Quantum of Solace
David Arnold
" It brings the ideas that are worth expanding upon and yet it isn't allowed. "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
Bond 22 or entitled Quantum of Solace is the rare occasion where we have a continuation of a previous story in the Bond genre. At the end of Casino Royale we saw Vesper die and Bond was on the verge of taking revenge at the people who murdered her. Now the vengeance is what ignites Quantum of Solace and David Arnold is on his 5th Bond take to get the job done. I still consider his entrance in the Bond franchise Tomorrow Never Dies to be his best effort and I didn't really share the enthusiasm most people had for Casino Royale. Does Quantum of Solace appear to be the better than Casino Royale, or is it the continuation of it?
The latter gives the answer. It's nice that we can experience the theme of Vesper again, but the sound of QoS is basically Arnold's typical Bond music since The World is not Enough. It is also a lot more electronic than I thought it would be. Whereas this adds to the tension and rhythm of the score, it also makes it more relentless and tiring, at least if you dig the John Barry sound more. Luckily not all is bad considering David Arnold still throws his ideas into the mix. Yet sadly like all that is film music today, it are ideas that fuel the action and not the themes.
Whether you start or end with the song is up to you, because in both cases it is pretty horrible. It just doesn't work at all and a reason is because it shares nothing in common with Arnold's material. So "Another Way to Die" is without question a Bond tune that will not go down in history.
Arnold's score, which of course, opens this album starts the action after an ominous opening. "Time to Get Out" has some nice trumpet blasts which most definitely revoke back the memories of Tomorrow Never Dies. It ends with a faint version of the Bond theme. This is basically a very good opener and I kinda wished Arnold continued on this manner.
"The Palio" by then goes into the suspenseful mood, again bringing forth good ideas in the action music but it forgets to end with a climax that it builds to. More or less, this is fast and loud action music, but it can't deliver the sting that would make it explode. That's sad because Arnold pumps it up with several notes of the Bond theme.
There is quite a bunch of calm music between the various action cues. The Bond theme shines through some ethnic touches in "Bond in Haiti", the calm ethnic "Green & Camille" puts a version of Camille's theme down, then there's the eerie "No Interest in Dominic Greene" and the nice string version of Bond's opening and Camille"s ending in "Talamone". Yet many people will be pleasantly surprised to hear Vesper's theme returning in "What's Keeping you Awake" and "Forgive Yourself". While not being a special theme, it is special a theme returns again in another Bond film.
In between all the various Bond theme statements and the softer underscore, Arnold pumps up the occasional blasts. The suspenseful building with trumpets in "Somebody Wants to Kill You" is accompanied with the rhythmic blast after three minutes in "Pursuit at Port au Prince" which surely is the fastest Bond music on this album alongside the explosive "Target Terminated". It is fast, feisty, fanfares and beats abound linking it to all the Bond scores of Arnold's past.
The Camille theme with guitar in "Camille's Story" is soft enough after all that pumping anarchy and "Oil Fields" is important because it brings perhaps the most strong Bond theme version of all. Sadly the most promising track of all comes down at being one of the biggest disappointments. "Perla de las Dunas" is eight minutes long, yet sadly doesn't even contain action music lasting more than half of its running time. It starts action packed, then turns to mysterious silence, builds up lovely again with the Bond theme and stops once more after a couple of minutes. Like most of the tracks on this album, it forgets to add a blast to the ignition.
I'm afraid to say it, but I think it is time to give the Bond music to someone else the next time. Because I think Arnold pulled out everything he could in those five Bond scores. David Arnold can never push his Independence Day manner into a Bond score and his electronic rhythm is enough for the movie but not for the score. Like the track, it keeps inserting the good with the bad. It brings the ideas that are worth expanding upon and yet it isn't allowed. Quantum of Solace is like Casino Royale, a score that has good ideas, but I'm betting Casino Royale will remain the favourite with most people when comparing the prequel with the sequel.
