Best/Worst Bond Score

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  • eddychaputeddychaput Montreal, Canada
    Posts: 364
    Best: TB (although OHMSS is a close 2nd)
    Worst: GE. Boring answer, I know, what can I say. I'm in the majority camp.

    As for rankings/classifications, I'd go:

    Gold standard:
    TB
    OHMSS
    CR
    TLD
    LALD
    YOLT

    Very good:
    FRWL
    GF
    TND
    TMWTGG
    DAF

    Decent:
    AVTAK
    OP
    LTK
    SK
    SP
    QOS
    SF

    Not a big fan:
    DAD
    FYO (there are a couple of cues I like. Not a bad score, just one that doesn't grab me that much)
    DN (as music per say, it's actually good. As a Bond score, it's iffy)
    TWINE (similar to TND, but somehow a lot more generic)
    TSWLM (sure, it has some charm, but overall it's just not for me)

    No thanks:
    GE
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    This possibly belongs in the James Bond Questions thread but I thought here was a better place to ask something that just struck me watching FRWL:

    I think we'd mostly agree that Bond theme apart, the score for DN isnt that great. In FRWL the score is by John Barry and its pretty good throughout right?

    So why on earth at the end during the boat chase do they use that god awful track from DN that sounds like its from a 50's B movie?

    You surely cant be telling me that John Barry couldnt knock out a better piece of music than this in his lunch break?

    The only logical conclusion I can draw is that initially they decided they didnt want any music with that scene, Barry scored the film and went off on holiday or something and then at the 11th hour someone decided that the scene really needed some music so they just did a quick copy and paste. Given the acrimony between Barry and Norman I can t envisage why John would use a (poor) track from the previous soundtrack of his own volition.

    Maybe it was a decision by Cubby & Harry to have some sort of continuity?
  • edited February 2016 Posts: 489
    Worse- NSNA and GE

    Best- OHMSS, TLD, TB and YOLT
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,388
    This possibly belongs in the James Bond Questions thread but I thought here was a better place to ask something that just struck me watching FRWL:

    I think we'd mostly agree that Bond theme apart, the score for DN isnt that great. In FRWL the score is by John Barry and its pretty good throughout right?

    So why on earth at the end during the boat chase do they use that god awful track from DN that sounds like its from a 50's B movie?

    You surely cant be telling me that John Barry couldnt knock out a better piece of music than this in his lunch break?

    The only logical conclusion I can draw is that initially they decided they didnt want any music with that scene, Barry scored the film and went off on holiday or something and then at the 11th hour someone decided that the scene really needed some music so they just did a quick copy and paste. Given the acrimony between Barry and Norman I can t envisage why John would use a (poor) track from the previous soundtrack of his own volition.

    Maybe it was a decision by Cubby & Harry to have some sort of continuity?

    I'd probably leave it up to time constraints. If you recall, there are a couple versions of Thunderball in distribution where the last scene has 2 different versions. The ultimate/blu-ray version has the unfinished score using the DN Bond theme where as the VHS/Special edition have the completed score with a heavier Bombastic version of the Bond theme. That was of course because John Barry didn't have enough time to finish the score before the film's competition but had most of the score complete. So I'd probably the same reasons applied to FRWL's boat finale.

    Finished Soundtrack Version - http://picosong.com/hCme/
    Original Unfinished / Blu-Ray version. http://picosong.com/hCmL/
  • GE good film, score too low key for me, or rather there is way too much of the low key.
  • Posts: 12,774
    1. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    2. Thunderball
    3. You Only Live Twice
    4. Moonraker
    5. Quantum of Solace
    6. Casino Royale
    7. A View to a Kill
    8. Goldfinger
    9. GoldenEye
    10. The Spy Who Loved Me
    11. Tomorrow Never Dies
    12. The Living Daylights
    13. Octopussy
    14. Live and Let Die
    15. From Russia with Love
    16. Skyfall
    17. The World Is Not Enough
    18. Die Another Day
    19. No Time to Die
    20. Licence to Kill
    21. Diamonds Are Forever
    22. The Man with the Golden Gun
    23. Spectre
    24. Dr. No
    25. For Your Eyes Only
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,617
    @FoxRox, very happy to see GE cracking your top 10. I love that score too :)
  • Posts: 12,774
    @GoldenGun It's not a popular opinion, but I'm glad there's at least a couple of us! I really love its uniqueness within the series and earnestly do enjoy it a lot. This is a particularly tough list to make because I really like most of the scores, though. The weaker ones are still good usually.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,617
    FoxRox wrote: »
    @GoldenGun It's not a popular opinion, but I'm glad there's at least a couple of us! I really love its uniqueness within the series and earnestly do enjoy it a lot. This is a particularly tough list to make because I really like most of the scores, though. The weaker ones are still good usually.

