120 replies to this topic

[The Shark]

Ballad or no ballad, TWOTW is a far too limp effort for a film as cold hearted as SPECTRE (and arguably the most gory Bond since LTK). Nor does it really mesh with the tentacle hentai of the titles.

[Trevelyan 006]

The days of the legendary John Barry are far behind us, I'm afraid...

[sharpshooter]

The days of the legendary John Barry are far behind us, I'm afraid...

Newman isn't the second coming of Barry or anything, but I think he fits the vibe of the Craig films. Barry is the king and always will be, however I couldn't see that style of soundtrack suiting the contemporary films, myself.

[Trevelyan 006]

 

The days of the legendary John Barry are far behind us, I'm afraid...

Newman isn't the second coming of Barry or anything, but I think he fits the vibe of the Craig films. Barry is the king and always will be, however I couldn't see that style of soundtrack suiting the contemporary films, myself.

 

I completely agree. I really, really enjoyed Skyfall's soundtrack, though the jury is still out on SPECTRE for me. I'm waiting for another few watches before I definitively judge. Right now, I can't say I like it as much. 

[MattofSteel]

Having seen the film twice and listened to the score quite a bit, it's grown on me so much.

 

I don't even begrudge the Skyfall repetition anymore - the repetitions are used intelligently, often to evoke or recall specific feelings and narrative elements. And in most cases, they're explored and diversified with newer elements (however subtle). Zimmer gets away with it for superhero films - can't say I'd want Newman to do it again, but it sort of worked here.

 

The downside: I actually quite love much of Newman's new material. He's achieved a driving, ambient sound with SPECTRE that may not be particularly retentive on first viewing but carries a lot of presence once you start to identify and remember specific cues. Madeleine's "theme", for example, is one of my new favourites - it's a simple harmonic contrast that (pun intended) simply hits a different note than other love themes in recent Bonds, and for a very specific reason. 

 

And as unconventional as "Snow Plane" is, it's my new favourite action track. The feeling of urgency I get from it actually supercedes my ability to care how "musical" it is. Breathtaking stuff, and I say that as probably the biggest David Arnold fan on the planet.

 

The simplest moments get me too. It's in those subtle beats that I think Newman is actually really incredible at capturing the 007 sound. There's a few notes that hit when Bond's walking up to White's chalet - so subtle, but so Bond. Again with tracks like Vauxhall Bridge/L'Americain (sort of remastered versions of one another) - those last 20 seconds of L'Americain are so simple and unassuming, but so incredibly Bond the way they manage and just lightly dance with the theme. 

 

My only real complaint is that the guitar riff didn't get its moment in-film...although there's an unreleased bit (Q's cue) - ha - where it's sort of hinted at. "Eternal City" is a disappointing track to me especially on the Decca release, because all the interesting musical bits from that scene happened before.

 

Thus concludes my impromptu mini-review.

Ballad or no ballad, TWOTW is a far too limp effort for a film as cold hearted as SPECTRE (and arguably the most gory Bond since LTK). Nor does it really mesh with the tentacle hentai of the titles.

 

Very limp, but funnily enough - I love the song on its own. It sounds very Bond to me, but belongs on a Roger Moore film circa 1977-1983. It's not for this film and especially not for these titles. 

[Professor Pi]

I was really disappointed in Thomas Newman this time around.  You didn't hear David Arnold going back to his well as often as Newman does here.  And if you are going back to the well, you've got rights to the best hero theme of all time, use it!   It's like he was too busy scoring Bridge of Spies and just temp tracked Skyfall onto the second half of SPECTRE.  If he's establishing a theme, okay, but his cues aren't '007' or JBT.  There's nothing here as stunning as "Chimera".  That being said, I thought the chorus part of "Backfire" was genius and inspired, both musically and in the context of the chase and story.

 

The score is serviceable, but I'm ready for a new composer next time.  It need not be Arnold, but enough of Newman.  Brian Tyler, Christopher Peck, Michael Giachino, Alexander Desplat, even Hans Zimmer, ...

Edited by Professor Pi, 07 November 2015 - 07:49 PM.

[The Shark]

Alexandre Desplat, Alberto Iglesias, Michael Danna, Abel Korzeniowski or Daniel Pemberton would all be fine choices.

[MattofSteel]

I'd love to see Pemberton up next. His UNCLE score was incredible.

[Agent 76]

I honestly think this soundtrack in on par with SkyFall's.

 

 

Not the best, but certainly not the worst, and it has really interesting cues. The music during the pre-titles sequence is nothing short of amazing.

[x007AceOfSpades]

The score was good, although when watching the film it did certainly sound like Newman reused material from Skyfall more than it did when listening to it by itself. Still a good Bond score, but I prefer Newman's Skyfall which felt fresher in comparison to Spectre.

 

As for the next composer, Daniel Pemberton has my vote.

[sharpshooter]

If Mendes doesn't return, Newman won't either. And if they pass over David Arnold again, I'd say his time with the franchise would be done, too. 

[seawolfnyy]

The score was good, although when watching the film it did certainly sound like Newman reused material from Skyfall more than it did when listening to it by itself. Still a good Bond score, but I prefer Newman's Skyfall which felt fresher in comparison to Spectre.

 

As for the next composer, Daniel Pemberton has my vote.

