Ever since Marvin Hamlisch's synthesizer-laden, instantly outdated "Bond '77" appeared on "The Spy Who Loved Me soundtrack," mixing 007 with dance music has been a dicey proposition. "Bond Beat & Bass" continues the less-than-proud tradition, turning a small roster of European electronica acts loose on an equally narrow repertoire of movie themes, to listless results.
With their compositional correctness sacrificed to dull, drawn-out arrangements, it's hard to remember that these classic numbers once sounded so exciting. The occasional vocal sample or horn riff rises from the computerized morass, only to quickly disappear. Not one phrase of the original melody is identifiable amid the lazy noodling of Para Después' "Diamonds Are Forever."
Bold is Seelenluft's "Moonraker," whose super-schmaltz organ line and programmed percussion appear to be emanating from a Wurlitzer store. To call it all butchery is to imply an energy level that's nowhere to be found.
