Skyfall

It took me a while to decide what I was going to say about this score after I first heard because I just couldn't decide if I absolutely loved it or just liked it. After listening to this album several times and after seeing the movie, I can definitely say this is one of the most exciting scores of the Bond franchise. As a huge Thomas Newman fan, I was curious of course to hear what Newman came up with for a Bond score. At first I didn't know what to think after hearing his beautiful scores to "Road to Perdition", "Little Children" and many others. After seeing the movie it made more since and made the listening experience much better. I believe Newman deserved his Oscar nomination for this because it fit the movie like a glove. This may not be Newman's most beautiful score but it's his most pulse pounding and action packed score. It'll definitely get you going once you start listening to it. Is this CD without faults? Of course not...The excellent Oscar winning title song "Skyfall" by Adele wasn't included, probably because of some contract idiocy. My main gripe about this album is that the songs aren't in sequential order so one has to flip tracks around on this CD to find a certain one. Other than that I say this album is worth your time. My final advice...don't expect this to be like David Arnold or John Barry. It doesn't compare to them at all. Accept that and you'll enjoy this.

My vinyl has a number of 048 at the back of the cover. This is a limited of 500 of red over white vinyl. I love all of the gimmicky stuff that they included in this vinyl: the thick gatefold sleeves, 3D pop up in the middle, the very nice booklet which listed the songs and credit for the arrangment and pictures from the movie, the multi color vinyl. When I bought it at amazon, it was on sale for $20. I’ve heard the music already and is familiar with it so it was no brainer for me to pick this up. The score by Tomas Newman is amazing. It’s a strong scores for a very good movie. The extra stuff that comes with the vinyl is a nice addition. This is a collector limited edition. Amazon often listed a description that is not quite correct. But this time they are correct. And as of the time I was writing this, it was on sale for $16.95.

Contrary to a popular rumor, Thomas Newman's score for the latest, and the 50th Anniversary edition of the James Bond franchise, Sam Mendes' "Skyfall," is hardly the worst of the enormous musical collection; that dubious achievement still belongs to Eric Serra and "Goldeneye" (to be followed by the late Marvin Hamlisch, "The Spy Who Loved Me," Bill Conti, "For Your Eyes Only," and George Martin, "Live and Let Die"). This does not include commentary on theme songs (a great song doth not a great score make), although the last few have been pretty unremarkable Adele's "Skyfall," which does not appear on this soundtrack album, comes closer to a true Bond anthem than we have had in quite some time (The best? "Goldfinger," "Live and Let Die," "You Only Live Twice," "Nobody Does it Better," "For Your Eyes Only," "We Have All the Time in the World," and "Diamonds Are Forever"). To be honest Newman's effort is not up there with John Barry's best ("On Her Majesty's Secret Service," "Goldfinger," "You Only Live Twice," "Diamonds Are Forever," "From Russia With Love," and "Thunderball"), but it is a good deal better than "Dr. No" and some of the work of David Arnold. It is actually surprisingly good as an album, and works very well with what is on the screen (the real test). And Barry is not with us anymore, so here we are. There is no lack of kinetic energy here, and Newman knows when to tone things down for reflective, if not romantic, moments (something he is very well known for and with good reason). He blends a subtle yet sinister main theme throughout and teases with limited use of the James Bond theme just enough to make sure we know this is a Bond epic except for a couple of key moments ("Breadcrumbs" among them) when it comes through with certitude. Many of us had our doubts about the choice of Newman, but in the end this is a good effort for a film that is certainly a solid production in almost every way with some great touches at the end. The fundamental problem in scoring a Bond film is simply that Barry was so damnably good and a hard act to follow by even good composers such as Arnold ("Tomorrow Never Dies") and now Newman ("The Horse Whisperer"). The recent tendency to leave the theme song off the soundtrack album is too bad but understood given the complications of modern musical contracts and copyright law, and sadly with some of them there is no great loss anyway. The best news is of course that Bond is back in action, and will return. Solid production values and adequate packaging (should have been better for a 50th Anniversary) by Sony.

Seller is an asset to Amazon. Clear communication, nice price, swift delivery. Highest possible recommendation.

