1942 replies to this topic

[Messervy]

Some time to digest and actually seeing it implemented with visuals will decide it's fate.  But it will never be a fave.  

 

 it never really kicks in. 

My thoughts also! As I was listening, at some point I thought "now's the time to go for it", but it never did. It stayd nicely put, without really blasting us in Bond orbit. It's neat and tidy, but it never sets off. They had a great theme but clearly under-used it.

[rubixcub]

Wow, a lot of pithy quips for this early in the morning.

 

Disclaimer: I like Sam Smith, to an extent.  My biggest issue with him is that, after a while, his songs all start to sound the same.  Kind of like listening to Diana Ross & the Supremes' Greatest Hits.  The falsetto you either like or you don't (perhaps the most divisive thing about him?)

 

So my thoughts on WOTW: overall I liked it.  It sounds mostly like a Sam Smith song with some Bondian flourishes, a marriage of the two styles.  The instrumental intro: Bond.  The verse: a combination.  The chorus: lurches back and forth; the minor chords call Bond to mind, while certain major chord progressions ("If I risk" & "could you break") sound stylistically like Smith, or generic power ballad.  I agree with whoever said it that pulling back into a more intimate combo of piano & high falsetto DOES call to mind "Let It Go" from "Frozen"; this is the only repeated section over which I distinctly cannot picture a Bond opening titles sequence.  It defies expectations by getting quieter when you expect it to get louder.  I might've hoped for more of a full-voiced high part as in his "I've Told You Now", but the falsetto is at least a change of pace for a  Bond theme.

 

Better than AWTD, DAD, and yes, even TWINE (which was itself a pastiche of "Surrender" and TND, and IMO, a rather milquetoast one at that).  It's different, and I appreciate that they took a risk (that risk was structural, not commercial).  And after booking Garbage on the decline, and Madonna in her electronic phase, it's good to see the producers ahead of the curve instead of chasing pop culture's tail.  They booked Britain's hottest solo artists on the heels of their initial commercial and critical success.  Time will tell if this is to be the new formula for title song artist selection.  (Admittedly, someone got me excited by the suggestion of Annie Lennox, though even "Into the West" was 12 years ago).

 

Dave

[Arbogast777]

The song is fine, it's the vocals that hurt it.

I DO find it interesting that no other modern action movie could get away with a love song for its opening.

For Bond, it works.

[rubixcub]

I DO find it interesting that no other modern action movie could get away with a love song for its opening.

For Bond, it works.

 

True, Arbogast.  And it's not the first time -- TSWLM, MR, FYEO, OP -- though these were even MORE traditional within the typical love song, and went WITHOUT the "Bondian" flourishes, even!

 

Dave

Edited by rubixcub, 25 September 2015 - 02:11 PM.

[0024]

The song is fine, it's the vocals that hurt it.

I DO find it interesting that no other modern action movie could get away with a love song for its opening.

For Bond, it works.

Fact.  

 

Also, listen to the end titles song below from Johnny English Reborn by an artist called Rumer.  Song is called "I Believe In You."  Not necessarily appropriate for Bond, but a great ballad.  Probably would've preferred something in the vein of it.  

[Logie]

Wow, this song's getting quite a serious pasting on Facebook and Twitter. I wonder if Mr Smith is regretting the title now; "Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting".

 

I've been listening to it over and over because I really want to find something in there to like. As others have said, it may have a completely different feel when played over DK's visuals but I dunno. Just can't get into it.

[tdalton]

Wow, this song's getting quite a serious pasting on Facebook and Twitter. I wonder if Mr Smith is regretting the title now; "Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting".
 
I've been listening to it over and over because I really want to find something in there to like. As others have said, it may have a completely different feel when played over DK's visuals but I dunno. Just can't get into it.

If Kleinman can come up with visuals that make this song tolerable, he should be given a lifetime contract by EON and he should win an Academy Award for visual effects.

[Logie]

Agreed. I'm a huge fan of Daniel Kleinman but I do think he's got his work cut out here.

[MattofSteel]

Even if it's not to some folks' specific tastes, I feel genuinely bad for the ones hating on it so hard. Have to admit, I find it all a bit hyperbolic. I could have lived with something other than the high falsetto hard stops and I would've liked the final build to have culminated more stereotypically (certainly starts heading that way for a moment), but to my ear this song is pretty great and most definitively Bond. 

[antovolk]

Even if it's not to some folks' specific tastes, I feel genuinely bad for the ones hating on it so hard. Have to admit, I find it all a bit hyperbolic. I could have lived with something other than the high falsetto hard stops and I would've liked the final build to have culminated more stereotypically (certainly starts heading that way for a moment), but to my ear this song is pretty great and most definitively Bond.

