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Definitely need to check that one out. I listen regularly to the two recordings included in the Film Score Monthly release, and I wouldn't mind a third recording!
Didn't know that about the Dirty Harry scores; it seems like a lot of film music never gets a proper release - at least not around the time of release of the film they're from.
I don't think I've heard the scores for Charley Varrick and Prime Cut. Are the films any good?
I've only seen the former, and it's terrific. I'm interested to watch the latter in full; I've only seen parts of it but the premise is interesting and crazy, and the music vintage Schifrin awesomeness.
Watched the trailers for both films last night, and they look like films worth checking out!
Yes, it is!
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069121/
Source and sample video here:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2368439073411730
Sounds great! Also nice to see Steven Saltzman at the end.
While I find the vocal version melancholic, the instrumental is not quite the same for me-- it's more otherwordly than melancholic. Allow me a little rant: every once in a while, when I take a stroll around the city at night, certain places I walk by feel slightly different than the way I remembered them, as if everything in front of me appeared to be in place, but the whole city had been grabbed by a giant crane and placed in another country. I don't know if you understand what I mean, and it's kind of hard to explain in another way, but it's a strange but oddly gratifying feel. This music reminded me of that. It's not happy nor sad, it's the background score of someone noticing something transcendental they'd never seen in before, hidden in plain sight.
Vocal:
Instrumental (posted it before but for completeness' sake):
I guess what makes the vocal version melancholic to me, is the tremble in the voices. I'm sort of reminded of the melancholic tremble of Roy Orbison's voice, but also for some reason Jefferson Airplane… Don't know if that makes much sense, but that's what I'm hearing.
I see the similarity with Jefferson Airplane, at least in a song like White Rabbit.
Listen here.
A) "And How to Get It", from The Knack...and How to Get It (1965)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=K_BzG_eyel4&t=19m57s
This are several arrangements of this fantastic theme in the soundtrack album (not to mention an extra recording that Barry did of it, and which is available on the Themependium album). I give this one the edge over the others because I like the choice of instruments for playing the A section of the melody, especially at 20:57 in the video, where it is performed by xylophone, pizzicato violins, harp, celli and violas. Great combination of high-pitched percussive sounds and sustained lows. I also really like the exciting organ improvisation by Alan Haven at 21:14. The version of the theme included in the Themependium compilation would be my second favorite. Beautiful music, endlessly elegant in every way.
B) Theme from The Persuaders! (1971)
Another very elegant composition, which much like the title sequence of the show, appears to focus on the high life of the protagonists in a very straight-faced way, while not paying much attention to the adventure elements of the show. There is something quirky and subtly tense about the high-pitched synth playing behind the melody, insistently going up and down a semitone. It sounds almost defiant, arrogant. Aristocratic. Incidentally, the shorter, faster version of the theme heard in the intro of the show was released (in mono) on the Music of ITC album.
C) "Follow, Follow" from Follow Me! (1972)
I'm just going to quote myself from a previous post.
D) "Candle Light" from Until September (1984)
Very warm music, though not without a hint of danger and uneasiness in the chord progression-- a typical Barry touch that appers to reflect the intoxicating, overwhelming experience of witnessing great beauty. I love the guitar arpeggios and how the theme "blossoms" at 0:42 after the long introduction. It feels positive and transcendental, thus perfectly capturing the spell of love.
E) "Did You Call Me" from The Specialist (1994) ('Music from the Motion Picture' album)
Incredibly sexy and passionate theme. Definitely more lustful than romantic. Impeccable sax by Ronnie Lang and piano improvisation by Michael Lang. I adore that voluptuous phrase played on basses which goes down the chromatic scale. It is heard at 1:05, 1:09, etc. It's like a musical representation of a caress. This is another rendition of the theme that I really like, with those cavernous-sounding strings.
There are some more lighthearted compositions that would come in the next tier for me, such as Hitch-Hike to Darwin from The Dove (1974) and Valley Chase from The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981).
What are your favorite non-Bond Barry compositions?
I have a hard time picking real favourites because there is so much good stuff (same with my Morricone and Williams collection...). I only discovered some gems after really getting into John Barry about ten years ago. But the following is really not a best-of list, only some that weren't mentioned in this thread, AFAIK. In no particular order, but straight from my heart.
Like this one (along with most of the rest of the score), quite brilliant (and so is Downey in the title role). An unfairly lambasted movie and among my favourites.
And this is probably the earliest John Barry theme that I remember from my childhood days, over fifty years ago (not knowing the name John Barry until much later):
The following is not the original recording, but nevertheless one of Barry's most beautiful and melancholic themes IMO. And while I think that DWW is Costner's masterpiece (as opposed to a lot of mediocre stuff), the score is still the best part of it.
Nuff for now... I may be back.
Main Theme - The Persuaders
Main Theme - The Ipcress File
Main Theme - The Lion In Winter
Romance For Guitar & Orchestra - Deadfall
The Ipcress File - Main Title
Love the jazzy score of The Ipcress File, and how it fits the tone of the film. It's also a score that's on regular rotation on my Spotify playlists.
The Persuaders - Main Theme
This must be one of the best ever TV series themes, right? It's just brilliant.
The Adventurer - Main Theme
Another great TV series theme by Barry. Not often mentioned, but I do like to listen to this one.
The Knack... And How To Get It - Ecstasy
Lovely score, and I really like this track in particular. I need to watch the film at some point!
