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Jay

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I like it too. It's not exactly what I wanted it to be, but works very well indeed.

The ghostly Newmanisms work wonders in the final act. When we get to Skyfall, that is.

Karol

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Who would have thought you'd be this score's strongest advocate on this forum, Stefan? Unexpected, but pleasantly so.

Karol

Stefan's support is shocking?! What about mine?!

This is easily my most listened to album in the last 30 days.

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Yeah, i enjoyed it on first listen, and after seeing the movie, I love it more. Yeah, Newman didn't do a Goldfinger, or a Quantum of Solace, but he didn't do a Spy who loved me either.

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Finally listened to the CD today. I like it. If I were ranking all the Bond scores, it'd still come in somewhere near the end of the list; but I immediately like it more than The Spy Who Loved Me and (*shudder*) GoldenEye, and I think I probably prefer it to The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day as well. And Licence to Kill. And Dr. No, I guess, if you take the James Bond Theme out of the equation.

I definitely like it though; Newman did a good job, and who knows, if he were to get a second shot at it, maybe he could hit a home run. All things considered, I'd still rather see Arnold come back; but if Newman returns, I'll be okay with that, too.

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The score works smashingly in the movie -- to its great credit -- but it's still too much like The Debt in the overpowering infiltration of Powellisms and other modern blockbuster vernacular, and the underdevelopment of the more idiosyncratically Newman-esque material.

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I don't hear Powell at all. I hear a more textural soundscape than what we usually get from Newman. The use of electronics and guitar make it pop a little more than his typical dramatic fare, but it's still heavily rooted within his style.

Hear "Raining Oil" from Jarhead or "Drive Away (End Title)" from Lemony Snicket and then listen to something like "New Digs" and "Adrenaline."

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Powell is more of general influence; it's not an overt channelling. I definitely hear Newman; I just don't hear it developed in the fashion I would like, I think. Newman has made it pretty clear in the last decade that he's more fascinated with experimenting with atmospheric effects -- his underlying orchestral foundation has remained exasperatingly samey for years now, unmodulated from film to film, with "style" counting for only part of that. The changes I do hear in his music have been more about accommodating what other composers have made fashionable than organically evolving out of his own intrinsic impulses as a composer (which is incredibly ironic, given the pervasive extent to which Newman's own American Beauty has shaped dramatic scoring in Hollywood).

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I think the Bourne movies, both the films themselves and the scores, have influenced a lot of work for action-thrillers today. I was listening to Desplat's Argo yesterday and you can hear some Powell in there too.

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The score works smashingly in the movie -- to its great credit -- but it's still too much like The Debt in the overpowering infiltration of Powellisms and other modern blockbuster vernacular, and the underdevelopment of the more idiosyncratically Newman-esque material.

There actually is more Newman in the score than it seems.

The more I listen to the score, the more I notice how distinctively Newman it is.

I already could name a couple of his other scores that pieces from "Skyfall" remind me of. One sounds a bit like "Angels in America", some sound similar to "The Adjustment Bureau", another almost sounds like "Lemony Snicket". And the strings on this score are fabulous, even if you hate everything else.

I think Newman's score for Skyfall works just fine in the movie. It's not Arnold for sure, but there's nothing offensive about the score. It suffers from temp-track syndrome, particularly Zimmer's Dark Knight score and Arnold's previous 007 outings in places, but it works in the film. When Newman's allowed to do his own thing, recalling The Debt and Adjustment Bureau, it's quite beautiful and hypnotic for the more technology-savvy Bond.

"Jellyfish" and "She's Mine" do sound like Zimmer a lot. But it doesn't bother me that much. I can appreciate some Zimmer.

But other pieces sound much more like him. And as much as some people hate this score, you can't deny the beauty of "Old Dog, New Tricks" (even if it did not end up in the film), "Close Shave", or "Skyfall".

The score might have been better, as in coherence of style, but that's not his fault.

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I still feel it's a David Arnold score arranged by Newman.

Well, Newman uses Arnold's arrangement of the Bond theme from Casino Royale. I was surprised to see Arnold credited in the end titles.

Well, they better credit him if they want to continue working with him.

