By Stephen Pytak 

     It won't impress your friends. But if you like 
"Under the Mango Tree," you gotta have it.
     I picked up a copy on the sale rack one day. It 
was an import from Holland, but it has the same 
number of tracks as the CD Capitol released here 
in the States in 1991. I figured for six bucks, I had 
nothing to lose. 
     Serious Bond fans have criticized this soundtrack 
for not being complete somehow. Honestly, I woudn't 
know. I never sat down and analyzed the first James 
Bond film that closely.
     But I liked some of the cool Jamaican music from 
the film, and figured that's what I'd be getting when 
I opened my wallet.
     The best of Monty Norman's island tunes is 
"Under the Mango Tree." There are three versions, 
one by a girl singer who is not credited. I like her 
version and the instrumental one. There's another 
performed by some guy. Again, I don't know who. 
But it's not Sean Connery, even though in the film 
he sings the tune to Ursula Andress. Fans bitched 
that Connery's version wasn't here. And I admit, 
that would have been interesting.
     Then there's "Jump Up" by the Byron Lee Band, 
who is not credited on the CD either. I found the 
credit in the book "The Essential Bond (2000)" by 
Lee Pfeiffer and Dave Worrall. 
     That upbeat song was a hit back in the day. But 
today if you play it in your car, your friends will 
look at you funny.
     If you're a big fan of the "James Bond Theme," 
skip this soundtrack. All you get here is a one-minute 
and 45-second version.
     There are supposedly two versions of the "Theme" 
here, but the second one doesn't sound anything 
remotely like the traditional theme fans are used to. 
It's full of smooth island percussion. 
     The bottom line is this. If you put the CD on and 
let it play, it's great background music. Occasionally 
your ears will perk up when you hear that sexy 
woman's voice wax on about the "Mango Tree." And 
if you put the CD on repeat, you'll hear Bond's 
signature tune once every 38 minutes.
     Perhaps someday some serious Bond aficionado 
will dig into Monty Norman's archives and find a 
more definitive version. I'll spend a little more for 
that one.