If John Barry had anything to do with the James Bond Theme, it'd be the only time he contributed to an exciting cue that wasn't total sludge in tempo.
I listen primarily to ambient and downtempo electronica while I'm work. It puts me in the right frame of mind for writing and editing. Anyway, I once angered a Barry fan on this board when I said that, along the lines of ambient and downtempo electronica, I like listening to the Connery-era Bond soundtracks while I'm working, because of their static, hypnotic nature. I meant it in a purely observational kind of way, but it was taken as an insult.
I've never been a big fan of the Bond series or music, but seen every film on and off over the years. Bond's been on television in constant rotation in the US for 40 years. The last 20 years in mega marathons no less.
I have written this elsewhere, but I'll add it again here.
I credit Barry with being the primary architect of the 60s spy sound, but I think that other composers took those ideas and created more interesting scores, notably Edwin Astley, Laurie Johnson, Jerry Goldsmith, and Lalo Schifrin, among others.
I quote here a recent pertinent post from TG in another thread regarding Barry's Bond music...
Here’s a statement: Nobody - not Williams or Goldsmith or Morricone or Fielding or Herrmann or Giacchino or Horner or Rozsa or Bernstein or anyone - has written a main title with such sheer muscular joy and exuberance as that one.
That was specifically about OHMSS and I stand by every word
I have written this elsewhere, but I'll add it again here.
I credit Barry with being the primary architect of the 60s spy sound, but I think that other composers took those ideas and created more interesting scores, notably Edwin Astley, Laurie Johnson, Jerry Goldsmith, and Lalo Schifrin, among others.
And you’re perfectly entitled to think that! Don’t see it myself, though. (In fact, he was the primary architect of two, if not three, different versions of the 60s spy sound.)
'Dr. No' is seriously lacking in a lot of areas, and you can't fault Sean Connery as it was his very first outing as James Bond.
By that logic you can't fault anybody because it was the very first outing of a Bond movie for everyone involved.
Nah, just kidding, Dave. I guess what I'm trying to say is that DR. NO is one of my favorites of the whole series so we just have to agree to disagree on that one...
The first one I’ve never come across, but the second, When Eight Bells Toll, has been the subject of much admiring discussion, notably involving MusicMad. A great theme but with not much else to back it up, unfortunately.
The first one I’ve never come across, but the second, When Eight Bells Toll, has been the subject of much admiring discussion, notably involving MusicMad. A great theme but with not much else to back it up, unfortunately.
There's the jazzy fight music rendition at 5:00 in. The building drama of a murder at 8:49 in. The next cue which uses ideas and a four-note motif heard throughout the score.
1:37 in with some spirited adventure music. 1:51 in (the next cue) that features what I consider to be one of the best suspense/mystery and action cues of any film score. Then of course at 8:24 a tighter and more kick-ass rendition of the main theme.
As TG has kindly credited me with references to When Eight Bells Toll (1971) I take the opportunity of highlighting three such threads ... and yes, I do think the score has enough material to warrant a release. My own DVD rip lasts in excess of 40' and has sufficient variety to make is worthwhile ... IMHO.
But this is a thread about a piece of music far more iconic, far more enjoyable and far more ... everlasting. Even without the legal credit of composition, it's John Barry's theme and, to me, it not only does its job (of introducing JB007) it works time and again, through multiple variations/arrangements. No other single piece of film music comes close.
I acknowledge that for some, it's not the Bee's Knees and, for me, it's not John Barry's best piece of music. But whatever anyone thinks of it ... it's hard to deny that his work on that theme (composition/arrangement) hasn't had a lasting influence on film music these last 55 years.
The first one I’ve never come across, but the second, When Eight Bells Toll, has been the subject of much admiring discussion, notably involving MusicMad. A great theme but with not much else to back it up, unfortunately.
There's the jazzy fight music rendition at 5:00 in. The building drama of a murder at 8:49 in. The next cue which uses ideas and a four-note motif heard throughout the score.
1:37 in with some spirited adventure music. 1:51 in (the next cue) that features what I consider to be one of the best suspense/mystery and action cues of any film score. Then of course at 8:24 a tighter and more kick-ass rendition of the main theme.
I expressed myself infelicitously. There probably is enough for a release, especially considering some other scores that have had a second or third iteration over the last ten years. I was really comparing it with JB Bond scores, which typically have a great main theme and several secondary ones of high quality. When Eight Bells Toll is very dependent on the main title theme, and the nautical stuff, while very listenable, reminds me of Barry Gray’s Stingray underscore. Okay, not the worst thing ever.
