NO TIME TO DIE (2021) - Discuss Hans Zimmer's Score

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  • edited January 2020 Posts: 17,241
    Getafix wrote: »
    So many artists would have jumped at the chance to work with Barry. And I think these days A-ha are a bit more respectful of the Barry version.

    Here's a-ha's Paul Waaktaar-Savoy's account of what happened between them and Barry, from a 2018 interview:
    JAMES BOND theme The Living Daylights saw a feud between a-ha and 007 composer John Barry - and now Paul Waaktaar-Savoy has revealed exclusively to Express.co.uk what really happened.

    The band’s guitarist and writer of The Living Daylights Paul reveals: “We were actually in the middle of our second album then and were starting to release singles for that and heard there was a competition to try and get this next Bond song. And we were invited to submit a track for that.”

    The 56-year-old continued: “I was very happy when I heard the title because it immediately seemed to suggest that melody for me. The chorus came super fast.

    “We did a demo and it was a lot of back and forth and waiting, but we heard that [Bond producer] Cubby Broccoli was a fan of our song and in the end we got it.”

    However the process of producing the record, one a-ha’s most memorable singles alongside Take On Me, wasn’t exactly easy and the band got into a dispute with veteran 007 composer John Barry.

    Paul, who also spoke out on a-ha’s future, said: “As I say we were in the middle of doing our second album so we were busy doing other stuff.

    “I was a little bit…we had different working methods and we came across as a little too efficient. We were like, ‘okay we’ve just got to get this done.’

    “And we didn’t want to cancel a show to come to the premiere, so there were certain things like that that rubbed him up the wrong way.

    “So he got really…y’know. And we felt there was a wrong note in the string arrangements, so we fixed it, but he didn’t like that.”

    Nevertheless Paul doesn’t have any bad feelings over their disagreement.

    He added: “But do I think he did a great job. It was a fantastic string score. We just had one chord in the middle that was important to us that was changed and hey, stuff like that happens.

    “To us it wasn’t that huge of a deal, so we were a little surprised he got that cheesed off by it.”


    “Maybe I’ve dulled to it over the years, but really of most of our recordings there was some sort of argument and a lot of heated discussion, so this wasn’t really out of the ordinary for us.”


    Also worth linking to this video, showing how good the song is unplugged! :-)
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 14,861
    Eiragorn wrote: »
    But, AGAIN, as it’s been pointed out countless times, the Adele song was recorded very late in production that would have made it unlikely to appear weaves through the whole film. Not Newman’s fault, which you seem to keep giving him and yet make no comment on Kamen and Serra.

    And EON had sat on the Sam Smith song for a good nine months before actually putting it out there, so if they wanted the song more woven in SP than Adele’s was they could have requested that... and yet they didn’t.

    I don't know where this 'late in production' notion comes from but it plain false. Adele was appointed in early 2011 and a demo was completed in October before even the title was announced nevermind the shooting began. Newman wasn't officially listed back then and was only formally announced two months later – it's therefore safe to conclude he wasn't contracted at the first press conference. It is correct that the finished recording only was made concurrently with the soundtrack recordings and was even to be supervised by Newman himself who instead sent his orchestrator Redford for the job.

    In short: Newman had a usable demo of the song at hand right from the start but only included an interpolation in his soundtrack after the producer demanded it customary. I do not imply any bad will on Newman's side other than that this wasn't his expected modus operandi from the get-go.

    As you said it was roughly the same with the follow-up. If I recall correctly the title song interpolations are even credited only to Redford alone. Anyway, for the exact references I would recommend the Wikipedia article where all the respective interviews are listed. I know this for a fact since I wrote the German article myself :D

    And when it comes to 'No Good About Goodbye' – you realize that this song was built from the abandonded Winehouse sessions together with some leftovers lines from earlier title song sketches?

    Where’s that coming from? If it was built from the Winehouse sessions surely it would have a credit for Mark Ronson?
  • EiragornEiragorn Hessia
    Posts: 108
    mtm wrote: »
    Eiragorn wrote: »
    But, AGAIN, as it’s been pointed out countless times, the Adele song was recorded very late in production that would have made it unlikely to appear weaves through the whole film. Not Newman’s fault, which you seem to keep giving him and yet make no comment on Kamen and Serra.

