Quick Big Mi6 Music Score Ranking Game

GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
edited August 2021 in Trivia & Games Posts: 6,759
Just starting up a new thread for our latest ranking game.

Now we're doing the films scores, all 24 EON-films as well as the 2 non-EONs are to be ranked according to your personal preferences. Please consider the scores as they appear in the films, how the music contributes the atmosphere of the films, etc. (This to prevent that films that got limited album releases won't be disadvantaged because of that, i.e. TSWLM, MR, LTK, TND, ...)

So far, I've received 10 rankings, including myself that's 11 participants so far. Let's say Sunday at Midnight will be the deadline for submitting :)

Cheers,
GG

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Comments

  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,371
    Thanks again, GG, really looking forward to this one, too. I should have some proper time tomorrow evening or Saturday night to get it done and submitted.
  • Posts: 1,469
    All the soundtracks are on YouTube, if anyone wants to listen to or skim through them. Also, if anyone here has books on John Barry talking about his various Bond works, I was thinking it could be fun to drop in a few of his quotes on a certain score as it's ranked. I don't have any of those books, but I've been looking on the internet for that and found one or two snippets. Unless it's preferred that we add only our own comments.
  • Thrasos wrote: »
    All the soundtracks are on YouTube, if anyone wants to listen to or skim through them. Also, if anyone here has books on John Barry talking about his various Bond works, I was thinking it could be fun to drop in a few of his quotes on a certain score as it's ranked. I don't have any of those books, but I've been looking on the internet for that and found one or two snippets. Unless it's preferred that we add only our own comments.

    @Thrasos, if you're looking for a great resource on the music of the Bond films, you should really consider picking up Jon Burlingame's The Music of James Bond. It's very well researched and full of interesting quotes and trivia.
  • Posts: 1,469
    Thanks for the recommendation, @Some_Kind_Of_Hero.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,449
    Awesome! Can't wait.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 6,759
    Ranking these scores is tougher than I anticipated. Especially near the bottom it keeps getting harder. So many great scores to choose from.
  • The franchise has been spoiled for great music. I trust Hans Zimmer will only add to the excellence of Bond's musical legacy.
  • BennyBenny In the shadowsAdministrator, Moderator
    Posts: 14,811
    Another great idea @GoldenGun
    Listing sent.
  • Posts: 2,400
    26: Never Say Never Again
    25: Dr. No
    24: Casino Royale '67
    23: The Man with the Golden Gun
    22: Diamonds Are Forever
    21: Die Another Day
    20: SPECTRE
    19: For Your Eyes Only
    18: Skyfall
    17: The World is Not Enough
    16: Quantum of Solace
    15: From Russia with Love
    14: Moonraker
    13: Octopussy
    12: Goldfinger
    11: Live and Let Die
    10: GoldenEye
    9: A View to a Kill
    8: The Spy Who Loved Me
    7: Licence to Kill
    6: You Only Live Twice
    5: The Living Daylights
    4: Tomorrow Never Dies
    3: Casino Royale
    2: On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    1: Thunderball
  • Posts: 1,469
    ^^^ Great to see your list. Of your top 10, I also have CR, TSWLM, OHMSS and TB among my top 10. Now I'm wondering if I should've ranked TB a little higher than I did, but there are so many great scores.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 6,759
    We're 16 so far, folks. Let your voice be heard and join the contest ;)
  • GoldenGun wrote: »
    We're 16 so far, folks. Let your voice be heard and join the contest ;)

    Just listening to the final few soundtracks @GoldenGun :)
  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    Posts: 4,418
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    Ranking these scores is tougher than I anticipated. Especially near the bottom it keeps getting harder. So many great scores to choose from.

    Indeed. Should have my list by tomorrow.
  • Just to clarify is midnight tomorrow at the start of tomorrow or the end of tomorrow?
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 6,759
    The end of tomorrow, but I might prolong the deadline anyway, since I won't have time to start counting until the day after tomorrow :)
  • GoldenGun wrote: »
    The end of tomorrow, but I might prolong the deadline anyway, since I won't have time to start counting until the day after tomorrow :)

    ah, thanks a lot
  • pachazopachazo Make Your Choice
    Posts: 7,314
    I would love to contribute. It's a busy weekend but I will find the time to submit my list!
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,449
    Birdleson wrote: »
    Though for from my favorite Bond film, I find MR's score to be among the elite.

    Absolutely, @Birdleson. I'm particularly fond of that era of Barry's output. King Kong and The Black Hole were far from excellent too, yet Barry's music for both is awesome.
  • Where are we submitting this to, just on this page?
  • 22: Diamonds Are Forever

    One of Barry's best! Just goes to show how very different our rankings all are!
    Birdleson wrote: »
    Though far from my favorite Bond film, I find MR's score to be among the elite.

