Casino Royale (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
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CD Details
Brand: TCMComposer: David Arnold
Edition: Music CD
Format: Soundtrack
CD Release Date: 2006-11-14
Model: 886970236928
Music Label: Sony Classics
Soundtracks:
- African Rundown
- Nothin' Sinister
- Unauthorised Access
- Blunt Instrument
- CCTV
- Solange
- Trip Aces
- Miami International
- I'm The Money
- Aston Montenegro
- Dinner Jackets
- The Tell
- Stairwell Fight
- Vesper
- Bond Loses It All
- Dirty Martini
- Bond Wins It All
- The End Of An Aston Martin
- The Bad Die Young
- City Of Lovers
- The Switch
- Fall Of A House In Venice
- Death Of Vesper
- The Bitch Is Dead
- The Name's Bond...James Bond
Music reviews of Casino Royale (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Music Review: Bond is Back with a bang - David Arnold is not
Rating: 3 Stars
Alright, I swore I wouldn't judge David Arnold's score for Casino Royale before seeing the film. Well, I have seen it twice now, and most unfortunately, my opinion hasn't changed a bit. If anything, I would say the score became worse.
While listening to this soundtrack, one question came to me: what happened since Die Another Day? I don't know what it is or where it came from, but I know that Casino Royale's score can't be David Arnold giving it all.
One strong point of all of Arnold's 007 scores has always been the action music. Frankly, I was shocked. Where did the inventiveness go? The style, the panache? Just take the most elaborate action piece, the twelve minute long "Miami International". What grand, long action pieces Arnold gave us: "Submarine", "White Knight", "Antonov". Compared to them, this one falls just short. The orchestra is flailing from bar to bar, from sync point to sync point. This action music strongly reminds me of new age John Williams - orchestral mayhem going nowhere, signifying nothing. The only difference is that Arnold isn't anywhere near Williams' skills. Between this, harps and guitars softly tingling, techno beats monotonely pounding and strings and woodwinds occasionally whispering the main theme in a dissonant way, there's really not much to keep your attention up. This mixture of electronic beats ambient music and mickey- mousing is anything but compelling.
From the very beginning, David Arnold made it clear that the James Bond Theme will seldomly be heard in the score, since Bond won't become Bond until the end of the film. Fine, nice idea; after all, Arnold already delivered the fantastic The World Is Not Enough, which also didn't have much of the Bond theme. But in TWINE, Arnold had a strong main theme to build his pieces around.
And in Casino Royale? You Know My Name, which Arnold co- wrote, isn't a very strong theme to begin with, but even an average theme gives musical pieces form and shape, so why doesn't he use it more often? Whenever he does incorporate it, the score suddenly becomes interesting.
By the way, David, we were promised a fresh Bond sound for Daniel Craig. Where is it? That the techno is toned down compared to Die Another Day doesn't equal a new sound.
But all these things aren't as bad as Casino Royale's major flaw: beyond the usual duties, the music adds absolutely nothing to the film. It matches the film, but it fails at shaping scenes, at making them more interesting. "African Rundown" is a good example. Yes, it is a long chase sequence in the film, but does that automatically mean the music can't change its pace and rhythm from time to time? Six minutes filled with loud brass punctuations, cymbal crashes and monotone exotic percussion beats. How boring can you make a chase sequence sound?
A couple of times the scoring choices alone were more than questionable. Like the scene in which Bond looks for Vesper in the streets of Venice. Arnold scores that with cymbal crashes and brass outbursts that you could think the world is about to explode. What the hell is happening on screen that requires this apocalyptic sound?
On screen it's sometimes really distracting, which is really extraordinary if you consider that Casino Royale is 15 minutes shorter that Die Another Day, but was written within the same timeframe.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the less music you have to write for a film, the more impact you want the music to have, don't you?
I never thought I would say this, but this 75 minutes album is at least 10 minutes too long. And the arrangement doesn't exactly ensure the best listening pleasure either. Don't get me wrong, it's most welcome that for once we're getting about 85% of the music from the very beginning (and the rest online), but unfortunately a complete score isn't always the most listenable one.
If you look at the length of the individual tracks, it's no wonder you're getting bored listening to the CD - before the music can build to anything, it's over. And these are scoring choices, by the way, not editing choices!
Finally, a few words on the lack of Chris Cornell's song (putting aside for a minute that it isn't even worth mentioning it). I can't believe people are giving this Soundtrack a low rating just because that piece of Chris Cornell isn't present here, although in the same review they mention how much they love Arnold's music. Guess what? It's neither Arnold's fault, nor Sony's. You Know My Name is Cornell's song, it belongs to his label Interscope, he can do with it whatever he wants. That it isn't on this CD is Cornell's decision alone. He didn't want it on the official soundtrack release because he "wanted it to be his own". Think of it what you want, but that's the way it is.
And here's a hot flash for those nitwits who bought the CD and are now complaining that there's no song on it: read.track.list.before.buying.
The lack of Cornell's song is even MENTIONED separately below the track list on the CD's back.
I'm giving Casino Royale three stars, which may be surprising after reading the review. Compared to Arnold's other three Bond scores, this one is a big letdown, but despite its many flaws, it has a beautiful theme for Bond and Vesper, which even Barry himself couldn't have done better, it is still a reasonably well- made Bond score, and even a mediocre 007 soundtrack is better than many of its competitors.
Description of Casino Royale (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
25 track Arnold score for the Daniel Craig film.Soundtracks CDs
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