Customer Reviews

Tomorrow Never Dies: Music From The Motion Picture

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

David Arnold is the man on this one. After the GoldenEye score came out, many were wondering what happened to the classic Bond styling. Well, it's back, with a twist

Sheryl Crow's theme is definately different for a Bond theme (not necessarily bad), but it actually makes no appearance in the score itself. The song "Surrender" by k.d. Lang acts as the theme for the score in numerous occasions, which is fitting becasue the song itself is much like one of Shirley Bassey's themes. One thing that Arnold did especially well is to bring back the Bond theme. Remember hearing it in GoldenEye? No, you don't. It wasn't there at all, except for the trailor (whcih was by Parodi Fair, but that's another cd)
The twist is the added techno styling to good ol' Bond intruments. Arnold did a great job in keeping stuff up to date, and Moby added to it with the Bond remix at the end of the CD. Great, great stuff.

This CD, however, only has half of the score. If you want the whole score (editor's cut, as it is referrred to), you need the one that just says soundtrack. It's more expensive, and lacks Sheryl Crow, k.d Lang, and Moby's Remix. But it has some key tracks, like the ones at the climax of the movie. If you really are a Bond music fan, buy both.
*Interestingly enough, there is still some music missing, like the music heard at the cocktail party for the Carver Media Group. But it's stil good.

It is interesting to revistit David Arnold's first entry in the James Bond musical saga, "Tomorrow Never Dies," now that he is about to release his third score in the series,"Die Another Day." Arnold was given the rather daunting assignment of taking Bond into a new era but somehow create a musical bridge to the scores written by John Barry. He succeeded with what is now generally considered the best of the non-Barry 007 scores. Indeed, the full score, which sadly is only partially represented on this soundtrack recording, is one of the best of the entire series. The vocals are good, but they are also somewhat confusing. The song "Tommorow Never Dies-Surrender" is clearly the thematic basis of much of the score, but was not used as the title tune (it is presented over the end titles). Too bad, because aside from being an important part of the musical treatment, it is also the better song. The music for the pre-credit sequence, "White Knight," is a perfect example of Arnold's fine effort to both pay homage to Barry and put his stamp on Bond. It is a fantastic piece that integrates the traditional James Bond Theme, Barry's use of brass, and Arnold's new devices including his "Surrender" theme. After hearing this cue, I was sold on Arnold as the successor to Barry. Something closer to a full treatment of the score was later released by Chapter III Records (and is now out of print), but even it left out some cues. In two Bond scores Arnold has demonstrated dynamic skills in developing love themes, action music, dramatic cues, jazz and electronic interpretations. This is a worthy effort and leaves us wanting more from Arnold. The good news is that like James Bond, David Arnold will return.

I listened to the soundtrack recentley and loved every minute of it except for Sheryl Crow's theme song Tomorrow Never Dies. To be honest it is tolarable but her voice is two raspy to be really effective only the first minute is good you think alright a good song but drom then on it goes down hill. Now to the music From David Arnold i must say he has revived the 007 music business to legendary JOhn Barry's level. The music is awesome my favorite track is White Knight which starts out with the usual bond music and then to a wonderful 8:00 minute track that will keep you listening to the very end. Also The Sinking Of The Devonshire is real good. And last but not least is the Arnold produced song Surrender which is awesome with the trumpet fanfare. Then sung with Gusto from KD Lang it is awesome this should have been the theme song but KD probably not hip enought to have that honor. Buy it if you like Bond music and also i Can't wait for the soundtrack to The World Is Not Enough also by David Arnold.

