'Skyfall' soundtrack album review

Across his career composer Thomas Newman has been nominated for ten Academy Awards but never won one, and his Skyfall soundtrack is unlikely to break that streak. To be fair to the talented composer he had big shoes to fill following David Arnold, the creator of the exemplary soundtracks to the previous five Bond films.

Arnold had a feel for the musical DNA that should infuse every step of 007’s shenanigans: he knew when to deploy triumphant fanfares of brass and when to pull back and rely on a few simple piano notes to convey intimacy. Take a listen to Vesper’s theme in Casino Royale if you don’t believe us.

Newman’s score lacks the diversity and luxury that a Bond score should have. There’s a whole orchestra at work here, but it’s all directed toward the thunderous or the broody: variations on a blend of twitchy strings and coarse percussion that evokes Hans Zimmer’s Inception and Dark Knight trilogy scores but is more homogenised. Occasionally there’s a glimpse of something more delicate, as in the track ‘Severine’, but it’s little more than an audio glimpse.

Without a doubt this is music which perfectly compliments the action sequences of Skyfall. But amputated from the gorgeous cinematography, and Javier Bardem’s hair, it’s a bland listening experience. It’s just atmosphere – albeit good atmosphere – and to hear it is like pausing a computer game and just listening to the music play on in the background.

There are several highlights across the 30 tracks, however. Five of them in fact. Now pay attention, 007 fans, we’ve picked them out specially for a closer examination…

‘Severine’

Newman composed the music to Meet Joe Black, and this is the only time on the album you can hear that score’s influence creeping in, as a lone flute gives way to the soft breathing of the string section. At 80 seconds it’s unfortunately brief, but kudos to Newman as this is exactly the kind of music you want for a seductive Bond girl.

‘Brave New World’

A cheeky clarinet creeps in at the beginning with the familiar opening notes of the Bond theme, then weaves its way through the strings until disappearing in an orchestral blast of cymbals, slithering violins, undulating brass, and the wild cry of panpipes in the background.

‘The Chimera’

It’s a shame there isn’t more of this, or tracks like it, on the album as it harks back to some of the classic Bond orchestration. It’s a piece that conjures up the majesty of the 50 year old franchise; bringing to the Bond fan’s mind volcano bases, exotic vistas to later have sexual intercourse in front of, and space-based weapons orbiting menacingly above.

‘Breadcrumbs’

Ahh the Bond theme. Timeless. Perfect. And, trivia fans, a relic from an unused Asian musical that composer Monty Norman had written years beforehand. Newman doesn’t allow it to hit the apex of the fanfare, which is disappointing, but what makes his version worth a listen is the addition of the slap of bongos in the background. It gives the piece a 60s Dr. No flavour that brings to mind Sean Connery strolling along a beach in a cheesecloth shirt and swimming trunks. What an image.

‘Deep Water’

It’s like the music you’d play if James Bond and Batman teamed up to beat The Joker, such is the Zimmer-ness of ‘Deep Water’. It’s one of the more rounded pieces of ‘action’ music that fill the album, and stands out above others simply because of the eeriness that howls throughout.