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Filmtracks Editorial Review:
Experimenting with a Bond score that takes the original orchestral jazz and spices it up with a variety of synthesizers is not entirely new to the series. John Barry, in his final two collaborations with the franchise, first introduced the hip new synth influences in A View to a Kill and The Living Daylights. Goldeneye suffered popularly because Serra forgot to include enough of the original Barry sound into his electronics, but Arnold found the perfect balance in Tomorrow Never Dies. Returning for The World is Not Enough, he continues his complex mixes of traditional elements, both in ethnic and jazz origin, with an array of heavy rock and, in this case, dance beats. In the end, however, it is the electronica that steals much of the bang from The World is Not Enough, with the orchestral sequences fading off into the realm of mere underscore. The title song by Garbage is not, as some have implied, garbage. But it's not going to win any awards either. It ranks behind k.d.lang's "Surrender (Tomorrow Never Dies)" and Tina Turner's "Goldeneye" songs, and resides somewhere slightly above Sheryl Crow's title song from Tomorrow Never Dies. I had a difficult time pinpointing the reason why the Garbage song just doesn't rank with the others --at first, I thought it was because of the awkward nature of the title lyric-- but I finally came to the conclusion that the lead voice is itself inappropriate for a Bond film. The female vocals in Bond songs traditionally thrive on their sultry qualities... which is why Tina Turner and k.d.lang both succeeded in the role tremendously. Garbage fails to capture the same enticing, raspy feel. The song at the very end of the album for The World is Not Enough is simply an embarrassment. "Only Myself to Blame," performed by Scott Walker, isn't even in the ballpark when it comes to appropriate Bond material. At best, its lethargic pace could serve as a "Bond in Retirement" piece. Who's to "blame" for that song? On the other hand, there is one far superior improvement involving the song for The World is Not Enough. Unlike the snafu involving the switching of songs in Tomorrow Never Dies, the theme of the Garbage song is also the title theme of Arnold's score. And Arnold puts that theme to heavy use. From the rambunctious action cues to the loungy casino tune, the title theme is always present. With only a few partial appearances, though, is the Monty Norman/John Barry original theme for Bond. In a major disappointment, the Bond theme only makes two complete performances, and references to it throughout the rest of the score are minimal. The album does not begin with the gun barrel fanfare of the Bond theme. The only performance of the theme, which, like Tomorrow Never Dies, includes a plucking guitar version, is split betwen the second and third tracks... sandwiched in between loud action cues with heavy synth. Other than a few notable moments when the orchestra finds a right balance with the constant electronica, the score for The World is Not Enough is adequate for the film genre and average on CD. Unlike sequences from the first three tracks of Tomorrow Never Dies, Arnold never unleashes the power of the orchestra alone from the constant inclusion of synth effects, electronic drums, and an excess of percussion. Noting the jazzy past of the Bond scores, these basic elements should come as no surprise. And yet, Arnold's seeming over-reliance on his electronica becomes overbearing at times throughout the score. Never once does he utilize more than 45 seconds of straight orchestral material without breaking it up with heavy synth and percussive beats. Even an occasional hip dance effect can be heard; Arnold composes a very irritating staggered beat that disrupts the flow of the Bond theme during its performances in tracks three and fourteen. Nowhere is the usual Arnold choir, heard briefly in parts of Tomorrow Never Dies. Even beyond the lack of good balance between the orchestral and electronica elements is another problem with the score. It seems to be lacking any originality in spirit. It's almost as though Arnold wrote the score on auto-pilot. Other than the uniquely fascinating ethnic vocal in track six, all of the music on this album seems to be mutations of the Tomorrow Never Dies music to fit the theme of The World is Not Enough. Tracks five and thirteen offer some contemplating moments with the orchestra, but the music is unimaginative. Even the straight performance of the love theme (which is the secondary chorus from the title song) in track nine seems restrained and withdrawn. In fact, the entire score, when it isn't overbearing with the synth beats, is regurgitation of material from Tomorrow Never Dies. Perhaps because its novelty has worn off to an extent, or perhaps the music just isn't as stimulating, the album is a merely average listening experience. Don't get me wrong -- The World is Not Enough has its fair share of rousing thematic noise. Unfortunately, it's noise without a heart. Ironically, it's only in the last minute and a half of the score that Arnold inserts a hint of a possible heartfelt avenue for Bond himself and/or the love interest... There was a time when every Bond score had its own unique personality, usually driven by its main theme and the ethnic influences from the setting of the film. Goldeneye violently ended that time, though Arnold recovered some of it in Tomorrow Never Dies. Even with all of the same elements employed in almost seventy minutes on the album for The World is Not Enough, there's a lack of enthusiasm about the music's own genre. The score simply goes through all the moves without any unique style. The action cues are loud, the chase cues have a strong synthesized beat, the electronic rhythms move at the pace of light speed, the Bond theme weaves in and out of the original theme for the film... but one could easily get the feeling that Arnold approached this score as a job, whereas he approached Tomorrow Never Dies as an opportunity to have fun. In the end, even though the album has a few very enjoyable moments, the music for The World is Not Enough is just... not enough. ***
Unlike the last Bond album, there is no dialog from this, or any of the other Bond films, on the commercial album for The World is Not Enough.
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