    Yes, I agree. I think I actually like all the scores. I may not be sure about every single track, but in general I can enjoy all of them. A consistenly good aspect in the franchise, I'd say. A bit like the pre-title and title sequences.
  • SecretAgentMan⁰⁰⁷SecretAgentMan⁰⁰⁷ Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria
    Posts: 2,702
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    FoxRox wrote: »
    @GoldenGun It's not a popular opinion, but I'm glad there's at least a couple of us! I really love its uniqueness within the series and earnestly do enjoy it a lot. This is a particularly tough list to make because I really like most of the scores, though. The weaker ones are still good usually.

    Yes, I agree. I think I actually like all the scores. I may not be sure about every single track, but in general I can enjoy all of them. A consistenly good aspect in the franchise, I'd say. A bit like the pre-title and title sequences.

    Yeah. Same here. Bond music is the best film music. So consistent. Not sure there's any other franchise where fans are eager to know who and who are doing the music.
  • The Arnold scores:
    1. DAD (really cool, Bond theme takes are well done, and I Will Return would have been a great theme)
    2. TWINE (Really easy listening, dramatic when it needs to be, M and the alarm clock is great as well as Come In 007)
    3. QoS (Oil Fields and Field Trip are great, as is the Vesper/Bond theme overlap at the end of the film.
    4. TND (bit eager with the Bond theme and falls off for the end of the film, but still quite cool and nice listen)
    5. CR (works well with the film to complement the scenes, but doesn't hold up on its own for a listen)

    The Barry scores:
    1. OHMSS (great theme, other music is great too)
    2. YOLT (music suits the setting and is quite original as well)
    3. DAF (Lots of brass, with really cool cues, integrates the theme well, Bond meets Bambi and Thumper is a highlight)
    4. TLD (Pretty good on the whole, not entirely a fan of the Ice Chase cue though, but an overall good score)
    5. GF (Lovely integration of the theme. Sometimes is silent when it shouldn't be though)
    6. AVTAK (Great use of the theme, new OHMSS inspired theme is cool)
    7. TMWTGG (Theme isn't great, but good integration, and Bond theme is used well)
    8. MR (Freefall is great, and the space parts are epic)
    9. TB (Great use of the Bond theme in stealth moments. Not a fan of the 007 cue usage however)
    10. FRWL (Rough around the edges but nice theme and Bond Meets Tania is a highlight)
    11. OP (Theme is boring so uses fall flat. Bond theme is pretty uninspiring (except for Bond Look-Alike). Best part is probably circling violins in palace fight)

    The Rest: Norman Dr. No , Serra,
    1. Martin's LALD (bit quiet in places, but really cool, especially for the first half of the movie)
    2. Kamen's LTK (only shame is that Youtube barely has it. Good use of the Bond theme without being repetitive)
    3. Hamlisch's TSWLM (alright, but most unmemorable apart from Ride to Atlantis and Bond 77, both of which are nice)
    4. Zimmer's NTTD (alright, would probably be more positive if it wasn't for use of All the Time in the World)
    5. Newman's SP (bit boring, but PTS score is great, and score when Bond and Madeleine escape the building (Detonation) is nice as well. Elsewise unremarkable)
    6. Newman's SF (Some cool motifs that I personally think fit better in Spectre. Bond theme and action motifs a bit repetitive though. Score when M reads poetry is quite good)
    7. Conti's FYEO (Alright listen on its own (especially the Bond theme parts like Goodbye, Countess or Submarine, or Melina's Revenge or the Citroen Chase etc.), but in the context of the film it doesn't work. Removes any tension)
    8. Norman's Dr. No (Not great. Probably the style of soundtracks of the time.)
    9. Serra's GE (complete nonsense, can't believe this is one of the few Bond scores on Spotify. Really is quite frustrating).
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