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Now that I've seen the film (which is great, btw... seeing it again on Veterans' Day), the score does its job splendidly. I'm sure David Arnold would have done a good job with Skyfall, but Newman's approach fits this Bond. Same way Howard Shore fits Ed Wood like a glove, though I wouldn't have wanted him doing Mars Attacks or Sleepy Hollow.

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Now that I've seen the film (which is great, btw... seeing it again on Veterans' Day), the score does its job splendidly. I'm sure David Arnold would have done a good job with Skyfall, but Newman's approach fits this Bond. Same way Howard Shore fits Ed Wood like a glove, though I wouldn't have wanted him doing Mars Attacks or Sleepy Hollow.

That's a pretty apt comparison, I'd say.

The more I listen to it, the more I like it. The early reviews that completely wrote it off were WAY off-base.

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Here's two lists I found. Hope they prove helpful. Contains Spoilers if you weren't aware a complete breakdown would do that.

Here's one of missing cues.

1. Grand Bazaar, Istanbul (Film Version) - the opening clusters (0:02 to 0:57) last a lot longer in the film, IIRC.

2. The Bloody Shot (Film Version) - French horns sound an Ab Major chord as the camera whip pans to the tunnel (should be at 4:22), missing on the album.

3. The Funeral - Second of the film's three quotes of the "M Theme."

4. Bond Enters the Office Tower - Bond enters the lobby and follows the trail of dead security guards to Patrice. A variation on the opening clusters from Grand Bazaar, Istanbul, but subtly different. Segues to Jellyfish.

5. The Elevator Stops - Gothic, Barry-esque minor chords and ominous low strings (think Bond At The Monsoon Palace from OP) as Bond climbs from under the elevator to the 67th floor. Should be between 0:44 and 0:45 on Jellyfish.

6. Circle of Life - Bond dispatches two of Severine's bodyguards with the steel briefcase, but the heavyset one tackles him, and they both fall into a pit with Komodo dragons. They fight until Bond is slammed to the ground. Only the first 30 seconds or so are missing. The rest can be found in Granborough Road from 0:32 to 1:04 and 2:00 to the end.

7. Silva's Capture - Bond takes out Silva's goons and calls in the cavalry. Features a great rendition of the Bond Theme.

8. Hydrogen Cyanide - Very effective cue, starting as M tells Silva that he'll be transferred to Belmarsh Prison, and he demands her to say his real name. IIRC, it ends when Bond enters Q's lab. It's variation on the chords heard in Someone Usually Dies, without the guitar ostinato, with stopped horns instead. The chilling electronic microtonal pitch wavering and clusters for when Silva takes off his apparatus can be also be heard at 1:37 to 1:50 in that track.

9. Temple - Silva adopts a new disguise as Metropolitan police officer at Temple Station, as Bond tries to find him in rush hour. Ends when Bond jumps onto the train.

10. Granborough Road (Film Version) - Same as the album version, except with two inserts. Tense stopped horns with interpolations of the chugging octatonic ostinato in low strings and guitars as Bond tries to find Silva amid lots of police officers. There's also low strings at the end for when Bond has Silva at gunpoint in the catacombs (one of the officially released clips).

11. She's Mine (Film Version) - I might be wrong, but I remember a longer introduction in the film for when Siva's helicopter lands.

12. The Name's Bond... James Bond (Skyfall Version) - Different from the one heard in CR, and not just in the orchestration. Features the take on the Bond theme's chords heard in You Know My Name and Adele's Skyfall (Em-C/E-A rather than Em-C/E-Cm6-5).

And here's another potential film order list.

01. Grand Bazaar, Istanbul - Bond finds Ronson, car chase, shootout and bike chase. Closes with Bond diving onto the train.

14. The Bloody Shot - Entire train sequence - shootout, digger scene, fight and Bond's fall.

Adele's Skyfall - Title sequence

02. Voluntary Retirement - Begins with Mallory's line to M - "Retirement planning" and ends with M stopped by police on Vauxhall Bridge.

15. Enjoying Death - Bond lying in bed with the Turkish babe, drinking Heini, popping Benzedrine pills etc.

Konyali - Ensemble Hüseyin Türkmenier - Bond bored out of his mind.