    And EON had sat on the Sam Smith song for a good nine months before actually putting it out there, so if they wanted the song more woven in SP than Adele’s was they could have requested that... and yet they didn’t.

    I don't know where this 'late in production' notion comes from but it plain false. Adele was appointed in early 2011 and a demo was completed in October before even the title was announced nevermind the shooting began. Newman wasn't officially listed back then and was only formally announced two months later – it's therefore safe to conclude he wasn't contracted at the first press conference. It is correct that the finished recording only was made concurrently with the soundtrack recordings and was even to be supervised by Newman himself who instead sent his orchestrator Redford for the job.

    In short: Newman had a usable demo of the song at hand right from the start but only included an interpolation in his soundtrack after the producer demanded it customary. I do not imply any bad will on Newman's side other than that this wasn't his expected modus operandi from the get-go.

    As you said it was roughly the same with the follow-up. If I recall correctly the title song interpolations are even credited only to Redford alone. Anyway, for the exact references I would recommend the Wikipedia article where all the respective interviews are listed. I know this for a fact since I wrote the German article myself :D

    And when it comes to 'No Good About Goodbye' – you realize that this song was built from the abandonded Winehouse sessions together with some leftovers lines from earlier title song sketches?

    Where’s that coming from? If it was built from the Winehouse sessions surely it would have a credit for Mark Ronson?

    In the 'Some Kind of Hero' book Arnold describes that he proposed a specific cue from the QoS score for Winehouse and Ronson to base their song upon. Then they unsuccessfully tried to do a demo proper. When nothing came from it the producers went looking for last minute replacements. It's not hard to guess the cue if you know the score ;) For Basseys album Arnold then resurrected the cue. Arnold himself confirmed they are one and the same via Twitter.
  • DeerAtTheGatesDeerAtTheGates Belgium
    edited January 2020 Posts: 524
    mtm wrote: »
    Eiragorn wrote: »
    But, AGAIN, as it’s been pointed out countless times, the Adele song was recorded very late in production that would have made it unlikely to appear weaves through the whole film. Not Newman’s fault, which you seem to keep giving him and yet make no comment on Kamen and Serra.

    And EON had sat on the Sam Smith song for a good nine months before actually putting it out there, so if they wanted the song more woven in SP than Adele’s was they could have requested that... and yet they didn’t.

    I don't know where this 'late in production' notion comes from but it plain false. Adele was appointed in early 2011 and a demo was completed in October before even the title was announced nevermind the shooting began. Newman wasn't officially listed back then and was only formally announced two months later – it's therefore safe to conclude he wasn't contracted at the first press conference. It is correct that the finished recording only was made concurrently with the soundtrack recordings and was even to be supervised by Newman himself who instead sent his orchestrator Redford for the job.

    In short: Newman had a usable demo of the song at hand right from the start but only included an interpolation in his soundtrack after the producer demanded it customary. I do not imply any bad will on Newman's side other than that this wasn't his expected modus operandi from the get-go.

    As you said it was roughly the same with the follow-up. If I recall correctly the title song interpolations are even credited only to Redford alone. Anyway, for the exact references I would recommend the Wikipedia article where all the respective interviews are listed. I know this for a fact since I wrote the German article myself :D

    And when it comes to 'No Good About Goodbye' – you realize that this song was built from the abandonded Winehouse sessions together with some leftovers lines from earlier title song sketches?

    Where’s that coming from? If it was built from the Winehouse sessions surely it would have a credit for Mark Ronson?

    As far as I know (someone back me up, please), Arnold has said in interviews that he likes to start out scoring his films by looking for a melody, as if he was writing as song. (Discussed in this podcast episode, if I'm not mistaken). He composed the string melody for the Quantum of Solace score (heard here, for example), then decided he liked the melody so much that he developed it into a song with Shirley Bassey. It was never intended to be the title theme for Quantum Of Solace (source). And (again, as far as I know) lyricist Don Black did not use any abandoned Winehouse lyrics for No Good About Goodbye. But I'm happy to be proven wrong.