With your point in the final build - maybe the cutdown of the song in the title sequence will have that.

The two issues I see that Bond fans are criticising are:
The falsetto and Smith's voice (seen a number of complaints that it's not "manly" enough for Bond).
The sentimentality of the song.

The first issue, sure it's unusual for a male singer to do this, but it's something that's growing on me with this song. As for the second - I think this perfectly fits the characterisation of Craig's Bond, which as a concept I like, and I like how this develops over the course of these 4 films. If you don't like that concept, you're bound not to like the song.

[Guy Haines]

The song's not at all bad and the orchestration pretty good, Bond in style, imho. However, as I posted first thing, Sam Smith's vocal style takes a bit of getting used to.

The only quibble I have is with the high notes bit that social media types have said reminds them of Michael Jackson's "Earth Song". Having said that, much as I liked Skyfall, which is a lot, I could have done without the choir in the background at times.

The best Bond song - no. I still prefer Skyfall and Chris Cornell's You Know My Name (Which when I first heard that had me reaching for the pitchfork until I realised it had taken its cue from, imho, TB & LALD.)

But I'm willing to see how it works with the film's titles - it is after all a song meant to fit in with film credits and imagery, and who knows, with those it may work very well indeed.

[MattofSteel]

 

 

Even if it's not to some folks' specific tastes, I feel genuinely bad for the ones hating on it so hard. Have to admit, I find it all a bit hyperbolic. I could have lived with something other than the high falsetto hard stops and I would've liked the final build to have culminated more stereotypically (certainly starts heading that way for a moment), but to my ear this song is pretty great and most definitively Bond.

With your point in the final build - maybe the cutdown of the song in the title sequence will have that.

The two issues I see that Bond fans are criticising are:
The falsetto and Smith's voice (seen a number of complaints that it's not "manly" enough for Bond).
The sentimentality of the song.

The first issue, sure it's unusual for a male singer to do this, but it's something that's growing on me with this song. As for the second - I think this perfectly fits the characterisation of Craig's Bond, which as a concept I like, and I like how this develops over the course of these 4 films. If you don't like that concept, you're bound not to like the song.

 

 

Couldn't agree more.

 

This is actually, maybe, the most artistically-inclined Bond song I can remember in terms of how it conveys the character and his specific story for that era/film. Maybe it leans too much that way - the falsettos aren't there to be annoying, they're there as part of that formula for balancing vulnerability against the powerful push that precedes them. That's how it's trying to capture and convey the concept of love - not inaccurately, in my opinion. It's a bit of a paradox, and that's why the song's a bit of a paradox. There's some delicious irony in the fact that its conveying emotions musically that are so painful, fractured, and longing - yet the ultimate message and most of the lyrics reflect a very, very positive idea.

[MkB]

I could say I like it, but I don't love it. It's bearable. 

 

Is it just me or do others also hear some reminiscence of Peter Kingsberry's "Only the Very Best"? Listen for instance at 0:46 here: 

https://www.youtube....h?v=KyunavoX-KY

[MattofSteel]

My god, that's really funny.

[Royal Dalton]

ACE was on the telly earlier. He said it's an instant classic.

 

Not sure what to make of it myself at the moment.

[Harmsway]

It's the vocals that hurt it.

Otherwise it's a serviceable song. If Adele had performed the song exactly as written, I wouldn't be over the moon with it, but it would be perfectly fine.

The melody could actually sound wonderful when woven into the score (I can even imagine a Barry-style "action" version of it).

[MattofSteel]

It's the vocals that hurt it.

Otherwise it's a serviceable song. If Adele had performed the song exactly as written, I wouldn't be over the moon with it, but it would be perfectly fine.

The melody could actually sound wonderful when woven into the score (I can even imagine a Barry-style "action" version of it).

 

The hook's incredible. Vaguely TWINE-ish. "No Good About Goodbye"-inflected. Unmistakably Bond.

 

My absolutely favourite part (however brief) is actually that deep brass roll counter-melody thing around 3:30. Chills each time. If I have one big criticism of the song, it's that that particular idea wasn't repeated more and used/built toward a more prominent and epic conclusion of itself.

[Tuxedo]

It's a nice song for those who like Sam Smith's falsetto but as a Bond song it failed in my opinion. The orchestral intro is nice though.
Sam Smith is a nice guy it seems but I think he is overrated. And this song seems to prove it.

[MattofSteel]

It really does seem to be Smith, himself, that's striking the wrong chord for some.

 

I've had a few great laughs this morning seeing reactions tantamount to, "The musics great, the lyrics are great, but THE SONG SUCKS!"

