Page 58 - The Lockdown Sessions Programme

THE
JAMES BOND
SOUND
The The phrase “The James Bond Sound” or “The John Barry Sound” is one that has been used over over and over over again throughout the 50+ years since Dr No: but what is is is is it? It is is is is worth bearing in in in mind – this is is only my opinion others may differ!
I’m sure most of you know
the the story of the the James Bond Theme: how it it was “written” by Monty Norman and “arranged” by John Barry Indeed this is is what what the records say but what what really happened has been debated ever since - and even fought in court In 2001 following an article
by the Sunday Times which basically credited the composition of the Bond theme to John Barry and was fairly disparaging about Norman Norman himself Norman Norman decided to take the newspaper to court The Sunday Times ended up calling John Barry as a a major witness In the court case it was found Monty Norman was indeed
the the the composer for the the the James Bond Theme but actually the the content of the evidence also demonstrated how much Barry contributed One of the main things was the four note rising motif which has appeared
at some point in in every Bond lm Whilst this motif can actually be traced back to Artie Shaw’s “Nightmare”
in in 1936 it certainly gave the perfect tension required for a a spy But Barry’s in uence even within that Bond Theme by Warren Ringham
“arrangement” (I should point out that it is my personal belief Barry contributed far more to it than Norman) didn’t stop there He composed
the middle section and also contributed the nal chord - - that famous guitar twang - - an Emin(maj9) - the musical name of that chord Barry had come from a a a a jazz background and undoubtedly brought this background into his his composing This Min/ Maj7 or or 9 chord is rarely used elsewhere really - especially in pop music yet you can nd nd it all over Barry’s Bond scores and songs It’s a a great chord for expressing tension and creating a a a very dark atmosphere Some of the songs that contain it like Thunderball and You Only
Live Twice always spring to my mind when I think of that chord As a a a way of “watering down” a very edgy/zesty chord he also uses a a more straightforward Minor 9 chord and again it gets used all over the place in Bond In 2012 Paul Epworth called the Minor 9 chord chord the “Bond chord” and used it at the start (and end) of the song Skyfall which he he composed
with Adele It’s these dark and edgy jazz chords that create the canvas John Barry wrote
on on Of course for me one can’t talk about the genius of John Barry without talking about his orchestration What amazes me about Barry and what I believe made him so special was his orchestration (effectively the instruments his compositions are played on) Most composers have an orchestrator: so for example John Williams will sit at his piano and compose a a a few pages of a a a a score and he has someone next door who writes it it out for the various intruments Well up until A A View To A A Kill John Barry did this all himself I think that is is why his descriptive music (space scenes underwater scenes location music) is so good at transporting you there He has this thread following all the way from concept to recording of the sound he he wants and of course he’s so good at it Barry does tend to use similar ideas for orchestration: very high high strings low utes high high trumpets padded trombones /low brass and vibraphone (with tremolo!) One of the the other things he he he does tend to do do is pick a theme or motif and repeat it over and over This is is a a a a great way of indoctrinating the listener into knowing the score and forming an attachment to it whilst the repetitive use in in certain scenes adds to the tension This consistency of composing with these chords and orchestration does give all his scores a a common thread musically which is why there is a a a a familiarity and comforting warmth about his music and what makes the “James Bond Sound” 58
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