Quick Big Mi6 Music Score Ranking Game

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  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 6,761
    I was the one to put SP last, not a fan at all of Newman's Bond scores.

    Not a total abomination of course, don't think any of them is, and I like Los muertos vivos estan for instance, but overall I find Newman's sound generic, uninspired and forgettable.
  • edited June 2021 Posts: 1,469
    I had it at #15, and looking back it surprised me I put it that high, but so be it. The piece of music that always grabs me is part of the track The Eternal City, when Bond is driving in Rome and they show a wide view of the city; they use a chorus of voices in that part. For me the music and chorus accentuates Rome's great history (I'm also a big fan of Gladiator). Vauxhall Bridge is another good cut. As one or two others said, the Madeleine track is creatively romantic. But I do agree that overall it's a little too atmospheric and could've used more punch and flair.
    It is, as you say, a very ambient score, but I think it suits the somewhat ghostly atmosphere of the movie quite well and it's grown on me quite a bit.
    You make good points here. There's the ghostly quality in the music, and we are dealing with Blofeld, who has been in the shadows. And Bond is only now finally unraveling the mystery.

    The thought comes to mind that we're going to see how valuable John Barry was to Bond and what a great fit they were.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Birdleson wrote: »
    I have a Barry at 23. And I think it’s a quite popular score that just chafes me.

    You are talking about TLD. I put that at 18, which is the lowest Barry for me as well.
  • BennyBenny In the shadowsAdministrator, Moderator
    Posts: 14,816
    TB is my lowest ranked John Barry score.
    No surprise that I have 8 Barry scores in my top ten.
    But we’re a way off from that.
    I’ve got QOS up next.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 6,761
    One thing is for sure, folks we're quite a while from the first Barry entry ;)

    First we have our first huge discrepancy in popularity between music score and film. This one ended rather high in our film ranking game, but here it's bottom 3:

    DR. NO
    Music composed by
    MONTY NORMAN

    91BPeL%2BjRvL._SL1500_.jpg

    We do have a single big fan of this score since it did obtain one 5th spot, making it the lowest ranked score with a top 5 spot. The two next best placements however, were 14th and 15th (the latter two times).

    That's more in line with the rest of the group, eleven bottom 5's were noted. One member even put it last. Only three EON's were put last in this contest, and DN is one of them.

    The original music for DN acquired 71 points in total, avoiding the last EON spot by a single point.

    Still though, unless I'm mistaking, its composer has been credited in every single official entry since then.
  • goldenswissroyalegoldenswissroyale Switzerland
    Posts: 4,378
    My ranking is identical with the final results so far. I love the songs (mango tree, theee blind mice, jump up) but the rest (apart from the famous theme of course) is far away from Barry quality.
  • I had the DN score at #16. I really enjoyed some of the exotic music, seems that's a controversial opinion! Just holding on to the antipenultimate spot by 1 point! This is very thrilling.
  • BennyBenny In the shadowsAdministrator, Moderator
    Posts: 14,816
    I have DN at 23, so I'm only one spot out. Aside from the Bond theme, it's very lacking as a score. John Barry's influence on the films that follow, only show how weak this score is.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Birdleson wrote: »
    I have it at #20, and that seems too low. The James Bond Theme alone elevates its stature. I love the native bits and I even (to a limited point) enjoy the musical zingers which are a relic of an earlier age of filmmaking. So, I am disappointed to see it go so quickly, but in the end I wasn't much kinder myself.

    Same here, and agreed about your points.
  • Also in on #20, there are a couple EON efforts that are worse, the Bond theme alone elevates this one.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,450
    It makes sense to have DN this low. The actual film score is paper-thin, with the Bond Theme overused at times.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,372
    It was me, I have it in the #5 spot. It's just so befitting such a beautiful locale and the music really adds a unique flavor to the experience, even if it's a bit overplayed at times, unnecessarily so.
  • ProfJoeButcherProfJoeButcher Bless your heart
    edited July 2021 Posts: 1,665
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    It makes sense to have DN this low. The actual film score is paper-thin, with the Bond Theme overused at times.

    Not only is it overused, and that is putting it mildly, it's used badly. The volume varies strangely, the bit of the theme that's played is unconnected to anything going on onscreen, it loops in weird ways.... It's just godawful. I, and probably anyone else here, could have done better.

    I love the James Bond Theme as much as anyone here, but one should expect a bit more from a film score than to have the bulk of it be random clips of it slapped onto random scenes. I love "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" by R.E.M., but a film score that was comprised of nonsensical loops of that song popping up completely haphazardly would not impress me much.

