Music in SPECTRE

1293032343545

Comments

  • zerozerozerozero The far far east
    Posts: 58
    Fitzochris wrote: »
    Los Muertos Vivos Estan Is a fantastic piece of music. The way the Bond theme builds reminds me of Bond of old.
    The fact that it will come quite soon after the gunbarrel bodes well, too.
    I also like the way the Mexican theme is present here.

    And re the above from Otto NIlsson, it's very telling thata fans are writing better music than the actual filmmakers these days!
  • loullersloullers Eskilstuna, Sweden
    Posts: 70
    Thanks zerozero and bondjames!

    I really appreciate the kind words. It really warms my Swedish heart :)

    I am actually writing the score for our own James Bond fan film that will be out in a less than a month.

    These are some snippets from the soundtracket (including the original title song that I've written together with the singer):

    OST Preview # 1: https://youtube.com/watch?v=F5GIm1IM5vM
    OST Preview # 2: https://youtube.com/watch?v=4R0772x5dc4
    OST Preview # 3: https://youtube.com/watch?v=l3PWwdLFQ4g
    Title Song: https://youtube.com/watch?v=SZ98QQdFKHo
  • SMC514SMC514 Station C
    Posts: 14
    Overall I think the OST is alright. Like many others said, it is very Skyfall-ish, which I find disappointing. There are ones I like, namely "Los Muertos Vivos Estan" and "Westminster Bridge." for incorporating the Bond theme well, without overblowing it as much as I love the Bond theme roaring away. I will have to wait and see how the score is in the film, but as a sound alone soundtrack, it falls short, being too generic and not grand enough for a Bond film.
    I also HATE the fact that they didn't include the gun barrel music in as I heard it's the classic rendition of the theme.

    I was really hoping that SPECTRE got a really 'bondbastic' soundtrack, and Newman has shown some promise in a few tracks, but fails to really give it his all and instead copies and pastes a lot of cues from Skyfall, which I would be ok with if they weren't THE SAME DAMN RECORDINGS from Skyfall's soundtrack.

  • jake24jake24 Sitting at your desk, kissing your lover, eating supper with your familyModerator
    Posts: 10,586
    SMC514 wrote: »
    Overall I think the OST is alright. Like many others said, it is very Skyfall-ish, which I find disappointing. There are ones I like, namely "Los Muertos Vivos Estan" and "Westminster Bridge." for incorporating the Bond theme well, without overblowing it as much as I love the Bond theme roaring away. I will have to wait and see how the score is in the film, but as a sound alone soundtrack, it falls short, being too generic and not grand enough for a Bond film.
    I also HATE the fact that they didn't include the gun barrel music in as I heard it's the classic rendition of the theme.

    I was really hoping that SPECTRE got a really 'bondbastic' soundtrack, and Newman has shown some promise in a few tracks, but fails to really give it his all and instead copies and pastes a lot of cues from Skyfall, which I would be ok with if they weren't THE SAME DAMN RECORDINGS from Skyfall's soundtrack.
    Trust me, I'm sure you'll be more inclined to like it when you're hearing it on loud theatre speakers and in the context of the film.
    Overall I'd give it a 7.5/10. It's a great score, however some tracks, particularly the action tracks like 'Snow Plane', would benefit from a more coherent melody.
  • MalloryMallory Do mosquitoes have friends?
    Posts: 2,035
    Ive only listened to a couple of tracks so far:

    Backfire
    Donna Lucia
    Snow Plane
    Westminster Bridge

    Have to say I am loving it so far. Going to wait until seeing the film tomorrow for the full score, but so far, so excellent.
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    loullers wrote: »
    Thanks zerozero and bondjames!

    I really appreciate the kind words. It really warms my Swedish heart :)

    I am actually writing the score for our own James Bond fan film that will be out in a less than a month.