Impressive numbers! My own collection is more modest but interestingly enough, I've also decided I don't want to run out of "new" Barry scores to listen to for a long time, so I'm in no rush to go through his entire oeuvre.
Speaking of those composers, I find Morricone is cut from the same cloth as Barry. They often aim for a similar "feeling" in their music, from within their respective styles, of course. And Morricone's filmography is so extensive! Just the other day I was listening to some of his music for a film with Lino Ventura I'd never even heard of, Espion lève-toi. Very nice, with a noirish flugelhorn and those dreamy strings he often includes in his scores.
I don't care too much for Williams' bombastic scores, I must say. I enjoy Raiders of the Lost Ark, but Star Wars leaves me completely cold. (Blasphemy for others, perhaps, but for instance, that Battle of Hoth music-- ugh. Not for me! Too frantic and far removed from something that could awaken true adrenaline and emotion in me.) I've enjoyed more subtle scores by him, such as Presumed Innocent.
Good choices for Barry themes there. I love the John Dunbar Theme. On the second half of the film version of the theme, you get these beautiful violin ornaments that totally heighten the emotion. Another great cue from the score would be the theme of Two Socks, the wolf, in both of its renditions.
The main theme doesn't sound bad with bagpipes, by the way.
@vzok
Main Title / Bogota 1984 works perfectly with the images in the film, especially when James Woods throws away the device to disable the bombs and Stallone runs through the bridge. There is a hopelessness in the music. I love this score. Very moody and low-key, but highly engrossing.
Clever choice with that subtle synthesizer mimicking a piano in the Lion in Winter theme. I love the offbeat brass accents throughout the piece.
My favorite part of Romance for Guitar and Orchestra is from 7:38 to 8:28 in the video. Great buildup.
@Torgeirtrap
I thought of including The Adventurer theme myself, but came to the conclusion I rank it slightly lower. It's a great theme nonetheless. I like the faster pace of the version heard in the opening of the show, so I took the slower single version (which is in stereo, unlike the faster version which has only been released in mono) and sped it up to match the pace of the faster version.
Ecstacy is likely my second favorite composition from the score. I've always liked how it comes to a halt at 1:53 before coming back to life again. That xylophone that goes back and forth between two notes is a typical Barry touch. This album has great sound quality.
I've not seen the film either, though I did see a very surreal chase scene from it.
Do you fellas gravitate more toward early Barry or late Barry (say, from the mid-eighties onwards)? I prefer early Barry, myself. His instrumentation is not as inventive in that later period, and his slower-paced music is a bit less compelling at times. That said, I still find much to enjoy in late Barry scores.
@mattjoes
I've never actually thought about the tempo difference between the one I posted and the one at the opening of The Adventurer, but I agree the opening title version is probably a little bit better. Also, notice the NTTD connection it the opening titles!
Good point about the halt at 1:53. I like how Barry did stuff like that. It kept things interesting. As for the score, it's definitely a very enjoyable one; I wonder if the film matches the quality of the music!
It depends on the mood and situation for me. For general listening I prefer early Barry (60's Barry in particular, with The Ipcress File, TB and OHMSS my go-to scores). If I'm working on something on my laptop and I'm in mood for something different, I might find myself picking later Barry – but mostly Bond scores.
I do like the title sequence, though. Gene Barry's punch seems a bit slow however!
Nothing spoilery! It's the font, Futura Black – used in the opening titles of The Adventurer and as the basis for the title logo of NTTD :-D
Barry's punch is definitely a bit slow! It's almost like you could duck away from it!
Oh, @Torgeirtrap, how did I miss that! I really like that font and the logo of NTTD (still haven't taken a good look at the poster, though.)
Well, the teaser poster isn't much to talk about really, but I too like the title logo for NTTD. Man in a Suitcase also uses the same font:
Man in a Suitcase was also filmed at Pinewood Studios – another NTTD/Bond connection.
I'm not familiar with that show but I enjoy the intro.
Man in a Suitcase aired for one season during 1967-68 and starred as Richard Bradford as McGill, a former U.S. intelligence agent who's forced out of the agency for something he didn't do, and who spends his time taking on private assignments. I'm in the middle of watching the series myself.
Thanks for the info. I see it's an ITC show as well.
Barry's impressions of Guy Hamilton, Tom Jones and others are pretty funny. Shame that the interview is so brief. They always seem to focus on the early Bond films. I wish I could hear Barry's thoughts on the later scores.
Another interesting thing to point out. Barry says:
"I think Pierce, actually, is the closest in terms of attitude to what Sean was. He's the nearest thing."
I understand it is rumored this was intended to be the main song for OHMSS before We Have All the Time in the World. However, as far as I can tell, this is not confirmed. The book John Barry: The Man with the Midas Touch does not clarify it. The song could have been merely conceived as a B-side for Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown, which is in fact what it was used for.
Still, very nice. It really sounds like autumn, as the video suggests.
A lovely tune this, and one I don't think I've ever heard before!
This is another great piece from the same album.
IIRC, someone over at the Film Score Monthly forums pointed out it's an unusual one for Barry, in the sense that it seems to lack a "main" melody, that is, one made up from the long phrases that are customary for him. In this case, the violin phrase introduced at the beginning is repeated over and over again, with little variation, with only the mandolins adding some more melodic complexity. It seems to me this is a common approach from Barry for scoring certain types of scenes in films, but it's kind of unusual for an album-only piece.
Still, very soothing and beautiful.
From the “Moviola” (1993) special.
Part 1:
Part 2: