Anthony

I wonder how many in-game chapters will be covered by the second episode. I'm guessing it may end with

I guess that was just a tease for those who do know what to expect. You could see one on one of the rooftops when there was a flash of thunder.

It's no different to "...A Star Wars Story" to clearly address marketing concerns.

Post deleted - I was answering a question but it's already been answered above!

How could I forget Alsahraa from Honor Of Kings by Desplat?

Don't say that! I was counting on this thread to list everything I'd missed! My favourite cues - in no particular order: Picasso from Confess, Fletch Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore Theme from Glass Onion Training With Zee from The Ice Age Adventures Of Buck Wild Catwoman from The Batman A-Biosyn’ We Will Go from Jurassic World Dominion Mission Perpetual from Lightyear Ms. Marvel Suite The Run (Urban Legends) from Nope Pinocchio Main Title from Pinocchio (Silvestri) And technically a 2021 piece that was only released in 2022 - Welcome Recruits from Avengers Campus at Disneyland Resort.

Given I had such a reaction to the original version of Backseat Pilot (positive) and the film version of Backseat Driver (negative), what do others think about these versions?

After finally getting to listen to this, here are my observations - some of which Neil elaborated on above, but I'd written this before I saw that! White Knight (Original Version) Fascinating if slightly underwhelming. It’s only the first minute or so that’s different. I was hoping for a full 8 minutes, but oh well! And there’s a tiny addition of about half a second toward the end (but this sounds more like something that as deliberately trimmed from the final version). This first minute though - it very much sounds like Arnold is warming up. It’s not quite as polished or slick as the final version. Like it could almost be from a Bond parody cue. Backseat Pilot The first of many cues that have only been heard in the isolated score track. Given how generally seamless they are, I’m surprised how many little edits to cues there were in the film. It’s going to take some getting used to hearing them in their unedited versions - when these little moments occur, I’m thinking “hey, that isn’t right!”, but of course, it is. Backseat Pilot (Original Version) Oh boy! This is my favourite new track on the album. It’s what I was hoping for from the original White Knight - a completely different version. This is absolutely top-tier Arnold action music. It’s a little rough around the edges, but I kind of like that. The cue is quite a bit longer than the final version - I wonder what else the original version of the scene contained. And the brass is absolutely wild. This cue has all the swagger and coolness of Bond that Arnold did so well - and no one else has done since. I like this even more than the final version. Surrender (Alternate Version) Wow - a completely unexpected intro. Downbeat, sorrowful…I assume this would have been a version for the titles. The lead-in seems more fitting here. It reminds me of From Russia With Love. Or the quiet intro to NTTD. And what a song Surrender is! In my opinion this is the best Bond song there’s ever been. The only thing it lacks is a proper ending - it just fades out. If this really was intended as a title song, I assume an ending was written? I've always imagined it may have had a similar ending to TWINE. I've heard Surrender once in a concert, but I can't remember what they did there! The Sinking Of The Devonshire (Extended Version) The “extended” element is the inclusion of the “Encoder” cue at the end, which is probably the most insignificant cue of the score. I’ll likely keep the original album version of this track to omit this. The Sinking Of The Devonshire (Original Version) So about 80% of it is different. I'm guessing the bits at the end are actually different cues that weren't revised. It’s not quite as polished as the final version, but I quite like it - similar to the early version of Backseat Pilot, it’s a little wild! MI6 / Launch The Fleet I’m not normally a fan of cues being joined together like this, but this is done well and I’ll likely keep it like this. Interesting that the drum kit was dialled out of Launch The Fleet in the film. Something else to get used to! Company Car (Extended Version) The album edit makes total sense, but once I’m used to this longer version, I know I’ll prefer it. Shaken But Not Stirred / It Had To Be You / Adrift Cool to hear full versions of these cues, although unlikely I’ll give them many listens. Nice bonus to include. You Have A Phone Call, Mr. Bond Well, well. A completely unheard new cue! In the film, this was replaced with a tracked version of Carver And Paris. Paris And Bond (both versions) The album version is a bit more in your face, especially with the cymbals. I think I prefer it over the film version. The Last Goodbye (both versions) Reprises of the Carver theme and the Paris theme. This track