Tracklisting
1. Time to Get Out (3.30)
2. The Palio (5.01)
3. Inside Man (0.40)
4. Bond in Haiti (0.37)
5. Somebody Wants to Kill You (2.19)
6. Greene & Camille (2.15)
7. Pursuit at Port au Prince (6.00)
8. No Interest in Dominic Greene (2.46)
9. Night at the Opera (3.03)
10. Restrict Bond's Movement (1.33)
11. Talamone (0.36)
12. What's Keeping you Awake (1.42)
13. Bolivian Taxi Ride (0.51)
14. Field Trip (0.43)
15. Forgive Yourself (2.28)
16. DC3 (1.17)
17. Target Terminated (3.55)
18. Camille's Story (4.00)
19. Oil Fields (2.31)
20. Have you Ever Killed Someone? (1.34)
21. Perla de las Dunas (8.09)
22. The Dead Don't Care About Vengeance (1.16)
23. I Never Left (0.42)
24. Another Way to Die: Jack White & Alicia Keys (4.23)
Total Length: 61.06
The latter gives the answer. It's nice that we can experience the theme of Vesper again, but the sound of QoS is basically Arnold's typical Bond music since The World is not Enough. It is also a lot more electronic than I thought it would be. Whereas this adds to the tension and rhythm of the score, it also makes it more relentless and tiring, at least if you dig the John Barry sound more. Luckily not all is bad considering David Arnold still throws his ideas into the mix. Yet sadly like all that is film music today, it are ideas that fuel the action and not the themes.
Whether you start or end with the song is up to you, because in both cases it is pretty horrible. It just doesn't work at all and a reason is because it shares nothing in common with Arnold's material. So "Another Way to Die" is without question a Bond tune that will not go down in history.
Arnold's score, which of course, opens this album starts the action after an ominous opening. "Time to Get Out" has some nice trumpet blasts which most definitely revoke back the memories of Tomorrow Never Dies. It ends with a faint version of the Bond theme. This is basically a very good opener and I kinda wished Arnold continued on this manner.
"The Palio" by then goes into the suspenseful mood, again bringing forth good ideas in the action music but it forgets to end with a climax that it builds to. More or less, this is fast and loud action music, but it can't deliver the sting that would make it explode. That's sad because Arnold pumps it up with several notes of the Bond theme.
There is quite a bunch of calm music between the various action cues. The Bond theme shines through some ethnic touches in "Bond in Haiti", the calm ethnic "Green & Camille" puts a version of Camille's theme down, then there's the eerie "No Interest in Dominic Greene" and the nice string version of Bond's opening and Camille"s ending in "Talamone". Yet many people will be pleasantly surprised to hear Vesper's theme returning in "What's Keeping you Awake" and "Forgive Yourself". While not being a special theme, it is special a theme returns again in another Bond film.
In between all the various Bond theme statements and the softer underscore, Arnold pumps up the occasional blasts. The suspenseful building with trumpets in "Somebody Wants to Kill You" is accompanied with the rhythmic blast after three minutes in "Pursuit at Port au Prince" which surely is the fastest Bond music on this album alongside the explosive "Target Terminated". It is fast, feisty, fanfares and beats abound linking it to all the Bond scores of Arnold's past.
The Camille theme with guitar in "Camille's Story" is soft enough after all that pumping anarchy and "Oil Fields" is important because it brings perhaps the most strong Bond theme version of all. Sadly the most promising track of all comes down at being one of the biggest disappointments. "Perla de las Dunas" is eight minutes long, yet sadly doesn't even contain action music lasting more than half of its running time. It starts action packed, then turns to mysterious silence, builds up lovely again with the Bond theme and stops once more after a couple of minutes. Like most of the tracks on this album, it forgets to add a blast to the ignition.
I'm afraid to say it, but I think it is time to give the Bond music to someone else the next time. Because I think Arnold pulled out everything he could in those five Bond scores. David Arnold can never push his Independence Day manner into a Bond score and his electronic rhythm is enough for the movie but not for the score. Like the track, it keeps inserting the good with the bad. It brings the ideas that are worth expanding upon and yet it isn't allowed. Quantum of Solace is like Casino Royale, a score that has good ideas, but I'm betting Casino Royale will remain the favourite with most people when comparing the prequel with the sequel.
Tracklisting
1. Time to Get Out (3.30)
2. The Palio (5.01)
3. Inside Man (0.40)
4. Bond in Haiti (0.37)
5. Somebody Wants to Kill You (2.19)
6. Greene & Camille (2.15)
7. Pursuit at Port au Prince (6.00)
8. No Interest in Dominic Greene (2.46)
9. Night at the Opera (3.03)
10. Restrict Bond's Movement (1.33)
11. Talamone (0.36)
12. What's Keeping you Awake (1.42)
13. Bolivian Taxi Ride (0.51)
14. Field Trip (0.43)
15. Forgive Yourself (2.28)
16. DC3 (1.17)
17. Target Terminated (3.55)
18. Camille's Story (4.00)
19. Oil Fields (2.31)
20. Have you Ever Killed Someone? (1.34)
21. Perla de las Dunas (8.09)
22. The Dead Don't Care About Vengeance (1.16)
23. I Never Left (0.42)
24. Another Way to Die: Jack White & Alicia Keys (4.23)
Total Length: 61.06