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The David Arnold Appreciation Thread.

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  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,215
    goldenswissroyale wrote: »
    I have to admit that my CR Soundtrack isn't played often. THe Soundtrack works fine in combination with the movie (and Casino Royale in concert was awesome) but the soundtrack as a stand alone isn't enough catchy. However, the QoS soundtrack is very strong.

    Much agreed.
  • SaintMarkSaintMark
    Posts: 7,653
    Thunderfinger wrote: »
    GadgetMan wrote: »
    mtm wrote: »
    There's an interview podcast with Arnold here if you fancy:


    Oh! My! This Interview felt nostalgic for me. And Arnold is very right.....his QoS score was really changing his Bond Sound, adding more heart & intensity, but still very much Bondian. I really wished he scored scored SF....maybe he would have added some good Celtic Bondian sounds when Bond was approaching Scotland.

    Interesting comments. QOS is in a league of its own. The best non-Barry Bond score by far.

    Really and what About LALD or LTK or even TSWLM which left us with two classic moments (Nobody does it better and Bond '77) I cannot recall anything from the generic QoS soundtrack.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,231
    SaintMark wrote: »
    Thunderfinger wrote: »
    GadgetMan wrote: »
    mtm wrote: »
    There's an interview podcast with Arnold here if you fancy:


    Oh! My! This Interview felt nostalgic for me. And Arnold is very right.....his QoS score was really changing his Bond Sound, adding more heart & intensity, but still very much Bondian. I really wished he scored scored SF....maybe he would have added some good Celtic Bondian sounds when Bond was approaching Scotland.

    Interesting comments. QOS is in a league of its own. The best non-Barry Bond score by far.

    Really and what About LALD or LTK or even TSWLM which left us with two classic moments (Nobody does it better and Bond '77) I cannot recall anything from the generic QoS soundtrack.

    They're good too. Just not as good.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,215
    They’re all kind of the same to me, aside from LALD, which I have no particular fondness for. I don’t even care for the McCarthy title song.

    Now, FYEO? That I actually dig.
  • ResurrectionResurrection Kolkata, India
    Posts: 2,541
    No one came close to Barry. Other soundtracks are only enjoyable in film. Barry soundtracks can be enjoyed separately, that's what makes him best.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,215
    Pretty much. There's Barry, and then there's the rest. I know Arnold has his loyal fans and see him as the heir apparent, but he's never been that to me. I'm much more open to seeing newer composers have a crack at Bond rather than stick with just one composer. There will never be another John Barry, much like how for Star Wars there will never be a another John Williams.
  • GadgetManGadgetMan Lagos, Nigeria
    edited May 2020 Posts: 4,247
    Whenever I listen to Howard Shore's Middle earth scores, I always think to myself that apart from David Arnold, Howard Shore is another Composer that has 'Barry' in him.....it's very evident in his score for the DESOLATION OF SMAUG....Check out this track-'PROTECTOR OF THE COMMON FOLK' as it contains majority of the themes.

  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 16,597
    MakeshiftPython wrote: »
    Pretty much. There's Barry, and then there's the rest. I know Arnold has his loyal fans and see him as the heir apparent, but he's never been that to me. I'm much more open to seeing newer composers have a crack at Bond rather than stick with just one composer. There will never be another John Barry, much like how for Star Wars there will never be a another John Williams.

