241 replies to this topic

[thecasinoroyale]

I am torn between 'A View To A Kill' and 'Casino Royale'.

I think the split halves of 'Casino Royale' are fantastic, up to 'Miami International' as one half of the film, and then moving onto the classy second half with 'I'm The Money' up to the Bond finale!

But John Barry's orchestral and menacing score for 'AVTAK' always get my blood pumping, some great action numbers in there but also tender strings and flutes on 'That Fatal Kiss' piece.

Love them both very much.

[Golddragon71]

In Order Most Liked to Least
TWINE
OHMSS
TND
TLD
FRWL
FYEO
TMWTGG
GF
TB
CR
DN

[Ren]

I voted for TLD. Although the title track is questionable.

[S K Y F A L L]

FAVORITE SOUNDTRACKS: DR / FRWL / GF / OHMSS / MR / TLD / GE

LEAST FAVORITE SOUNDTRACKS: TB / LALD / TWINE

FAVORITE SONGS:
DN / Jump up (I've always thought that this song was the equivalent to the Star Wars Cantina Band.)
FRWL / 007
GF / Alpine drive
OHMSS / Ski Chase (I think this whole soundtrack is a great Christmas album.)
DAF / DAF
TSWLM / Bond 77
MR / End title - Moonraker
FYEO / A Drive in the Country
AVTAK / AVTAK
TLD / If there was a man
LTK / If you ask me to
GE / The experience of love (I like a lot of the GE soundtrack, I don't understand why Eric Serra didn't return.)
TND / Surrender / Helicopter Ride / Kowloon Bay
DAD / Welcome to Cuba
CR / You know my name

[Pam Bouvier]

Had to really think about this one. Ended up voting for LTK for these reasons:

1. Title song really set the tone of the film.
2. There couldn't of been a more appropriate end song than If You Asked Me To.
3. The music in the Barrelhead Bar scene was also a great fit.
4. I'm Pam Bouvier; clearly I have a bias towards LTK

But it was a tough choice. We're chosing from the best of the best here. That's one of the trademarks of a Bond production.

[5thstreet]

1/OHMSS
2/ LTK
3/LD
4/GOLDFINGER
5/ THUNDERBALL
6/ TMWTGG

worst song/ DAD title track

[DamnCoffee]

Had to really think about this one. Ended up voting for LTK for these reasons:

1. Title song really set the tone of the film.
2. There couldn't of been a more appropriate end song than If You Asked Me To.
3. The music in the Barrelhead Bar scene was also a great fit.
4. I'm Pam Bouvier; clearly I have a bias towards LTK

But it was a tough choice. We're chosing from the best of the best here. That's one of the trademarks of a Bond production.

Welcome back Pam!

[S K Y F A L L]

I voted MR.

[FredJB007]

OHMSS does it for me........the theme is my driving music.......

[QuantumOfRoyale]

Favorite Soundtracks:

-Goldfinger
-Thunderball
-On Her Majesty's Secret Service
-The Living Daylights
-Tomorrow Never Dies
-The World is Not Enough
-Die Another Day (with the exception of the title song and the Bond theme remix)
-Casino Royale
-Quantum of Solace

I voted for the Living Daylights.

[Tony_OO_Black]

OHMSS. It's the best of Barry, which is saying something. Just a beautiful score.

I love the funkiness of George Martin's Live and Let Die too, that's a close second.

Equally I have much love for Barry's Thunderball, certain tracks from DAF, Octopussy and AVTAK. Really like Michael Kamen's LTK score too, and Thomas Newman's Skyfall has rocketed up there now.

[Connerybond]

FRWL.

[Sir Godfrey]

On her majesty's secret service, live and let die, the living daylights, tomorrow never dies, quantum of solace and Skyfall are definitly the best Bond soundtracks.

 

I like John Barry but sometimes, his music is too repetitive and boring.

Michael Kamen is not a very good composer, however, some tracks from License to kill are very epic.

 

David Arnold is good but not excellent. But Quantum's soundtrack is very interesting.

[Sir Godfrey]

Someone here rode this book:

 

http://www.amazon.fr...e/dp/019986330X

 

The Music of James Bond by Jon Burlingame.

I want to buy it, is it interesting ?

[delfloria]

OHMSS

[Professor Pi]

Someone here rode this book:

 

http://www.amazon.fr...e/dp/019986330X

 

The Music of James Bond by Jon Burlingame.

I want to buy it, is it interesting ?

 

I have it, Sir Godfrey.  I recommend it very highly.  Each chapter covers a different movie.  Part of the chapter covers the behind the scenes stories, and there is a review of each soundtrack as well.  Good stuff.  Check it out.
 

[Sir Godfrey]

Thanks. I'm going to buy it !

