Skyfall [Soundtrack]

Thomas Newman | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 6, 2012)
• Original Release Date: 2012
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: SONY CLASSICS
• ASIN: B009FBX5M0
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (114 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,587 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

The SKYFALL motion picture soundtrack features original score music by Thomas Newman. Newman is one of the most respected and recognized composers for modern film. He has scored over fifty feature films in a career which spans nearly three decades. Newman has received a total of ten Academy Award® nominations on such diverse scores as Road to Perdition, Finding Nemo, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Steven Soderbergh's The Good German and most recently, The Iron Lady and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. He has won two Grammy® Awards, an Emmy® and has been nominated for a Golden Globe®. SKYFALL is directed by Sam Mendes and stars Daniel Craig, Judi Dench and Javier Bardem. The film is the 23rd James Bond adventure and coincides with the 50th anniversary of the movie franchise.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

86 of 94 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars The theme song should be included November 16, 2012

By Rob

Format:Audio CD

I really enjoyed the music in Skyfall, and was going to buy the soundtrack until I discovered that the theme song was not included. The theme song is part of the movie's soundtrack, and leaving it off the soundtrack CD is simply a ripoff. It's a great song, and I'll skip the soundtrack CD since it is not included.

47 of 51 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars James Bond Will Return - Hopefully with a better score November 13, 2012

By Dale Eldersen

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

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.

36 of 43 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars No Theme Song by Adele November 13, 2012

By Suitsme

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

I like the music even though while driving to work it is somewhat anxiety producing. I was VERY disappointed that the soundtrack would not include the theme song. I should have read about this CD more carefully before purchasing.