For old geezers such as myself, the James Bond film was an annual event appearing around Christmas time. Sean Connery was the embodiment of the character onscreen with just enough seriousness to deflect the outrageousness of the plot.
But, what really sold the series to me personally was the music.
The man behind the James Bond music was John Barry.
Barry had been inducted into the fold at the end of the making of Dr.No when the composer, Monty Norman, had failed to produce a theme for the Bond character to suit the producer's idea of what it should be.
John Barry had been the A&R man at E.M.I. and fronted his own group, the John Barry Seven. The very first movie soundtrack produced for a popular film in Great Britain had been John Barry's rather unexpectedly effective (first) filmscore for BEAT GIRL. His "sound" was something fresh and youthful that promised to deliver a younger audience to the movie theatres.
Monty Norman handed Barry a brief sketch of a mere fragment of an idea for a song Norman had been developing of a musical (Norman referred to the song snippet as "Good Sign, Bad Sign"). According to John Barry and others present on this occasion, the Norman "idea" wasn't really useful to what Barry wanted to do.
J.B. came back a few days later and the JAMES BOND THEME was born!
This was the beginning of John Barry's relationship with the film's producers and his close association with Bond films thereafter. Norman quickly faded from popular view although, contractually, he would receive royalties as the "sole" composer of the James Bond theme itself.
John Barry would helm the next Bond film, From Russia with Love and be handed a song by Lionel Bart (an established British composer) to rework (in the same fashion as the Norman procedure) into an entire framework for the film's score. Barry delivered a very pleasing result and became the only composer associated with subsequent films (Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Diamond's are Forever, The Man with the Golden Gun, Moonraker, A View to a Kill, Octopussy and Living Daylights.)
Barry would go on to achieve an enormous success with the Bond films and win many awards for other genres with Academy Awards for Born Free, The Lion in Winter, Out of Africa, Dances with Wolves, etc.)
Goldfinger launched an idea, musically, that frightened the producers but was genuinely approved of by the director: the outrageous theme song. The idea of putting an over-the-top, in-your-face arrangement to a character song and have it belted out by Shirley Bassey may seem ordinary to our ears today. But, in the era of Moon River and Love is a Many Splendored Thing this was something entirely new.
With Thunderball, the listener got the unexpected pleasure of hearing TWO different John Barry scores redacted into one savory blend. The reason for this being as follows. Barry constructs his film scores around a central thematic melody and extracts changes, motives and phrases from the supporting pillar. Mr.Kiss-Kiss Bang-Bang was to be the theme song, and, Barry's first score effort proceeded from that logic base. When the producers got cold feet about not having a theme song with Thunderball as the title, a new score had to be written and integrated with what had already been blocked in.
For the first and last time, John Barry gave us two scores in one! Imagine, if you will, what we would have experienced had Thunderball been the main title and Kiss-Kiss Bang Bang the end title song! As it remains, the resulting score is a peculiar hybrid. For one thing, Thunderball is an inflated GOLDFINGER approach. The ostentation begins with the Thunderball lead-in. It is a phrase lifted from the James Bond theme itself and repeated until the Tom Jones vocal commences. Had Mr.Kiss-Kiss Bang-Bang been the only melodic support for the film we would have had a completely fresh transition from Goldfinger's big brass horns in immense block chords into a really sensational 3/4 time jazz waltz groove
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Now I mention all of the above to say this. Barry's rationale in filmmusic was always one of personal growth and change, innovation and fresh timbre as he was building his career. Each Bond film was a challenge in more than one way; the Bond "sound" had to remain consistant without sounding stale and repetitious. The obstacle to surmount would be to infuse sparkling new orchestral arrangements and melodic inventions that would change directions from the expected to the unexpected. Consequently, Thunderball was a bit of a throwback to Goldfinger which Y.O.L.T was not in comparison with previous films. With the advent of both a new actor as Bond (George Lazenby) and a new film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service would demand something NEW in a way that gave the composer and the series itself a fresh start.
Those familiar with O.H.M.S.S. may not realize it subconsciously, but, John Barry created new elements in his own music that had never appeared before and would hardly be revisited in future films. The "action" music in this film is really something special.
For one thing, the use of electronic keyboard for "color" anticipates what Jerry Goldsmith was bringing to his own film scores in the States. (This is not electronics as a gimmick on center stage, but, a fusing of new color with a standard palette.) Another element is the use of chromatic changes for unexpected effect. (The chord changes involve sliding from one key to a new key and another without rigorous adherence to tonality for its own sake.)