    These are some snippets from the soundtracket (including the original title song that I've written together with the singer):

    OST Preview # 1: https://youtube.com/watch?v=F5GIm1IM5vM
    OST Preview # 2: https://youtube.com/watch?v=4R0772x5dc4
    OST Preview # 3: https://youtube.com/watch?v=l3PWwdLFQ4g
    Title Song: https://youtube.com/watch?v=SZ98QQdFKHo

    Fantastic work!
  • Posts: 3,164
    Interview with Newman on the soundtrack - including him confirming that WOTW is reprised in the film:
  • I was really hoping that SPECTRE got a really 'bondbastic' soundtrack, and Newman has shown some promise in a few tracks, but fails to really give it his all and instead copies and pastes a lot of cues from Skyfall, which I would be ok with if they weren't THE SAME DAMN RECORDINGS from Skyfall's soundtrack.

    They're not.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,328
    I was really hoping that SPECTRE got a really 'bondbastic' soundtrack, and Newman has shown some promise in a few tracks, but fails to really give it his all and instead copies and pastes a lot of cues from Skyfall, which I would be ok with if they weren't THE SAME DAMN RECORDINGS from Skyfall's soundtrack.

    They're not.

    Close enough to be though. A few twieks here and there.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 7,999
    Which is fine, since it's not really a huge chunk of the same cues compared to the new material.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,328
    It came off as a huge lack of effort on Newman's part. I know the reused cues were small in number but it felt like a copout to me. It really needed more use of the James Bond theme. I just don't understand why it's being used less and less as the films are going on.
  • eddychaputeddychaput Montreal, Canada
    Posts: 364
    Of all the Bond composers, I also think Newman is the one I like the least, but 'liking least' does not mean I don't like his work per say. It's fine, but it feels more like a score that simply gets the job done rather than be truly memorable Bond music. I don't remember all that much from the SF score even though I must have listened to it almost ten times when it came out. There are Barry scores I've listened to fewer times yet I remember certain cues more vividly. Again, Newman is okay, but unspectacular.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 7,999
    Murdock wrote: »
    It came off as a huge lack of effort on Newman's part. I know the reused cues were small in number but it felt like a copout to me. It really needed more use of the James Bond theme. I just don't understand why it's being used less and less as the films are going on.

    This is the most the Bond theme has ever been presented in the Craig films, it's been increasing with each film. Heck, it's about used as much as it was in GOLDFINGER when you think of it.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,328
    Murdock wrote: »
    It came off as a huge lack of effort on Newman's part. I know the reused cues were small in number but it felt like a copout to me. It really needed more use of the James Bond theme. I just don't understand why it's being used less and less as the films are going on.

    This is the most the Bond theme has ever been presented in the Craig films, it's been increasing with each film. Heck, it's about used as much as it was in GOLDFINGER when you think of it.

    I think it was used more in Skyfall to a degree. But It was used quite a lot in Goldfinger. The PTS, When Bond introduces himself to Jill, Solo being taken to the Junk yard. I haven't listened to the score in a while but Goldfinger's is one I'm not much of a fan of anyway.
  • SMC514SMC514 Station C
    Posts: 14
    I was really hoping that SPECTRE got a really 'bondbastic' soundtrack, and Newman has shown some promise in a few tracks, but fails to really give it his all and instead copies and pastes a lot of cues from Skyfall, which I would be ok with if they weren't THE SAME DAMN RECORDINGS from Skyfall's soundtrack.

    They're not.

    You're right @minorMajor9th but they're so similar that if I didn't listen to them side by side, I would've retained my earlier statements.
  • edited October 2015 Posts: 2
    This is completely off the deep end of Arnoldesque techno bears, but you have to love how JMY works in Writing's on the Wall with the Bond theme in his latest remix:



    With the exception of the aforementioned bass beat, this is very reminiscent of a classic Bond score (up to 0:15). Take 1 part Bond theme, 2 parts title song chorus (let stir - not shake - in orchestra for 30 seconds).