[David_M]

Still not impressed, but in fairness there have only been a handful of Bond title songs that rose above the level of "meh" for me.  Scores, yes, but title songs, no. This one's far from the worst, but it's nothing special, either.  Pretty much Rita Coolidge territory, on the whole.

 

On the upside, some of the orchestration is gorgeously "Barry-esque," and if it's an indication of what the rest of the score will sound like -- lush, epic and with one foot firmly in tradition -- I'll be a happy camper. 

[MattofSteel]

On the upside, some of the orchestration is gorgeously "Barry-esque," and if it's an indication of what the rest of the score will sound like -- lush, epic and with one foot firmly in tradition -- I'll be a happy camper. 

 

Based on the last film (frankly the Craig era so far), I wouldn't expect much stylistic correlation between the song and the score - aside from the obvious Bond-ish parts. Even in Arnold's case, where YKMN and AWTD were heavily incorporated into the film's score, the song vs. score sounds weren't even in the same ballpark.

[Logie]

This is actually, maybe, the most artistically-inclined Bond song I can remember in terms of how it conveys the character and his specific story for that era/film. Maybe it leans too much that way - the falsettos aren't there to be annoying, they're there as part of that formula for balancing vulnerability against the powerful push that precedes them.

 

 

Perhaps the falsettos are a nod to Bond's encounter with Le Chiffre and his spliced rope.

[Matt_13]

All that matters is how well it fits into the context of the film, and how well it works with the main title design. On its own the song is hardly a disaster. It's perfectly alright. Every time Smith's voice is elevated though I can't say I enjoy what I'm hearing. It's very different from anything I'm used to, though I suppose that may be part of my issue with it. It just hasn't grabbed me like YKMN and SF did.

[The Dove]

One thing this song is doing for me is bringing back bad memories of Joss Stone's "I'll Take It All" from Bloodstone. That song was stomach churning...

[Matt_13]

I actually think I liked that more when I first heard it.

[Dustin]

I'm one of the five or six persons on this planet who suspect that Lana Del Rey may actually be a vastly overrated artist mainly pushed by the self-amplifying effects of the Internet. But right at the moment I feel she might have been the better interpreter for this song.

[Mr_Wint]

Mixed reaction, but leaning towards the positive side.
 
The orchestral arrangement is near perfect. Faithful to the Bond sound by Barry, without being pastiche. Like with Skyfall, they've found a good balance. But Sam Smith's performance is below average. The falsettos just doesn't fit with the Bond style. Reminds me a little bit of All Time High (good song, poor vocals).

All in all, better than YKMN or AWTD but way below SF.

[David_M]

 

On the upside, some of the orchestration is gorgeously "Barry-esque," and if it's an indication of what the rest of the score will sound like -- lush, epic and with one foot firmly in tradition -- I'll be a happy camper. 

 

Based on the last film (frankly the Craig era so far), I wouldn't expect much stylistic correlation between the song and the score - aside from the obvious Bond-ish parts. Even in Arnold's case, where YKMN and AWTD were heavily incorporated into the film's score, the song vs. score sounds weren't even in the same ballpark.

 

 

You're probably right, and more's the pity.

 

The orchestral bits -- which I like -- don't fit the rest of the song, which really just calls for piano and vocals as it's the exact opposite of "big" in ambition or execution.  I'm hoping this mismatch is down to the kind of awkward union we used to see between Barry and the flavor-of-the-month pop acts we got in the 80s, and with Smith out of the way the rest of the film will skew more to the vintage Barry sound.

 

The alternative -- and admittedly the more likely scenario -- is that the orchestral bits are deliberately, exaggeratedly Barry-esque in a mighty attempt to make this thing sound even vaguely Bondian, but once the credits are out of the way Newman will go his own merry way with something totally different.  Still, all the talk about old-style Bond movie making makes me keep hoping...

[levitator]

I'll still take this fan edit any day!

 

 

After beeing rather disappointed about the song, this great video at least made my day. Thanks a lot for posting this quantum of solace, DamnCoffee!

 

Sams song would make a good love theme IN the movie. Hey, it's sinister SPECTRE. Maybe they surprise us with an instrumental theme like in OHMSS over the titles and put Sams song somewhere else.

 

But as lots of CBn fellas already mentioned, it possibly "works" with Kleinmans work. Hoping...

Edited by levitator, 25 September 2015 - 05:57 PM.

[0024]

 

The lyrics (once you can make them out) are problematic. If I didn't know anything about the film, I'd assume Bond will be a pathetic wreck, blubbering into his scotch.

Yes. Pathetic wreck is actually what comes to mind when I hear the song. What a whiny histerionicall crap this is. Sorry. Haven´t been this upset over Bond business since DUD and the editing of QOS. 

 

"The Whining's On the Wall"?

Edited by 0024, 25 September 2015 - 05:28 PM.