QoS Soundtrack hits iTunes

i expect u2 die

But only in the UK :v

If you set your iTunes store to United Kingdom however, you can listen to the 30 second samples.

Sounds great! Love the opening to 'Time To Get Out', and there seem to be loads of references to CR's soundtrack - lots of that Vesper theme

I'm trying not to download it though - knowing the soundtrack can hamper the film in my opinion. But this is bloody hard

jetsetwilly

I already have the OST on order from Play: can I possibly justify buying it off iTunes as well just to get it a week early?

i expect u2 die

jetsetwilly wrote:

I already have the OST on order from Play: can I possibly justify buying it off iTunes as well just to get it a week early?

Play.com orders are can be cancelled before dispatch. It depends if you're after the CD itself. But If like me, you're trying to avoid the music as a form of spoiler, then at least this gives you a decent excuse for a week!

The Bond Experience

I heard a dissapointing rumor about the James Bond theme...hoping a member from the UK who downloads this can verify....

jetsetwilly

I meant buying it off iTunes *as well*

Sharpe

Does the soundtrack indicate that there is the normal gunbarrel?

i expect u2 die

My favourites so far are "Night at the Opera" (Nice tense piece - reminds me of Barry's 'The Laser beam"), and "I Never Left" - brilliant quoting from "Death of Vesper".

Although, I'm struggling to pick up on new melodies. CR had Vesper's and Solange's themes, alongside instrumental versions of YKMN. What new themes have we here? :S

emtiem

The Mantis wrote:

I heard a dissapointing rumor about the James Bond theme...hoping a member from the UK who downloads this can verify....

I believe if you set your iTunes to UK you can listen to the samples of the tracks (but you can't buy them)- even on the samples there are plenty of examples of Bond theme all the way through.

Even more bizarrely though, one of the tracks sounds like a slight variation on the Montenegro track from CR: i.e. You Know My Name's in there! Weird.
The Opera track does sound very nice, though. I think Camille's theme is in there, but it seems to be a variation on Vesper's.

SiCo

Excellent news, don't forget if you fancy lending some support to the site use the following link...

http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=ne5BartWMmA&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fphobos.apple.com%252FWebObjects%252FMZStore.woa%252Fwa%252FviewAlbum%253Fi%253D293235481%2526id%253D293235455%2526s%253D143444%2526partnerId%253D30

Of course you don't have to but it'd be nice! I will have a listen as soon as I get home tonight.

Moonraker 5

The Mantis wrote:

I heard a dissapointing rumor about the James Bond theme...hoping a member from the UK who downloads this can verify....

I'm not sure what the disappointing rumour is, Mantis, but 'Field Trip' is pure Bond theme with a hint of AWTD in it, albeit a slow track.

i expect u2 die

'Camille's Story' is becoming one of my favourites - beautifully understated and melancholic, I can imagine the guitar section playing during the distant shots of Bond and Camille's desert walk. And I can't get enough of these references to Vesper's theme.

The Bond Experience

Two reviews have been posted thus far that have said the Bond theme doesn't come until the very end of the movie...

HowardB

I like the idea of recurring musical themes in QOS. Recurring musical themes were a staple of the classic Barry scores. Other than the Bond Theme, there were no recurring musical themes in any of the Brosnan era films, which in turn caused the Bond theme to become an overused musical crutch and borderline cliche. The classic Barry scores saved the original Bond Theme for appropriate key moments, but other themes were infused with the melody to elicit a mood and a coherence.

emtiem

The Mantis wrote:

Two reviews have been posted thus far that have said the Bond theme doesn't come until the very end of the movie...

Well, your own ears should be able to tell you that's not true. Have a listen on youtube. M5 ain't lying. I don't think there are any major fully blown versions of it, but it's there throughout the film much stronger than it was in CR.

emtiem

HowardB wrote:

Other than the Bond Theme, there were no recurring musical themes in any of the Brosnan era films

Oh I dunno- Arnold reused a few of his ideas several times; not least the romantic end-of-the-film music. Which may have been his way of saying that the films were all a bit samey, I don't know.

The Bond Experience

Didn't infer anyone was lying...a question was asked of me where I heard this rumor was from...I answered. Was happy to hear this news.

jetsetwilly

emtiem wrote:

Which may have been his way of saying that the films were all a bit samey, I don't know.

I don't think he was saying that, actually - was Barry saying the Bond films were a bit samey when he reused "007" in five different films?

Tee Hee

The Bond Theme, while hinted at, doesn't appear in all its triumphant glory based on the samples. I'll have to wait until the soundtrack is released to be sure though.

If The Bond Theme doesn't appear in this manner or is used only at the film's close a la CR, then I will be pretty disappointed.

Moonraker 5

I've just arrived home to my copy!! Came in the post this morning!

(And I've not had a proper chance to listen through it yet...I'll update once I have!)

Gassy Man

All through the 80s and 90s I complained about how the Bond music (and film music in general) had lost most of its verve, while being much more enthralled with the soundtracks of films from the 50s and 60s for their style, uniqueness, and, above all, fun. Rather than sound plasticky and manufactured, they sounded like genuine music, and one could easily tell Barry from Mancini or Hermann from Tomkin.

QoS is possibly Arnold's best soundtrack, in part because rather than just lift cues from Barry and others, he's finally found a niche that's both retro and modern -- listen to "Field Trip," for instance, which almost sounds like something from a bygone era. The samples so far make this a much richer soundtrack than Casino Royale's. One complaint is that Arnold still has this ADHD thing, where just when a hook or lush movement is getting started he switches to some asymmetric spastic percussion with discordant strings . . . that's driven in part by the scene I'm sure, but it often makes listening more chaotic than enjoyable and stands in sharp contrast to the retro quality of the rest of the score.