    Jokes aside, one of the things that made Barry's scores brilliant were not the Bond theme itself, but the incidental uses of the film's individual title theme as a score (one of the reasons Thunderball trips me up a bit every time I watch it - so much of it is based on the Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang title theme that some of the film's continuity is lost on me, subconsciously)

    -Kurt
  • Has anyone else on here listened to the opening theme on the sound track for mexico city. It's fantastic!!!! the bets ive heard.
  • SatoriousSatorious Brushing up on a little Danish
    Posts: 231
    I'm going out of my mind in anticipation for Spectre tonight, so I decided to jot down a reasonably long assessment of Newman's score - track by track - just to keep me out of mischief for an hour or two:
    http://fernyfilms.wordpress.com/2015/10/26/spectre-soundtrack-review/
  • Satorious wrote: »
    I'm going out of my mind in anticipation for Spectre tonight, so I decided to jot down a reasonably long assessment of Newman's score - track by track - just to keep me out of mischief for an hour or two:
    http://fernyfilms.wordpress.com/2015/10/26/spectre-soundtrack-review/

    Excellent analysis. Agree with all of it based on my own listening.
  • DoctorKaufmannDoctorKaufmann Can shoot you from Stuttgart and still make it look like suicide.
    Posts: 1,261
    After having listened to it several times, I actually do not bother that much about the chunks lifted from SF. I actually like WESTMINSTER BRIDGE more than the version used in SF, more dynamic, better pace, and the incorporation of the Bond Theme. And the first track is also quite nice indeed.
  • edited October 2015 Posts: 1,314
    Here's my Spectre real time first listen. I like Newmans Skyfall score. He has a distinct style, yes, as did John Barry, which isn’t for everyone, but i rather like his scores as a background character rather than In your face hooks and melodys. One thin both his Bond score do is inject a sense of peril and growing threat. He writes predominately in a minor key which helps

    1 Los Muertos Vivos Estan
    Awesome high intensity with enough Bondian references and superb percussion

    2. Vauxhall Bridge
    Subtel and beautiful, again feels very much like a bond film with the little woodwind flourishes

    3 Eternal City
    First half sounds like a Harry Potter Score
    Second half sounds dark and foreboding. And a times a little like the closing chord of A Day in the Ligfe of SGT pepper
    Dark and Atmospheric

    4 Donna Lucia
    Lush Strings and orchestration sounds like the most Barry track thus far. Rather beautiful


    5. Place without Mercy
    sounds very Skyfall from the off. Thats OK with Me. Empire Strikes back sounds quite a lot like Start wars. Hardly worth inclusion on the CD though

    6. Backfire
    Again a very Newman Bondian interpretation. I like the fact that he references the original theme both rhythmically as well as melodically. Its rather generic, but I love the brass flourishes around 50 seconds. More of this would have been good to these ears. A super inclusion of the theme and repeated brass around the 2.05 - 2.50 is the best part of the score so far. I guess they will push the more bounden parts of the score to the forefront during the film. Does then sound very like Skyfall for the rest of it with trademark Newman atonal strings and brass.

    7. Crows Kilink

    8Madeline
    Bit of a misstep. Nice enough but sounds just like the shower scene from SF

    9. Pale king

    10 KIte in a Hurricane
    Very atmospheric. A bit avante garde for casual listening, but will work well in the context of the film

    11
    Snow Plane
    Sounds like a cut and paste of the opening PTS of SF.

    12
    L américain
    More purely SF music. Opening sounds like i am in a spa. Though the last 20 seconds is nice

    13
    SF Music once again of discernible interest. Getting a bit reptitve now.

    14 Hinx
    More generic Newman Bond music

    16 Silver Wraith
    Forgetable generic Newman Bond music

    17
    A reiunion
    Forgetable slower generic Newman Bond music

    18 Day of the deal
    Finally after what seems like a lifetime a change in pace. Interesting.

    19 Tempus Fugit
    Forgetable faster generic Newman Bond music. It directly references something from SF, but i can’t place it.