While I understand why some people don't like the soundtrack, I think this is becoming - if it's not already - one of my favorite Bond soundtracks. Initially I had some of the same complaints that people had about the music - it's repetitive, doesn't sound like James Bond, doesn't have a musical identity. After numerous listens, I don't feel as if this is necessarily the case. It certainly ranks with Goldeneye as arguably the largest stylistic departure of all the Bond soundtracks. Many of the tracks contain unique interpretations of the James Bond theme (or at least portions of it) that can be easy to miss, in addition to other small motifs. It's a very different soundtrack - especially compared to Barry's work on the Bond series - and it's music that you really need to listen to if you want to understand what's going on and get something out of it. And once you get what's going on, the soundtrack is immensely listenable. The tracks aren't in strict film order, but the order they're in makes for a great listening experience.

When Adele's title track was released for Skyfall, I loved it. I think it's the best title track in years. I had high hopes that the score would follow suit, and I was very curious to see what Thomas Newman would bring to the table for his first outing as a Bond soundtrack composer. I can only say that the soundtrack in whole is good, but it is not excellent and not quite what I hoped for. I am very much a John Barry fan. Even though Barry could get repetitive in the use of the title track themes woven into his scores, it was just right and added the right poke of excitement to the movie. You knew that Bond was about to fight some bad guys when that theme cue came up. When David Arnold came aboard starting with Tomorrow Never Dies, he really hit the score out of the park. But subsequent Arnold scores seemed less and less appealing and I grew tired of the way that electronic percussion was used. Even though Barry experimented with it (especially in The Living Daylights), something was better about it then; maybe just because it was new and more of a novelty. I measure soundtracks largely on the basis of my likelihood to repeatedly want to listen to them well after purchase. Such classics as The Living Daylights, A View to a Kill, and Tomorrow Never Dies all fall in this category. The last handful of David Arnold soundtracks, not so much, and I suspect Skyfall will also end up collecting dust. This soundtrack continues the trend of heavy use of electronic percussion and drum loops. Sadly, the Skyfall theme is almost nowhere to be found. And there's just not enough of Monty Norman's classic Bond cues for my taste. It is too much of a generic action score and not enough of a Bond score. The best tracks of the lot, in my opinion are: 1. Grand Bazaar, Istanbul - Although they've done away (yet again) with the opening Bond gun barrel sequence, this track opens the movie and at least it does so with a couple notes from the Bond theme (da-daaa) to let you know this is a BOND movie, and it works for me. The rest is a good action piece with some heroic Bond theme baked in. It's satisfying but not overly so. 7. Jellyfish - I like suspenseful pieces and this is a great example. Let's just say that driving in traffic while listening to something like this won't be the same. You'll be ready to handle anything. 10. Day Wasted - A somber piece ending in an optimistic glimmer of the Bond theme. 11. Quartermaster - Suspense and intrigue. 18. Health & Safety - I believe this is referring to the subway sequence where Bond chases after Silva. More great tension and suspense. 20. Tennyson - Possibly my favorite. Nice rhythm with violins over top, building up at the end with horns & drums. 22. Breadcrumbs - Thank goodness, Monty Norman's classic presentation is revealed and nicely done. But, just as your appetite whets in anticipation as it builds up, it peters out just as quickly and leaves you disappointed. My other pet peeve is that, in the apparent new pattern of Bond soundtrack releases, the title track by Adele is missing. This has become a minor quibble only because it is very easy to buy the single as an MP3, but it is still frustrating. I don't consider the soundtrack complete without the flagship title song. In conclusion, if you collect Bond soundtracks it's a given that you'll add this to your collection. But for casual listeners who want a lot of Bond theme action or expect to hear the Skyfall theme poignantly woven into the score, you may be disappointed. It is just too generic to be a true Bond score. Since James Bond Will Return, maybe next time.

I think this score is fantastic, it fits the tone of the film very well, gets my heart racing and tugs on my emotions when I expect it to; However, it should be noted that the traditional 007 theme is not included as its own track the way it is on the Casino Royale score ("The Name's Bond...James Bond"). Newman does an excellent job of weaving that theme into many of the other tracks for this film - most notably on "Breadcrumbs" - but it is David Arnold's "The Name's Bond...James Bond" that plays at the end of the film in theatres and as such it is not included on the Skyfall score. Just FYI so you're not disappointed if that theme is something you are particularly looking forward to on this OST.