    The monster movie cues, as I mentioned before, are embarrassing. When Bond fights the driver early on in the film, the music would make one think they must be watching the invention of fisticuffs. I'm pretty sure this crap was dated even at the time of the film's release.

    Monty Norman's actual tunes are pretty good though. But putting "Under the Mango Tree" in a score next to monster movie music and loads of random Bond theme hardly even counts as being a score at all.

    Anyway, this is the only alleged score in the series I straight up dislike, and for me it's made worse by the fact that Dr No is an excellent film. I think this train wreck of a score really does some harm to it.
  • pachazopachazo Make Your Choice
    edited July 2021 Posts: 7,314
    Wow, this went out way too early for me. I had it at 17th. To be fair, there was a time when I would've ranked it much lower, but I've come to appreciate it more over the past few years. It's part of the film's DNA.

    Yes, some of it sounds like it belongs in the previous decade but the Jamaican bits really add an unmistakable atmosphere that make the film so memorable. As far as the Bond theme goes, hey it was the first film and they were still figuring things out. As far as they knew it might be the last film, so they went for it.

    Most importantly, it all adds up to a unique experience. There's no mistaking the music of DN for anything else in the series, which I can't always say for some of the more generic sounding modern Bond scores. So I just wanted to say some positive things about it because someone had to!
  • R1s1ngs0nR1s1ngs0n France
    Posts: 2,002
    I have DN at number 14. I own ‘only’ 11 Bond scores (DN-TMWTGG, MR and TLD) and although it’s my least favorite among them, I still quite enjoy it. Its one major drawback is that quite a few of the better cues that appear in the movie (tarantula in Bond’s bed, Dr. No’s “one million dollars, Mr. Bond” introduction, to name a few) are strangely absent from the soundtrack and are instead ‘replaced’ by lesser tracks that do not appear in the movie.
    The Morse-like ‘Audio Bongo’ is the only proper ‘villain’ theme, although it’s only a variation of the cue used in the movie when Dr. No is introduced.
  • ProfJoeButcherProfJoeButcher Bless your heart
    edited July 2021 Posts: 1,665
    pachazo wrote: »

    Yes, some of it sounds like it belongs in the previous decade but the Jamaican bits really add an unmistakable atmosphere that make the film so memorable. As far as the Bond theme goes, hey it was the first film and they were still figuring things out. As far as they knew it might be the last film, so they went for it.

    Most importantly, it all adds up to a unique experience. There's no mistaking the music of DN for anything else in the series, which I can't always say for some of the more generic sounding modern Bond scores. So I just wanted to say some positive things about it because someone had to!

    Well, apparently Peter Hunt didn't feel Monty's music was really working for the film, and Terence Young described it as "mining disaster music". So the James Bond Theme went in about eight scenes, presumably replacing even more dated cornball music concocted by Monty Norman and Burt Rhodes.

  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,009
    One of the few complaints I have about FRWL is that it reuses music from DN.
  • pachazopachazo Make Your Choice
    Posts: 7,314
    pachazo wrote: »

    Yes, some of it sounds like it belongs in the previous decade but the Jamaican bits really add an unmistakable atmosphere that make the film so memorable. As far as the Bond theme goes, hey it was the first film and they were still figuring things out. As far as they knew it might be the last film, so they went for it.

    Most importantly, it all adds up to a unique experience. There's no mistaking the music of DN for anything else in the series, which I can't always say for some of the more generic sounding modern Bond scores. So I just wanted to say some positive things about it because someone had to!

    Well, apparently Peter Hunt didn't feel Monty's music was really working for the film, and Terence Young described it as "mining disaster music". So the James Bond Theme went in about eight scenes, presumably replacing even more dated cornball music concocted by Monty Norman and Burt Rhodes.

    I believe it. It's such an extraordinary piece of music (imagine when it was brand new) that they must've been anxious to insert it anywhere they could. It also felt more modern at the time than some of the other music composed for the film. It makes sense.
  • R1s1ngs0nR1s1ngs0n France
    edited July 2021 Posts: 2,002
    One of the few complaints I have about FRWL is that it reuses music from DN.

    Except for the original James Bond theme, I don't recall a single track in FRWL that re-uses any cues from DN. But much like DN, the soundtrack has several excellent cues ommitted, like the one where Grant shadows Bond from aboard the train.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    edited July 2021 Posts: 8,009
    R1s1ngs0n wrote: »
    One of the few complaints I have about FRWL is that it reuses music from DN.

    Except for the original James Bond theme, I don't recall a single track in FRWL that re-uses any cues from DN.

    The helicopter sequence near the end features one of Norman's cues, I think.

    Edit:

    Here it is. It's short and not really a big deal (FRWL is still my favourite Bond!) but I really don't like the DN score so it sticks out to me more than it would most.

  • R1s1ngs0nR1s1ngs0n France
    edited July 2021 Posts: 2,002
    R1s1ngs0n wrote: »
    One of the few complaints I have about FRWL is that it reuses music from DN.

    Except for the original James Bond theme, I don't recall a single track in FRWL that re-uses any cues from DN.

    The helicopter sequence near the end features one of Norman's cues, I think.

    Edit:

    Here it is. It's short and not really a big deal (FRWL is still my favourite Bond!) but I really don't like the DN score so it sticks out to me more than it would most.

    Touché. Watched the movie countless times and never wondered why it sounded so familiar :)
    But if that's the lone example apart from Bond's theme, then I think that's forgivable as everything else is original music by Barry.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,009
    R1s1ngs0n wrote: »
    R1s1ngs0n wrote: »
    One of the few complaints I have about FRWL is that it reuses music from DN.

    Except for the original James Bond theme, I don't recall a single track in FRWL that re-uses any cues from DN.

    The helicopter sequence near the end features one of Norman's cues, I think.

    Edit:

    Here it is. It's short and not really a big deal (FRWL is still my favourite Bond!) but I really don't like the DN score so it sticks out to me more than it would most.

    Touché. Watched the movie countless times and never wondered why it sounded so familiar :)
    But if that's the lone example apart from Bond's theme, then I think that's forgivable as everything else is original music by Barry.

    Absolutely. It's very pedantic on my part! :))

    But yes, not really a fan of DN. I had it at #24 in the end.
  • edited July 2021 Posts: 6,844
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    It makes sense to have DN this low. The actual film score is paper-thin, with the Bond Theme overused at times.

    Not only is it overused, and that is putting it mildly, it's used badly. The volume varies strangely, the bit of the theme that's played is unconnected to anything going on onscreen, it loops in weird ways.... It's just godawful. I, and probably anyone else here, could have done better.

    I love the James Bond Theme as much as anyone here, but one should expect a bit more from a film score than to have the bulk of it be random clips of it slapped onto random scenes. I love "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" by R.E.M., but a film score that was comprised of nonsensical loops of that song popping up completely haphazardly would not impress me much.

    The monster movie cues, as I mentioned before, are embarrassing. When Bond fights the driver early on in the film, the music would make one think they must be watching the invention of fisticuffs. I'm pretty sure this crap was dated even at the time of the film's release.

    Monty Norman's actual tunes are pretty good though. But putting "Under the Mango Tree" in a score next to monster movie music and loads of random Bond theme hardly even counts as being a score at all.

    Anyway, this is the only alleged score in the series I straight up dislike, and for me it's made worse by the fact that Dr No is an excellent film. I think this train wreck of a score really does some harm to it.

    I do find it a bit silly when people complain about the supposed overuse of the Bond theme by David Arnold whenever Bond does something heroic in Brosnan's films when you have the Bond theme blaring while Bond vigorously brushes his teeth in Dr. No and From Russia With Love at one end and the complete absence of the Bond theme whenever Bond does something heroic in the Craig films at the other.

    As for Dr. No, I do really like all the Jamaican songs, from "Jump Up" to "Underneath the Mango Tree," but these are songs and not score and no more a factor here than Patti LaBelle's "If You Asked Me To" would be for Licence to Kill or "Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown?" for OHMSS (apart from the fleeting instrumental use of that theme in the score).

    The James Bond theme (by Norman and Barry) was of course phenomenal but as has been noted not really well used apart from the opening titles, and the rest of Monty Norman's score was dated for 1962 and pretty over-the-top in parts. I like that kind of music in films like Night of the Living Dead (I know, 1968) and earlier pulpy films, and I can kind of appreciate its use in the "mad scientist on an island" Bond film, but it really doesn't stand up against any other score in the series.
  • Posts: 928
    While I also ranked Norman's score quite low, the overall musical impression of Dr. No is instantly memorable and legendary because of the James Bond Theme of course, but also the use of Three Blind Mice, Mango Tree, Jump Up, and Kingston Calypso. Of the 17 Bond vinyl soundtracks I own, Dr. No's is one of the most frequently played.
  • Posts: 4,023
    It says a fair bit about the Dr No score that the theme he uses most is notes running up a scale and then back down again.

