Rank the Barry Soundtracks

LazenbyLazenby The upper reaches of the AmazoPosts: 606MI6 Agent
edited March 2007 in James Bond Music
I am a huge fan of John Barry's Bond soundtracks-- his unique style and depth added much to the overall feeling of the pictures he was involved with.

My favorites of his:

On Her Majesty's Secret Service This has been my undisputed favorite since I first saw the film 20 years ago. The opening theme is awesome-- perhaps the most exciting of the whole series, and the overall jazzy feel of the score captured perfectly the essence of Bond in that most perfect of Bond decades. It had a great love theme as well.

Moonraker This to me is perhaps Barry's most "beautiful" score-- it seems to represent the pinnacle of his transition from the Jazzy compositions of the early Barry to the beautiful masterpieces that marked his career in the 80s and beyond). Despite the cheesy elements within the movie, the music had the perfect almost spiritual undercurrent to go along with the (far-fetched) Noah's Ark/Garden of Eden-ish theme within the story. Two favorites of mine on this soundtrack are the chorus in "Bond Arrives in Rio" and the mysticial beauty of "Bond Lured to Pyramid".

You Only Live Twice Another very beautiful soundtrack-- with one of the most memorable opening themes in the series. The best element of this sountrack, to me, was the Asian influence Barry incorporated to go along with the setting of the movie. Other memorable bits were the "Capsule in Space" theme and the countdown at the end of the movie.

Diamonds are Forever My one complaint about this soundtrack is that a truly satisfactory version (faithful to what was in the movie) has not yet been released. That being said it contains some of the best music in the series-- the opening theme, the Wint and Kidd theme, and the bit at the airport.

Goldfinger and From Russia With Love

I can't decide between these two-- probably Goldfinger, but FRWL has some wonderful bits as well, in particular the instrumental opening theme.

Comments

  • Bruce_007Bruce_007 Posts: 46MI6 Agent
    edited March 2007
    I don't know if I could rank them, but Thunderball is my favorite because of how it enhances the many underwater sequences.
  • Harry PalmerHarry Palmer Somewhere in the past ...Posts: 325MI6 Agent
    edited March 2007
    TLD: In many ways it prefigures Dances with Wolves, but with more of a Bondian edge). I love how it weaves Pretenders' "where has everybody gone" into the Necros theme.

    OHMSS: Great score, and great idea to keep the title instrumental.
    1. Cr, 2. Ltk, 3. Tld, 4. Qs, 5. Ohmss, 6. Twine, 7. Tnd, 8. Tswlm, 9. Frwl, 10. Tb, 11. Ge, 12. Gf, 13. Dn, 14. Mr, 15. Op, 16. Yolt, 17. Sf, 18. Daf, 19. Avtak, 20. Sp, 21. Fyeo, 22. Dad, 23. Lald, 24. Tmwtgg
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 38,104Chief of Staff
    Good post, Lazenby, and most of your comments are well thought out and accurate. I'd agree more or less with the order in which you've ranked the scores, but as was said earlier TB deserves to be in there too.

    One thought, though; we do have a music forum here and much of what you've said has been discussed there (often in great detail), so why not take a look around in there? There are threads discussing most of the soundtracks in depth which you might enjoy.
  • Alan_moreAlan_more UKPosts: 73MI6 Agent
    Lazenby wrote:
    Diamonds are Forever My one complaint about this soundtrack is that a truly satisfactory version (faithful to what was in the movie) has not yet been released.

    Now I'm quite curious to know more details about what exactly is missing from Lukas Kendall's release.
  • LazenbyLazenby The upper reaches of the AmazoPosts: 606MI6 Agent
    edited March 2007
    Barbel wrote:
    Good post, Lazenby, and most of your comments are well thought out and accurate. I'd agree more or less with the order in which you've ranked the scores, but as was said earlier TB deserves to be in there too.

