57 replies to this topic

[dodge]

Quoting Zorin Industries:Bond songs should not be "culled". However, if they ever let Eric Serra near the gig again then "culling" is exactly what should be done with the dated French composer whose ego dictated how he screwed up GOLDENEYE and actually cheapened the film considerably. It plays like a bad TV movie Bond film and Serra is partly to blame. In fact, he "only has himself to blame..." (did you see what I did there...?!! Suit yourselves...!!).
[/quote]

What does his being French have to do with anything? You have me worried there. I know nothing about him personally, so I can't be a judge of his ego. It's a safe assumption though that he had Eon's blessing to do something radically different. And that's just what he did. Dated? In comparison with previous Bond soundtracks, his was postively rad. And I loved the score--which, actually, imo, gave Brozza more of an edge than that gentle soul possesses. I hated the lyrics to the end song. But hopefully the few of us who welcomed something different can remain in the warm, loving bosom of the great Bond family.

[Professor Dent]

My opinion of Serra's score was that it would have been cool for a MegaDrive or N64 game, but for a major film... no dice.

I've never thought of it this way but it might fit better in a video game. Personally, I listened to it once & that was enough for me.

[PrinceKamalKhan]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Mine is the "song" is a piece of self-indulgent crap that has absolutely no business ending, or being a part of a Bond film. The end credits should send you out of the theatre on a high note, not that wallowing sap. To this day, when I pop in a Bond DVD, GE remains the only one I won't watch the end credits. I think Eric Serra was the worst thing to ever happen to the franchise.

No argument, there.

To be perfectly honest, the lyrics made me gag. But, on the bright side, I've always loved Eric Serra's score. Though it's hated by many members, it struck me as right and refreshing, heralding what was meant to be a hip new Bond.

Which means it will age and date much quicker than more classic sounding Bond material. It's fascinating how they went in the opposite and far superior direction of the more timeless work of David Arnold for Tomorrow Never Dies.

It makes me throw up in my mouth. Choosing Eric Serra was a mistake and letting him sing an end titles song was an even bigger mistake.

Ditto. Serra's music seriously impairs the film. I wish there was an option on the DVD where we could delete his score. The only good parts were when Bond meets Xenia at the casino in Monte Carlo, when he confronts 006/"Janus" for the first time, some of the scenes after the massacre at Severnaya and the tank chase(which Serra never scored).

My opinion of Serra's score was that it would have been cool for a MegaDrive or N64 game, but for a major film... no dice.

Serra's score indeed would make a better video game score than movie score.

[Zorin Industries]

What does his being French have to do with anything? You have me worried there. I know nothing about him personally, so I can't be a judge of his ego. It's a safe assumption though that he had Eon's blessing to do something radically different. And that's just what he did. Dated? In comparison with previous Bond soundtracks, his was postively rad. And I loved the score--which, actually, imo, gave Brozza more of an edge than that gentle soul possesses. I hated the lyrics to the end song. But hopefully the few of us who welcomed something different can remain in the warm, loving bosom of the great Bond family.
[/quote]

Him being French has nothing to do with it and Serra's work on such French classics as LEON, LA FEMME NIKITA and SUBWAY is vital to those films. However, when he gurgles that closing song from GOLDENEYE he is very much apeing the Serge Gainsbourg style of talking-singing which is very French and very dated. The score has very few melodic merits. It's a Yahama tombola of synths, kettle drums and more synths.

Don't get me wrong. I'm all up for different. But it has to be 'good' different. These are Bond films not XXX IV. I too have no knowledge of his personality or indeed his ego, but in my opinion, the fact he warbled the 'Experience Of Love' himself speaks volumes.

[Mr_Wint]

Just because it has John Barry all over it doesn't make it a good song.

No, but it helps.

Perhaps it ["Only Myself To Blame"] should have tried to be less of a Bond song (in a way YOU KNOW MY NAME has successfully achieved) and reflected the film and its' narrative and not who was in the music studio canteen that lunchtime. It's a terrible piece of music. It's like being aurally suffocated by clingfilm. And the instrumental version in the film is no better which really throws light on a bad song.

Yes. I think you can consider both 'You Know My Name' and 'The Experience of Love' as very "successful"... if less Bond is your cup of tea.

[Ricjac]

Yes. I think you can consider both 'You Know My Name' and 'The Experience of Love' as very "successful"... if less Bond is your cup of tea.

I couldn't agree with you any more regarding the one and only quality that 'The Experience of Love' enjoys, but what is it that makes 'You Know My Name' less Bondian by your standards?