I've seen a small handful of the James Bond films, and since the prices were really terrific for the Blu-rays at Amazon, decided to invest in some of the early Bond's. 'Goldfinger', 'The Spy Who Loved Me', and the latest ones with Daniel Craig, are the only ones I've seen. I know I've missed whole decades worth, which is why I wanted to start at the very beginning. 'Dr. No' is seriously lacking in a lot of areas, and you can't fault Sean Connery as it was his very first outing as James Bond. However I believe possibly the single most glaring oversight is it's music. I had thought, (incorrectly), that John Barry had written all of the early James Bond Films, but a man named Monty Norman wrote the music for 'Dr. No'. There's a lot of 'source music' here from Jamaican music to phonograph records, to an outside band. But the film really needed more..'OOOMPH', which I'm sure another composer could have given it. John Barry does do the 'Bond Theme' at the beginning, and that's it. Monty Norman's music just doesn't have an weight to it. A scene where Bond kills a tarantula found on his bed with a shoe was almost laughable. Every strike of the shoe to the spider was accompanied with a loud musical 'strike', and it didn't even need it there. Any ideas as to how Monty Norman was signed to write the score to this film, and was there any other offers to other Film Composers at the time? Next up: 'From Russia With Love', and I just looked it up and found Norman did this score as well!
If there's a luckier composer than Norman, I'd like to know who it is. On the "Dr. No" CD track 1 is titled "James Bond Theme". This is the one we all know. Track 17 is titled "THE James Bond Theme". It is nothing like track 1 and actually is pretty weak. I wonder if this is Norman's first attempt at the main title. Anyone out there have any thoughts on this?
A great video thanks. To Mr. Phelps, I hope that post that refers to sludge was a joke?
Oh that treacherous smiley at the top of his post! Is that what he thinks? Is that only what he wants you to think he thinks? Is it what he think he thinks but pretends it isn't? Who can say?
Wherever there's a question about John Barry's authorship of the JBT, that's where you'll find Jim!
Boys and Girls....The clue who wrote The Bond Theme is at the end of all Bond Films...It reads simply ..The Bond Theme writen by Monty Norman.
On every Bond Film’s Credit Role...Monty Norman’s name appears. The Broccoli’s placed it there...so me thinks it must be true. And even a British Court, that John Barry testified at. Conclusion was that Monty Norman wrote the James Bond Theme...oh my another clue.
What we all know..and still today know...that Cubby Broccoli ask John Barry to come in and clean that Bond Theme up a bit.
But with all this known evidence...there are still the ones who cannot get it together and post a new thread that John Barry wrote the James Bond Theme.
Boys and Girls....The clue who wrote The Bond Theme is at the end of all Bond Films...It reads simply ..The Bond Theme writen by Monty Norman.
On every Bond Film’s Credit Role...Monty Norman’s name appears. The Broccoli’s placed it there...so me thinks it must be true. And even a British Court, that John Barry testified at. Conclusion was that Monty Norman wrote the James Bond Theme...oh my another clue.
What we all know..and still today know...that Cubby Broccoli ask John Barry to come in and clean that Bond Theme up a bit.
But with all this known evidence...there are still the ones who cannot get it together and post a new thread that John Barry wrote the James Bond Theme.
Them poor clueless bored people.
If only it was as simple as "The films say the theme was written by Monty Norman, therefore it was".
Ghostwriting isn't new, and that's essentially was what Barry's claim was: that he ghost wrote it knowing that it would be contractually credited to Norman. Norman disputes that and to be honest nobody here really knows the truth. The point is, though, what the credits say doesn't really prove anything other than what they are contractually obliged to say.
As for the court case, it did not conclude that Norman wrote the Bond theme. It concluded that the Sunday Times was wrong to claim that John Barry was the sole author. The case was not, "Who wrote the James Bond theme", the case was, "Was Monty Norman libelled by the Sunday Times when they claimed Barry was the sole author."
That verdict still leave open the question of how much John Barry wrote, re-wrote, or merely orchestrated of the Bond theme.
The only thing we know for certain is Barry did an uncredited 'something' on that theme. Uncredited what?
He says he completely re-wrote it. Norman says Barry only orchestrated it.
Anyway, my main point is that what the credits say doesn't prove a lot and the court case never resolved the extent of Barry's involvement in the Bond theme, only that the court was satisfied that Norman contributed at least something to it.
Personally, my belief is that Norman did write the skeleton of the theme but that Barry re-wrote it and added new bits.
You know, like how a writer sometime's re-writes a previous writer's script.
But my belief can be no more proven than disproving than anyone else's.