    Although weirdly I think Williams' style is easier to get closer to than Barry's is. John Powell's score for Solo (admittedly using quite a lot of Williams' themes) gets the feel right.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,215
    I actually think you could easily capture Barry. I think the challenge is that contemporary films demand a faster tempo which is what Arnold did, but Barry was never about matching the tempo of action. His music tended to be slower, which was his smart way of cutting through the action rather than attempt to be on top of it. It's what made them so memorable. For example that action cue from OP, it's not set to match what's happening on the screen but rather be something that's a one size fits all, as Barry uses that same cue several times throughout the film with action scenes that have a different rhythm. Yet it works perfectly. That's something Arnold never really captured for me.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    edited May 2020 Posts: 16,597
    Yes someone on here (I think) gave a very technical description of Barry's technique which sounded believable (I don't know much about music theory!) so I guess in prospect it can be done, and yet I've never heard anyone do it. Maybe no-one has really tried as there's no real point of course(!) but I've never heard a bit of music and wondered if it's Barry only for it to turn out not to be.
    I think the only time Arnold actually attempted full-on Barry was City of Lovers from CR, and he did manage it, but that sort of thing was atypical of Barry's scoring style anyway.
    MakeshiftPython wrote: »
    For example that action cue from OP, it's not set to match what's happening on the screen but rather be something that's a one size fits all, as Barry uses that same cue several times throughout the film with action scenes that have a different rhythm. Yet it works perfectly. That's something Arnold never really captured for me.

    I must admit I was disappointed he didn't just play out YKMN as an action cue at some point in the movie, kind of like how Barry used TLD as an action cue over stuff like the assassination escape etc. A big brassy version of YKMN over the tanker truck sequence or something would have been good I think.
  • mattjoesmattjoes Pay more attention to your chef
    Posts: 7,057
    MakeshiftPython wrote: »
    I actually think you could easily capture Barry. I think the challenge is that contemporary films demand a faster tempo which is what Arnold did, but Barry was never about matching the tempo of action. His music tended to be slower, which was his smart way of cutting through the action rather than attempt to be on top of it. It's what made them so memorable. For example that action cue from OP, it's not set to match what's happening on the screen but rather be something that's a one size fits all, as Barry uses that same cue several times throughout the film with action scenes that have a different rhythm. Yet it works perfectly. That's something Arnold never really captured for me.
    I believe the composers who score films that way are a minority.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,215
    Likely because composers like John Williams popularized the method of having the music react/sync with the action rather than serve more of a mood setter. Cues like “Ski Chase” from OHMSS are slow in comparison to something like “Ice Bandits”.
  • OctopussyOctopussy Piz Gloria, Schilthorn, Switzerland.
    Posts: 1,081
    MakeshiftPython wrote: »
    I actually think you could easily capture Barry. I think the challenge is that contemporary films demand a faster tempo which is what Arnold did, but Barry was never about matching the tempo of action. His music tended to be slower, which was his smart way of cutting through the action rather than attempt to be on top of it. It's what made them so memorable. For example that action cue from OP, it's not set to match what's happening on the screen but rather be something that's a one size fits all, as Barry uses that same cue several times throughout the film with action scenes that have a different rhythm. Yet it works perfectly. That's something Arnold never really captured for me.

    Nailed it.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,231


    Love Arnold's work on this cue.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 16,597
    Lots of energetic stuff there, certainly! One of the main melodies in it kind of picks up from the nice tune towards the end of in Underwater Discovery from TND which I always liked.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    edited June 2020 Posts: 8,231
    mtm wrote: »
    Lots of energetic stuff there, certainly! One of the main melodies in it kind of picks up from the nice tune towards the end of in Underwater Discovery from TND which I always liked.

    I much prefer his work on Godzilla to that of Independence Day, personally. That cue is just one example of why.

    Oh, before I forget....the motif that pops up again in TWINE is heard here in the recently released expanded edition of Godzilla, it starts around 1:17. In TWINE, it appears when M uses the clock to power the locator card.

  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    edited June 2020 Posts: 16,597
    Oh yes I've got it. It's a bit nicer in TWINE, he dwells on it a bit longer and it's a bit more delicate. That track almost sounds like a kit of parts from TND & TWINE! :)
  • MalloryMallory
    Posts: 2,171
    David Arnold is being interviewed this Saturday (July 25th) as part of The Bond Experience's YouTube livestream "Operation Freefall". I would imagine nearly all of the conversation will be Bond related so should be a good watch.
  • LeonardPineLeonardPine The Bar on the Beach
    Posts: 4,078
    Mallory wrote: »
    David Arnold is being interviewed this Saturday (July 25th) as part of The Bond Experience's YouTube livestream "Operation Freefall". I would imagine nearly all of the conversation will be Bond related so should be a good watch.

