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COLLECTING 007 – US Records
WRITTEN & COMPILED BY KEVIN HARPER

Goldfinger/Bkaer Street billboard rivalry above Times Square 1964

The James Bond original soundtrack albums released on vinyl record in the USA were often slightly different to their UK counterparts. Several albums had alternate artwork which eventually became the default version used worldwide when the soundtracks were later re-issued on compact disc. Although some albums had identical artwork to the UK version, all had slight differences in the positioning of the lettering on the sleeve, and the usual contractual reversal of the producers credits. Track listings were identical to the UK albums with the exception of Goldfinger which included John Barry's instrumental version of the title theme (missing from the UK album), but omitted the tracks ‘Golden Girl’, ‘Death of Tilly’, ‘The Laser Beam’ and ‘Pussy Galore's Flying Circus’. The US soundtrack album was released in the USA on December 12, 1964 and reached number one on the Billboard Top 200 chart on March 20, 1965. The Goldfinger soundtrack was the most popular album in the US chart for three weeks, and awarded a gold disc signifying over $1-million in sales.

US Thunderball Soundtrack advert

Goldfinger Cash Box magazine review | Billboard Top 200 week ending April 3, 1965

ABOVE: (left) The Goldfinger album review in Cash Box magazine November 27, 1964 predicted success for the original soundtrack. (right) Billboard magazine Top 200 LPs for the the week ending April 3, 1965 which marked the third and final week that the Goldfinger soundtrack was the number one selling album in the USA after 17 weeks on the chart.

The success of the album prompted some light-hearted promotional rivalry above New York's Times Square. Decca Records erected a billboard on the corner of Broadway and 49th Street proclaiming “Sherlock Holmes makes James Bond look like a sissy...”, adding that “...Baker Street is a rare musical gem”. United Artists executives responded with a huge billboard (above left) on the side of Hotel Markwell at 216-230 West 49th Street poking fun at the recently released original cast recording of the Sherlock Holmes musical Baker Street, then playing on Broadway. Their billboard read: “SHERLOCK WHO?? - James Bond, Agent 007... and speaking of ‘musical gems’, have you heard the music from THE GOLDFINGER ALBUM on United Artists records?” Both albums were best-sellers, but it was Goldfinger that held onto the Billboard 200 top spot for three weeks after outselling the soundtrack album for Walt Disney's Mary Poppins (1964), which itself had outsold The Beatles '65 (the best-selling US album for the previous nine weeks - issued as the North American alternative to Beatles for Sale) upon its release on March 13, 1965. Mary Poppins then reclaimed the number one spot from Goldfinger on April 10, 1965, where it remained for another thirteen weeks, going on to win the 1965 Academy Award for Best Original Score.

From Russia With Love, Goldfinger & Thunderball US promotional advertisements

Four tracks on Side One of the US Thunderball LP also have different titles to the UK release. The US LP of You Only Live Twice featured Nancy Sinatra's reprise of the title song as the last track of the album; whereas the UK version replaced this with John Barry's instrumental ‘Twice Is The Only Way To Live’. Live And Let Die was the only US James Bond soundtrack album to have a gatefold sleeve featuring stills from the film on its original release. Collectors should also note that the final track on the US Thunderball soundtrack album ‘Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang’ was different on the mono and stereo versions of the record. The mono release is the arrangement now heard on the 2003 expanded EMI CD, but the US stereo vinyl album had the orchestral backing track recorded for the unused Dionne Warwick version originally intended as the title song. The last-minute change came about when the producers decided that the film title should feature in the song. An alto saxophone replaces the Dionne Warwick vocal on the US stereo album version. This version also appeared on the original UK vinyl LP.

US 33rpm 12" Long Playing Records


Dr. No Original Motion Picture Sound Track Album United Artists Records UAL 4108 Mono (1963) United Artists Records UAS 5108 Stereo (1963)

From Russia With Love Original Motion Picture Sound Track United Artists Records UAL 4114 Mono (1964) United Artists Records UAS 5114 Stereo (1964)

Goldfinger Original Motion Picture Sound Track United Artists Records UAL 4117 Mono (1964) United Artists Records UAS 5117 Stereo (1964)	The US album included John Barry's instrumental version of the title theme missing from the UK release; but omitted the tracks ‘Golden Girl’, ‘Death of Tilly’, ‘The Laser Beam’ and ‘Pussy Galore's Flying Circus’.

Thunderball Original Motion Picture Sound Track United Artists Records UAL 4132 Mono (1965) United Artists Records UAS 5132 Stereo (1965)	The titles of four tracks on Side One of Thunderball* were changed for the US vinyl LP. All subsequent CD releases of the album have retained the American variation of the track titles.
*Track #2 ‘Château Fight’ on the UK album was changed to ‘Château Flight’ (this could be a simple spelling mistake, as both titles are valid). James Bond (Sean Connery) has a ‘fight’ in a Château in the pre-credit sequence, and then takes ‘flight’ using the Bell-Textron Jet Pack!. Track #3 ‘Electrocution - Searching Lippe's Room’ on the UK album was simply titled ‘The Spa’ on the US release; and Track #5 ‘Vulcan Crash Landing - Loading Bombs Into Disco Volante’ was changed to ‘The Bomb’. It should also be noted that Track #6 corrected the mis-spelling of ‘Café Martinique’, which appeared on the UK release as ‘Cape Martinique - Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’. The US album also omitted the second part of the track title after the hyphen.

You Only Live Twice Original Motion Picture Soundtrack United Artists Records UAL 4155 Mono (1967) United Artists Records UAS 5155 Stereo (1967)


On Her Majesty's Secret Service Original Motion Picture Soundtrack United Artists Records UAS 5204 Stereo (1969)

Diamonds Are Forever Original Motion Picture Soundtrack United Artists Records UAS 5220 Stereo (1971)

Live And Let Die Original Motion Picture Soundtrack United Artists Records UA-L100-G Stereo (1973)	The original US pressing featured a gatefold sleeve with a selection of stills from the film

The Man With The Golden Gun Original Motion Picture Soundtrack United Artists Records UA-LA358-G Stereo (1974)

The Spy Who Loved Me Original Motion Picture Score United Artists Records UA-LA774-H Stereo (1977)

Moonraker Original Motion Picture Soundtrack United Artists Records UA-LA971-I Stereo (1979)

For Your Eyes Only Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Liberty Records LOO-1109 Stereo (1981)

Octopussy Original Motion Picture Soundtrack A&M Records SP 4967 Stereo (1983)

A View To A Kill Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Capitol Records SJ-12413 Stereo (1985)	Note: Track #2 ‘May Day Jumps’ was mis-spelled on subsequent CD releases as ‘May Day Jumpers’

The Living Daylights Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Warner Bros Records W1-25616 Stereo (1987)

Licence To Kill Original Motion Picture Soundtrack MCA Records MCA-6307 Stereo (1989)

Read the full fascinating
story behind the album regarded by some music
critics as the
finest-sounding
LP of all time!

There is one James Bond record however that always stood head and shoulders above all else, and whose sound quality on vinyl made it one of the most sought-after recordings of all time. The film is the one that most fans prefer to forget, but who can forget the outstanding quality of the music? It can only be 1967's Casino Royale - the film that was too much for one James Bond!


UK Soundtrack Albums	UK/US Soundtrack Album comparisons

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