[Double-Oh Agent]

I don't like Eric Serra's score which I find most un-Bondian. However, I find it listenable as a soundtrack. It works better that way than it does in the film. But Serra's The Experience Of Love is an uninspiring piece of music. Other than coming up with a different song entirely, having a different singer would have definitely been better.

[mrsbonds_ppk]

I love all of ur opinions. It's not surprising how many of u don't like the Goldeneye score as well as The experience of love..A lot of the post are hilarious and I can agree with what some of you have said. Keep posting.

Edited by mrsbonds_ppk, 07 January 2007 - 08:59 AM.

[Safari Suit]

I quite like the idea of an "electronic" Bond score but there are people who do this sort of thing far better; Jan Hammer, Jean Michel-Jarre, Tangerine Dream etc. Not that I'm saying any of them should have done a Bond score.

[JADSTERSDAD]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Mine is the "song" is a piece of self-indulgent crap that has absolutely no business ending, or being a part of a Bond film. The end credits should send you out of the theatre on a high note, not that wallowing sap. To this day, when I pop in a Bond DVD, GE remains the only one I won't watch the end credits. I think Eric Serra was the worst thing to ever happen to the franchise.

Totally agree.

Andy

[deth]

I quite like the idea of an "electronic" Bond score but there are people who do this sort of thing far better; Jan Hammer, Jean Michel-Jarre, Tangerine Dream etc. Not that I'm saying any of them should have done a Bond score.

exactly..... I'm a big fan of some of Tangerine Dream's stuff.... but they should NEVER come near a Bond score....

[gra007]

I don't think the song is bad per say, but it seemed to bring the ending of GE to a screeching halt. It should have been a more upbeat song. I think choices like this, and some of the other orchestral pieces really brought parts of GE down. Not bad music, just not good Bond music.

I could also just be subconsciously against Serra since he missed putting a segment of the Bond theme into the pre-credits when the plane pulls from the nosedive and swoops over the exploding factory. (If you put in the Bond theme from when he pulls out the British Parachute in Spy Who Loved Me after skiing off the mountain, it fits in the GoldenEye plane scene perfectly.)

Like some others here, I think Bond movies should end on a high note. Even the downer ones like Casino Royale and OHMSS give you a rousing Bond Theme to get you excited again.

Personally though, I don't like any reprise song in the end credits, or a new one for that matter. I think "Surrender" is the only exception. I was thrilled that in TWINE it just had a 4 minute James Bond theme for the end credits. That's how they should all end.

[gkgyver]

The score has very few melodic merits. It's a Yahama tombola of synths, kettle drums and more synths.

Yes.

I think GoldenEye sounds horribly dated, even more so than The Spy Who Loved Me and For Your Eyes Only, who, while not sounding very fresh, are still very vibrant. And that's really something, considering GE just happened 10 years ago.

But in my opinion, the dated sound isn't GoldenEye's biggest problem. It just sounds really really bad. Like you said, a score assembled from various, low quality synth effects. Had it been recorded with high quality synths and maybe (what a thought) even with more real orchestra, it may actually have added up to something. Not much, but still.

[Double-0-Seven]

I personally don't like the song. It was the first Bond movie in six years so it should have ended on a high note, but instead it had to end with that song.

To be honest, the only cue I actually really like on the soundtrack is "Run, Shoot, and Jump".

[Qwerty]

To be honest, the only cue I actually really like on the soundtrack is "Run, Shoot, and Jump".

Not a fan of The GoldenEye Overture? That's one of the better ones in my opinion.

[HildebrandRarity]

The Experience Of Love is bottom of the barrel fare in terms of songs associated with James Bond titles and end titles.

It is also a total downer better suited for a funeral.

[K1Bond007]

I like it. It's no worse than some of the other songs that ended a Bond film. "If You Asked Me To", for instance. How is that one any more fitting? Because it was Patti Labelle and made famous by Celine Dion? Lotta hate for Eric Serra around here. At least he had the courage to try something completely different, rather than give us the David Arnold bland remix. Not to say either one is better than the other, Serra's isn't my favorite and neither are Arnold's, but Arnold's soundtracks all sound the same to me, though some are certainly better than others. The best thing about Casino Royale's music was the fact that Arnold was forced not to use the James Bond theme till the end. Can you imagine had that not been the case? Arnold promised us something fresh and new for Royale, but I didn't see it. A letdown, though not a bad soundtrack. Certainly not as edgy and fresh as Serra's which I think works great within the context of the film, but not so much on its lonesome.

