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Comments
Great interview.
I admit I wasn't always a David Arnold fan. It wasn't until I started collecting the soundtracks that I could get a good chance to listen to all the music out of film. I honestly don't get why people think he's a Barry ripoff. He really isn't. Sure he uses the heavy Brassy elements that Barry incorporated in the 60's. Barry had long since moved on from that style in the 70's for a string heavy orchestra sound that kept with him until he retired. Maybe people get that ripoff opinion from his Shaken and Stirred cover album. Or hate his use of electronic elements. Which is understandable.
As for Newman, I was happy when he was announced. I loved his score for Wall-E and hoped that Skyfall would have that style. Well it did but in a bad way. "Health and Safety" sounds like a bad leftover from Wall-E. On this site I'm probably Newman's biggest critic, but I don't hate his work. There are a handful of tracks from both his efforts that I enjoy. Newman really didn't score it with the "Bond Sound" in mind. It was basically a Thomas Newman score for a Bond movie. And while that is fine, just leaves so much to be desired.
I wonder what Arnold would have done with both Skyfall and Spectre.
Which leads to another thing. OHMSS was one of the first films to use the Moog Synthesizer. This Never Happened to the Other Fella, The OHMSS main theme, Gumbold's Safe, Over and Out. All incorporated the Moog with the orchestra. Which is exactly what Arnold does.
I think what some don't like is the Drum and Bass Arnold uses. That's not the same thing as "Techno"
May be drum and bass. Whatever it was, he really dialed it back in CR/QoS and that's why I liked those scores best (although It was there in CR too in places I think)
Arnold typically uses techno elements and electronic elements sparingly but doesn't overdo it.
Shame he didn't use more Sax in his scores. Then again the saxophone has phased out of movie scores these days sadly.
It's a bit of a mixed bag but generally more good ones than bad. My favourites:
- On Her Majesty's Secret Service (feat Propellerheads)
- We Have All the Time in the World (Iggy Pop)
- Live and Let Die (Chrissie Hyde)
- All Time High (feat Pulp) - dont like Cocker's vocals but that instrumentation is banging!
- Nobody Does It Better (feat Aimee Mann)
Definitely better than Celeste's "strangling the cat" effort from the 60th anniversary concert.
Yep, same musical arrangement (which itself is lovely).
This album was a mainstay for me as a teenager and I think it's stood the test of time. I heard Arnold's version of OHMSS in a Bond documentary and it took me a while to track the album down. 'Space March' with Leftfield is also rather good.
A track I appreciate much more now is Martin Fry's version of 'Thunderball', although I wish they'd cut out the superfluous opening with the pianist repeatedly getting the chords wrong #-o
I wish Björk's rather exquisite take on this track had made the album, but gather she objected to its inclusion?
There is almost never some breath in the scores by Arnold. It is tight as tight can without any pause, it is a wall of sound. His melodic pieces also sound way too tight, whereas Barry sounds loose, with swagger or jazz. Arnold his techno (drum 'n bass) never suited Bond. It is way too loud without any breath or dynamics. Everything is loud. Whereas Barry his melodic, jazzy and classical scores are playfull and timeless. To me the techno by Arnold was already outdated on release. I can never listen to his scores without skipping. Most of Barry's scores do not make me want to skip.
Newman and Zimmerman did their own thing, and sound also tight, but way more tastefull. They mix electronics with the orchestra more organic, so their soundscape is much easier for the ears and more emotional than any of Arnold' scores (except maybe for the Vesper theme).
I actually think Arnold is the worst Bond score composer ever, or conductor.
I couldn't disagree more strongly,in the modern era no one has got bond musically more forward without abandoning the governor (barry) unbeatable standard setting ,Newman and zimmer for me are tired lame and totally uninteresting when it comes to bond music ,so villeneuve if your reading this BRING DAVID BACK for God's sake!