    Thanks. Look forward to watching it.
  • ResurrectionResurrection Kolkata, India
    Posts: 2,541
    Incase someone missed it.
  • mattjoesmattjoes Pay more attention to your chef
    Posts: 7,057
    Resurrection wrote: »
    Incase someone missed it.
    Thank you very much, @Resurrection, I'll give this a watch!
  • ResurrectionResurrection Kolkata, India
    Posts: 2,541
    Welcome @mattjoes :)
  • LeonardPineLeonardPine The Bar on the Beach
    edited July 2020 Posts: 4,078
    Resurrection wrote: »
    Incase someone missed it.

    Really good interview (even though dear David looked a bit hungover..!)

    Interesting that he came up with the idea for 'You Know My Name' from seeing Daniel Craig crash through a wall. Also the fact that the song was done as if it was Bond telling it as a warning.

    Also cool is his recollection of doing the TND score was to have one foot in the 60's and one in the 90's

    Nice to know Arnold is still a huge Bond fan as well.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 16,597
    Funny to think the 60s was as far away from the 90s as the 90s is from this decade :D
  • TorgeirtrapTorgeirtrap
    Posts: 17,819
    mtm wrote: »
    Funny to think the 60s was as far away from the 90s as the 90s is from this decade :D

    giphy.gif

    I can't believe that the years go by so fast!
  • mattjoesmattjoes Pay more attention to your chef
    Posts: 7,057
    Torgeirtrap wrote: »
    mtm wrote: »
    Funny to think the 60s was as far away from the 90s as the 90s is from this decade :D

    giphy.gif

    I can't believe that the years go by so fast!

    I've got to watch that episode again; it's one of the best. Especially when he's dreaming that the other guest is laughing while holding the oysters.

    Also, he has a photo of Shirley Bassey.
  • TorgeirtrapTorgeirtrap
    edited July 2020 Posts: 17,819
    mattjoes wrote: »
    Torgeirtrap wrote: »
    mtm wrote: »
    Funny to think the 60s was as far away from the 90s as the 90s is from this decade :D

    giphy.gif

    I can't believe that the years go by so fast!

    I've got to watch that episode again; it's one of the best. Especially when he's dreaming that the other guest is laughing while holding the oysters.

    Also, he has a photo of Shirley Bassey.

    It's a classic!

    I had completely forgot about that. Such a random thing to include in the luggage. :))
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    SaintMark wrote: »
    Thunderfinger wrote: »
    GadgetMan wrote: »
    mtm wrote: »
    There's an interview podcast with Arnold here if you fancy:


    Oh! My! This Interview felt nostalgic for me. And Arnold is very right.....his QoS score was really changing his Bond Sound, adding more heart & intensity, but still very much Bondian. I really wished he scored scored SF....maybe he would have added some good Celtic Bondian sounds when Bond was approaching Scotland.

    Interesting comments. QOS is in a league of its own. The best non-Barry Bond score by far.

    Really and what About LALD or LTK or even TSWLM which left us with two classic moments (Nobody does it better and Bond '77) I cannot recall anything from the generic QoS soundtrack.

    +1.

    LALD & LTK are far superior scores.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,231
    Perhaps we should have an appreciation thread for them, then.
  • mattjoesmattjoes Pay more attention to your chef
    Posts: 7,057
    Resurrection wrote: »
    Incase someone missed it.
    Cool interview. I enjoyed hearing David Arnold talk about the inspiration for YKMN (and his explanation for giving it that title makes perfect sense).

    I didn't know he had created music for the CR screen tests.

    I also liked hearing him talk about his excitement at watching the GE teaser trailer.

    I would agree with Arnold that his music isn't too much about homages and quotations of older scores. The "machine gun brass" in TND is pretty much the same as the beginning of the FRWL title music, but that's about the only really clear reference to an older score, as far as I can remember. He writes in the same idiom as John Barry, but he does his own thing.

    It's also very cool that he knows Warren Ringham and Q The Music Show.
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