The Man with the Golden Gun is not generally considered to be one of the better Bond films - or have one of the better Bond scores or songs. Even John Barry would later admit he couldn’t quite figure that one out, though only having a few weeks probably didn’t help at all. Rambling honky-tonk material, an overreliance on its song theme, and various other issues aren’t enough to put it at the bottom of the Bond score rankings, but it’s easily remained the weakest of the Barry Bond scores for many thanks to its original album program. La-La Land’s recent expansion does add in some worthy material though. The song theme appears in mysterious and sweeping guises, though my favorite of the incremental appearances is the one supported by elegant lounge piano in Moments. The Bond theme undergoes several welcome new variations. There’s even a clever blink-and-you-miss-it nod to the song theme from Live and Let Die. It’s all enough to salvage a third star…barely.

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Prior 2024 album posts
- Live and Let Die - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=131612
- Octopussy - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=131627
- Hellboy II - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=131961
- HTTYD: The Hidden World - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=132742
- Top Gun - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=132758
- Rock-a-Doodle - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=132825
- Something Wicked This Way Comes - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=134359
- Night Passage - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=134397
- Honey, I Shrunk the Kids - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=134671
- Backdraft - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=134759
- Nightbreed - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=134774
- Scorpio - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=134915
- Star Wars: Rebels S3 & S4 - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=136026
- You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=136088
- For Love of the Game - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=136102
- Eye of the Needle - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=136116
- Dinosaur - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=136878
- Torn Curtain - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=136901
- Goldfinger - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=137378
- Jurassic Park III - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=137846
- The Godfather Part II - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=137847
- Spider-Man 2 - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=137848
- The Sugarland Express - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=137856