Listen to THIS NEVER HAPPENED TO THE OTHER FELLA and you are at once driven into a completely exotic soundscape which is haunting, powerful, sinuous, sensuous and propelled by stream of consciousness Mickey-mousing. What a wallop of emotional energy this infuses into the experience!
Unbeknownst to the listener who is familiar with John Barry's approach to filmmusic composition, nothing in the score EVEN HINTS at the melody which will represent the love between Bond and Tracy that will appear and develop into the marriage at the film's end.
Nothing foreshadows WE HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD----or does it??
Yes! In THIS NEVER HAPPENED TO THE OTHER FELLA there is a phrase that shifts behind the action and decends chromatically key by key which contains the motive: "All the time in the world" over and over again. Sneaky cheek!
Musicially, we can say, Barry is subliminally setting us up to accept the possibility that the woman (Tracy) whom Bond saves from drowning herself (pretitle sequence) only has ANY time in the world because of Bond and will add the "We have" as their love ignites. Ironically, this becomes the endtitle conclusion proceeding from the murder of Bond's new bride.
Very brief snippets of the triplet decoration (We have all *triplet* the time *triplet*in the world *triplet* etc) appear behind the melody for Barry's very first use of ______space_____in the construction of his score to allow time for the orchestra to do something beautiful and interesting. This invention would become a Barry staple for years to come.
What you will find if you explore OHMSS is a plethora of transitional ideas which come flooding into the music; many for the first and last time! The activity in the music is often more vigorous than anything Barry would ever do again. As time passed, Barry's music became slower and slower and completely ignored references to vitality in the images onscreen! But, in OHMSS, the vigor and dynamics of percussion, phrasing and orchestral animation couple with his chromatic use of haunting phrasing melodically to grab the ear and pin it to the drama onscreen.
OHMSS also contains many other thematic elements for the Christmas aspect of the film, the subliminal mind-control scheme, the sexy Piz Gloria seductions, the girls who "come on" to Bond and even the sly use of a march stating the "We have all the time in the world" theme when Bond is transported to meet Tracy's father.
Even the landscape of high mountains and al fresco splendor is transformed orchestrally into an unfolding panorama of melody and brass the likes of which we had never (as an audience) known Barry was capable to date! In fact, you might say, we are introduced fully to who John Barry was musically in a sense of mastery as never before in this score.
Is it any wonder we all have such a tremendous fondness for it? Our expectations were raised on high with this movie and this filmscore as a benchmark of what a James Bond film and a John Barry sound could accomplish.
Whatever happened in Barry's own mind and personal life subsequently, this was the beginning of the end of a transcendental Bond score for evermore. The low would be the Man with the Golden Gun and the height of wrong-headedness would be Moonraker. This, naturally, because the films became so counter to human drama and infused with comic cartoonishness there could be little but a mocking aspect to the core emotional element visited by music.
Only with the serious undercurrent of dramatic acting on the part of Timothy Dalton's sincere (too little, too late) embodiment of Bond did John Barry once more attempt a serious Bond score in the shadow of OHMSS. LIVING DAYLIGHTS stands in the shadow of the former film, of course, but certainly possesses identity and certitude the likes of which had all but evaporated from Barry's pen hitherto.
We can look back to those thrilling days of yesteryear with mixed emotions now. We shall never experience the electric sensation of James Bond and John Barry again except in retrospect. What can we say but, "Those were the days, my friend, those were the days!"
Terry
BOND, JAMES BOND...and J.B.....John Barry vis a vis O.H.M.S.S.
by Terry 16 Replies latest social entertainment
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Terry
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upside/down
You lost me... after the first paragraph...
Damn my ADD/ADHD....must be acting up again...
Anyway, what was I saying?.....*******u/d mumbles to self....*******
u/d
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mrsjones5
Oh lordy! Such a sexy old man! He's the ulitmate MacDaddy*! *Pun intended
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Quentin
Interesting...
Have always enjoyed John Barry Bond music...the Barry music that stays with me is Zulu and Lion in Winter...did he do the Last Valley? Like it as well.