    Yeah, Thunderball is awesome. My favorite in that movie has always been the "Cafe Maritinique" bit that cues when Bond and Domino are dancing and she succumbs to him while he is trying to get information from her. Great movie.
    One thought, though; we do have a music forum here and much of what you've said has been discussed there (often in great detail), so why not take a look around in there? There are threads discussing most of the soundtracks in depth which you might enjoy.

    I actually looked for one, but couldn't find it at first (I also thought the post would get better exposure in the other forum). It seems to have found it's way here anyway though.

    Cheers!
  • LazenbyLazenby The upper reaches of the AmazoPosts: 606MI6 Agent
    Alan_more wrote:

    Now I'm quite curious to know more details about what exactly is missing from Lukas Kendall's release.

    Most people probably wouldn't notice actually, but the absent bits happen to be cues from the movie that I really liked, namely a longer version of the Wint and Kidd theme (one of my atf Barry compositions) and this other one that played while Bond was in the hearse with the thugs.
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 38,104Chief of Staff
    The second piece you mention is on the album; it's the second part of track 16, namely "On The Road". The Wint & Kidd music occurs more than once, with track 14 being perhaps the best example.
  • JennyFlexFanJennyFlexFan Posts: 1,497MI6 Agent
    It's gonna be no surprise what I'm going to say... AVTAK!

    AVTAK, though not my favorite of his, (TLD is actually my favorite of Barry's) but it perfectly captures all the dark and suspenseful elements of the movie while emulating a modern form of the OHMSS score (listen to Snow Job and all the other "action" pieces and the whole mood it creates).

    Also, Wine With Stacey (despite heavy and distracting breathing by flautist Susan Milan) may be one of the most beautiful Bond tracks ever!
  • LazenbyLazenby The upper reaches of the AmazoPosts: 606MI6 Agent
    TLD: In many ways it prefigures Dances with Wolves, but with more of a Bondian edge.

    I don't know TLD' soundtrack enough to comment on that but I will say that Dances With Wolves is probably my favorite movie score-- all around-- of all time. Absolutely amazing stuff (it helps if you appreciate the spirit of the movie). "Two Socks at Play" is one of the most beautiful songs ever written.
  • Moore Not LessMoore Not Less Posts: 1,095MI6 Agent
    Lazenby wrote:
    On Her Majesty's Secret Service This has been my undisputed favorite since I first saw the film 20 years ago. The opening theme is awesome-- perhaps the most exciting of the whole series, and the overall jazzy feel of the score captured perfectly the essence of Bond in that most perfect of Bond decades. It had a great love theme as well.

    On Her Majesty's Secret Service is my second favourite Bond score. The opening theme is indeed awesome-- and is the most exciting of the whole series. The rest of the score is simply outstanding.
    Lazenby wrote:
    You Only Live Twice Another very beautiful soundtrack-- with one of the most memorable opening themes in the series. The best element of this sountrack, to me, was the Asian influence Barry incorporated to go along with the setting of the movie. Other memorable bits were the "Capsule in Space" theme and the countdown at the end of the movie.

    You Only Live Twice is my favourite Bond score. Simply outstanding is an understatement. The opening theme is indeed one of the most memorable of the series, it was my favourite for many years.

    I have never had the privilege of visiting Japan. Despite this, John Barry magically captures the spirit and essence of what I imagine Japan to be based on what I have seen of it on film and TV. My favourite piece of all Bond music is The Wedding Theme, it blows me away every time I hear it.

    As far as I am concerned John Barry is a musical genius. Eleven Bond scores and not one of them is close to being a disappointment.
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 38,104Chief of Staff
    As far as I am concerned John Barry is a musical genius.

