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John's music was classy. He had an almost unique ability to write music that combined great dramatic sense with an uncluttered clarity and still be 'musical'.
What's remarkable is, as you know, he wasn't really an 'action' writer in the sense many fans think, using agitated scherzos and writing frenetically in complex meters.
And yet his James Bond music is among the most exciting action music in my whole film music collection.
I find that amazing. That's why John Barry has always been my favourite among film composers.
And yes, the scores since have lacked that classiness.
Cheers
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I thought GOLDENEYE and DAD were successful in capturing some of the romantic Barryesque feel
Brm
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I like the romantic and later tragic cues in Casino Royale (2006).
But otherwise, my interest in "body of the score" cues ends after The Living Daylights. From there on out, it's just about the songs.
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Listening to the Somewhere in Time score this weekend made me think what the Bond movies have totally lacked since John Barry last scored Living Daylights in '87.
Bond has been mostly devoid of any Romance in the series.
John was able to do action, comedy, suspense, drama and romance in a way no one else has been able to capture.
Exactly, thank you. You absolutely pointed out the main ingredient that is missing.
I loved it when David Arnold at least injected melancholy with his themes for TND and TWINE, and I think he even managed to create a Barry-worthy love theme for Vesper in CR.
But all of the post-Barry scores treat action like, well, most scores to action movies from the 90´s onwards. Hyperactive and loud, instead of tension and sombre counterpoints, liking haunting melodies with the proceedings on screen.
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John's music was classy. He had an almost unique ability to write music that combined great dramatic sense with an uncluttered clarity and still be 'musical'.
What's remarkable is, as you know, he wasn't really an 'action' writer in the sense many fans think, using agitated scherzos and writing frenetically in complex meters.
And yet his James Bond music is among the most exciting action music in my whole film music collection.
I find that amazing. That's why John Barry has always been my favourite among film composers.
And yes, the scores since have lacked that classiness.
Cheers
total and complete classiness ....Bond without Barry is simply not Bond anymore .
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Bond without Barry is like Hitchcock without Herrmann, Harryhausen without Herrmann and Sergio Leone without Morricone. There are some things where the composers were the perfect fit, and everything else is never QUITE as good.
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And sometimes quite a bit less than "not quite as good."
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I'm very glad, that other composers also made great scores for the Bond-movies. Nothing against Barry's scores but "Octopussy" and "A View To A Kill" for example were quiet boring. "The Living Daylights" was nearly as good as Barry's scores for "Goldfinger" and "Thunderball". In my opinion Bond would lack of some great music beyond Barry without Martin, Kamen, Conti and Serra.
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What Barry brought to Bond is a unique collective that even he never really could explain. Sure, he spoke about the high and low instruments and working closely with the editor and sound effects for maximum impact and following that Fred Astaire maxim, "Give it size, give it style, and give it class," but his "just follow the action" and "million-dollar Mickey Mouse music" seems like he's selling himself short. What really worked for Barry with the Bond scores was, in my opinion, several things: He never treated the music or the material like it was a joke; he always treated the material very seriously, He elevated the films to a more serious level than they had any right to be. He introduced a bold, cool swagger-that opening of the Goldfinger song is a clarion call if there ever was one. He used slow, very seductive late-night themes. He brought a sense of darkness and evil to the films. Barry's music made the film Goldfinger seem much more adult than it was. You Only Live Twice is basically a comic book film, but that music is so glorious that it really makes a difference. I'm sure that another composer on From Russia With Love and Goldfinger could have written great scores, but James Bond would be vastly different from there on out.
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Posted: |
Oct 9, 2018 - 5:17 PM
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By: |
Zoragoth
(Member)
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I'm very glad, that other composers also made great scores for the Bond-movies. Nothing against Barry's scores but "Octopussy" and "A View To A Kill" for example were quiet boring. "The Living Daylights" was nearly as good as Barry's scores for "Goldfinger" and "Thunderball". In my opinion Bond would lack of some great music beyond Barry without Martin, Kamen, Conti and Serra.
OCTOPUSSY and VIEW TO A KILL boring? Oh my! I replay in mind mind those great action cues in OCTOPUSSY in particular, but also the delicate and romantic exoticism, the melancholy thru-line for the title character. Oh, that latter day Bond scores could muster a fraction of Barry's creativity and individuality!
With VIEW TO A KILL, perhaps you were bored by the zeppelin theme ...? I mean, it IS a zeppelin and not a stealth jet!
LIVING DAYLIGHTS, though, happens to be my top favorite Barry Bond scores, right up there with OHMSS....
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Reading a bit about John Barry's life story, seeing pictures and hearing stories led me to believe years ago that Bond's success on screen is intimately due to his presence. Barry "played" Bond more than any other actor. They have the same initials ffs. Barry *is* Bond. There have been great non Barry Bond scores but to bring back the elements that have been missing in the series since his departure, the series would have to find the coolest motherfucker on Earth. Because that's who John Barry was.
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Tom, I wish I could hear the boy in your picture say that "John Barry was the coolest motherfucker on earth." Because that's what I thought when I was that age. Oh yeah, my current age, too, along with Miles Davis, Monk, Zappa, and Ellington.
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I disagree about Octopussy being boring.
As a matter of fact, it is one of my fave Bond scores (waiting for an expansion, thank you)
I actually think Marvin Hamlisch' love theme nailed it too, just listen when Bond and Amasova are on the boat
on the Nile. Very classy !
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I like the romantic and later tragic cues in Casino Royale (2006).
But otherwise, my interest in "body of the score" cues ends after The Living Daylights. From there on out, it's just about the songs.
.
I agree.
But...
Dad had a nice instrumental score and a meh song.
Brm
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Octopussy IS boring. Not bad, just dull.
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Octopussy IS boring. Not bad, just dull.
To each his own
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