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Terry
The Last ValleyCrouch End Festival Chorus Conducted by David Temple / The City of Prague Philharmonic Conducted by Nic Raine / Produced by James Fitzpatrick / Associate Producers: Ricky Clark & Geoff Leonard / Score Reconstructed and Orchestrated by Nic Raine / Engineers: John Luard Timperley & Mike Ross-Trevor / Liner ****Notes by Terry Walstrom & James Fitzpatrick***
Total Playing Time: 56:40
Silva's THE LAST VALLEY has been completely reconstructed by ear by Nic Raine, including all of the original 1970 LP and over twenty minutes of additional music. Offering a handful of distinct themes - choral majesty ("The Last Valley - Main Titles", "The Giving Away of The Women - An Offertory Chant"), intimate character motifs ("Captain Meets Erica/Winning Erica", "Vogel's Dream - The Last Valley") and barbaric military touches ("The Villages Fight For The Shrine", "Night Battle at Fhinefelden"), THE LAST VALLEY is sort of like THE LION IN WINTER on steroids. It essentially uses a similiar formula: a powerful choral force with orchestra. Like THE LION IN WINTER, the chorus sings both wordless phrases as well as lyrics ("A Children's Song", "A Christmas Song"). But the differences end there, as THE LAST VALLEY is a considerably more athletic score, and features plenty of majestic string and woodwind passages that classify it as a strong precursor to Jerry Goldsmith's FIRST KNIGHT.
"The Last Valley - Main Titles", which pretty much summarize the epic quality of the score, as a Barry trademark, the seductive strings, give way to a powerful choral crescendo, while militaristic snare drums punctuate the piece. "The Rape of Khutal" opens with a ghostly chorus and segues into a barbaric drum rythm, while "The Plague Pit" features darker orchestrations for bells - synching the orchestra and choir in a malevolent rythm, ending with a brief brass fanfare. "Entry Into The Last Valley" represents the first pastoral moment thus far, stretching out considerably with warm strings and woodwinds, with the chorus in "heavenly" mode. THE LAST VALLEY pretty much stays within the framework of these opening tracks, and provides an excellent companion piece to THE LION IN WINTER. Additional highlight cues include: the dramatic "The Villagers Fight for The Shrine" and "Hansen Tries to Murder Captain", and the "finale" cue "Death of Captain/End Title" which features the albums most emotional statement of his theme. Of the these three Barry discs, THE LAST VALLEY is the most accessible album, and is probably the most involving listen right behind THE LION IN WINTER. The Prague Phil and Crouch End chorus sound fantastic. The thing I'm least crazy about is the disc's cover art, which makes little impact and is, well, cheesy. Silva's artwork for their albums is usually dependable -- this Barry series is a let down in that respect. -
City Fan
Love John barry's music.
He wrote the best ever TV theme tune - The Persuaders. Pity the show didn't live up to the titles.
The music in 'You Only Live Twice' as one spaceship gets swallowed by another is fantastic.
From what I remember for some reason he didn't write the music for 'For Your Eyes Only', and the soundtrack ended up like a cheap 80's TV movie.
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MegaDude
I think "Moonraker" is a fine piece of music. Even better than "Goldfinger." For me John Barry's best movie music is "Dances with Wolves" and the haunting theme to "Body Heat."
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Quentin
Thanks Terry...loved the link...now I've got to go find the movie and that album.
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Terry
Love John barry's music.
He wrote the best ever TV theme tune - The Persuaders. Pity the show didn't live up to the titles.
The music in 'You Only Live Twice' as one spaceship gets swallowed by another is fantastic.
From what I remember for some reason he didn't write the music for 'For Your Eyes Only', and the soundtrack ended up like a cheap 80's TV movie.
Many people agree with you about some of Barry's 60's TV themes and especially THE PERSUADERS.
The release of several Bond film Soundtracks that contained *extra* material was an amazing boon to longtime fans such as myself. The CAPSULE IN SPACE track you refer to where the astronauts are swallowed by Blofeld's kidnapping spacecraft is quite an amazing piece of compostion/orchestration.
John Barry was unavailable to record For Your Eyes Only, so, Barry reccomended his friend Bill Conti (who had success with the Rocky films). I agree with you that the score sounds quite dated now because of the "contemporary" use of certain pop idioms. Barry's scores, on the other hand, stand up as quite timeless when played today.
The Bond series has suffered mightily, in my opinion, from a lack of fresh ideas and the failure to continue to utilize Barry's talents. But, Cubby Broccoli's daughter, Barbara, owns the franchise now and her lifelong friendship with Barry did not include musical taste on her part. She and the studio feels the sound of the film's music must include whatever idiotic contemporary instrument fad is currently being hyped. BIG MISTAKE!
Barry has said he doesn't like to write action scores anymore since they are drowned out by sound-effects anyway.
Our loss.
Terry