CNN Breaking New Theme #2 - Herb Avery - News of the attack.

Reprise of M's theme from "Voluntary Retirement" - Bond epiphany and M at the funeral.

03. New Digs - Begins with the drive to the underground HQ, ends with a witty exercise montage (treadmill, sit-ups etc.), while Tanner plays Mr. Exposition on who the perpetrator of the attack could be. Ends with Bond unable to do any more pull-ups. .

10. Day Wasted - Begins with the "Skyfall - Done" exchange at the evaluation, followed by "Day - Wasted." Second half is Bond is Bond cutting out the bullets, and getting Tanner to do a ballistics report, identifying Patrice from three suspects who all use depleted uranium bullets.

05. Brave New World - Begins with Q showing Bond his gadgets, ends with Bond swimming a few laps at a rooftop pool in Shanghai.

06. Shanghai Drive - Bond in disguise at the airport watching Severine and Patrice, then tailing Patrice across the Yan'an highway.

Reprise of the mysterioso opening of Grand, Bizarre (IIRC without the brassy stinger) as Patrice kills the guards at the lobby, then follows Patrice across the first floor, using the dead bodies as footprints.

07. Jellyfish - Bond grabs onto the lift and tries to fight the pain. Ends with the assassination.

08. Silhouette - Begins with fight, and ends with Bond questioning a hanging Patrice (who doesn't answer) until he's sucked out by the wind current.

09. Modigliani - An admiring Severine spots Bond, he vanishes, and then he analyses the left-over machinery (rifle and glass cutter)..

17. Close Shave - Eve drops by.

31 Old Dog, New Tricks (unused) - Replaced by Moonlight - Jun Chen - Bond and Eve chat and she gives him a wet shave. Mallory's military background is revealed..

13. Komodo Dragon - Cut to the Macau casino as Eve says "Old dog, new tricks" - Ends as Bond places his bet.

12. Someone Usually Dies - Very effective cue as Bond lets Severine know that he's aware of her three bodyguards, he identifies the tattoo on her wrist, wins her trust, raises a glass to the three thugs. Reminiscent of the beach scene with Bond and Domino in TB, along with Bond and Viv in Fleming's TSWLM.

19. Granborough Road - The pit fight with Komodo Dragons

04. Severine - The shower scene.

16. The Chimera - Severine's yacht (the Chimera) taking Bond to Silva's island.

Charles Trenet - Boum - The William Tell scene.

Silva's Capture - Bond theme appearance.

Silva shows his deformity.

11. Quartermaster - Analysing Silva's computers, Silva preparing to escape, and Bond chasing him through the tunnels.

18. Health & Safety - Bond enters the tube train and says to a worker "health and safety."

19. Granborough Road (reprise) - Silva gets off (that sounded wrong), the escalator sliding, and back to the tunnels. Can't remember what the Bond theme at the end was for.

20. Tennyson - Tense inter-cutting between M's enquiry speeches (quotes Tennyson’s Ulysses), Silva and his men approaching, Bond racing against time.

21. Enquiry - Mallory's shot and runs for cover, Bond arrives, Silva escapes and Bond drives off with M.

22. Breadcrumbs - We first see the DB5, Mallory gives advice to Q and Tanner on how to lure Silva. Ends with a zoom into a map of Scotland.

23. Skyfall - The DB5 drives through the misty glen.

24. Kill Them First - Bond, M and Kincade lay dynamite.

25. Welcome To Scotland - The group of mercenaries arrive by foot HIGH NOON/OUTLAND-style, shoot out, M is injured.

Boom Boom - The Animals - Silva arrives by helicopter.

26. She’s Mine - Bond carries Bond Aston fires, Silva throws charges, Aston is destroyed, Bond enraged, lights fuse to fuel cannisters.

27. The Moors - Silva spots M and Kincade, Bond races to stop Silva and his men from reaching the chapel.

28. Deep Water - Bond treads carefully across ice, Silva sees lights in the chapel, fight with henchman in frozen loch, Silva reaches the chapel and meets M and Silva's death.

29. Mother - M dies in Bond's arms.

End Credits Medley.