Loeffelholz

I'm really looking forward to picking my copy up on Tuesday---mostly so I can finish my new Bond mix disc! :007)

I really enjoyed the score for CR, the way in which YKMN threaded its way throughout, and the subtle insinuations of the Bond theme in spots. It seems a given that AWTD is not in the QoS soundtrack, but can I at least look forward to hints of the Bond theme?

Gassy Man

Loeffelholz wrote:

I'm really looking forward to picking my copy up on Tuesday---mostly so I can finish my new Bond mix disc! :007)

I really enjoyed the score for CR, the way in which YKMN threaded its way throughout, and the subtle insinuations of the Bond theme in spots. It seems a given that AWTD is not in the QoS soundtrack, but can I at least look forward to hints of the Bond theme?

More than that this time, Loeff -- tracks like Oil Fields and Field Trip grow out of the Bond theme, and Talamone has elements of the Casino Royale theme woven in . . . there are hints of it elsewhere, along with Vesper's signature music.

Loeffelholz

Thanks, Gassy! {[] That's quite reassuring. Why are reviewers saying there's no Bond theme until the end? Is it just a classic case of head-up-arse syndrome?

Gassy Man

Loeffelholz wrote:

Thanks, Gassy! {[] That's quite reassuring. Why are reviewers saying there's no Bond theme until the end? Is it just a classic case of head-up-arse syndrome?

Head-up-arse is part of it, as they may primarily be looking for the guitar riff. Bond's theme is woven into the music rather subtly in most cases -- you can hear the Bond chord progression, for instance, not unlike Arnold did on several tracks for Casino Royale (during Bond's arrival in the Bahamas) in many pieces, including Time to Get Out, where there are bits of the Bond theme proper, as well.

While there is no all-out guitar-riffing version of the theme on any of the tracks I've heard, the Bond theme is present pretty distinctly in Field Trip (which you might be able to find online). Those of us who own the 60s Barry soundtracks know that he was rather disciplined about using the guitar riff anyway, preferring to work more with the title song as a motif, so Arnold in many ways is following that strategy. I do also hear elements of AWTD in the soundtrack, though because the song is rather "rock-y," it would be easy to miss the cues when played more "symphonically."

Loeffelholz

I see what you're saying; there's no 'in your face' blaring of the theme---da da da DA, da DA DA!!!---when something triumphant happens...

That doesn't bother me at all---like Q and Moneypenny, I think that such a thing will be back in the mix soon enough, so I won't begrudge Eon taking their time with it. In the meantime, they're intent on delivering some slam-bang thrills, and I'm more than ready B-)

Gassy Man

Exactly. In fact, if you were to compare the soundtracks from From Russia with Love and Goldfinger to this one, you'd probably find they're about on par with the presence of the Bond theme (save for the gunbarrel sequences in those films).

Arnold does a good job, BTW, of bringing in Casino Royale cues to tie this film to the last one. Arnold's work is best when being inspired by past Bond composers, but his theme for Vesper, for instance, is strong enough to get him proper kudos.

Loeffelholz

Love the Vesper theme---distinctive and haunting. It's perfectly fitting that it has a reprise in this one; that will be a great moment.

Gassy Man

You won't be disappointed, as it shows up in some form at least twice. While I enjoyed Casino Royale's soundtrack, this one is definitely closer to a traditional Bond score, with Arnold's sensibilities, of course. It's not as thematically bombastic as some Bond scores of the 70s and 80s (or even some of Arnold's work, like Tomorrow Never Dies), but it definitely moves more in that direction.

I did notice something odd . . . Arnold seemed to borrow a few cues from Danny Elfman's Batman theme on one or two tracks. I realize it's been 20 years, but the music is so distinct that it probably is a little harder to swipe from without being noticed. Only a few notes, but the right ones to make my ears take notice.

D_Somerset

Woke up this morning with a smile on my face- went straight to the computer + along with the normal daily podcasts, downloaded the QOS soundtrack from the US iTunes. Just finished listening to it, and I must say, it definitely meets up with what you expect from David Arnold. There are a number of excellent cues that include bits of "Another Way to Die", but I could swear I heard a few notes in a few places that evoke thoughts of Vesper and the CR soundtrack: I'll need another listen or two before I'm certain. A bit more use of the traditional James Bond theme than the last outing, but still not quite as much as I would have hoped for. Of course, I'm still one of those freaks that would like to hear a modern take on Barry's "007" theme...

Cheers to David Arnold- yet again, a soundtrack worthy of the heir to the John Barry mantle... -{

Fitzochris

Gassy Man wrote:

Exactly. In fact, if you were to compare the soundtracks from From Russia with Love and Goldfinger to this one, you'd probably find they're about on par with the presence of the Bond theme (save for the gunbarrel sequences in those films).

But QoS has a gunbarrel, albeit at the end of the film.

TheSaint

OK, I’ve listened to it now and it’s not bad. I agree with one poster who said this is possibly Arnold’s best. Of course, I am one of those who will always moan that it’s not John Barry, but David Arnold (whom I usually like when he’s not doing Bond!) seems to have composed based on the feelings of the scenes rather than trying to inject brass and the Bond theme everywhere. Unlike the last couple of Arnold scores, I am happy to listen to this independently of the movie, which is what I did with Barry’s.

One disappointment, however: while the James Bond theme is more present than in CR, there is no gunbarrel version.