The David Arnold Appreciation Thread.

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  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,025
    It was done in GE as well during the tank chase, right around when Orumov says “go left”.

    Speaking of familiar, when I first watched 2 FAST 2 FURIOUS it not only caught me by surprise that David Arnold scored it, but it’s pretty much the same music style from DAD only without the Bond theme.


  • LeonardPineLeonardPine The Bar on the Beach
    Posts: 3,985
    Just compiled a 'personal favourite tracks' of Arnolds 5 Bond scores for listening in the car.

    47 tracks, and damn, this guy has composed some bloody good Bond music!

    Some gorgeous themes that really evoke Bond's world and compelling action cues that are actually exciting to listen to. IMO QoS has his best action music.

    If he never does another Bond he at least leaves a great legacy.
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    Whilst Zimmer will be interesting, does anyone know why Arnold is out of favour with the producers???? Why wasn’t he selected for NTTD?? Clearly, Mendes forced Newman onto Bond.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,025
    suavejmf wrote: »
    Whilst Zimmer will be interesting, does anyone know why Arnold is out of favour with the producers???? Why wasn’t he selected for NTTD?? Clearly, Mendes forced Newman onto Bond.

    It could be as simple as Fukunaga choosing Zimmer as a replacement for Romer. Also, EON already worked with Zimmer and his company with THE RHYTHM SECTION.

    I think EON only hired Arnold in the past because he was given a recommendation by Barry, he was cheap, delivered serviceable scores, and no director came in saying they wanted to bring in their own preferred composer. So when Mendes wanted to bring in Newman, that was no big deal to EON. Then Fukunaga comes in and wanted his pick of composer so it was initially Romer before being replaced by Zimmer.

    I think Arnold will only come back if a future director decides to want to work with him.
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    suavejmf wrote: »
    Whilst Zimmer will be interesting, does anyone know why Arnold is out of favour with the producers???? Why wasn’t he selected for NTTD?? Clearly, Mendes forced Newman onto Bond.

    It could be as simple as Fukunaga choosing Zimmer as a replacement for Romer. Also, EON already worked with Zimmer and his company with THE RHYTHM SECTION.

    I think EON only hired Arnold in the past because he was given a recommendation by Barry, he was cheap, delivered serviceable scores, and no director came in saying they wanted to bring in their own preferred composer. So when Mendes wanted to bring in Newman, that was no big deal to EON. Then Fukunaga comes in and wanted his pick of composer so it was initially Romer before being replaced by Zimmer.

    I think Arnold will only come back if a future director decides to want to work with him.

    Shame. He is far superior to Newman and I would have bet Romer.
  • LeonardPineLeonardPine The Bar on the Beach
    Posts: 3,985
    Personally I think EON were very happy with Arnold's scores as he delivered the Bond sound in consistently excellent soundtracks. 5 films is a big vote of confidence.

    He was also popular with the fans which helps.

    Romer's work obviously didn't please the producers and I'm more than happy Zimmer has been given a chance. Really look forward to what he comes up with.

    But listening to my newly compiled Arnold Bond music just reinforces my opinion that he's second only to Barry with his Bond scores. Absolutely love his music and you can tell he loved composing for Bond. 👍
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,025
    I don't think I have anyone second to Barry. At least to me, there's Barry and then there's everyone else.
  • ShardlakeShardlake Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 4,043
    I don't think I have anyone second to Barry. At least to me, there's Barry and then there's everyone else.

    +1

    No one gets never the governor, the man invented a whole genre of music just with his Bond sound alone, the rest are just left in his wake.
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    Personally I think EON were very happy with Arnold's scores as he delivered the Bond sound in consistently excellent soundtracks. 5 films is a big vote of confidence.

    He was also popular with the fans which helps.

    Romer's work obviously didn't please the producers and I'm more than happy Zimmer has been given a chance. Really look forward to what he comes up with.

    But listening to my newly compiled Arnold Bond music just reinforces my opinion that he's second only to Barry with his Bond scores. Absolutely love his music and you can tell he loved composing for Bond. 👍

    Good post. Martin and Kamen did a good job too.
  • LeonardPineLeonardPine The Bar on the Beach
    edited February 2020 Posts: 3,985
    I don't think I have anyone second to Barry. At least to me, there's Barry and then there's everyone else.

    Well the clues in the sentence. Apart from Barry being the obvious best and untouchable, David Arnold is the next best Bond composer IMO.

    And how would you know Arnold was hired because he was cheap? Or the producers motivation for hiring him?
    He did the soundtrack for ID4, one of the biggest smash hit films of the 90's so he was hardly small fry.

    The way some members express their views on here really does border on the militant 😄
  • LeonardPineLeonardPine The Bar on the Beach
    Posts: 3,985
    Just listening to 'come in 007 your time is up' from TWINE and wow this is an amazing piece of music!

