GoldenEye

Interest in the Bond films waned somewhat during the Roger Moore years, but Timothy Dalton's two outings rather put the skids on the franchise for a few years. I suspect Dalton's intensely serious take on the character didn't sit well with audiences who were expecting a little more 'wit' and innuendo, if not perhaps up to the level of later Moore outings. Fortunately, after finishing TV show Remington Steele (which had precluded him from taking the role earlier), Pierce Brosnan became the fifth official Bond actor and turned the franchise back into the roaring success it once enjoyed. He also became the most popular actor since Connery, carefully mixing some of the coldness Connery displayed with the occasional knowing wink of Moore.

For this new start, the producers wanted a more contemporary sound. Michael Kamen had scored the previous outing and Barry's last effort had been the one before that. It is perhaps slightly curious that Kamen wasn't asked again as he is a highly regarded (not to say successful) song writer and orchestral composer, with the ability to mix in contemporary elements as he did for Lethal Weapon, amongst others. Unfortunately for us, they chose Eric Serra. Serra's record since Goldeneye has been a bit patchy, but distinctly better. The score is not only something of an under achiever on its own, but worst of all, is hugely inappropriate for Bond. It doesn't have to sound exactly like John Barry to work, but there are certain elements that are expected and endless noodling on keyboards - the occasional introspective string moment excepted - is hardly sufficient. Even the song, composed by Bono and the Edge and performed by Tina Turner, is fairly feeble, barely memorable and with an anemic arrangement.

The Goldeneye Overture sounds promising, but in fact it sets the tone for the rest of the score with samples and evidently synthetic instruments. The only nice touch is a hint of the Bond theme on sampled timpani, but the track is otherwise splendidly dull. There are a few good moments, We Share the Same Passions is orchestral and with a pleasing use of bass flute and strings that is idiomatic and interesting. Indeed, other quieter moments are written in much the same way and equally effective, if not hugely memorable. A shame the action and suspense is so synthetic and dismal. Whispering Statues features a some deep, Russian choir (sampled and manipulated) which works well, but again, the melodic content is forgettable. The decision to make only the briefest references to the Bond theme was a bad one. Only A Pleasant Drive in St. Petersburg (replaced by John Altman's variations on the Bond theme for the film) contains more than a fleeting reference and those are mostly in bits of sampled percussion. It doesn't need to appear all the time, but with little in the way of new, let alone interesting, melodic content, a hint of the familiar theme wouldn't go amiss.

The Experience of Love, written and performed by Serra is pretty horrible, but at least it has a melody. Film scores are rarely panned in the general press, but Serra's contribution was so notably inappropriate that many reviewers noted it in their writings. Only the string led, introspective moments work in the film and on disc, the rest sounds like someone experimenting on a new keyboard. It is fortunate that the producers went with David Arnold for subsequent films and he has become the only composer other than John Barry to score more than one in the series. The crucial difference is that Arnold used the orchestra with the electronics. Yes, his scores are over the top, but they are at least tuneful and most importantly they sound like Bond. Serra's score may be inappropriate Bond scoring, but even on its own terms it's a pretty depressing effort and a musical low point in the series.