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Comments
FRWL: 1
The instrumental music gives it a slight edge, with otherwise contrasting styles of vocals that are effective in their own right.
WOTW will end up in my Top 10 and be in good company together with FRWL, YOLT and TWINE which are all in the same category. Of course AVTAK and GE will always occupy my No 1 and No 2 spot :-*
As I use Apple Music I will give Sam's multi Grammy winning album a good listen, maybe I missed out on something good there.
ie max points to epic Monroe 007 classic and zero to new Smith stinker.
WOTW might yes do good battle with Scott Walker effort, and don't forget that Eric Serra droner from GE end titles, The Experience of Love.
01) 51 POINTS: "Flight Into Space" (MR) -- maximum possible points
02) 42 POINTS: "Time To Get Out" (QOS)
03) 41 POINTS: "Night At The Opera" (QOS)
04) 37 POINTS: "Snow Business" (TWINE)
05) 36 POINTS: "From Russia With Love" (title song FRWL)
06) 36 POINTS: "Big Band Death Jack Petachi" (NSNA)
07) 33 POINTS: "Writing's On The Wall" (SP)
08) 32 POINTS: "Solange" (CR)
09) 32 POINTS: "It Had To Be You" (TND)
10) 26 POINTS: "The Bloody Shot" (SF)
11) 23 POINTS: "Shanghai Drive" (SF)
12) 17 POINTS: "Following The Diamonds" (DAF) -- minimum possible points
Round #7 -->
"Sévérine's Theme" (SP):
composed and conducted by Thomas Newman, orchestrated by J.A.C. Redford
vs.
"Andrea Anders' Theme" (TMWTGG)
composed and conducted by John Barry
Two great slow-tempo, erotic and mysterious sounding pieces of music? And I often compared these two tracks myself, as I find Thomas Newman here at his "Barry-Best". So, which one is the best?
Please use this format when you're ready to post our score:
--> name title track A vs. name title track B
--> 3 - 1
--> 1 - 3
--> 2 - 2
It makes it easier to sum up the scores.
Anyway, here are the tracks:
3 - 1
One of the few tracks I enjoy from Newman's score. TMWTGG's score while fine, isn't one of my favorites. If I had to choose, I'll take Sévérine's Beretta over Andrea's water pistol. ;)
Severine's theme is perhaps my favourite track of the Skyfall soundtrack
TMWTGG, while not exactly Barry's strongest effort in the series, is at least a proper Bond score in that it features a title song (with deliciously filthy lyrics by Don Black) written by the composer of the score and worked seamlessly into its thematic material - as is the case here, in Andrea Anders' theme. All of this is much more than one can say of Newman's score for Skyfall, which is at best workman-like and serviceable within the context of the film, but hardly providing a satisfying listening experience on album and inexplicably lacking in thematic unity (quite apart from Newman's sparing use of material from Adele's main title song). Severine's theme, for instance, can hardly be called a theme at all as it is confined to the shower scene - although, granted, it is hinted at in the 'Modigliani' cue. In an ideal world, it should have returned in a massively orchestral setting for the sailing sequence as well as for her death scene.
2 - 2
Severine is one of the better tracks from Skyfall but it still doesn't compare to the maestro.
I wonder if we ever gonna like at least ONE of the "Skyfall" tracks unanimously :-P. Because I think the score is gravely underappreciated.
Andrea's theme is moody in a suspenseful & thriller sort of way. When I heard that clip above it took me right back to the accompanying scene in TMWTGG. Getting that 'lush' feeling while also conveying palpable 'suspense', and doing it with style, is very difficult to achieve, and that's why Barry gets the win from me. No one does that better than him. "It was an inspiration. Sending that bullet...."
I must give Severine's Theme an honourable mention however. I first heard a snippet of this before seeing the film (from an online soundtrack sample) and really was looking forward to Newman's score for the film. This and Shanghai Drive caught my ear right away from samples (Severine's Theme because of the beautiful orchestral and string work that does definitely evoke Barry's best) and Shanghai Drive for its oh so modern vibe. This track is one reason why I hold out high hopes for the SP soundtrack - because Newman shows in this brief 1.19 clip that he can 'bring it' for Bond. One of my favourite parts of SF is when it is hinted/used in the Shanghai Tower when Patrice is dispatched.......very atmospheric scene there and the music captures Severine's character beautifully.
It's damn close between these two.
The SF score has to be the dullest ever. Except for that perfect Grand Bazaar Istanbul track. I wonder why Newman made the rest so depressing and boring. The Severine theme although would probably be my No 2 or 3 track of the SF soundtrack.
1-3 for Andrea Anders
Hence I used the 2 - 2 option :-P.
I think it'll come down to the luck of the draw there. There are some stuff I really like on Newman's but I don't actively dislike ANY of the Bond scores save for the overly disco-ish parts of FYEO.
However, Barry on his worst day is still better than most - which is why he will win most of these challenges with relatively little fuss I think.
There's nothing wrong with Newman's effort. In fact, I think it's quite good. Through his music, he is able to convey both Severine's beauty and her tragic nature. But Barry's tune is able to encapsulate every conceivable aspect of it's accompanying scene in such a short amount of time. That's why he was so good. All of the instruments are like different ideas that flow together to make one conclusive statement. Despite it's grandeur, there is an impending danger looming in the shadows. The piano at the end perfectly depicts Scaramanga's sinister intentions.
That being said, I do look forward to what Newman brings to the table for SP. Let's hope that he delivers the goods.
Whilst I though Thomas Newman's music was very moving and delicate, the underlying tension and fear inherent in Severine's character (resulting from her life in the Macao sex trade). I also thought that in using predominantly lush strings, Newman was either trying to parody Barry or at least emulate his style.
Adrea's theme contained tension and suspense, whilst being a beautiful piece of music, so it gets my vote.