Best non-John Barry /non-David Arnold soundtrack

IMO, John Barry and David Arnold are the best composers of Bond music.

However other composers have contributed, such as George Martin, Marvin Hamlisch, Bill Conti, Michael Kamen, Eric Serra and now, Thomas Newmann. All very different but each aiming to capture the essence of Bond.

Which gets your vote as best soundtrack and most capturing the spirit of Bond?
"How was your lamb?" "Skewered. One sympathises."

Comments

  • MooseWithFleasMooseWithFleas Philadelphia, PAPosts: 753MI6 Agent
    Marvin Hamlisch for me.

    Nobody Does It Better is my all-time favorite theme. Bond 77 is such a tremendously catchy and fun tune and the way he uses it throughout the film is perfect.

    I know it gets a ton of flack but I also love Eric Serra's soundtrack. Goldeneye Overture is such a unique sound that I had not heard before and was definitely a basis for the Goldeneye 007 for N64 soundtrack which I still listen to today :)
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    Marvin Hamlisch for me Too. :D

    Although I seem to be one of the few who Liked Thomas Newman's score for Skyfall. :))
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  • StawazStawaz CanadaPosts: 101MI6 Agent
    Michael Kamen or Marvin Hamlisch. Although, I really like Eric Serra's Goldeneye Expanded Score ''Run,Shoot And Jump/Tank Chase Through St. Petersburg [Unreleased]"
  • StawazStawaz CanadaPosts: 101MI6 Agent
    Marvin Hamlisch for me Too. :D

    Although I seem to be one of the few who Liked Thomas Newman's score for Skyfall. :))

    And I bought the Skyfall soundtrack -{
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,218Chief of Staff
    George Martin's LALD then Hamlisch's TSWLM. I don't rate any other non-Barry, non-Arnold score at all.... exceot Bacharach ! :))
  • Charmed & DangerousCharmed & Dangerous Posts: 7,358MI6 Agent
    Barbel wrote:
    George Martin's LALD then Hamlisch's TSWLM. I don't rate any other non-Barry, non-Arnold score at all.... exceot Bacharach ! :))

    I think George Martin's sound certainly differed from John Barry's and helped differentiate Sir Rog''s Bond, giving it a more contemporary feel. IMO it worked best in the Voodoo scenes, parts are really superb.

    But I love both Bond77 from TSWLM and Runaway from FYEO as single pieces, and their respective soundtracks contain some other real gems, like Ride to Atlantis.

    Btw -yes, I'd forgotten about the Bacharach numbers!
    "How was your lamb?" "Skewered. One sympathises."
  • BIG TAMBIG TAM Wrexham, North Wales, UK.Posts: 773MI6 Agent
    Thomas Newman & Marvin Hamlisch. I think the former gets a pretty raw deal.
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,218Chief of Staff
    BIG TAM wrote:
    Thomas Newman & Marvin Hamlisch. I think the former gets a pretty raw deal.

    I don't think the SF soundtrack is bad, just... uneventful? Few memorable melodies.
  • PeppermillPeppermill DelftPosts: 2,860MI6 Agent
    George Martin and Marvin Hamlisch for me.
    1. Ohmss 2. Frwl 3. Op 4. Tswlm 5. Tld 6. Ge 7. Yolt 8. Lald 9. Cr 10. Ltk 11. Dn 12. Gf 13. Qos 14. Mr 15. Tmwtgg 16. Fyeo 17. Twine 18. Sf 19. Tb 20 Tnd 21. Spectre 22 Daf 23. Avtak 24. Dad
  • HigginsHiggins GermanyPosts: 16,618MI6 Agent
    I still like Conti's FYEO very much though am aware that many find it outdated.
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  • Charmed & DangerousCharmed & Dangerous Posts: 7,358MI6 Agent
    Barbel wrote:
    BIG TAM wrote:
    Thomas Newman & Marvin Hamlisch. I think the former gets a pretty raw deal.

    I don't think the SF soundtrack is bad, just... uneventful? Few memorable melodies.

    I think that hits he nail on the head, Barbel. Some nice pieces but few memorable and none as Bondian as David Arnold's pieces.
    "How was your lamb?" "Skewered. One sympathises."
  • DelicatessenInSteelDelicatessenInSteel Posts: 181MI6 Agent
    Live & Let Die is probably the best one because its awesome and consistent and sounds surprisingly modern on Bluray. But For Your Eyes Only has one of the best Gunbarrels with the cowbell & I love the Escape from Gonzales place music cue where I can't tell if its a synth or electric guitar, and the Cortina music is beautiful, and the Submarine Synth Bond theme is genius, ooh and the ski chase music...but the happiest is the music when he pulls the cable on the helicopter and frees himself from Blofeld.
    1.MoonRaker 2.OHMSS 3.LALD 4.OP 5.FYEO 6.DR. NO 7.YOLT 8.LTK 9.CR 10.AVTAK
  • AndrewJK007AndrewJK007 Posts: 10MI6 Agent
    Don't hate me, but Thomas Newman's Skyfall is my absolute favorite movie score of all time. I've listened to it more than any other album I own, even beating The Rolling Stones' Forty Licks. I think the actual album release is missing a proper Bond track and Adele's song, but I blame that on the record company. Truly my favorite.
    1. Sf 2. Cr 3. Nttd 4. Ge 5. Gf 6. Tnd 7. Frwl 8. Qos 9. Dn 10. Ohmss 11. Avtak 12. Tb 13. Tswlm 14. Fyeo 15. Dad 16. Sp 17. Lald 18. Yolt 19. Ltk 20. Twine 21. Tld 22. Daf 23. Tmwtgg 24. Op 25. Mr
  • NeverSayDieNeverSayDie Posts: 495MI6 Agent
    Licence to Kill and Goldeneye
  • lotuslotus englandPosts: 292MI6 Agent
    I am listening to live and let die at the moment .its
    My own edited version ive used multi track audio software
    To put together the gun barrel all the pre credit music
    And then blended in the main theme just like in the film

