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Rate The Various Categories – The Musical Scores. Final Scores!
Welcome to the inaugural“Rate The Various Categories – The Musical Scores!”.
Community Scores Final Scores-
On Her Majesty's Secret Service – 95.08%
A View To A Kill – 89.75%
You Only Live Twice – 89.72%
Moonraker - 86.27%
Goldfinger – 86%
Diamonds Are Forever – 85.4%
Thunderball – 85.08%
The Living Daylights – 83.83%
Octopussy - 81.09%
The Spy Who Loved Me – 79.7%
Live and Let Die - 79.6%
From Russia With Love – 77.5%
Casino Royale - 76.33%
Tomorrow Never Dies – 74%
The Man With The Golden Gun – 72.4%
The World Is Not Enough – 72.18%
For Your Eyes Only – 71.27%
Casino Royale '67 – 70.87%
Quantum of Solace – 70.01%
Skyfall - 68.75%
Licence to Kill – 68.66%
Die Another Day – 66.81%
GoldenEye – 63.58%
Spectre - 60.75%
Dr. No – 51.45%
Never Say Never Again – 29.75%
Like it's sister threads, “Rate The Various Categories Thingy!!! and Rate The Various Categories – The Fleming Novels! ”, we are about do to a little experiment, but this time, we'll be focusing on the James Bond Musical Scores. (EoN and NSNA and CR'67). I have always loved numbers, and I think I have devised a good way in order to rate and rank the Bond scores, in imperial ratings; Sort of gut feeling into numbers.
This way I think we have found a good idea of how our community feels about certain Bond scores, quantitative anyways... In time, how does this differ from your own personal rankings? I hope to generate some good discussions.
I'm going to do one film every couple of weeks, then tot up our totals, and produce an overall percentage, on that score.
I want us the rate the Bond scores, out of ten, on all these key elements -
1. Theme Song - Implementation of the theme song
2. Use of Bond Theme - not how much the Bond theme is in the movie, but does the film use the Bond theme effectively and succinctly.
3. Style – Bond scores are meant to have the élan, sophistication and danger of the man himself.
4. Romance
5. Excitement
6. Brass – what is a Bond score with out the big brassy sounds, implemented by the great man himself, John Barry?
7. Suspense
8. Iconography – when hearing the score you know it is a Bond film, with a capital “B”.
9. Epicness – does the score wow you with its scale.
10. Timelessness – does it feel dated, or just as fresh when it was first released?
This has been on the back burner since the summer. There have been several threads regrading Bondian music, and I didn't want to overload the forum with another musical ratings system.
Plus, I always, at this time of year, start up one of my Rate the Various Categories Threads. (Well, two of them anyway)
Let us begin with the immortal Dr No, 1962 -
1. Theme Song – 10. (The legendary James Bond theme.)
2. Use of Bond Theme - 9
3. Style – 6
4. Romance – 7
5. Excitement - 7
6. Brass – 6
7. Suspense - 7
8. Iconography – 8 (for the way the Bond theme is implemented)
9. Epicness – 6
10. Timelessness – 3 (sounds like a stage play from the 30's at times)
69/100
69%
royale's Rankings -
Dr. No – 69%
A new way of thinking about things. I certainly have not thought about the music this way before. Also, thanks for @DarthDimi for coming up with the idea for this thread, and a few useful suggestions for the categories.
Up to you peeps!
Community Scores Final Scores-
On Her Majesty's Secret Service – 95.08%
A View To A Kill – 89.75%
You Only Live Twice – 89.72%
Moonraker - 86.27%
Goldfinger – 86%
Diamonds Are Forever – 85.4%
Thunderball – 85.08%
The Living Daylights – 83.83%
Octopussy - 81.09%
The Spy Who Loved Me – 79.7%
Live and Let Die - 79.6%
From Russia With Love – 77.5%
Casino Royale - 76.33%
Tomorrow Never Dies – 74%
The Man With The Golden Gun – 72.4%
The World Is Not Enough – 72.18%
For Your Eyes Only – 71.27%
Casino Royale '67 – 70.87%
Quantum of Solace – 70.01%
Skyfall - 68.75%
Licence to Kill – 68.66%
Die Another Day – 66.81%
GoldenEye – 63.58%
Spectre - 60.75%
Dr. No – 51.45%
Never Say Never Again – 29.75%
Like it's sister threads, “Rate The Various Categories Thingy!!! and Rate The Various Categories – The Fleming Novels! ”, we are about do to a little experiment, but this time, we'll be focusing on the James Bond Musical Scores. (EoN and NSNA and CR'67). I have always loved numbers, and I think I have devised a good way in order to rate and rank the Bond scores, in imperial ratings; Sort of gut feeling into numbers.
