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And now I'm really getting curious: Which of the scores, in your opinion, is the worst?
SP, without question. I already wasn't that blown away by Newman's work on SF (save one or two tracks that I really did love), but to re-use your own stuff in the following film? Pass. Zimmer's work was thankfully a big improvement in NTTD.
Serra's tracks, while not always perfect, are too connected to that '90s nostalgia that fuels me. I love it a lot and think I find a bit more appreciation for it with every new viewing (after the 500-1,000+ of GE I've already had, surprisingly enough).
The worst for me? Tough one. DN is really not that good in terms of the actual score (not the songs or the Bond Theme), even for those times. I'm not a big fan of George Martin's score either, though it has grown on me. If I can choose NSNA, then we have a clear winner. Such an awful score from a no less respected composer. And then there's SF. It's probably one of these four.
I couldn't agree more.
Speaking of Skyfall vs. Spectre, even with the reused themes, I prefer Spectre. There are some great tracks there, like the PTS helicopter fight music. But Skyfall has continued to grow on me. I just find Spectre has a more pronounced quintessentially Bondian quality that gives it an edge over Skyfall. I guess the scores reflect the films.
And somewhat paradoxically, I love the GoldenEye score, considering it is not a quintessentially Bondian score. But that's me, full of contradictions I guess.
Why I prefer SP to SF has a lot to do with a few new themes and cues that Newman threw in. Especially a couple of romantic bits (Bond and Lucia, Bond and Madeleine), with that lovely piano and soft strings, and some more ominous atmospheric pieces, do it for me. The SP score really moves me. The SF score much less.
And yeah, DN. It's almost blasphemy to say this but the score really isn't any good in my opinion. The difference between Norman's music and Barry's in FRWL is almost whiplash-inducing. Nothing in the DN score is as playful, smooth, delicate, exotic and exciting as what Barry composed the next year. I regret this, since DN is one of my favourites in the series, a Bond film I think is often overlooked because it's "just the first one" and "not yet as good as the next few". I rank it really high. But its major weakness is the music. Barry's rendtition of the Bond Theme elevates the score, and some of the songs create an interesting mood. But the actual score is a disappointment. I suppose we needed Barry to invent the 'spy' sound. He really shook up that world, didn't he?
And GE, with the electronics and metallic sounds and such? Fits the film. Can't think of that film with a more orchestral Arnold score. Somehow, GE plays as a cold, "metallic" techno-thriller. Serra's score is perfectly adequate. They chose the right guy, if you ask me. The GE score simply isn't his finest work.
Funny enough, I find George Martin's LALD score to be the best non-Barry score of them all. Way ahead of David Arnold and all the others.
It’s so much part of that distinctive feel of this film, I would not want it any other way.
A very appropriate evaluation; there are elements that are outstanding but there are tracks that are painfully bad.
It looks like the majority agrees that "Ladies First" is bad (me too, although I only have real issues with the first part). Which other tracks are "painfully bad"?
The action tune in the archives and used again twice in the finale is a bit I absolutely love. And I agree that the metallic sound fits the movie well and I'm happy that this score exists.
Yeah, I think it's a mix of successful and unsuccessful, but it certainly creates a mood and is completely bound to the film now, so it's almost unimaginable without it.