    20 Safe House
    More generic Newman Bond music. I feels like I’ve heard this chord and rhythm 10 times so far.

    21 / 22
    Forgetable faster generic Newman Bond music

    23
    Detonation
    The title suggests some race against the clock. Thankfully Newman is here to score this exactly the same as every other action cue.

    24
    Westminster
    A refrain of the Bond them isn’t enough to hide the fact that Newmans approach to this score is to stick fast atonal strings and bar long brass chords over a consistent minor bass line

    25. Turned off after 30 seconds


    Well you can see my change in mood as it went on. Started off as a defender / fan. Bit bored by the end as there is no descendible difference in tracks 11-24 save tempo.

    Maybe he isn’t a composer to listen to in isolation - his description of the approach he takes to scoring would suggest that. Thats ok though. The music isn’t written to be viewed aside from the film first and foremost. I do like his style, but maybe 100 mins of it out of context isn’t the best arraign for it. It should work well with the images though.

    As a soundtrack album 4/10
    As a score with the film 7/10

    Although As i heard the SF score after i saw the film I think the reason i like it is because the music conjures up the scenes in the film. Maybe Spectre will be like that. Although i do think SF is melodically much stronger.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,009
    Matt007 wrote: »
    Here's my Spectre real time first listen. I like Newmans Skyfall score. He has a distinct style, yes, as did John Barry, which isn’t for everyone, but i rather like his scores as a background character rather than In your face hooks and melodys. One thin both his Bond score do is inject a sense of peril and growing threat. He writes predominately in a minor key which helps

    1 Los Muertos Vivos Estan
    Awesome high intensity with enough Bondian references and superb percussion

    2. Vauxhall Bridge
    Subtel and beautiful, again feels very much like a bond film with the little woodwind flourishes

    3 Eternal City
    First half sounds like a Harry Potter Score
    Second half sounds dark and foreboding. And a times a little like the closing chord of A Day in the Ligfe of SGT pepper
    Dark and Atmospheric

    4 Donna Lucia
    Lush Strings and orchestration sounds like the most Barry track thus far. Rather beautiful


    5. Place without Mercy
    sounds very Skyfall from the off. Thats OK with Me. Empire Strikes back sounds quite a lot like Start wars. Hardly worth inclusion on the CD though

    6. Backfire
    Again a very Newman Bondian interpretation. I like the fact that he references the original theme both rhythmically as well as melodically. Its rather generic, but I love the brass flourishes around 50 seconds. More of this would have been good to these ears. A super inclusion of the theme and repeated brass around the 2.05 - 2.50 is the best part of the score so far. I guess they will push the more bounden parts of the score to the forefront during the film. Does then sound very like Skyfall for the rest of it with trademark Newman atonal strings and brass.

    7. Crows Kilink

    8Madeline
    Bit of a misstep. Nice enough but sounds just like the shower scene from SF

    9. Pale king

    10 KIte in a Hurricane
    Very atmospheric. A bit avante garde for casual listening, but will work well in the context of the film

    11
    Snow Plane
    Sounds like a cut and paste of the opening PTS of SF.

    12
    L américain
    More purely SF music. Opening sounds like i am in a spa. Though the last 20 seconds is nice

    13
    SF Music once again of discernible interest. Getting a bit reptitve now.

    14 Hinx
    More generic Newman Bond music

    16 Silver Wraith
    Forgetable generic Newman Bond music

    17
    A reiunion
    Forgetable slower generic Newman Bond music

    18 Day of the deal
    Finally after what seems like a lifetime a change in pace. Interesting.

    19 Tempus Fugit
    Forgetable faster generic Newman Bond music. It directly references something from SF, but i can’t place it.

    20 Safe House
    More generic Newman Bond music. I feels like I’ve heard this chord and rhythm 10 times so far.

    21 / 22
    Forgetable faster generic Newman Bond music

    23
    Detonation
    The title suggests some race against the clock. Thankfully Newman is here to score this exactly the same as every other action cue.