Gunbarrel / The Name's Bond... James Bond (abridged re-recording), then fades into...

30. Adrenaline, which fades into...

14. The Bloody Shot (abridged version), which fades into...

13. Komodo Dragon (abridged version)

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Please always credit your sources

And man, a spoiler warning would have been nice

Well, I'm sorry if you got spoiled but its not rocket science to think a detailed track listing would contain spoilers.

As for sources, it was just a post by a user on the commanderBond forums like the other track listing. I don't know how accurate it may be but I'm sure it can be a good resource for some.

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Well that's what I mean, you should provide a link back to the commanderbond forum page that you copy and pasted from. The original author deserves credit. I know I wouldn't like my complete score breakdown posts copy and pasted to other forums without linking back to here.

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Well, the user who posted it didn't compile it himself to begin with I believe. I'll post a link to the thread which the score is being discussed if that helps. Detailed discussion begins around page 56 or so.

http://debrief.commanderbond.net/topic/61062-thomas-newman-to-score-skyfall/

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Jason...I know how *this* message board works!

None know better...

Every other post between you and Jason LeBlanc is like sleeping over at a friend's house when you are younger, and the friends' parents get into a heated argument. And you seem to be the instigator. :P

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There's an interview with Sam Mendes on AICN, and he talks about Newman here:

Beaks: And mood is important with Thomas Newman's score, which is very far removed from John Barry's work. What was your direction to him?

Mendes: The movie dictates the music in a way. You watch the movie, and you begin to work out what kind of mood it requires. Tom and I work a little like Roger and I. We have a preexisting relationship. You have a way of working, and you almost don't ask yourself how it works. He'll compose something, some of it will work, I'll give a note about something, it'll start to have a shape, and you'll think, "Maybe we should try this piece over here." It just happens organically. You don't go in announcing the feeling you want. The most difficult thing in the world in directing is describing music. It's nonverbal. It's a feeling. And what for you is a scary piece of music, might not be for someone else - and vice versa. You have to have a good sixth sense with your composer. And it's just taste. I love his music. Always have. And I felt it in my bones that he had it in him to write a Bond score: to be sweeping when necessary, to be thriller-like when necessary, to have the muscle and power when necessary, and to maybe do what I was trying to do with Roger, which is to break some of the conventions of the genre whilst not reinventing the wheel. To use as much tradition as we could, but to pull out a few shocks.

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/59595

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Newman about the use of themes:

"It’s not like you say, I need an M theme, I need a Severine theme. Sometimes that has to happen, but for me the creative process doesn’t quite work that way. You find something and that leads to something else. There are elements of story in some of these cues and some of those lead to M because she’s part of the story. By the end you’re going, does Silva have a theme? Is it more of a motif? It’s probably wrong to think that a character needs a melody associated with him or her, but oftentime it does and in the case of Bond it does more often than not."

This guy doesn't understand James Bond *at all*.

He's squeezing Bond into the confines of the general rules of film scoring while they have always followed their own rules. Sometimes they submit to the sound of the era (mainly Live And Let Die and The Spy Who Loved Me), but the content, the approach always was the same and was always successful.

Also, didn't he say he just watched a few films to "get" the Bond sound? I wonder what films he saw when he comes to the conclusion that Bond score use themes "more often than not". In fact, I can only think of three scores (out of 23) that did not use a very prominent main theme - Goldeneye, License To Kill and Skyfall.

"Coincidentally", none of these scores sound like the composer really understood James Bond. Kamen came closest. Newman did not.

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I know you don't give a rat's ass about the Bond series, but some do, and I'm just as tired of people saying I should like or respect the score because Newman "did his thing" and had the attitude:

0DhyC.jpg

So, if you're not interested in Bond, why don't you give it a rest and turn to something worthy of your attention?

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As a Bond fan I have come to really like the score. Not every score needs to have that Barry or Arnold feel to work. Honestly, I was quite skeptical at Snoozeman but he really impressed me. I felt like the music was a good progression of what Arnold was doing for Craig while being different enough to sound fresh. Plus, I really like some of the renditions of the Bond theme he developed and how he teased it a lot of the time rather than blast it like Arnold was prone to do during the Brosnan era.

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