Enter David Arnold as the new James Bond composer, with his magnificent vibes of music that give Tomorrow Never Dies a fantastic style of music to the film. Sheryl Crow gives us her sizziling title song that delivers very well. k.d. Lang provides the absolutely top of the notch, powerful, stunning end title song- Surrender. With the arresting voice like Shirley Bassey and the slam-bang tunes of David Arnold, Surrender suceeds on all levels. Moby provides his own, and equally stunning version of the James Bond theme also.
Many of the tracks have a techno flavor that give real buzz, such as Hamburg Break Out, Backseat Driver and Dr. Kaufman. Tomorrow Never Dies is filled with exciting, mysterious and stunning music that can definetly show that David Arnold will be with the James Bond series for quite some time!

Even if he's no match for John Barry, David Arnold's score for "Tomorrow Never Dies" is generally effective. Unfortunately, the title song, like the title song for "Goldeneye," is perfectly dreadful. The closing song, "Surrender," which also makes use of the film's title, is far superior in every way. As sung by K.D. Lang, it is, in fact, memorable, much more so than the rest of the score or even the film. This disc is worth buying for that track alone.

David Arnolds score for "Tomorrow Never Dies" was excellent. It had everthing a great Bond film score should have. I really liked David Arnold's "moderate" musical approach for this score compared to Eric Serra's very "liberal" musical approach. Arnold did an excellent job combining orchestral music with contemporary rythyms. I also liked how he used the James Bond theme throughout the film. This CD, however, has the same problem that the "Thunderball" soundtrack had. Most of music from the second half of the film is missing. I do hope that the rumored "Tomorrow Never Dies" Vol. 2 CD will contain some of the films great cues not on the original soundtrack such as: the second half of the pre-title sequence, the scene where Bond escapes from Carver's warehouse to his hotel, and the Hong Kong sequence... I hope that David Arnold's score for "The World is Not Enough" is just as good or better!!!

It seems to me that whenever a new Bond score comes out, everyone is quick to get the John Barry microscope out and examine it with great gusto. John Barry is forever slated as the musical genius of the Bond movies, and is seemingly one of a kind. Please, stop comparing people to legends such as him.

That being said, I feel that the current efforts by David Arnold have been absolutely superb. His treatment of the bond "musical feeling" is both innovative and entertaining. It must be a feat to be able to reiterate the same theme so to keep in the back of the audience's mind without being too obviously repetitive. White Knight is the stand-out track in this record, I feel, as whenever I play it again, I can still see the events as they are in the movie.

I feel David Arnold should be applauded for such a great score, that keeps the interest of modern-day audiences while maintaining the Bond sophistication.

John Barry has stated that he won't do another Bond soundtrack. After listening to Arnold's work for "Tomorrow Never Dies", I'm not so sure this is a bad thing. Arnold has a clear idea of what makes Bond work musically; from the opening bars of "White Knight" to the fade of k.d. lang's "Surrender", you know exactly what you're listening to. Moby's "James Bond Theme" is a brilliant techno-pop take on the much-loved guitar piece by Barry (or Monty Norman, depending on who you listen to) and much more effective than Eric Serra's fumbled attempts on "Goldeneye". Sheryl Crow's title song has received a lot of flack from fans and critics, but I don't think it's completely justified. Granted, Crow's range is limited, and there are times when I think the vocals could have been more dynamic, but the lyrics are strong (much stronger than "Goldeneye") and the use of strings is effective; it grows on you after a few l! ! istenings. lang's "Surrender", in contrast, is a powerhouse, full of the same brio and energy. It's reminescent of Shirley Bassey's "Goldfinger" but is not imitative of that classic.

THIS IS WHAT A JAMES BOND SOUNDTRACK SHOULD SOUND LIKE!

The music for Pierce Brosnan's 2nd James Bond action thriller is terrific. Aside from the title song, my favourite cue is "Paris And Bond." As an added bonus, we also get another song AND Moby's remix of The James Bond Theme. I recommend this soundtrack.

This score is one of David Arnold's finest works in my opinion since Independence Day. Barry would be proud of the rich use of THEME in this score compared to what some Bond movies lack and NEED. SUPERB, POWERFUL, INGENIOUS, and worthy to jam on your system driving down the road.