I definitely agree. I didn't dislike the Spectre score, but it was too similar to Skyfall and didn't really fit the tone of Spectre. That being said, the trailers definitely promised us a different film. We didn't get the haunting, atmospheric Bond that the trailers suggested. Outside of the theme song, which I still don't like, I did not enjoy the segment in Austria. The score was too upbeat for what should have been a more ominous scene.

[Major Tallon]

I was amused to note that when EON feels the need for a bit of opera music in the score, Giuseppi Verdi has obviously become their "Go to" guy.

[0024]

If Mendes doesn't return, Newman won't either. And if they pass over David Arnold again, I'd say his time with the franchise would be done, too. 

Let's hope not.  If they pass over Arnold, it will be a grave day for this franchise.  His musical continuity is an invaluable aspect that he brought to this franchise.

[The Shark]

What continuity? Lazy arpeggiated brass figures? Plunger mutes? Recycling the most obvious of Bond musical cliches?

 

I'm not demanding Newman should return either, but Arnold is no great loss. 

[Yellow Pinky]

What continuity? Lazy arpeggiated brass figures? Plunger mutes? Recycling the most obvious of Bond musical cliches?

 

I'm not demanding Newman should return either, but Arnold is no great loss. 

I agree with this completely!  Newman has been a refreshing respite from David Arnold to my ears.  While I don't expect Newman to return without Mendes, I certainly wouldn't mind him sticking around.  Should he move on, my vote would be for Alexandre Desplat.

[Agent 76]

Ramin Djawadi would be an interesting option for the next movie.

[antovolk]

THE gunbarrel at the 0:51 mark!

Edited by antovolk, 10 November 2015 - 10:39 AM.

[antovolk]

Allow me to interrupt your regularly scheduled horse manure with....

THE SPECTRE GUNBARREL MUSIC! Albeit it doesn't have the build up that we get over the studio logos but this is as good as it gets. Thank the folks at Sony for using it in the new short featurette that came out this morning.

[DamnCoffee]

Dunno if anyone's mentioned this but 'Kite In A Hurricaine' uses a cue from OHMSS...

 

Compare 2:15ish here...

 

 

to 1:35 here...

 

Edited by DamnCoffee, 11 November 2015 - 10:24 PM.

[SecretAgentFan]

Great find!  

 

And the more one listens to Newman´s score the more one can appreciate how subtly he uses the Bond theme in so many ways.

[Professor Pi]

Music from the Movies is going to discuss the soundtrack Saturday at 7PM Houston time and Sunday at 5PM.

 

http://www.houstonpu...ewmans-spectre/

[deth]

Dunno if anyone's mentioned this but 'Kite In A Hurricaine' uses a cue from OHMSS...

 

Compare 2:15ish here...

 

 

to 1:35 here...

 

 

 

I really don't think that's intentional.

[tonyvenhuizen]

At first I w bothered by the call backs to SKYFALL. That still bothers me a little. I like it that I can recognize each film from its soundtrack and I'm not confident I can always distinguish SKYFALL and SPECTRE.

Having said that, this is really growing on me. I like the use of opera. I especially like the choir portion in front of St. Peter Square. I think it lends an epic quality. Reminds me of THE SPY WHO LOVED ME. The brilliant part of that soundtrack was the epic quality that reiterated the idea that "nobody does it better."

I'm not sure that I'd like to see another Newman score however. I'm worried that they sound too much alike. I'd love to hear Michael Giacchino score a Bond film. His soundtrack for THE INCREDIBLES is basically an homage to 1960s Barry soundtracks.

Given the return of the classic formula and Blofeld, a classic soundtrack would make sense.

[sharpshooter]

Having said that, this is really growing on me. I like the use of opera. I especially like the choir portion in front of St. Peter Square.

That was a highlight for sure.

[deth]

 

Having said that, this is really growing on me. I like the use of opera. I especially like the choir portion in front of St. Peter Square.

That was a highlight for sure.

 

 

 

Enjoyed that bit as well, but I wish they'd shot that sequence better... you can barely tell they're in the square... there was a chance for a truly classic shot of the cars going through the lit up St. Peter Square, but instead we got closeups of the cars. A missed opportunity. That, with the music would have been an epic moment in the film.

[dtuba]

I thought it was a fair bit better than SF...I think Newman has by now figured out what a "Bond" soundtrack should sound like...SF's soundtrack didn't sound comfortable with the spy/action genre type music. SP actually sounded very David Arnold-ian to my ears. It reminded me of the QOS soundtrack in a few places.

 

Although...I hate to agree with the troll, but Newman's cut/paste method bothers me. I think I'll be ready for a new composer next time.

[Professor Pi]

 

Dunno if anyone's mentioned this but 'Kite In A Hurricaine' uses a cue from OHMSS...

 

Compare 2:15ish here...

 

 

to 1:35 here...

 

 

 

I really don't think that's intentional.

 

 

Listening to it now, I think it is intentional.  The Mr. White/daughter angle is too reminiscent of the Marc Ange Draco/Tracy story.  One of many OHMSS references SPECTRE has.  If Westminster Bridge's Thunderball JBT reference is intentional, then so is this one.

 

Good catch, Damncoffee!

[DamnCoffee]

The same track also plays during the 'Cuckoo' reveal at the SPECTRE meeting, too.

[DaveBond21]

I'm really enjoying Out of Bullets and L'Americain at the moment.

 

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