    The songs are great on a summer day though.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,372
    While I also ranked Norman's score quite low, the overall musical impression of Dr. No is instantly memorable and legendary because of the James Bond Theme of course, but also the use of Three Blind Mice, Mango Tree, Jump Up, and Kingston Calypso. Of the 17 Bond vinyl soundtracks I own, Dr. No's is one of the most frequently played.

    I bet the vinyl is fantastic, I really need to pick it up. I only own a few, had my eyes on MR lately.
  • Junglist_1985Junglist_1985 Los Angeles
    Posts: 1,006
    While I also ranked Norman's score quite low, the overall musical impression of Dr. No is instantly memorable and legendary because of the James Bond Theme of course, but also the use of Three Blind Mice, Mango Tree, Jump Up, and Kingston Calypso. Of the 17 Bond vinyl soundtracks I own, Dr. No's is one of the most frequently played.

    Agreed. Love the Jamaican flavor of the music. Hoping for some more with NTTD.
  • Posts: 6,682
    and the cool renditions of the main theme are what rescued this one from the bottom for me

    I like this one:



    The piece that opens this video is lovely as well, among the best the score has to offer and doesn't feel out of place in a Bond film:



    I also like the sneaky-sounding piece that plays when Fatima Blush arrives at the SPECTRE meeting. It's playful; goes well with the character.

    Much of the score has a playful sound, even the serious moments. It's catchy enough. But it's not what I'm looking for in a Bond film-- not entirely.

    The bike chase music is annoying with the trumpet going up the scale.
  • edited July 2021 Posts: 6,682
    Thrasos wrote: »
    I had it at #15, and looking back it surprised me I put it that high, but so be it. The piece of music that always grabs me is part of the track The Eternal City, when Bond is driving in Rome and they show a wide view of the city; they use a chorus of voices in that part. For me the music and chorus accentuates Rome's great history (I'm also a big fan of Gladiator). Vauxhall Bridge is another good cut. As one or two others said, the Madeleine track is creatively romantic. But I do agree that overall it's a little too atmospheric and could've used more punch and flair.
    That is one of the moments of the score I like best, the one from The Eternal City. It works well in the film too. I also like the Rolls Royce music (Silver Wraith) and the subtle beat that underscores Blofeld showing Bond and Madeleine through the Spectre HQ (A Reunion)-- this last one has a really mysterious, ethereal sound to it, like we are being introduced to something alien. Los muertos vivos están is another highlight.

    When I first heard Secret Room in the film, I thought some of its synth sounds were really modern-sounding for a Bond film. A bit like Shanghai Drive from Skyfall.

    Admittedly, the Spectre score is indeed a little too subtle in places where a slightly more overt approach would've been welcome, but I also feel there is some good bombastic music, like the Backfire track. It reuses music from Skyfall, which isn't good, but I find it uses a little more to my taste, for example, in that moment where Bond is driving along the river bank (this was of course used in the bike chase in Skyfall-- here the percussion is different).

    The music from the helicopter fight and the Spectre lair escape is very cool as well. I couldn't tell you how happy I was to hear the Bond theme chords in the classic key in the gunbarrel and when Bond avoids crashing the chopper in the PTS, as opposed to Skyfall, where the opening Bond theme blast is in a different key. It felt like they were being unabashedly Bondian with that moment rather than beating around the bush.

    ---

    Thomas Newman has a thing about apparently running a bow through some kind of string instrument, which he uses to open action cues like Health & Safety, Granborough Road and Backfire. Just something that struck me on repeated listens.
  • Posts: 4,023
    mattjoes wrote: »
    and the cool renditions of the main theme are what rescued this one from the bottom for me

    I like this one:



    The piece that opens this video is lovely as well, among the best the score has to offer and doesn't feel out of place in a Bond film:



    I also like the sneaky-sounding piece that plays when Fatima Blush arrives at the SPECTRE meeting. It's playful; goes well with the character.

    Much of the score has a playful sound, even the serious moments. It's catchy enough. But it's not what I'm looking for in a Bond film-- not entirely.

    The bike chase music is annoying with the trumpet going up the scale.

    I believe Herb Alpert was just visiting the studio with no plans to record anything, and ended up doing that solo in that first video.
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