In the course of 007's 50 years in film, there have certainly been hits and misses in the scoring. When John Barry was at the helm, it was always a superb score. Barry defined the Bond sound. When others - like Marvin Hamlisch, Eric Serra, or Michael Kamen - had the reins, the results were poor. In 1997, Bond fans were treated to the work of David Arnold, who had scored such films as Stargate and Independence Day. Working in Barry's style and yet always ready to break fresh ground, between 1997 and 2008, Arnold's work always told you that you were listening to a James Bond score. A Bond score fan, I was worried when I heard Thomas Newman was taking over for this film. Newman is great, but how would he do at Bond music? When Adele's song was released, however, I was filled with a surge of wild optimism. The song was everything good about the Bond music. Sadly, when I received this score, my hopes were dashed. First, the Adele title song was not included - a major, major, major marketing mistake. But, with thirty tracks of music on the CD, we were sure to get some good James Bond music, right...? Um, no. The James Bond Theme is mostly buried... You should always know you are listening to a Bond score when you listen to it. In Casino Royale, the James Bond Theme was not let out of the box until the end, when your hair stands on end as Bond stands over White - but appropriately so, as it is the first "James Bond moment" with Daniel Craig. But the rest of the score had that "Bond sound" even without the primary theme. I mean, quite literally, Clint Mansell's score for Sahara (2005) sounds more like James Bond than this does! Worse, the Adele theme is almost nonexistent in the score. The album notes say it is in "Komodo Dragon", but I can hardly tell. This is a tremendous error, as weaving the title song(s) into the orchestral music has been a James Bond staple since 1963 and "From Russia With Love", and really ties the whole package together. Without strong themes, this score feels meandering and thoroughly aimless. The score also contains very little of the lush romanticism of John Barry or David Arnold (with the exception of a little in the Severine theme). While this score is decent as a standalone score for, say, a Bourne movie or some other film, it hardly sounds like a James Bond score and, as such, does not fit in the 007 catalogue... Certainly not on the genre's 50th anniversary. Very disappointing. Next time, David Arnold needs to make a triumphant return and fix the musical hash we have in this release. Or - and yes, I am being facitious - have Adele write the score, as she obviously knows what the Bond sound is more than Thomas Newman does. ------- UPDATE ------- My initial review of the score still stands, but since writing it, I have seen the film. Despite the overwhelmingly positive critical reception and praise, and the incredible box office receipts the film is making, I was even more disappointed with the actual movie than the score. This was primarily because of its gaping plot holes and some startlingly out-of-character behavior by Bond. I do now see where the cues on the CD fit in to the overall framework, but I still don't like the way the score "works" in the film. Certainly much of this has to do with director Mendes' input and what he wanted, but the score just doesn't have enough of a James Bond feel - on the CD or in the film. To see if it's just me, I have now gone back and listened to a whole selection of Bond score CD's, including every one of the David Arnold entries. This score just doesn't hold a candle to the genre. I think some of it is the lack of an "echo" sound to the mix, as all the previous recordings had a rather "large-space" feel and this one was recorded in a different studio, but that is not all of it. Most of the action music just doesn't have enough of a strong, driving, brassy, big-orchestra sound (like "Exercise at Gibraltar" for The Living Daylights, "Miami Airport" for Casino Royale or "Time to Get Out" for Quantum of Solace, and so forth), and could have come from any modern spy flick. Meanwhile, there just isn't enough sweeping, romantic music (like "Bond Meets Tania" for From Russia With Love, "Mujahadin and Opium" for The Living Daylights, "Christmas in Turkey" for The World is Not Enough, "I'm the Money" or "City of Lovers" from Casino Royale, etc). I thought the trip up to Skyfall in the film, with all of that glorious scenery and some nice aerial footage, as well, would have made a terrific opportunity for some of the latter category; instead, it was too muted, too quiet, too non-Bond in feel. At any rate, I still feel that David Arnold needs to return with the classic Bond sound on the next film.

プレミアで一足先に本作を鑑賞しました！！やはり期待通りのできで満足！いや、それ以上か。 とにかくサウンドスコアもよくサントラは必ず買わねばと思いました！！ 12月１日から本作は公開です さらばＭ。

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Fanastic music , perfect for any James Bond Fan, doesn't have Adele Skyfall on it though

Superb soundtrack, probably the most diverse of the Bond films in terms of the music, though I do wish the producers would bring David Arnold back.

Enfin du vinyl pour célébrer notre 007. Bel objet ! Son magique (surtout comparé aux CD ou MP3). Instrumental (quel bonheur de ne pas avoir de paroles chantées).