This is the official No Time To Die soundtrack CD and the backdrop to the 25th film in the James Bond series. Recorded in collaboration with Academy and Grammy Award-winning composer Hans Zimmer, the thrilling score promises high drama, glamour and, of course, the famous Bond ‘suspense’ motif. Joining Zimmer is Johnny Marr, who co-scores and appears as featured guitarist, with additional music by composer and score producer Steve Mazzaro. Marr, who since co-founding The Smiths has enjoyed a glittering international career working as a session musician and solo artist, is a long-time collaborator with Zimmer. The soundtrack also includes Billie Eilish’s electrifying title track, co-written with her brother Finneas O’Connell…

Between 1997 (with Tomorrow Never Dies) and 2008 (with Quantum of Solace), composer David Arnold did a sterling job of emulating and developing the ‘Bond sound’ that had been established by his predecessor John Barry. Since then, other musicians have successfully emulated Arnold’s style – so much so that it wasn’t until some time after I had seen Skyfall that I realised its soundtrack was not another Arnold effort but the product of incoming composer Thomas Newman.

After scoring two Bond films, Newman has stepped aside and Hans Zimmer has now taken the reins (with additional arrangements by Steve Mazzaro and Steven Door). With credits as diverse as The Lion King (both versions), Christopher Nolan’s Batman films, and franchises including Pirates of the Caribbean and Kung Fu Panda, Zimmer is a good choice to maintain the series style. His work on The Simpsons Movie and Blade Runner 2049 has already proved that he’s a dab hand at forging the signatures of previous musicians.

Just as David Arnold used to do, Zimmer kicks off the movie with an old-school rendition of the James Bond theme, which can be heard in the traditional opening “Gun Barrel” and the swaggering “Back to MI6”, before taking on a more industrial sound in compositions such as the pulse-pounding “Message from an Old Friend” and the ominous “The Factory”. Echoing “Welcome to Cuba” from Arnold’s score for Die Another Day, the composer lavishes the exhilarating “Cuba Chase” with local flavour, with the aid of maracas, solo trumpet and flamenco guitar. Johnny Marr’s guitar work also features in other tracks, including the enigmatic “Not What I Expected” and the expectant “Gearing Up”.

Notably, the composer references the works of John Barry far more blatantly than David Arnold ever did, incorporating variations on two numbers from the classic On Her Majesty’s Secret Service soundtrack. The main title features in the grave “Good to Have You Back”, while the plaintive “Matera” is an instrumental version of the Louis Armstrong song “We Have All the Time in the World” (the song itself can be heard during the closing credits of No Time to Die, but is not included on this album).

Fear not, however – this is more than just a pastiche of earlier works. There is much more emotion in evidence here than in any previous Bond score. This is entirely fitting, and perhaps not surprising. After all, Bond is a more human character nowadays, and whereas the production team were unaware at the time that, for instance, A View to a Kill would be Roger Moore’s final appearance as 007, or that Die Another Day would be Pierce Brosnan’s, they knew all along that this 25th film in the franchise would be Daniel Craig’s swansong. There is a mournful quality to numerous tracks, including the poignant piano notes of “Lovely to See You Again”, and the soulful strings and haunting choral element of “Home”. When reviewing Murray Gold’s Doctor Who soundtracks for this website, I have often ended up comparing certain tracks to Bond music. Now I find myself doing the opposite, as sweeping orchestral pieces such as “I’ll Be Right Back” and “Final Ascent” attain Gold-standard levels of emotional manipulation.

The latter two and several other tracks reference the heartbreaking title song, performed by Billie Eilish, which closes the album.

As the film itself does in terms of storyline, the soundtrack of No Time to Die brings the Daniel Craig era to a rousing, satisfying and coherent conclusion – despite the number of artists who have contributed to the series over the years. Make time to buy.

9

Richard McGinlay