241 replies to this topic

[Qwerty]

I rather liked the score for The Living Daylights, but On Her Majesty's Secret Service comes in at a very, very close second place.  Both films soundtracks greatly captured the moods of the films and were just very good works overall.

They're both top scores without a doubt. Easily two of Barry's best, and they've held up great over the years.

[Skudor]

OHMSS without a doubt. Of recent ones, TND.

[gkgyver]

My favourite Bond score is the second one by Eric Serra, because he's never written one.

Close to that comes The Living Daylights and Tomorrow Never Dies.

[Gri007]

The Dr No soundtrack was appaling, infact diabolical. I thought the Thunderball score was one of the best by John Barry. The music that is heard over the final scenes between Bond and Largo was exciting, ecstatic and fast, which is what all Bond music shoud be. I do have fascination with david Arnolds music, to me he his the modern Barry, and has done a wonderful job on the three bond movie scores. Eric seirra, who scored Goldeneye was i found appaling, his music didn't do anything for me what so ever. His music is the kind you would hear on a early 90's computer game.

[Qwerty]

The Dr No soundtrack was appaling

Rather. It's just weak compared to alot of the others.

[TheCheat]

on her majesty's secret service. it is just so awesome and is still great today

[Brian Flagg]

on her majesty's secret service. it is just so awesome and is still great today

For the longest time, all I ever heard was how great OHMSS' soundtrack was. I had only seen the film once, many years ago so I had no real memory of the music. In 2003, when the expanded release came out, I bought it (After DAF and YOLT) and I just didn't understand what the appeal was. To these ears, OHMSS sounded shrill, repetitive (even by film score standards, which is often necessary) and I felt that the whole thing was overrated. To be fair, I did love Satchmo's love song. Always did.

Then...I saw the film again. But with a score with 70+ minutes on it, I still didn't hear what everyone was raving about in the film proper, so I popped in the score late one night and went about my online time-wasting routine.

Long story short, I am really growing to like this score! There's just so much to like: "This Never Happened To the Other Feller", "Ski Chase", "Main Theme: OHMSS", heck evrything! And that's just stuff from the original album! I then took time out to just listen to the bonus cues and the way that extra material fleshes out the score really has vaulted OHMSS towards the top of my list favorites! (Though it hasn't surpassed YOLT just yet)

Sorry for gushing like a sweaty fanboy, but great music elevates the olde spirit...

[Skin 17]

I like all of John Barry's soundtracks. I like what Bill Conti did with the score of For Your Eyes Only. I really dislike the GoldenEye score. I think that David Arnold has his moments. the LTK score was really original I liked it. The Same for the Live and Let Die score

[Moore Not Less]

You Only Live Twice is my favourite James Bond soundtrack. Although I have never been to Japan, Barry's music captures the spirit, feel and essence of what I imagine it to be like. My favourite piece is the Wedding Music, it's absolutely awesome and never fails to move me when I hear it.

[bryonalston]

This was a tough choice, but I picked MR, barely over TLD, TND, AVTAK and OHMSS. Here's how I would rank them.

1. MR
2. AVTAK
3. TLD
4. OHMSS
5. AVTAK
6. DAF
7. FYEO

[trumanlodge89]

i really like the synth work in YOLT and OHMSS. berrys bond theme in OHMSS is my favorite arrangement of the series.

[ACE]

OHMSS is my favourite. A variety of strong themes, vibrant orchestration, beautiful melody and counterpoint thread through a score that is dramatic, moody, romantic, poignant and exciting. And lasting! A lovely Christmas carol that could work in its own festive right and a moving, beautiful song directly inspired by Fleming's writing "We have all the time in the world". I can't pick a favourite cue because the whole album is gorgeous. Lukas Kendall's sterling work on the reissue CD was much anticipated and his tiny little blurb on the CD case could hardly contain his excitement. I knew the feeling.

John Barry's music was once described as being to the Bond films what hair was to Samson. A lovely description when talking about music is like dancing about architecture.

TLD was a great return to from and my other Barry favourites are YOLT, DAF and MR.

I really like the Bond work of Martin, Hamlisch and Conti and even, dare I say it, Serra. I was never too keen of the late Michael Kamen's LTK score. Too florid, incoherent and reactive. All Bond composers who are not John Barry always suffer by comparison whether fairly or unfairly.

Arnold is to John Barry what Peter Lamont is to Ken Adam. Service-able, occasionally inspired (his songs with Don Black are highlights including the woefully underrated Only Myself To Blame by the legendary Scott Walker) but generally not thematically memorable or sustained.

John Barry could return but hopefully he will see Bond as a challenge and update the production as he did exquisitely well with TLD. However, Barry, like Ken Adam, probably do not want or need to go back to Bond and even if they did, and did not update their respective styles, it would not be appropriate for Bond now.