    24
    Westminster
    A refrain of the Bond them isn’t enough to hide the fact that Newmans approach to this score is to stick fast atonal strings and bar long brass chords over a consistent minor bass line

    25. Turned off after 30 seconds


    Well you can see my change in mood as it went on. Started off as a defender / fan. Bit bored by the end as there is no descendible difference in tracks 11-24 save tempo.

    Maybe he isn’t a composer to listen to in isolation - his description of the approach he takes to scoring would suggest that. Thats ok though. The music isn’t written to be viewed aside from the film first and foremost. I do like his style, but maybe 100 mins of it out of context isn’t the best arraign for it. It should work well with the images though.

    As a soundtrack album 4/10
    As a score with the film 7/10

    Although As i heard the SF score after i saw the film I think the reason i like it is because the music conjures up the scenes in the film. Maybe Spectre will be like that. Although i do think SF is melodically much stronger.

    I feel pretty similar to this, too. It occasionally perks up and has its moments of lushness, but the empty air and tonal wallpaper atmosphere of the majority of the tracks, in the later half especially, made the album a chore to listen to.
  • edited October 2015 Posts: 6,432
    Please let this be the last Bond soundtrack Newman does, having listened to Spectre I feel extremely flat. The soundtrack lacks energy, indentity and lacks imagination.Skyfall I was not a huge fan of in truth though it had its moments. Spectre is as generic as it gets, Newman's reluctance to use the Bond theme I find infuriating. Sorry though this score is coma inducing, I have wasted my money.
  • Please let this be the last Bond soundtrack Newman does, having listened to Spectre I feel extremely flat. The soundtrack lacks energy, indentity and lacks imagination.Skyfall I was not a huge fan of in truth though it had its moments. Spectre is as generic as it gets, Newman's reluctance to use the Bond theme I find infuriating. Sorry though this score is coma inducing, I have wasted my money.
    Please let this be the last Bond soundtrack Newman does, having listened to Spectre I feel extremely flat. The soundtrack lacks energy, indentity and lacks imagination.Skyfall I was not a huge fan of in truth though it had its moments. Spectre is as generic as it gets, Newman's reluctance to use the Bond theme I find infuriating. Sorry though this score is coma inducing, I have wasted my money.

    The Bond theme is used more on Spectre than it is on Skyfall?
  • Posts: 6,432
    Meant using the theme in both film scores.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,328
    After this I really don't want Newman coming back. He just doesn't "get" the Bond sound. Most of Spectre's music was bland The first 10 or so tracks were pretty good. But the rest was just quiet ambient music or 20% recycled music from Skyfall. After the Wonderful Los Muertos Vivos Estan which featured the most use of the Bond theme it went into Newman on autopilot. Time for a change now.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited October 2015 Posts: 23,883
    I can't get enough of 'Westminster Bridge'. I much prefer this to 'Backfire'. It's just completely intense and epic. Love 'Los Muertos Vivos Estan' also but 'Westminster Bridge' is my favourite fast track on SPECTRE, especially when hints of the Bond theme appear.
  • Posts: 3,164
    So yeah - two massive omissions in the album.

    1. Newman's fantastic combo (will make sense once you actually hear it) gunbarrel cue.
    2. his own (!!!!!!!) short instrumental arrangement of Writing's on the Wall that appears in the film
  • How does the opening track fit in with the PTS? Does it sounds as good as it does as a standalone?
  • aaron819aaron819 Switzerland
    edited October 2015 Posts: 1,208
    Fitzochris wrote: »
    How does the opening track fit in with the PTS? Does it sounds as good as it does as a standalone?

    @Fitzochris Fits in perfectly. I may be over excited but I iust love this film. It's my new 10/10. Great job to the whole team of SP. They really tried and did make it better than SF for me :) :) :)
    Can't wait to see it again

Sign In or Register to comment.