It seems John Barry almos did Goldeneye follow-up Tomorrow Never Dies. Excerpt fom 2008 Barry interview seems to suggest that The Living Daylights was not meant to be is Bond swansong. Oh, what could have been! Agony!!!!
Barry was going to score it but Eon did not want him to compose the title song. Load of stuff about 'getting the kids in' etc and so Barry walked. Barry told this story diring an interview at the HMV signing in April 1998.
In 1983, Barry was asked by Sean Connery to score 'Never Say Never Again'.He refused, instead scoring Eon's 'Octopussy'.
Barry's loyalty was, sadly, not reciprocated, 14 years later.
Daniel Mangodt: You didn’t score all the James Bond movies, some you didn’t want to work on, like NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN. John Barry: I was asked to do that, but that was out of the camp.
Daniel Mangodt: What happened when GOLDENEYE came along? John Barry: That I didn’t do because I had commitments this past year: CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY and ACROSS THE SEA OF TIME, an IMAX 3D movie. Those were two projects I was really keen on and I just had a newly born son. So, I wanted to have time with him and enjoy that side of my life. I’ve been asked to do the next one, which I shall probably do.
Wow. I never knew that. As much as I actually like Arnold's Tomorrow Never Dies (his only Bond score I do like), I would trade it for a Barry score in a heartbeat.
And instead of another Barry classic we got Sheryl Crow and that bloody awful title song, and a score that spent 90% of its time trying to be a Barry clone!
And instead of another Barry classic we got Cheryl Crow and that bloody awful title song, and a score that spent 90% of its time trying to be a Barry clone!
Really sad.
I agree but at least we've got 11 Barry Bond scores to enjoy.
I once heard Michael J Wilson say that there is a tension between the song as a marketing tool and the song that follows in the grand Bond tradition. In this case the former won.
I'm not a fan of Arnold's Bond scores but he gives them what they want, Barry ultra ultra light with plenty of crash bang wallop and overscoring in the best current Hollywood style.
I think Barry would have surprised us all, like he did with The Living Daylights. He was no fool and would take the opportunity to create another modern yet totally barryesque score. It would not be Mercury Rising again. Perhaps closer to The Specialist with some synth beat. Well, thats my guess at least.
And instead of another Barry classic we got Cheryl Crow and that bloody awful title song, and a score that spent 90% of its time trying to be a Barry clone!
Really sad. i Bloody awful is ABSOLUTELY CORRECT for that main title song! And Sheryl Crow is definitely the wrong choice to do a main title song from a James Bond film! She sounds like Minnie Mouse and doesn't belong in the same class as Shirley Bassey. Only the end title song "Surrender" sung by K.D. Lang comes off better, and SHOULD'VE been the main title song instead!
I remember reading that James Horner almost did Never Say Never Again -- until Sean Connery decided to give it to Michael Legrand (ugh). A Bond score from Horner could have been interesting, although he still wouldn't have access to the Bond theme.
I thought the KD Lang song was supposed to be the opener but then it was switched at the last second?
That's what I've always heard, too. Lang's song even includes "Tomorrow Never Dies" all over the chorus, clearing marking it as the real main title song, before the Sheryl Crow song was brilliantly (note the sarcasm) thought up.