I think a lot of composers these days mix modern rythms and production techniques with orchestrations. However, definite melodies and themes that become part of the marketing campaign are not as prevalent.

I think you need a "star" composer to withstand studio/marketing intervention. Arnold could be good but seems to be somewhat second guessed by the powers that be. Leave him alone. Let him write some excellent songs with Don Black which would then be incorporated thematically in the score to form satisfying musical throughline.

Perhaps an updated version of "007" could occur in the future.

ACE

Edited by ACE, 29 July 2005 - 09:45 PM.

[tinkerdill]

For Your Eyes Only

[Qwerty]

Welcome to CBn tinkerdill.

[Double-Oh Agent]

There are lots of good scores from On Her Majesty's Secret Service to Live And Let Die to For Your Eyes Only to The Living Daylights to Tomorrow Never Dies, but my favorite is The World Is Not Enough. I like good action cues and TWINE has them. It was a close call with TND, but I just gave a slight edge to TWINE.

I'd like to add my two cents about the GoldenEye music here. I don't like it works in the movie all that well (where's the Bond theme?), but I like it okay as a soundtrack. It's definitely different. However, if EON never hires Eric Serra again, that will be fine with me.

[Qwerty]

Looks like every one got at least one vote in this poll.

[ChickenStu]

I have to say that my favourite score is "Moonraker". The music in the outer space scenes is absolutely breathtaking. I own a copy of this on CD, yet my one cristiscm is the tracks on the CD aren't in the order that the music appears in on film. For example, "Space Lazer Battle" is track 2 after Shirley Bassey's main title!
So therefore, it's kind of jarring to listen too. John Barry's scores for "OHMSS" and "The Living Daylights" are also pleasing to me. And I love Duran Duran's song for "A View To A Kill". It's the best thing in the bloody movie!

[Qwerty]

I have to say that my favourite score is "Moonraker".

Good choice!

[Vanish]

Difficult choice, but these three are probably my favorites:

1) The Living Daylights (Perfect, mysterious and dangerous)
2) You Only Live Twice (Exotic and exciting)
3) Goldeneye (Serra's work sounds so modern, but has an edge)

[Qwerty]

Welcome to the CBn Forums, Vanish.

Definitely agreed about The Living Daylights being up there.

[Vanish]

Thanks for the warm welcome, Qwerty.

I'm glad to see Moonraker's score getting recognized in this thread... It's definitely one of my favorites. The scene where Bond's plane arrives in Rio is particularly wonderful, in a musical sense - It really expresses the exotic, globetrotting nature of Bond's adventures.

Edited by Vanish, 27 October 2005 - 02:06 PM.

[Qwerty]

Thanks for the warm welcome, Qwerty. 

I'm glad to see Moonraker's score getting recognized in this thread... It's definitely one of my favorites. The scene where Bond's plane arrives in Rio is particularly wonderful, in a musical sense - It really expresses the exotic, globetrotting nature of Bond's adventures.

Ah yes, and then leads right into the always welcomed 007 theme on the soundtrack I believe. Only wish that the entire score was better represented on the official soundtrack.

[ChickenStu]

Thank you for endorsing my choice Qwerty! I think it's pretty awe inspiring stuff. When I first got the videos, the Moonraker score really jumped out at me, and I remember asking my Mum to get it for me the following Christmas.
I like David Arnold's work on "Tomorrow Never Dies" also.

[Qwerty]

Quite. I believe Moonraker was the first or second Bond score I bought when I first started collecting them.

[Scaramanga's_lady]

My choice is Eric Serra's GoldenEye. I like it because it has a lot of cool techno sounds, and at one point it has some really cool brass sections. It also has some mysteriou action-y stuff to it. And for the more dramatic parts, it has a nice string track. It may not have enough of the Bond theme, but It gives you a paranoid feel...

[darthbond]

TLD, hands down is the best.

darthbond

[Kingdom Come]

TND was for me a major low point - after coming from the surreally brilliant and original Serra score to THIS!!! It was like listening to some cheap cover version from the Bond wannabee musical world.

[tinkerdill]

TND was for me a major low point - after coming from the surreally brilliant and original Serra score to THIS!!! It was like listening to some cheap cover version from the Bond wannabee musical world.

Barry is Barry and nobody goes over him. But my favorite soundtrack is Conti's For your eyes only

[Loomis]

There are many fine Bond soundtracks, but, watching YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE yesterday, I felt that its score towered above all the others of the series.

[Lazenby880]

Excellent post ACE, and one with which I wholeheartedly agree.

After ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE comes MOONRAKER (classy and stylish) and YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (skilfully captures the locale).