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Comments
"Shanghai Drive" is lovely as well and interestingly enough has its own type of electronic "whale cries" that sound off. Newman does a good job of evoking both intrigue and the exotic vibe of Shanghai here. Unlike "Night at the Opera," however, "Shanghai Drive" doesn't really go anywhere; it more or less ends where it begins. (Not that that's a bad thing, per se, I can think of a number of brilliant score cues that remain where they begin and never build toward anything.)
I enjoy both tracks, but in the end: "Night at the Opera" 3-1.
Good choice of cues. They mirror each other in a number of ways.
01) 41 POINTS: "Night At The Opera" (QOS)
02) 23 POINTS: "Shanghai Drive" (SF)
Round #2 --> "Solange" (CR) vs. "Snow Business" (TWINE):
I consider both tracks to be top notch. Each one conveys a wide variety of emotions and senses of wonder. David Arnold is very good when it comes to establishing scenes musically. Personally I prefer Snow Business but it's a draw to me because they are both good.
I loved Night at the Opera. In my opinion, hands down Arnold's best work in his long tenure. However, it is derivative of Barry, which is also probably why I like it so much. In fact, it reminds me of Barry's Gumbald's Safe from OHMSS, just in the way it keeps building and building......and building. I'm not a musical person so I can't describe it properly, but both these tracks remind me of Ravel's Bolero, in the way they keep getting more intense each time the motif replays.
Why I gave the win to Shanghai Drive is due to the fact that it's something new for Bond and still works very well with that scene. Many composers (Arnold included) have messed up the electronica parts of their scores in the past, but Newman nails it with this one. It's modern, spy like and chilling and it fits the modern Shanghai perfectly.
Don't get me wrong - both excellent compositions.
Overall, I really dig TWINEs score.
I still haven't figured out why Arnold chooses these dramatic and somewhat darker compositions for exotic feel-good moments (also exemplified in DAD's water rise of Jinx and Bond's lovemaking to her). I mean, we have a bikini woman on a horse followed by running and smiling kids on a perfect beach, yet the music sounds like we're about to look at war fields with dead bodies strewn everywhere. But it's Arnold's style so what-the-heck. Anyway, Solange sounds better to me than the track from TWINE. It ends on a lighter note, which I certainly appreciate, and I find the composition, I dunno, more polished I guess.
So 3-1 for Snow Business.
Hmmm, good arguments. But, why don't you let "Snow Business" win then. That was a way more joyous, romantic and fun track.....very Barry-esque. Whereas "Solange" for me is quite....melodramatic so to say. I still don't understand why Arnold didn't do much more with melodies like those from "TWINE" ("Snow Business").
I was actually thinking.....wouldn't it be great if the location of Venice, when Bond and Vesper enter Venice with their sailing boat, would have been changed into...uhm.....a romantic alpine village somewhere near Sankt Moritz? Then you could use this wunderful ski sequence way better.....and with it the track "Snow Business".
Anyway, for me:
"Solange" vs. "Snow Business":
1 - 3
Solange wins for me 3-1
For myself, "Snow Business" wins this one.
"Solange" is not a bad track at all. It's subtle, it's lovely, it evokes mystery. But it also sounds incredibly similar to Arnold's "Jinx Jordan" cue and therefore strikes me as rehashed. Also, as with DarthDimi, I'm not sure "Solange" sets the right tone for the scene we're watching. I kind of get what Arnold was going for, but then again I feel like the music is pulling me in a different direction from what I should be feeling. I should be thinking, "Hey, hot girl on a horse," but the music is telling me, "Something mysterious and perhaps even sinister is going on here" while also reminding me a lot of Die Another Day.
"Snow Business" on the other hand is filled with splendor and majesty. My, those french horns! The music fits the scene of Bond and Elektra skiing so perfectly. It captures both the beauty of the mountains and the excitement of Bond's new romantic pursuit. One of the loveliest cues Arnold has written for the franchise. It's a real shame (and a real mystery) that this track didn't make the OST.
This is a close one for me. I love both the music and the scenes on both films. Good tracks to compare.
3-1 for There's No Business Like Snow Business
"Snow business" fails for me. Clearly, it attempts to emulate the Barry sound on a grand scale, playing against a backdrop of white mountain slopes (if I remember correctly). But it seems too forced for me, too much in your face. Also, there is too much echo in the sound. Closing my eyes, I see an orchestra, not a ski scene. The music fails to transport me into the scene.
Clear case: 3:1
Solange for me: 3-1
Casino Royale was by far Arnolds best score, and Solange is one of the higlights of it. Snow business is a strong competitor, but not strong enough.
Btw, am I the only one who feels a strong resemblance between "Snow Business" and the theme song from You Only Live Twice? The melody (in Places) and some of the harmonies are very similar. The score would yet again resemble YOLT in Arnold's next film, DAD.
Arnold's favourite Bond score is You Only Live Twice, so I guess it would make sense for him to draw from it.
Anyway, this is a 2-2 draw for me with these two tracks.
I'd probably give Snow Business the edge if they would ever give it a properly mixed release - something that I don't think is going to happen at this stage.
Solange 1
But both beautiful pieces of music but snow business is stunningly beautiful.
Because then later, like I said in the opening post, you can also see how each track ranks. But only if an exact number of people are voting in a round. I wanted to first change to a new round after 20 people have casted their votes. But due to lack of interest so far, I changed that to 17 people.
Snow Business is okay, but I guess my vote is biased since I didn't listen to TWINE soundtrack that much because I'm not the biggest fan of the movie. BTW, the title track by Garbage is superb, and Casino is a nice one.