    {[] I won't say "Seconded", since I'm sure that I may have mentioned that little point just once or twice in this very forum. But like the rest of the above post, very true.
  • ohmss1969ohmss1969 EuropePosts: 141MI6 Agent
    I think the DAF cd is pretty nice , even has the Slumber Inc music lol
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 38,104Chief of Staff
    ohmss1969 wrote:
    I think the DAF cd is pretty nice , even has the Slumber Inc music lol

    Well, it does now. I bought the LP when it was released back in '71 and remember being very disappointed that some of the best pieces from the film (eg the Wint & Kidd theme; the Slumber music as above) weren't on it. Not that DAF was unique in this respect- most of the other Bond soundtracks were incomplete with TB probably being the worst offender.
    The release of some of the missing music on the 30th Anniversary set was akin to finding an oasis in the Sahara; later Nic Raine's recreations filled further gaps. It wasn't until the remastered soundtracks came out in '03 that the whole situation changed. (Thanks again, Lukas!)
    There are still unreleased cues out there- enough for a "Bond Rarities" set- but it doesn't look likely we'll see this in the near future owing to commercial reality. A record company can make a lot more money from releasing a "Bond Greatest Hits" album (this time including "You Know My Name") than a rarities collection. Still, maybe one day...
  • LazenbyLazenby The upper reaches of the AmazoPosts: 606MI6 Agent
    Barbel wrote:
    The release of some of the missing music on the 30th Anniversary set was akin to finding an oasis in the Sahara; later Nic Raine's recreations filled further gaps. It wasn't until the remastered soundtracks came out in '03 that the whole situation changed.

    I agree! I haven't heard TB but the rereleased YOLT, OHMSS and DAF CDs were all incredible.
  • JennyFlexFanJennyFlexFan Posts: 1,497MI6 Agent
    AVTAK, if it's remastered, needs to get the Flying Over San Francisco at the end theme on there. It's the BEST suspense part of the soundtrack. It is AMAZING.
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 38,104Chief of Staff
    Lazenby wrote:
    I haven't heard TB but the rereleased YOLT, OHMSS and DAF CDs were all incredible.

    Try and get hold of TB, Lazenby. Since you liked the others, I know that one will blow your socks off (especially the climactic underwater battle pieces).
  • sharpshootersharpshooter Posts: 164MI6 Agent
    edited December 2008
    You Only Live Twice, this soundtrack is a work of art. Capsule in Space - which is probably the third most famous piece of music in the series following the 'James Bond Theme' and '007'. It is so epic, I love it. The variations of Sinatra’s main theme are just beautiful and peaceful. The oriental sounds spliced in there also help things out.

    On Her Majesty’s Secret Service has a killer soundtrack, it is very solid and every track is brilliant. I believe both of these efforts are Barry’s finest work, by far.
  • heartbroken_mr_draxheartbroken_mr_drax New Zealand Posts: 2,073MI6 Agent
    I would have to say TLD.

    DAF is pretty amazing but its matching film ruins it.
    1. TWINE 2. FYEO 3. MR 4. TLD 5. TSWLM 6. OHMSS 7. DN 8. OP 9. AVTAK 10. TMWTGG 11. QoS 12. GE 13. CR 14. TB 15. FRWL 16. TND 17. LTK 18. GF 19. SF 20. LaLD 21. YOLT 22. NTTD 23. DAD 24. DAF. 25. SP

    "Better make that two."
  • Barry NelsonBarry Nelson ChicagoPosts: 1,508MI6 Agent
    My favorite Barry soundtrack is Thunderball, I find it relaxing and enjoy listening to it while driving. The Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang melody that plays throughout the soundtrack is the highlight. OHMSS would be next.
  • PanachePanache xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxPosts: 89MI6 Agent
    While I may not be the films biggest fan, without doubt OHMSS score is superb.

    Thunderball: with no speech (obviously) and more subdued sound effects it is relied upon to enhance the action and tension in the underwater scenes.

    Diamonds are forever, saw it as a kid on a double bill with YOLT. The music has been with me ever since - magic.

    I can't say Moonraker myself. I don't think his style fits the space battle scenes. It seems too sedate to me. The are magical moments in the film to be sure (if only that could be said about the film itself)but for me it fails there. While John Williams scores can draw you right into space battles, Barry's don't for some reason. See The Black Hole, wonderful theme but the same pedestrian style to the battle scenes.
    However saying that space scenes in YOLT and DAF are wonderfully evocative.
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