The World is not Enough
David Arnold
" Bond goes hectic out of control "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
Two years after Tomorrow Never Dies comes The World is not Enough, David Arnold's second Bond outing. My personal impression is that the movies lost the feel of the older Bond movies, while the scores regained them. TND wasn't as good as Goldeneye and this movie really lacks the impressive flair we found with earlier efforts. Musically after Eric Serra's complete dud it was up to David Arnold to capture that Bond spirit Barry's scores so rightfully possessed. With Tomorrow Never Dies it went perfect, with The World is not Enough it became tiresome.
What this score misses is that fun aspect of having to listen to a Bond score. With every chase or dangerous situation, the composer weaved that Bond theme or song theme inside the already created action rhythm. And this worked really well during the past. Here however it becomes too much, especially due to all those added drum poundings and electronic beats. This makes The World is not Enough half the album it could have been.
Now with each Bond movie, there is the main Bond song. Though Garbage's song will never make it into the long and impressive list of Bond classics, it sounds appropriately. The main part of Arnold's score is action, and it starts after about 5 seconds to never really shut up. Though enjoyable and loud in parts, it becomes tiresome and simply too much after awhile. For instance "Come in 007, Your Time is Up" and "Ice Bandits" are good. The pace is fast, the beat is interesting and the fun is present. But this fun disappears after "Ice Bandits". It becomes tiresome and "Pipeline", "Caviar Factory" and "Submarine" are responsible for the album's lack of interest.
I do not know what to think of this score. I mean, during the begin it offers enjoyable action pieces. And the underscore is acceptable if nothing special (except for "Welcome to Baku"). But the loud action material is simply too heavy to handle, plus it also lacks that inspiring James Bond touch. "Submarine" for instance starts promising enough, but loses quickly your attention when the over exaggerated action music starts to take over. And the end after that features even more dull stuff. Because with "Only Myself to Blame" we have probably one of the dullest songs of all time.
I'm not saying that I am the biggest fan of Bond music. But scores like The Living Daylights and Tomorrow Never Dies amused me, and I simply can not find The World is not Enough amusing, entertaining or interesting. My interest was present during the begin, but during the middle my mind didn't even try to focus on the music anymore, with the result you went through half the album without knowing it. 60 minutes is generous but too much when we receive action music that's lacking a soul and direction. The World is not Enough isn't Arnold's best and that's quite disappointing after his entertaining Tomorrow Never Dies.
Tracklisting
1. The World is Not Enough: Garbage (3.55)
2. Show Me the Money (1.27)
3. Come In 007, Your Time is Up (5.19)
4. Access Denied (1.33)
5. M's Confession (1.31)
6. Welcome to Baku (1.42)
7. Casino (2.55)
8. Ice Bandits (3.42)
9. Elektra's Theme (2.06)
10. Body Double (3.00)
11. Going Down / The Bunker (6.27)
12. Pipeline (4.15)
13. Remember Pleasure (2.45)
14. Caviar Factory (6.01)
15. Torture Queen (2.22)
16. I Never Miss (3.32)
17. Submarine (10.20)
18. Christmas in Turkey (1.27)
19. Only Myself to Blame: Scott Walker (3.37)
Total Length: 68.13
What this score misses is that fun aspect of having to listen to a Bond score. With every chase or dangerous situation, the composer weaved that Bond theme or song theme inside the already created action rhythm. And this worked really well during the past. Here however it becomes too much, especially due to all those added drum poundings and electronic beats. This makes The World is not Enough half the album it could have been.
Now with each Bond movie, there is the main Bond song. Though Garbage's song will never make it into the long and impressive list of Bond classics, it sounds appropriately. The main part of Arnold's score is action, and it starts after about 5 seconds to never really shut up. Though enjoyable and loud in parts, it becomes tiresome and simply too much after awhile. For instance "Come in 007, Your Time is Up" and "Ice Bandits" are good. The pace is fast, the beat is interesting and the fun is present. But this fun disappears after "Ice Bandits". It becomes tiresome and "Pipeline", "Caviar Factory" and "Submarine" are responsible for the album's lack of interest.
I do not know what to think of this score. I mean, during the begin it offers enjoyable action pieces. And the underscore is acceptable if nothing special (except for "Welcome to Baku"). But the loud action material is simply too heavy to handle, plus it also lacks that inspiring James Bond touch. "Submarine" for instance starts promising enough, but loses quickly your attention when the over exaggerated action music starts to take over. And the end after that features even more dull stuff. Because with "Only Myself to Blame" we have probably one of the dullest songs of all time.
I'm not saying that I am the biggest fan of Bond music. But scores like The Living Daylights and Tomorrow Never Dies amused me, and I simply can not find The World is not Enough amusing, entertaining or interesting. My interest was present during the begin, but during the middle my mind didn't even try to focus on the music anymore, with the result you went through half the album without knowing it. 60 minutes is generous but too much when we receive action music that's lacking a soul and direction. The World is not Enough isn't Arnold's best and that's quite disappointing after his entertaining Tomorrow Never Dies.
Tracklisting
1. The World is Not Enough: Garbage (3.55)
2. Show Me the Money (1.27)
3. Come In 007, Your Time is Up (5.19)
4. Access Denied (1.33)
5. M's Confession (1.31)
6. Welcome to Baku (1.42)
7. Casino (2.55)
8. Ice Bandits (3.42)
9. Elektra's Theme (2.06)
10. Body Double (3.00)
11. Going Down / The Bunker (6.27)
12. Pipeline (4.15)
13. Remember Pleasure (2.45)
14. Caviar Factory (6.01)
15. Torture Queen (2.22)
16. I Never Miss (3.32)
17. Submarine (10.20)
18. Christmas in Turkey (1.27)
19. Only Myself to Blame: Scott Walker (3.37)
Total Length: 68.13