    I love this soundtrack its one of my favourites.
  • Smithers500Smithers500 Spectre IslandPosts: 1,341MI6 Agent
    With the passage of time I really rate the Licence to Kill soundtrack. I think the gun barrel piece is a superb opener and it has a Latin American vibe running through the score. I didn't much care for Kamen's scores at the time,but now whenever I watch the Lethal Weapons or Die Hards I find them really involving. Kamen's death a few years back was a sad loss to movies...
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  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,218Chief of Staff
    IMHO the LTK score is a weak point, both in the film itself and in Bond scores in general.
  • Paul Andrew MacLeanPaul Andrew MacLean New YorkPosts: 1MI6 Agent
    I love Marvin Hamlisch's SWLM, but the action cues are very "70s". I think Michael Kamen's LTK has stood the test of time far-better. It's one of the less-melodic Bond scores (and not one of the best for standalone listening) but it works incredibly well in the film itself (particularly in the teaser).
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,218Chief of Staff
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  • hehadlotsofgutshehadlotsofguts Durham England Posts: 2,107MI6 Agent
    I am partial to Eric Rogers's score for Dr No, ALTHOUGH, I thought the music during No's death is a bit much.
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  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,270MI6 Agent
    Eh? I thought Monty Norman did all that stuff? BTW On a BBC4 prog on movie soundtracks last night, it was pretty much openly stated that Barry did the middle 8 to the Bond theme, ie the chorus really, the punchy 'Ta Da Da-Da, Da-Da Daaaaa' that is the most famous part of it. I always assumed that, though Norman based the furtive spy opening bit on a former song of his, but Barry's arrangement transformed a sow's ear into a silk purse. So why isn't it co-written Barry/Norman? :(

    Best cues, prob Bond 77, also Bond meets Solitaire (hanggliding bit) and a few others, the climax on the dish in GE is stirring stuff but not Serra I believe.
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • hehadlotsofgutshehadlotsofguts Durham England Posts: 2,107MI6 Agent
    Sorry, i meant Monty Norman's score for Dr No. Eric Rogers conducted the score.

    I was listening to the LALD soundtrack just now. I think Trespassers Will Be Eaten in the best cue in the soundtrack. I particularly like the bass in this and the use of bongo drums.
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  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,218Chief of Staff
    On a BBC4 prog on movie soundtracks last night, it was pretty much openly stated that Barry did the middle 8 to the Bond theme, ie the chorus really, the punchy 'Ta Da Da-Da, Da-Da Daaaaa' that is the most famous part of it. I always assumed that, though Norman based the furtive spy opening bit on a former song of his, but Barry's arrangement transformed a sow's ear into a silk purse. So why isn't it co-written Barry/Norman? :(

    Mr Norman is very protective over his credit for that tune, quite likely to take to court anyone who does not respect his legal right to claim sole authorship, and has done so on more than one occasion. I can personally vouch for this, being involved on more than one of those occasions, and for legal reasons can say no more.
  • lotuslotus englandPosts: 292MI6 Agent
    Eric Rogers score is mint ............I wish they would find the tapes.
  • SilentSpySilentSpy Private Exotic AreaPosts: 765MI6 Agent
    I tend to like all the Bond soundtracks. The Goldeneye one has the most different feel. I don't listen to that one at all anymore.

    I'm not sure of best from other composers right now. But The Spy Who Loved Me is up there. It goes well with the Moonraker soundtrack. Both have a fantasy type feel. I love the action music in TSWLM. And the part when they arrive at Atlantis.
    "Better late than never."
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,270MI6 Agent
    Barbel wrote:
    On a BBC4 prog on movie soundtracks last night, it was pretty much openly stated that Barry did the middle 8 to the Bond theme, ie the chorus really, the punchy 'Ta Da Da-Da, Da-Da Daaaaa' that is the most famous part of it. I always assumed that, though Norman based the furtive spy opening bit on a former song of his, but Barry's arrangement transformed a sow's ear into a silk purse. So why isn't it co-written Barry/Norman? :(

    Mr Norman is very protective over his credit for that tune, quite likely to take to court anyone who does not respect his legal right to claim sole authorship, and has done so on more than one occasion. I can personally vouch for this, being involved on more than one of those occasions, and for legal reasons can say no more.

    Oh, I know, but Barry himself was rather cryptic about it and you'd think his word would have counted for something when he was alive.
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,218Chief of Staff

    Oh, I know, but Barry himself was rather cryptic about it and you'd think his word would have counted for something when he was alive.

    When it came time for Barry to put his side of the case, he had been suffering from pneumonia and had spent a few days in bed eating antibiotics. He was 70 and not at his best.
    Norman's lawyer had no difficulty in making Barry's memories of 30 years previously seem vague and contradictory.
  • James SuzukiJames Suzuki New ZealandPosts: 2,406MI6 Agent
    For me it has to be Bill Conti's FYEO. People may say it is a bit dated but I love it. For me the best tracks are Runaway and Drive in the country. The latter is so quirky and cool I usually find myself humming it.
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  • hehadlotsofgutshehadlotsofguts Durham England Posts: 2,107MI6 Agent
    George Martin. I love his arrangement of the gunbarrel theme. Trespassers Will Be Eaten is the best, particularly the part when Bond runs across the crocs.
    Have you ever heard of the Emancipation Proclamation?"

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