    EDIT:
    Eiragorn wrote: »
    mtm wrote: »
    Eiragorn wrote: »
    But, AGAIN, as it’s been pointed out countless times, the Adele song was recorded very late in production that would have made it unlikely to appear weaves through the whole film. Not Newman’s fault, which you seem to keep giving him and yet make no comment on Kamen and Serra.

    And EON had sat on the Sam Smith song for a good nine months before actually putting it out there, so if they wanted the song more woven in SP than Adele’s was they could have requested that... and yet they didn’t.

    I don't know where this 'late in production' notion comes from but it plain false. Adele was appointed in early 2011 and a demo was completed in October before even the title was announced nevermind the shooting began. Newman wasn't officially listed back then and was only formally announced two months later – it's therefore safe to conclude he wasn't contracted at the first press conference. It is correct that the finished recording only was made concurrently with the soundtrack recordings and was even to be supervised by Newman himself who instead sent his orchestrator Redford for the job.

    In short: Newman had a usable demo of the song at hand right from the start but only included an interpolation in his soundtrack after the producer demanded it customary. I do not imply any bad will on Newman's side other than that this wasn't his expected modus operandi from the get-go.

    As you said it was roughly the same with the follow-up. If I recall correctly the title song interpolations are even credited only to Redford alone. Anyway, for the exact references I would recommend the Wikipedia article where all the respective interviews are listed. I know this for a fact since I wrote the German article myself :D

    And when it comes to 'No Good About Goodbye' – you realize that this song was built from the abandonded Winehouse sessions together with some leftovers lines from earlier title song sketches?

    Where’s that coming from? If it was built from the Winehouse sessions surely it would have a credit for Mark Ronson?

    In the 'Some Kind of Hero' book Arnold describes that he proposed a specific cue from the QoS score for Winehouse and Ronson to base their song upon. Then they unsuccessfully tried to do a demo proper. When nothing came from it the producers went looking for last minute replacements. It's not hard to guess the cue if you know the score ;) For Basseys album Arnold then resurrected the cue. Arnold himself confirmed they are one and the same via Twitter.

    Very, very interesting! Thank you for clearing that up!
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    edited January 2020 Posts: 14,861
    I’d call it more of a motif than a cue. That’s interesting though: I didn’t know he’d given them it. Seems a slightly odd way to do it but I guess it could’ve worked.
  • SuperintendentSuperintendent A separate pool. For sharks, no less.
    Posts: 870
    Also worth linking to this video, showing how good the song is unplugged! :-)

    Sounds great. I always liked the song. Brings back good memories.

  • Posts: 17,241
    Also worth linking to this video, showing how good the song is unplugged! :-)

    Sounds great. I always liked the song. Brings back good memories.

    It's a good one, that's for sure. A-ha still performs the song brilliantly live.
  • RyanRyan Canada
    Posts: 692
    Interesting to note that, to the best of my knowledge, a-ha has always performed the Barry arrangement of the song live. I think that shows that, despite any disagreements, they were obviously proud of the song. Releasing their mix and arrangement probably helped them scratch that itch and they continued to perform the more well known arrangement live.
  • Posts: 5,767
    boldfinger wrote: »
    Found this video of zimmer, not a fan of his score from TDK but enjoyed this one.
    Showcases well the shallowness, but that bass player is incredibly hot.

    I like that Asian , she also have a YouTube channel , Tina Guo, she could be in zimmer team for NTTD.
    She looks all surface and nothing beneath to me.

  • ShardlakeShardlake Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 4,043
    Eiragorn wrote: »
    mtm wrote: »
    Eiragorn wrote: »
    But, AGAIN, as it’s been pointed out countless times, the Adele song was recorded very late in production that would have made it unlikely to appear weaves through the whole film. Not Newman’s fault, which you seem to keep giving him and yet make no comment on Kamen and Serra.

    And EON had sat on the Sam Smith song for a good nine months before actually putting it out there, so if they wanted the song more woven in SP than Adele’s was they could have requested that... and yet they didn’t.