[Odd Jobbies]

OHMSS is the best, followed closely by LALD

[Double-0-7]

My favorite is OHMSS, followed by TB and YOLT.  I really like QOS, it is a share Arnold was at the end of his run since he seemed to get everything just right in that one.

[Sir Godfrey]

Someone here rode this book:

 

http://www.amazon.fr...e/dp/019986330X

 

The Music of James Bond by Jon Burlingame.

I want to buy it, is it interesting ?

 

I have it, Sir Godfrey.  I recommend it very highly.  Each chapter covers a different movie.  Part of the chapter covers the behind the scenes stories, and there is a review of each soundtrack as well.  Good stuff.  Check it out.
 

I received it and it's a pleasure. I just began to read "Goldfinger soundtrack" and I learned a lot of things. Really fascinating !

[Templar]

My two favorite soundtracks are the same as my two favorite movies, From Russia with Love & Thunderball.

 

Also, am I the only one who thinks that The Living Daylights is John Barry's best work since the 60s, if you look at the soundtracks as totalities, and not judge them by individual themes? While there are separate themes and cues I love more than anything that comes from the TLD soundtrack, I think that when you look at the wholenesses, how different parts form a unity, TLD is superior to anything he'd done earlier in the 80s and 90s. The less intriguing parts in the earlier OSTs kinda takes down the other half, that is really, really good, while The Living Daylights feels more consistent and levelled all the way through.

Edited by Templar, 06 April 2013 - 10:31 PM.

[Templar]

I must add that I'm merely collating the soundtrack side by side. I am a big fan of John Barry and consider all of the soundtracks I've heard of him to be amazing or at least really, really good. The James Bond movies, and especially John Barry, is the reason I became a musician myself. Of course, I was initially inspired after hearing Imperial March as a 3 year old, but when I was 8-9, it was the Bond movies that REALLY had made me want to become a musician.

Edited by Templar, 06 April 2013 - 10:37 PM.

[DamnCoffee]

So I've listened to the soundtracks and finally ranked them. 

 

1. Thunderball - John Barry
2. Skyfall - Thomas Newman
3. The Living Daylights - John Barry
4. On Her Majesty's Secret Service - John Barry
5. Tomorrow Never Dies - David Arnold
6. Diamonds Are Forever - John Barry
7. Moonraker - John Barry
8. Goldfinger - John Barry
9. A View To A Kill - John Barry
10. From Russia With Love - John Barry
11. You Only Live Twice - John Barry
12. Casino Royale - David Arnold
13. The Spy Who Loved Me - Marvin Hamlisch
14. Live and Let Die - George Martin
15. Die Another Day - David Arnold
16. Octopussy - John Barry
17. GoldenEye - Eric Serra
18. The Man With The Golden Gun - John Barry
19. Dr No - Monty Norman / John Barry
20. The World Is Not Enough - David Arnold
21. Licence To Kill - Michael Kamen
22. For Your Eyes Only - Bill Conti
23. Quantum of Solace - David Arnold

 

It's nice to finally make some sort of official compilation. I've always had a fair idea of what my tops are, but I never really bothered making a list or anything. To get an average I made a  playlist of my favourite / stand out tracks from each film, compared the number of tracks from each and worked it out, with a few tweaks here and there, I'm finally happy. I'm surprised at how far up The Spy Who Loved Me is on there, there's a lot solid stand out tracks on that one, never really listened to it without the film a context. It's been a bit difficult because even though some soundtracks a quite low down there (Octopussy / The Man With The Golden Gun - for example, It doesn't mean I don't like them.  Every soundtrack on that list has some brilliant pieces of music, just some more than others sadly. GoldenEye has grown on me a bit. I've fallen for the 90's sound but sadly it's lack of Bond flair doesn't allow it to stand up well. 

 

REALLY happy with my top 10. Nice to see a variety of John Barry in there, not just from the 60's, (the quintessential sound of Bond). I was pretty confident that Thunderball would be my definitive number one, but Skyfall crept up really fast. The Living Daylights though!? I always thought it was a great soundtrack, but never as a third. I think the film is fine, but I don't really watch it that much so the soundtrack was something I was farmiliar with, but not really properly listened to but wow, Barry at his absolute best. A soundtrack with a real punch. 

Edited by DamnCoffee, 29 July 2015 - 11:56 PM.

[Pierceuhhh]

In chronological order:

DR NO
Trash; even Terence Young hated it. Makes the movie feel 20 years older than it is.

RUSSIA
Shrill and dated and the non-Barry theme is dreadful granny music, but the Barry originals are good. Girl Trouble might be the best track.

GOLDFINGER
Dawn Raid on Fort Knox alone would put it in the top five and is one of the best pieces of music in the series.