This way I think we have found a good idea of how our community feels about certain Bond scores, quantitative anyways... In time, how does this differ from your own personal rankings? I hope to generate some good discussions.
I'm going to do one film every couple of weeks, then tot up our totals, and produce an overall percentage, on that score.
I want us the rate the Bond scores, out of ten, on all these key elements -
1. Theme Song - Implementation of the theme song
2. Use of Bond Theme - not how much the Bond theme is in the movie, but does the film use the Bond theme effectively and succinctly.
3. Style – Bond scores are meant to have the élan, sophistication and danger of the man himself.
4. Romance
5. Excitement
6. Brass – what is a Bond score with out the big brassy sounds, implemented by the great man himself, John Barry?
7. Suspense
8. Iconography – when hearing the score you know it is a Bond film, with a capital “B”.
9. Epicness – does the score wow you with its scale.
10. Timelessness – does it feel dated, or just as fresh when it was first released?
This has been on the back burner since the summer. There have been several threads regrading Bondian music, and I didn't want to overload the forum with another musical ratings system.
Plus, I always, at this time of year, start up one of my Rate the Various Categories Threads. (Well, two of them anyway)
Let us begin with the immortal Dr No, 1962 -
1. Theme Song – 10. (The legendary James Bond theme.)
2. Use of Bond Theme - 9
3. Style – 6
4. Romance – 7
5. Excitement - 7
6. Brass – 6
7. Suspense - 7
8. Iconography – 8 (for the way the Bond theme is implemented)
9. Epicness – 6
10. Timelessness – 3 (sounds like a stage play from the 30's at times)
69/100
69%
royale's Rankings -
Dr. No – 69%
A new way of thinking about things. I certainly have not thought about the music this way before. Also, thanks for @DarthDimi for coming up with the idea for this thread, and a few useful suggestions for the categories.
Up to you peeps!
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Comments
Dr No, 1962
1. Theme Song – 10. (The legendary James Bond theme.) -> Seconded!
2. Use of Bond Theme - 7 (There are moments when the theme is used and cut in a rather clumsy way.
3. Style – 5 (I think Norman could have done better.)
4. Romance – 7 (Underneath the mango tree is passable.)
5. Excitement - 5 (Mèh)
6. Brass – 6
7. Suspense - 4 (Only when the Bond Theme plays... somewhat, and on a few other occasions.)
8. Iconography – 5 (Apart from the Bond Theme, not much iconic stuff.)
9. Epicness – 6
10. Timelessness – 2 (Outdated the next year.)
57%
DD's Rankings
Dr. No – 57%
1. Theme Song – 8 (I'm including Kingston Calypso in this)
2. Use of Bond Theme - 7
3. Style – 4 (loud, overly dramatic in places. The musical equivalent of Bond's rather OTT reaction to the video of White's death in SP)
4. Romance – 3 (nothing really springs to mind)
5. Excitement - 5
6. Brass – 4 (a little too brassy)
7. Suspense - 4
8. Iconography – 4 (same as Dimi above)
9. Epicness – 2 (this is no Barry)
10. Timelessness – 1 (aged horribly)
42/100
42%
Mayday's ranking thus far:
DN - 42%
Good to see some stalwarts playing ;-)
2. Use of Bond Theme - 9
3. Style – 5
4. Romance – 6
5. Excitement - 4
6. Brass – 5
7. Suspense - 4
8. Iconography – 3
9. Epicness – 5
10. Timelessness – 2
Dr. No is my least favourite score of the franchise. The James Bond Theme is its only saving grace. The outdated soundtrack is also the sore point of this otherwise excellent movie.
He took the name from the banker who recommended Fleming for service in Naval Intelligence, Montagu Norman.
2. Use of Bond Theme - 9
3. Style – 4
4. Romance – 5
5. Excitement - 4
6. Brass – 5
7. Suspense - 3
8. Iconography – 2
9. Epicness – 1
10. Timelessness – 1
Probably the weakest of the bunch for me.
Now you've made me curious :D .
Which one are you referring to?