    Another top 10er from Barry. "Flight Into Space" alone is full of haunting and operatic splendor. Then "Arrival at Chateau Drax," "Death of Corrine," "Bond Lured to Pyramid," and on and on.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,449
    Where are we submitting this to, just on this page?

    @YouveHadYourSix
    You can post your list here or PM the list to @GoldenGun. :)
  • Posts: 2,400
    22: Diamonds Are Forever

    One of Barry's best! Just goes to show how very different our rankings all are!

    To be fair to DAF's score, anything above Dr. No is at least a reasonably tolerable score and anything above TMWTGG is doing just fine. I just find DAF to kind of be "Barry by numbers". "007 and Counting" is just a poor man's "Capsule in Space", and a lot of the action cues are very dull. I find the Wint and Kidd motif uninspired, and "Bond to Holland" sounds like a gag version of the Bond theme lifted from some CR '67 outtake.

    The thing that really seals the deal for me though is the ATROCIOUS moon buggy chase music. That bit that starts when the trikes first get sent out after Bond is embarassing and, from one source I read at least, not even Barry's work but rather someone who was inexplicably sent in to rescore that part of the scene. It's probably the worst individual piece of music (in the entire EON series at least; NSNA has one of the worst soundtracks in cinematic history), and it has Another Way to Die to compete with!

    Still, the title song is one of the best, and I'm generally in favour of the way it glides in and out of the film sometimes. I just don't have enough else to really justify putting it above any of the remaining scores as I find them pretty enjoyable and each at least somewhat unique (I've even come around, albeit just mildly, to Conti's FYEO score although it's nowhere near his best).
  • 22: Diamonds Are Forever

    One of Barry's best! Just goes to show how very different our rankings all are!
    The thing that really seals the deal for me though is the ATROCIOUS moon buggy chase music. That bit that starts when the trikes first get sent out after Bond is embarassing and, from one source I read at least, not even Barry's work but rather someone who was inexplicably sent in to rescore that part of the scene.

    No argument there! As much as I love the rest of Diamonds, "Moon Buggy Chase" is painful within the film and without. But according to Jon Burlingame, the track is 100% Barry, just not what Barry originally wanted. Hamilton was of the opinion the music should be silly and whimsical there. Barry was of the opinion it should be dramatic and energetic. Hamilton of course was calling the shots.
  • Posts: 6,682
    I love the brass chords of Moon Buggy Chase, overlaid with those violin/flute/xylophone phrases. I also love the "alarm" music that opens the track. I like the whimsical parts too; they have a lighter touch but don't go overboard as far as I'm concerned. That said, I've recently taken to listening to the alternate version of the track, the one without those whimsical parts. I like the more deliberate pace and the fact the brass chords are given more room to shine.
  • DwayneDwayne New York City
    Posts: 2,598
    Sitting this game out, but I can’t recommend Jon Burlingame’s “The Music of James Bond” highly enough. Its full of musical details and behind the scenes stories. While the version that I own only goes up to QoS, it was later updated to include Skyfall.

    I have great affection for all of the Bond scores from DN to LALD (and that includes CR’67 BTW). After that, it’s a bit of hit or miss for me. More “Hits”, to be sure, but even though I own most of them, I have rarely listened to the entirety of the post LALD scores outside of the context of the films. Therefore, I don’t feel that I’m knowledgeable enough to really rank the “mid-tier” soundtracks.

    That said, I will be very interested to see where the group ranks some of the non-Barry scores (CR’67, TSWLM, in particular).
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,371
    My weekend was way too busy and I'm on baby duty most of today so afraid I'll end up missing this one, as well. Looking forward to the rankings, though, sad I missed it.
  • DarthDimi wrote: »
    Where are we submitting this to, just on this page?

    @YouveHadYourSix
    You can post your list here or PM the list to @GoldenGun. :)

    Okay thanks.
  • Posts: 2,400
    I know the common thing is to just DM the lists but I like being transparent about mine all at once rather than reacting to each result with "and I had it at #x..."
  • R1s1ngs0nR1s1ngs0n France
    Posts: 2,002
    I know the common thing is to just DM the lists but I like being transparent about mine all at once rather than reacting to each result with "and I had it at #x..."
    That’s a good point. I sent mine already but I don’t see any reason not to share it with you guys 😃

    1. OHMSS
    2. YOLT
    3. TB
    4. LALD
    5. DAF
    6. MR
    7. GF
    8. TMWTGG
    9. TLD
    10. FRWL
    11. AVTAK
    12. OP
    13. TSWLM
    14. DN
    15. CR '67
    16. CR '06
    17. TND
    18. SF
    19. SP
    20. LTK
    21. QOS
    22. TWINE
    23. FYEO
    24. DAD
    25. GE
    26. NSNA

  • Well, we could all post ours here, but there wouldn't be a point to the daily reveal if we can calculate the final ranking on our own. I think it's more fun to find out as we go. :)
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