feels a little unnecessary given the two previous ones contained bigger and better statements of both. I’ll likely leave this cue off my playlist as I just want to get on with the printing press cues. It’s the only track that I feel really slows the pace. Hamburg Break Out / Printing Press Fight I honestly forgot that Printing Press Fight was previously unreleased given that in the film these are both shortened and stitched together. I wonder what the scene originally looked like. The gap between the two cues feels a little odd, but it’s something I’ll get used to. There’s some pretty aggressive sounding synth effect toward the end of Printing Press Fight I don’t recall hearing in the film mix. Escape To Hotel Maybe it’s because I’m so used to how it is in the film, but first two out of three micro edits make more musical sense to me than the “full” version of the cue here. I’ll likely make the edits again so they don't feel jarring. Backseat Driver (Film Version) My biggest disappointment in all the new material. It’s kind of a mess. It sounds unfinished - like they had to quickly edit it into the film and not enough time was left to mix it properly. I didn’t realise this would be so noticeably different from the album version. The only differences I was expecting was the part where some of the synths briefly drop out (when Bond releases the tyre spikes) and the extra bit of the Bond theme toward the end. But the mix is significantly different. The synths sound “dirtier” and their volume is inconsistent (noticibly quieter after the bazooka moment), there are a bunch of annoying synth “effects” throughout, the orchestra sounds too prominent in the second half, and there’s a bunch of extra reverb in the keyboard and guitar parts which makes them sound rather muddy and lost in the background. It’s so different to the album version that trying to seamlessly combine the two into a best-of-both is extremely difficult. So frustrating. I’ll likely stick the album version in the main program instead. Okinawa / HALO Jump Two more cues joined together but where it actually sounds like they should be. Okinawa has a longer intro than we were previously aware of. I thought I'd leave these cues out of my own program, but the way they are presented here saves them! Banner Escape (both versions) Like Pipeline from TWINE and Hovercraft Chase from DAD, I’d be grasping at straws to tell you what’s audibly different between the film and album mixes, so I’ll stick with the album mix! It must have been done for reasons! Bike Shop Fight (both versions) The difference is in the quieter first third. The film version hurries along to the action a little quicker. In my opinion, the album version is the better of the two. Ha Long Bay Finally - the correct cue title! The Chapter III release only went and picked a location in the wrong country! Boarding The Stealth The ambient, sound-designy ending here is a little different and longer than what's on the Chapter III release. Neither are particularly attention grabbing so I’ll just stick with the La La Land version. Stealth Shoot Out Cool to hear the full mix of this. In the film, the orchestra gets dialled out for part of it and replaced with drum loops. Carver Gets It And more never-before-heard music here. I always assumed there was some music for Carver’s death, and here it finally is! My ripped version that I'll keep on my phone will likely end up something like this: 01. White Knight 02. Backseat Pilot (Original Version) 03. Surrender (Alternate Version) 04. The Sinking Of The Devonshire (OST/Chapter III version) 05. MI6 / Launch The Fleet 06. Company Car (Extended Version) 08. You Have A Phone Call, Mr. Bond 09. Station Break 10. Paris And Bond (Album Version) 11. Hamburg Break In 12. Hamburg Break Out 13. Printing Press Fight 14. Escape To Hotel 15. Doctor Kaufman 16. *-3-Send 17. Backseat Driver (Album Version) 18. Okinawa / HALO Jump 19. Underwater Discovery 20. Vietnam 21. Banner Escape 22. Bike Chase 23. Bike Shop Fight (Album Version) 24. Ha Long Bay 25. Boarding The Stealth 26. Grenade 27. A Tricky Spot For 007 28. Stealth Shoot Out 29. Carver Gets It 30. All In A Day’s Work 31. Surrender (Album Version) 32. Backseat Pilot (Film Version) 33. Backseat Driver (Film Version) Other than my own expectations being out of kilter with what the film version of Backseat Driver actually was, this is exactly what I hoped this release would be. And the original version of Backseat Pilot is a dream! Was there ever a definitive answer on why we got the Brosnan Arnold scores expanded in reverse order?

Not yet, I think it's still Stateside - maybe stuck with that weather? And then there are mail strikes over here too. I'm assuming it will show up some time in January.

Put this together... if only!

1 Rooftop Parking Space

Paycheck!

Same!

It's the cue "Trojan Horse" from Elfman's Mr. Peabody And Sherman of all things!

This is really quite a disappointing album. "Succeed Or Fail" is the only real playlist-worthy track.