[TortillaFactory]

I tried to like this song, but it's dreadful. While I admire the sentiment behind the lyrics, they're insipid, and musically it's boring. Also, as others have said, a very odd choice with which to close a Bond film.

[Safari Suit]

I like it. It's no worse than some of the other songs that ended a Bond film. "If You Asked Me To", for instance. How is that one any more fitting? Because it was Patti Labelle and made famous by Celine Dion?

Because it's a better song, and much better than the Dion version too. Of course, that's just my opinion.

I think you have a good point about Serra vs Arnold though.

[gkgyver]

Not to say either one is better than the other, Serra's isn't my favorite and neither are Arnold's, but Arnold's soundtracks all sound the same to me, though some are certainly better than others. The best thing about Casino Royale's music was the fact that Arnold was forced not to use the James Bond theme till the end. Can you imagine had that not been the case? Arnold promised us something fresh and new for Royale, but I didn't see it. A letdown, though not a bad soundtrack. Certainly not as edgy and fresh as Serra's which I think works great within the context of the film, but not so much on its lonesome.

A huge part of the hatred against Eric Serra also comes from him not respecting the series' past at all. Serra said the Bond theme and the established Bond sound was too old- fashioned and didn't work at all today.
And along comes David Arnold and pulls it off! You can think about Arnold whatever you want, and I'm not exactly fond of Casino Royale either, but at least he honours the past.
And for that reason alone, David Arnold will always be on the top of my list, and Serra at the rock bottom.

Arnold, while not exactly altering much from Bond film to Bond film, did create the definite James Bond sound of the new century with Tomorrow Never Dies; and that sound also stays within the series, and that's completely different from the reason Serra get a lot of beatings. Serra composed three almost identical scores for three completely different films (one of them being GoldenEye).

It's always easy saying "the score works" when the music fits the picture and gives something (not much, but still) to it. Especially when you have no alternative at hand.
Serra offered a solution, but let me throw this at you: is it the best? Is it even appropriate? And I'm sorry to say (not really) that it isn't.
Sure, there were other composers in the history of the series that brought something new to the table: Hamlish, Martin, Conti, Kamen. But Serra wasn't in the same position those earlier composers were, he had entirely different targets to hit. This wasn't your average "Barry's busy, so we have to fill the gap somehow" score - this was the resurrection of James Bond, the launch of 007 into a new century, a new era.
The Bond music had to reflect that.

And all Eric Serra came up with was a rehash of his own stuff, which by the way was old-fashioned even by 1995- standards.

[Nicolas Suszczyk]

I was listening to it three days ago and my mother told me "What a nice song"

[ChronoBreak]

I love Eric Serra's work, and his score in Goldeneye is one of my favorites - But The Experience of Love is absolutely awful... Ends the film on a dreary, "bleh" kinda note.

[Shadow Syndicate]

I actually liked it. But please, Not in Bond! I would have perfered the Ending to be like Thunderball with the Bond theme in the background

[ronbrothers]

I think Serra's score sounds like a soundtrack for a video game. The only track I liked was the Goldeneye Overture. That track they used where Bond was driving with that analyst in the beginning of the film was unlistenable.

I really like David Arnold's work. I hope be drops the techno sound and sticks to the orchesral sound.

[Mr.Kiss Kiss Bang Bang]

[quote name='mharkin' post='681342' date='4 January 2007 - 19:15']'The Experience of Love' is probably the worst Bond songs ever! it sounds cheap and tacky, and probably works well on some foreign soap opera or a low budget p

[Thunderfinger]

Undoubtedly the worst piece of music ever to have been featured in aany Bond movie.

[Major Tallon]

I hate to disparage Serra. He professed himself a big fan of the Bond series and said how much it meant to him to do the score. I'm afraid that, in his case, enthusiasm for the work didn't translate into an acceptable result. I first noticed that the score was sort of, well, odd during the early race between Bond and Xenia on the road toward Monte Carlo. It was a piece of music that actually distracted from my enjoyment of the scene, and it wasn't the only one. So when the end credits rolled, and Serra began to warble what is surely the least appropriate end theme in history of the series, I was incredulous. I couldn't believe that this actually was the closing music for a James Bond movie. Sappy lyrics, poorly scored, and a voice that just drones. On a scale of one to ten, it's a solid minus three. Simply awful.

[Humphrey Bogart]

Hmm, i'm listening to The Experience of Love right now..

Ouch! My ears is bleeding!