1. Theme Song – 10 (Agree With what has been said already.)
2. Use of Bond Theme - 7
3. Style – 3
4. Romance – 3 (Not much of it)
5. Excitement - 5
6. Brass – 4
7. Suspense - 4
8. Iconography – 2
9. Epicness – 3
10. Timelessness – 1 (nothing more to say)
42/100
1. Theme Song – 10 (First use of the James Bond theme, and a version that still sounds good today)
2. Use of Bond Theme - 7 (Good, but they use it way too much)
3. Style – 2 (Sucks)
4. Romance – 3 (Can't really think of anything, but it's definitely not devoid of emotion)
5. Excitement - 4 (The score works in some tense scenes and adds some atmosphere to them. Otherwise, nothing exciting).
6. Brass – 5 (Not really a fan of brass, as it's my least favorite instrument family, but DN has a fair amount of brass IIRC)
7. Suspense - 4 (If I try to think of suspense and DN, I could only think of those strange whirs and beeps as the white dots cross the screen before the gunbarrel, just because it sounds dreadful... the score itself has a few suspenseful moments but nothing exceptional)
8. Iconography – 4 (Only because it was the debut of the James Bond theme, otherwise it's only iconic in how dated it is)
9. Epicness – 4 (It's just not epic at all. The points are there for the theme song, everything else doesn't contribute in any way)
10. Timelessness – 1 (Dated and a time capsule of the late 50's/early 60's)
Average - 40% - A very forgettable score, and when you listen to it, it's either uninspiring or outright poor. You really long for Barry's later masterpieces when you listen to the score in Dr No. The only thing keeping this score from being rock bottom is the James Bond theme, but even then, that's used way too much early on.
I think I'll be glad when it comes to From Russia With Love, though, which is a markedly better score.
2. Use of Bond Theme - 7
3. Style – 4
4. Romance – 2
5. Excitement - 6
6. Brass – 6
7. Suspense - 7
8. Iconography – 6
9. Epicness – 3
10. Timelessness – 1
1. Theme Song – 10
2. Use of Bond Theme - 8
3. Style – 5
4. Romance – 5 (UTMT is great but nothing else stands out.)
5. Excitement - 5
6. Brass – 5
7. Suspense - 5
8. Iconography – 2
9. Epicness – 2
10. Timelessness – 5 (It's dated but that's part of its charm.)
Final score - 52%
That sounds about right. The Bond theme is magnificent, obviously. The rest is certainly passable but there isn't anything that wows you. Still, I can dig its vibe as a unique entry into the series. It just can't hold a candle to what came after.
Dr. No
1. Theme Song – 10 (The classic one, spiced with a cute calypso)
2. Use of Bond Theme - 0 (Monty Norman's alternative "Bond Theme" was a much different one than the one we know and love. It's a repetitive and uninspired theme we hear a lot in the album, but not in the movie. Norman used and abused it).
3. Style – 7 (actually not that bad despite the "alternate James Bond Theme". Byron Lee and Ernest Ranglin played here, and their presence shows).
4. Romance – 5 ("Underneath The Mango Tree" is a nice romantic theme, but it's the only one to be found there)
5. Excitement - 1 (yep, I find this stylish and nice to hear but it's even less exciting than Legrand's score for NSNA. The most exciting piece is an early synth hodgepodge that will get in your nerves).
6. Brass – 6 (mediocrily Mancini-esque in some moments, when the Dragonaires do their acts it gets better, but it's not Bond at all).
7. Suspense - 0 (less suspense than excitement)
8. Iconography – 1 (just a passable product of the era. Nothing iconic here. However, my mother told me that UTMT was popular in my country when she was a little girl. Go figure: I'll put a point).
9. Epicness – 0 (Not exciting, not suspenseful, not epic)
10. Timelessness – 5 (Like Pachazo says, it has a very early 60s charm, but overall it's mediocre).
Final score - 35 %
Cute (yes, that's the word) but unremarkable score whose only note of interest is the inclusion of the original James Bond Theme and some pleasant playing by Byron Lee & The Dragonaires, featuring the great guitarist Ernest Ranglin, who mastered a reaggae-infused jazz-funk style from the 70s to day.
And here's my working -
R65 – 69
dd- 57
may- 42
bs- 80
gg- 53
md- 44
jobo- 42
fy- 40
ta- 52
pa- 52
blm- 35
566/1100 = 51.45%
Dr. No is currently top of the leaderboard! Whoop!
Community Scores -
Dr. No - 51.45%
See you tomorrow for the next 'un.....
James Bond will return...
Well done, Mr Nosorevitch.
From Russia With Love, 1963
Just a reminder of the categories -
1. Theme Song - Implementation of the theme song
2. Use of Bond Theme - not how much the Bond theme is in the movie, but does the film use the Bond theme effectively and succinctly.
3. Style – Bond scores are meant to have the élan, sophistication and danger of the man himself.
4. Romance
5. Excitement
6. Brass – what is a Bond score with out the big brassy sounds, implemented by the great man himself, John Barry?
7. Suspense
8. Iconography – when hearing the score you know it is a Bond film, with a capital “B”.
9. Epicness – does the score wow you with its scale.
10. Timelessness – does it feel dated, or just as fresh when it was first released?
1. Theme Song – 7 (not a fan of the lounge style song, but it's used effectively throughout, esp. the main titles)
2. Use of Bond Theme - 9
3. Style – 9
4. Romance – 9 (ah, the use of strings!)
5. Excitement - 9
6. Brass – 8
7. Suspense - 10
8. Iconography – 8 (for the way the Bond theme is implemented)
9. Epicness – 7
10. Timelessness – 7 (probably the most dated of Barry's scores)
83/100
83%
royale's Rankings -
From Russia With Love - 83%
Dr. No – 69%
Not a bad debut from Mr Barry.