    I don't know where this 'late in production' notion comes from but it plain false. Adele was appointed in early 2011 and a demo was completed in October before even the title was announced nevermind the shooting began. Newman wasn't officially listed back then and was only formally announced two months later – it's therefore safe to conclude he wasn't contracted at the first press conference. It is correct that the finished recording only was made concurrently with the soundtrack recordings and was even to be supervised by Newman himself who instead sent his orchestrator Redford for the job.

    In short: Newman had a usable demo of the song at hand right from the start but only included an interpolation in his soundtrack after the producer demanded it customary. I do not imply any bad will on Newman's side other than that this wasn't his expected modus operandi from the get-go.

    As you said it was roughly the same with the follow-up. If I recall correctly the title song interpolations are even credited only to Redford alone. Anyway, for the exact references I would recommend the Wikipedia article where all the respective interviews are listed. I know this for a fact since I wrote the German article myself :D

    And when it comes to 'No Good About Goodbye' – you realize that this song was built from the abandonded Winehouse sessions together with some leftovers lines from earlier title song sketches?

    Where’s that coming from? If it was built from the Winehouse sessions surely it would have a credit for Mark Ronson?

    In the 'Some Kind of Hero' book Arnold describes that he proposed a specific cue from the QoS score for Winehouse and Ronson to base their song upon. Then they unsuccessfully tried to do a demo proper. When nothing came from it the producers went looking for last minute replacements. It's not hard to guess the cue if you know the score ;) For Basseys album Arnold then resurrected the cue. Arnold himself confirmed they are one and the same via Twitter.

    Hence White had nowhere the time other artists have had in the past. If he had he would have come up with something infinitely better than what he did. He did the best he could in the time he had.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,009
    boldfinger wrote: »
    boldfinger wrote: »
    Found this video of zimmer, not a fan of his score from TDK but enjoyed this one.
    Showcases well the shallowness, but that bass player is incredibly hot.

    I like that Asian , she also have a YouTube channel , Tina Guo, she could be in zimmer team for NTTD.
    She looks all surface and nothing beneath to me.

    She's an immensely talented cellist. I've seen her live twice and she's outstanding.
  • SatoriousSatorious Brushing up on a little Danish
    Posts: 231
    Tina Guo is an extremely talented cellist. She has a particular style. If we are going to endure a Zimmer score, I'd rather have her onboard than not, she's perfect for a Bond film.
  • DoctorKaufmannDoctorKaufmann Can shoot you from Stuttgart and still make it look like suicide.
    Posts: 1,261

    Though in the 90s Portishead, Massive Attack, Pulp just to name a few passed over, these artists would have nailed it but they went for much safer choices instead.

    Pulp actually recorded something for TND I think but it was rejected. Seems weird that they never capitalised on the Britpop thing. Brosnan was pretty much the Britpop Bond. Big, loud, crowd pleasing movies, not the most groundbreaking/innovative, but enough swagger to paper over the cracks. Pulp would have probably been the best choice over some of the more famous bands. Bit more arty and better suited to Bond. To be fair though while either of their bands would have probably been too lairy I reckon Noel Gallagher or Richard Ashcroft could have knocked up a decent ballad.

    I suppose, you're referring to this?


    Unfortunately they did this before by some bad typo "lies" became "dies".
    But then EON or MGM or both (I am only guessing) wanted Sheryl Crow.
  • edited January 2020 Posts: 17,241
    Ryan wrote: »
    Interesting to note that, to the best of my knowledge, a-ha has always performed the Barry arrangement of the song live. I think that shows that, despite any disagreements, they were obviously proud of the song. Releasing their mix and arrangement probably helped them scratch that itch and they continued to perform the more well known arrangement live.

    And they've of course praised the Barry arrangement in interviews since. Just a shame it didn't go so well between Barry and them at the time.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,000
    Though Zimmer’s Batman scores are brought up so much, I hope he does something more loose like what he did with Spider-Man, which I found better than the generic efforts by Elfman, Horner, and Giacchino.