THUNDERBALL
This sounds ancient too and the theme is a dirge, but it has a great combination of obnoxious action music and SNEAKY spy music. Underwater Mayhem is my highlight.

TWICE
Magnificent, but very repetitive in album form. James Bond Ninja is my highlight.

MAJESTYS
Well duh, probably the best. So much variety, and such good treatment on the album. Who Will Buy My Yesterdays is unlike anything else in any other Bond and is my pick for #1.

DIAMONDS
Underrated masterpiece - TWICE thru DIAMONDS is Barry's dream run. So much humour and menace. Bond Smells a Rat, 007 and Counting are highlights, but Tiffany Case is my favourite and barely features in the movie.

LIVE AND LET DIE
Who cares

GOLDEN GUN
Not peak Barry but still Barry. In Search of Scaramanga's Island is the highlight and works so well in the movie.

SPY
Dreadful! Great camp theme though! Ride to Atlantis is the best I guess.

MOONRAKER
LOL why does this outrageous movie have such a majestic score? Flight Into Space is the centrepiece but Bond Lured to Pyramid is a contender. Why did Barry win an Oscar for Out Of Africa but not this? The music during the hanggliding is the entire Out Of Africa score in 10 seconds!

EYES
Disgraceful but enjoyable. I hope they play "You Can Cum Too late... And Have To Wait" at Roger Moore's funeral.

OCTOPUSSY
Barry's sedate 80s work has grown on me! I wish the album was more comprehensive & captured the variety of the score better. The action theme is probably the highlight.

VIEW
Like OCTOPUSSY it needs a comprehensive album, but this is Barry's most underrated. So many powerful themes. Golden Gate Fight makes my spine tingle every time and is one of the most stirring action themes in all movies and I can't believe it was composed by a gentle 60 year old white man!

DAYLIGHTS
Good album at long last. Nerdy, weak theme song embarrassing - should have used Where Has Everybody Gone. Inflight Fight is my pick.

LICENCE
Who cares

GOLDENEYE
Very moody and appropriate to the film but one was enough. For Ever, James is lovely in the best Barry tradition - ironically moreso than anything Arnold did!

TOMORROW
Energetic but shallow. One was enough for Arnold.

WORLD
Tomorrow Never Dies, only worse! Renard's theme sounds like a 5 year old's piano lesson.

DAY
At least it's more interesting and bombastic than TWINE.

ROYALE
Worst of the lot? The action music is formless noise and the "noble" love music is cringeworthy.

QUANTUM
More junk, but Night At the Opera is the best thing Arnold ever did. I read he wrote it as its own piece before seeing the movie - like his theme songs, which are passable enough as tunes. Maybe he should've done all his scores this way!

SKYFALL
Best non-Barry score? Bland and skippable mini tracks all over the album, but so much more mood compared to Arnold's processed cheese. Severine is the best track. Glad Newman's back for SPECTRE.

[SecretAgentFan]

In an era which considers snarky comments compressed into mini-sentences for the challenged attention-span crowd as smart it becomes even clearer that the work of others should be treated with at least the kind of respect that actually explains one´s opinion instead of just throwing it out with self-congratulary meanness.

 

Just a thought.

[dtuba]

In chronological order:



LIVE AND LET DIE
Who cares
 

Me, I think it is the best non-Barry score ever. So there.

[sharpshooter]

I agree with Damn Coffee's assessment of The Living Daylights. It's an excellent Bond soundtrack and swansong for John Barry. I think he matched the quality of his 1960s era work. I think because there's a multitude of great melodies running throughout, namely 'Where Has Everybody Gone', 'If There Was A Man' and of course the title song. Like OHMSS, every track has something going for it. 

[DaveBond21]

I've been listening to a lot of Skyfall and SPECTRE the last week. I love both of them.

[Professor Pi]

Been listening to SPECTRE on my commute nonstop for two weeks.  Nowhere near my favorite, but it's timely to appreciate it now.  Living Daylights is a phenomenal Bond Barry score.

 

Also been listening to John Barry's "lost" score for The Golden Child, visualizing it as a Shatterhand/Garden of Death score, what with its oriental flavors.  It's better than most of his 80s Bond scores.

[dtuba]

 

Also been listening to John Barry's "lost" score for The Golden Child, visualizing it as a Shatterhand/Garden of Death score, what with its oriental flavors.  It's better than most of his 80s Bond scores.

You want another "lost" Barry score? When I was a kid I had the soundtrack album for The Legend of The Lone Ranger. Never saw the film, heard it was terrible and a huge box office bomb. But the score was nice. Barry definitely enjoyed scoring Western type movies. I doubt if that soundtrack is available anywhere these days.

 

I also owned The Black Hole album. That one was phenomenal.

Edited by dtuba, 15 December 2015 - 06:33 AM.