    It's a long sequence to score but Arnold's music never falters or gets repetitive. It escalates as it goes along, and incorporates the title song and the Bond theme effortlessly. An exciting and hugely enjoyable piece of music. It reminds me of the way John Williams scored the truck chase in Raiders in terms of it never settling into any kind of rigidity. It constantly ups the game and surprises. 👍
  • OctopussyOctopussy Piz Gloria, Schilthorn, Switzerland.
    Posts: 1,081
    I feel David Arnold is overrated and scores are extremely repetitive and lack imagination. He overuses the Bond theme way too much, IMO. I like his work in Casino Royale as he wasn't allowed to use the Bond theme pretty until the end and he weaved the Vesper melody into the score. I feel that Barry was unrivalled and creating Bondesque cues and melodies that weren't the Bond theme itself and therefore each film had almost it's own identity. In my mind Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough could be the same score, similarly to how Skyfall and Spectre sound similar with the latter being the leftovers.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,025
    I only said he was cheap because he wasn’t on high demand like other prestigious composers. Not a slight against him, it’s just how it’s been.
  • GadgetManGadgetMan Lagos, Nigeria
    Posts: 4,247
    I absolutely love David Arnold's Bond Scores....and I think if Arnold is cheap, is coz he's a massive Bond fan, and might even score a Bond film for free. And I don't think Arnold ever wanted to move to Hollywood, to join other Big Composers....coz he keeps saying he wants to remain in London....whenever he's asked why he never thought of moving to Hollywood. I don't think he's really after fame & money. If Arnold chose to Move to Hollywood, he would surely outclass a lot of high profile Composers there. The man is just content and happy to do London-based works, coz he says he's happy there.
  • LeonardPineLeonardPine The Bar on the Beach
    Posts: 3,985
    GadgetMan wrote: »
    I absolutely love David Arnold's Bond Scores....and I think if Arnold is cheap, is coz he's a massive Bond fan, and might even score a Bond film for free. And I don't think Arnold ever wanted to move to Hollywood, to join other Big Composers....coz he keeps saying he wants to remain in London....whenever he's asked why he never thought of moving to Hollywood. I don't think he's really after fame & money. If Arnold chose to Move to Hollywood, he would surely outclass a lot of high profile Composers there. The man is just content and happy to do London-based works, coz he says he's happy there.

    Exactly. He was a big Bond fan before he got involved with the series. He even said when he was asked to compose the music for TND he was going to come at it from a fan's perspective. That being a fan of Barry.
    He seems to be a modest guy with his feet on the ground.

    Recently I really loved his music for the Dracula series.
  • LeonardPineLeonardPine The Bar on the Beach
    Posts: 3,985
    A beautiful track from Mr Arnold. Love this!
  • GadgetManGadgetMan Lagos, Nigeria
    Posts: 4,247
    A beautiful track from Mr Arnold. Love this!

    Yeah, Sweeping Orchestral Piece....Very Bondian, I can almost see Bond and Elektra skiing. Yeah, the Dracula show he scored with his usual collaborator, Michael Price is very Good. I really like the opening theme as well.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,034
    A beautiful track from Mr Arnold. Love this!

    That is lovely.
  • LeonardPineLeonardPine The Bar on the Beach
    Posts: 3,985
    A beautiful track from Mr Arnold. Love this!

    That is lovely.

    Yeah. I remember how wonderful it was when I saw it with the film. Evoked the Barry sound but still with its own identity.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,034
    A beautiful track from Mr Arnold. Love this!

    That is lovely.

    Yeah. I remember how wonderful it was when I saw it with the film. Evoked the Barry sound but still with its own identity.

    I was so glad the LaLaLand release gave us these cues in their full glory.
  • LeonardPineLeonardPine The Bar on the Beach
    Posts: 3,985
    A beautiful track from Mr Arnold. Love this!

    That is lovely.

    Yeah. I remember how wonderful it was when I saw it with the film. Evoked the Barry sound but still with its own identity.

    I was so glad the LaLaLand release gave us these cues in their full glory.

    Agreed. The soundtrack deserved a proper release 👍
  • LeonardPineLeonardPine The Bar on the Beach
    Posts: 3,985
    The opening titles for his rather good Dracula TV series soundtrack 👍
  • ShardlakeShardlake Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
    edited February 2020 Posts: 4,043
    The opening titles for his rather good Dracula TV series soundtrack 👍

    The music was fine, pity you couldn't say that about the program it accompanied. Make sure Moffatt and Gattis get nowhere near Frankenstein after that.
  • LeonardPineLeonardPine The Bar on the Beach
    Posts: 3,985
    'Welcome to Cuba' another really good piece showcasing Arnold's versatility 👍

  • LeonardPineLeonardPine The Bar on the Beach
    Posts: 3,985
    A short but memorable track from CR showcasing Arnold's ability to weave the theme song into the score effortlessly.
  • OctopussyOctopussy Piz Gloria, Schilthorn, Switzerland.
    Posts: 1,081
    Casino Royale is Arnold's best contribution to the franchise, IMO. Everything else he did you can keep. I'm not a fan at all outside of this soundtrack.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,034
    A short but memorable track from CR showcasing Arnold's ability to weave the theme song into the score effortlessly.

    I like this one. A lot of people rag on it in the film because its combined with what is essentially a Ford commercial. But it's a very enjoyable listen outside of the film, too.
  • Arnold has written some good cues over the 5 Bond movies he scored but his action music is problematic. Endless crash bang wallop noise that is interchangeable from film to film.
  • OctopussyOctopussy Piz Gloria, Schilthorn, Switzerland.
    Posts: 1,081
    Arnold has written some good cues over the 5 Bond movies he scored but his action music is problematic. Endless crash bang wallop noise that is interchangeable from film to film.

    +1

  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    edited March 2020 Posts: 14,973
    Has it been mentioned that Arnold is doing a five week stint on Scala Radio with a 'music of James Bond' series? You can listen to the first one online: it started on Sunday.

    You can listen through this link, go to Sunday:
    https://planetradio.co.uk/scala-radio/player/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw9ZzzBRCKARIsANwXaeI_aeITIp3i5Lx814Rtch7w4CCoZJJhP89zZllNdhsuZ68ySe2QvZUaAkS0EALw_wcB
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