  • RichardTheBruceRichardTheBruce I'm motivated by my Duty.
    Posts: 12,914
    boldfinger wrote: »
    boldfinger wrote: »
    Found this video of zimmer, not a fan of his score from TDK but enjoyed this one.
    Showcases well the shallowness, but that bass player is incredibly hot.
    I like that Asian , she also have a YouTube channel , Tina Guo, she could be in zimmer team for NTTD.
    She looks all surface and nothing beneath to me.
    One does not know. It would be interesting to attend night school perhaps.

  • edited January 2020 Posts: 11,425
    I am surprised the Gladiator score is not being mentioned more often. One of the best blockbuster movie scores of recent decades IMO.

  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,009
    boldfinger wrote: »
    boldfinger wrote: »
    Found this video of zimmer, not a fan of his score from TDK but enjoyed this one.
    Showcases well the shallowness, but that bass player is incredibly hot.
    I like that Asian , she also have a YouTube channel , Tina Guo, she could be in zimmer team for NTTD.
    She looks all surface and nothing beneath to me.
    One does not know. It would be interesting to attend night school perhaps.

    Does it include breakfast?
  • DrClatterhandDrClatterhand United Kingdom
    Posts: 349
    Getafix wrote: »
    I am surprised the Gladiator score is not being mentioned more often. One of the best blockbuster movie scores of recent decades IMO.


    I've mentioned it. The Wheat and Now We Are Free send shivers down my spine. Absolutely fantastic soundtrack. We're so lucky to have him, yet so many folk seem ungrateful.
  • GadgetManGadgetMan Lagos, Nigeria
    Posts: 4,247
    Getafix wrote: »
    I am surprised the Gladiator score is not being mentioned more often. One of the best blockbuster movie scores of recent decades IMO.


    I've mentioned it. The Wheat and Now We Are Free send shivers down my spine. Absolutely fantastic soundtrack. We're so lucky to have him, yet so many folk seem ungrateful.

    It's an epic score....The track 'Strength & Honor,'gives me goosebumps as well....the whole score does actually.
  • WalecsWalecs On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    Posts: 3,157
    Though Zimmer’s Batman scores are brought up so much, I hope he does something more loose like what he did with Spider-Man, which I found better than the generic efforts by Elfman, Horner, and Giacchino.

    Yeah, they're so generic. That must be why all Spider-Man mash up on YouTube usually play Elfman and Giacchino's themes and always ignore Zimmer's.
  • Bentley007Bentley007 Manitoba, Canada
    edited January 2020 Posts: 564
    I am just hopeful that this is something Zimmer has been wanting to do for sometime. He does so many scores I feel like he needs to have something excite him in a project to not fall into his tried and true motifs. If he takes this as an opportunity to stretch himself and not just produce another action score, like he has been asked too time and again in the last decade, it will be amazing. I think Spectre showed everyone that Bond films are better when the score is memorable and doesnt blend into the scores of the time. Zimmer is clearly top tier but he is inconsistent in delievering a score of that status, thats where the worry comes. Best case this could be OHMSS or YOLT level score at worst its Spectre 2.0
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,009
    Walecs wrote: »
    Though Zimmer’s Batman scores are brought up so much, I hope he does something more loose like what he did with Spider-Man, which I found better than the generic efforts by Elfman, Horner, and Giacchino.

    Yeah, they're so generic. That must be why all Spider-Man mash up on YouTube usually play Elfman and Giacchino's themes and always ignore Zimmer's.

    I'm not really sure what's generic about Elfman's theme, either. That's possibly the first time I've ever seen it described as such. I love the Horner score too, for what it's worth. Highly underrated Lots of gorgeous stuff in there, though the action material pales in comparison with Elfman's. Giacchino's I'm indifferent to. I find his Spidey music to be a weaklink in his catalogue.

    Zimmer though, did great work with Electro's motif in his score, I felt. Almost as good as his stuff for Heath's Joker.
  • ResurrectionResurrection Kolkata, India
    Posts: 2,541
    boldfinger wrote: »
    boldfinger wrote: »
    Found this video of zimmer, not a fan of his score from TDK but enjoyed this one.
    Showcases well the shallowness, but that bass player is incredibly hot.

    I like that Asian , she also have a YouTube channel , Tina Guo, she could be in zimmer team for NTTD.
    She looks all surface and nothing beneath to me.