2. Use of Bond Theme - 9
3. Style – 7
4. Romance – 5
5. Excitement - 7
6. Brass – 8
7. Suspense - 6
8. Iconography – 6
9. Epicness – 5
10. Timelessness – 5
From Russia With Love - 75% Pretty good but not my favorite Barry Score.
2. Use of Bond Theme - 9
3. Style – 8
4. Romance – 6
5. Excitement - 8
6. Brass – 9
7. Suspense - 8
8. Iconography – 7
9. Epicness – 7
10. Timelessness –7
Not Barry's greatest but a very appropriate score for this Cold War spy classic.
Total: 78%
2. Use of Bond Theme - 7 (not sure Bond checking his hotel room warrants the Bond theme)
3. Style – 9
4. Romance – 8
5. Excitement - 9
6. Brass – 7
7. Suspense - 7
8. Iconography – 8
9. Epicness – 8
10. Timelessness – 7
78/100
78%
Better than anything from 1989-2015, but not quite Barry's best.
MayDay's ranking:
FRWL- 78%
DN- 42%
1. Theme Song – 9. (At least for the instrumental version)
2. Use of Bond Theme - 8 (Better use of it than in DN)
3. Style – 8 (Barry made it happen right away)
4. Romance – 6 (Fairly little romance in the music)
5. Excitement - 7 (Some really impressive moments)
6. Brass – 6
7. Suspense - 9 (Already in the PTS)
8. Iconography – 9 (Pure Bond)
9. Epicness – 8
10. Timelessness – 7
77%
DD's Rankings
Dr. No – 57%
From Russia With Love - 77%
1. Theme Song – 7 (Lovingly crafted song both in the beginning and end credits. Matt Monro's - and the chipmunk! Don't forget the chipmunk! - crooning is inspired, but I prefer the lounge version)
2. Use of Bond Theme - 7 (Barry introduced his own, adventurous Bond theme, 007, which I find inferior to the Monty Norman one).
3. Style – 10 (It's Barry's debut, and he does great for a "beginner")
4. Romance – 8 (not the most romantic of Barry's, but still great)
5. Excitement - 10 (just listen to these action themes, like 007 or Girl Trouble)
6. Brass – 8 (for its time and genre, it was quite brassy)
7. Suspense - 10 (splendid, maybe the best Barry score in this specific category).
8. Iconography – 7 (it may sound generic nowadays, but it's the first work by one of the finest cinema composers)
9. Epicness – 6 (the just measure)
10. Timelessness – 6 (sorry to say this, but I also find this sountrack a bit dated to today's standards)
79/100: Only Erich Wolfgang Korngold (Adventures Of Robin Hood) and Isaac Hayes (Shaft) beat Barry's debut as the best original first work by an music composer (Korngold worked as an arranger before AORH) in Cinema History in my book. That's about it.
BLM ratings:
DN: 35 %
FRWL: 79 %
2. Use of Bond Theme - 8
3. Style – 8
4. Romance – 6
5. Excitement - 8
6. Brass – 7
7. Suspense - 9
8. Iconography – 8
9. Epicness – 7
10. Timelessness – 6
Tanaka123 Rankings
From Russia with Love - 74%
Dr. No - 52%
Done ;)
2. Use of Bond Theme - 8 (A fair usage of it - definitely not as overused as in DN. The 007 theme also comes up for the first time)
3. Style – 8 (Encapsulates the atmosphere of the film and Bond in general)
4. Romance – 8 (Not as romantic as some of Barry's other scores, but still up there)
5. Excitement - 7 (It's pretty exciting at times, and it definitely beatsDr No in this category)
6. Brass – 6 (Doesn't seem too strong but a fair amount of it)
7. Suspense - 8 (Quite suspenseful when it needs to be, which works perfectly for some scenes)
8. Iconography – 7 (Clearly a Bond score, but not quite as clear as some other ones)
9. Epicness – 8 (I find it quite enjoyable myself)
10. Timelessness – 6 (Something of a 60's time capsule, it's not really timeless but it does have that enduring aura)
75% - Huh. If I had been asked to rank the score as a whole instead of dissecting it and gathering those parts for an average, I'd have given it something like 83%. I'm a bit surprised by how low the average is, but it's still a fairly good number and definitely a massive improvement over DN, as I expected.
ForYourEyesOnly's Rankings
Dr No - 40%
From Russia With Love - 75%