rest of the songs on the CD are from the score from Licence To Kill. They are nowhere near matching John Barry's talent, but manage to conjure up some tension. On track 6, "James and Felix on Their Way to Church," is the gunbarrel, which is one of the better ones. Unfortunately the pre-title sequence that follows is spread over 4 tracks which really is a pain, because you have to use the search function on your CD player to find the music you're after!!! The best of the tracks on the latter half of the CD is by far "Licence Revoked" as it acts as a musical suite to the movie and contains the James Bond theme.
Overall, this soundtrack is worthwhile, but is missing alot of music. It has some great tracks like "Pam" and "Licence Revoked" and is a must in your Bond collection, or, if you are into film music, you should also have a listen!!!
June 21, 2004 | | James Bond is out on his own...and out for revenge! | |
The music of Licence to Kill is done by Michael Kamen. Gladys Knight performs the powerful title song with a magnificent voice and quality. This title song is the longest in the series running at about 5 minutes. Another stunning song is the end title song If You Asked Me To by Patti Labelle. A strong song that gives the listener a real sense of sensational quality. Tim Feehan provides the pop-rock song Dirty Love which can be heard during the bar sequence of the movie. The final song on the soundtrack Licence Revoked is a slam-bang tune that includes Michael Kamen's own rendition of the James Bond theme. A very nice soundtrack, that only comes a little short on the amount of tracks. Very Nice!
November 26, 2002 | | Only Two Reasons to Recommend This One: | |
(1) The title cut, soulfully done by Gladys Knight and (2) Patti Labelle's original rendering of a song later to be made famous by Celine Dion, "If You Asked Me To."
Everything else is lackluster, befitting this pale entry in the Bond series. July 4, 2002
| | | Okay music - some missing songs - scattered music | |
Michael Kamen actually does a good job on this soundtrack. The music would get four stars, but the CD gets three and a half due to some music missing from the movie. Some of the songs are scattered, like portions of "Sanchez Is In The Bahamas/Shark Fishing" should be on the song "James And Felix On Their Way To Church". But they are both really good songs.
Some songs do not need to be on here like the mediocre song "Dirty Love" and the song "Wedding Party". There are also some missing songs.
There are good songs though, and Michael Kamen adds a new and fresh set of music to the movie Licence To Kill. The music is fast-paced and exciting, and includes a lot of Spanish guitar. The most important song on the CD, and probably the best is the last one "Licence Revoked". At first glance I thought it would be a long and boring song for the scene where Bond gets his Licence Revoked. But take note that this is just a title, and for ten minutes there is a mix of exciting action cues from the movie, one of the most notable ones being the Bond theme music played when Bond "goes fishing" and ties a cable around the tail of Sanchez' plane. Most of the action cues in song include the Bond theme.
The music is good and fresh, and is a nice change from the other Bond soundtracks. Definitely a must buy for Bond music fans, and one to consider for those who like good movie soundtracks. April 22, 2002
In all honesty, I think this is one of the better bond soundtracks there are. Most of them usually sound all the same, but 'Licence To Kill' offers something different. Michael Kamen of the 'Die Hard' and 'Lethal Weapon' fame, amongst others, provides an exciting and hard hitting, yet beautiful score mixed with various songs from the film. Fans of the traditional bond style soundtracks may find this a little different at first, but watch the film a few times, give the CD a few listens and you'll love this album, great for any music fan, a gem for the bond fanatic.
For another style to the music for bond, check out Eric Serra's score for 'Goldeneye', might not be everyone's cup of tea, but offers an interesting and enjoyable listen. July 14, 2001
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