    But she is cute :(
    boldfinger wrote: »
    boldfinger wrote: »
    Found this video of zimmer, not a fan of his score from TDK but enjoyed this one.
    Showcases well the shallowness, but that bass player is incredibly hot.

    I like that Asian , she also have a YouTube channel , Tina Guo, she could be in zimmer team for NTTD.
    She looks all surface and nothing beneath to me.

    She's an immensely talented cellist. I've seen her live twice and she's outstanding.

    Damn wish i could have seen that, what an amazing experience it must have been.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,009
    Damn wish i could have seen that, what an amazing experience it must have been.

    It made me want to learn the cello, for starters! ;)
  • Posts: 11,425
    Bentley007 wrote: »
    I am just hopeful that this is something Zimmer has been wanting to do for sometime. He does so many scores I feel like he needs to have something excite him in a project to not fall into his tried and true motifs. If he takes this as an opportunity to stretch himself and not just produce another action score, like he has been asked too time and again in the last decade, it will be amazing. I think Spectre showed everyone that Bond films are better when the score is memorable and doesnt blend into the scores of the time. Zimmer is clearly top tier but he is inconsistent in delievering a score of that status, thats where the worry comes. Best case this could be OHMSS or YOLT level score at worst its Spectre 2.0

    I have not doubt he's dreamed of doing Bond his whole professional life.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,000
    Walecs wrote: »
    Though Zimmer’s Batman scores are brought up so much, I hope he does something more loose like what he did with Spider-Man, which I found better than the generic efforts by Elfman, Horner, and Giacchino.

    Yeah, they're so generic. That must be why all Spider-Man mash up on YouTube usually play Elfman and Giacchino's themes and always ignore Zimmer's.

    It’s not surprising, given that Zimmer’s only score is attached to the film that is consistently ranked as the worst of the Spidy films (though I’d say the first ASM deserves that rep). Elfman and Giacchino have done more scores, so it’s no surprise that gets more recognition. No different than how Eric Serra often gets overlooked.
    Walecs wrote: »
    Though Zimmer’s Batman scores are brought up so much, I hope he does something more loose like what he did with Spider-Man, which I found better than the generic efforts by Elfman, Horner, and Giacchino.

    Yeah, they're so generic. That must be why all Spider-Man mash up on YouTube usually play Elfman and Giacchino's themes and always ignore Zimmer's.

    I'm not really sure what's generic about Elfman's theme, either. That's possibly the first time I've ever seen it described as such.

    It’s just how I always felt about Elfman after a certain period of his career, perhaps the late 90s when his sound became more and more the same as the years rolled on. Whatever made him distinctive to my ears in the 80s and early 90s seemed to have vanished. Spider-Man at the time was most disappointing to me, considering what we saw him do with Batman.
  • Bentley007Bentley007 Manitoba, Canada
    Posts: 564
    Getafix wrote: »
    Bentley007 wrote: »
    I am just hopeful that this is something Zimmer has been wanting to do for sometime. He does so many scores I feel like he needs to have something excite him in a project to not fall into his tried and true motifs. If he takes this as an opportunity to stretch himself and not just produce another action score, like he has been asked too time and again in the last decade, it will be amazing. I think Spectre showed everyone that Bond films are better when the score is memorable and doesnt blend into the scores of the time. Zimmer is clearly top tier but he is inconsistent in delievering a score of that status, thats where the worry comes. Best case this could be OHMSS or YOLT level score at worst its Spectre 2.0

    I have not doubt he's dreamed of doing Bond his whole professional life.

    I dont have much doubt of that either. Lets hope that translates to his best effort in years. I was looking forward to Romer as I was not going to be able to predict the score. My reservation with Zimmer is that it becomes a generic score.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,009

    It’s just how I always felt about Elfman after a certain period of his career, perhaps the late 90s when his sound became more and more the same as the years rolled on. Whatever made him distinctive to my ears in the 80s and early 90s seemed to have vanished. Spider-Man at the time was most disappointing to me, considering what we saw him do with Batman.

    Fair enough, @MakeshiftPython!
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