Early 60's Nior Rock

[WRGKMC]

I was watching a James Bond movie I had recorded the other day. The Bond Movies always have some great musical sound tracks with some great choreography.

http://www.cfauth.com/?cfru=aHR0cDovL3d3dy55b3V0dWJlLmNvbS93YXRjaD92PXpfSy1zRThneTRj

 

My ears caught onto the theme song to Tomorrow Never Dies

and it really caught my ears this time. I've seen the movie several times before and really never noticed it. The vocals first sounded like some young male singer at first.

To my surprise it was Sheryl Crow singing the theme song and it took me a few rewinds to place the voice with the artist.

 

After a few listening

[blue2blue]

Man, I tried to find the Cheryl Crow "Tomorrow Never Dies" on MOG. What a nightmare. Apparently every podunk 'studio orchestra' in the world has a cover out of the track, many of them with Crow's name inserted somwhere in the track title in order to game search engines. And then there were a bunch of train jumpers just using the title (LOADS of them in the electronica/bedroom producer genre).

 

Gawdang, people are tawdry. And lame.

 

 

Moving right along... when studying the lineage of 'suspense theme music' don't forget the grandaddy of rock-guitar oriented instrumental themes: Mancini's "The Peter Gunn Theme." Less driving, more haunting, was Mancini's "Experiment in Terror" theme.

 

Loads of great Mancini themes. Can't forget the "Pink Panther," of course. But few probably know the Arabesque theme and soundtrack, which has some great stuff. Large parts of it show up in at least one of Mancini's suspense theme collections. My favorite section is the "Zoo Chase" sequence. But the whole soundtrack appears to be available through 'scrip streaming at least on MOG, so I assume it's available on iTunes. That said, like all Mancini soundtracks, there are some sappy ballads. The man loved his sappy ballads. Some are great and some... well... less great. But he was, overall, a wonderful writer in many ways.

 

Big fan of "Town Without Pity" and "Park Avenue Beat" (the Perry Mason theme), too, as well as the first James Bond theme. Sadly, to my thinking, those Bond themes go straight downhill... the musical theme for "Goldfinger" was great, as was Shirlie Bassie's ultra-brassy singing, but I found the lyrics really stupid. OK, it's hard to write a song about a super-villain that doesn't have stupid lyrics. Understood. And that was doubled down on with Tom Jones' lugubrious "Thunderball" theme. Oh, lawdy. I was sort of amused by the postmodernism of the McCartneys' "Live and Let Die," but I still thought it was awful, moving far-from-seamlessly (seamfully?) from treacly romper room melodies to overblown sturm und drang; no amount of trendiness could save it for me.

 

 

I think the single biggest influence on the original (Monty Norman) James Bond theme was actually instrumental surf music (as opposed to beach blanket pop from outfits like Jan and Dean and the Beach Boys).

 

Guitar dominated instrumental surf music split into different sub-genres for the movies: 'biker music' (basically just surf tunes glued onto scenes of burly guys riding hogs for the movies) and spy music.

[Lee Knight]

Less driving, more haunting, was Mancini's "Experiment in Terror" theme.

 

Oh yeah... a great theme.

 

Big fan of "Town Without Pity" and "Park Avenue Beat" (the Perry Mason theme)...

 

^ Good calls. And it makes total sense seeing the names side by side. ^

 

...the musical theme for "Goldfinger" was great, as was Shirlie Bassie's ultra-brassy singing, but I found the lyrics really stupid. OK, it's hard to write a song about a super-villain that doesn't have stupid lyrics.

 

Stupid, for sure. But I still love them.

 

Golden words he will pour in your ear

But his lies can't disguise what you fear

For a golden girl knows when he's kissed her

It's the kiss of death from Mister Goldfinger

Pretty girl, beware of his heart of gold

This heart is cold

 

He loves only gold

Only gold

 

I know. But nobody's ever accused me of having taste.

 

And that was doubled down on with Tom Jones' lugubrious "Thunderball" theme.

 

I love the story of the songwriter arranger John Barry talking to Tom Jones. Jones says, "John! What the hell is the song about!?!?! I'm sorry man, I dont' get it." Barry responds, "Nothing. Really, it isn't about anything. Just sing it intensely. It'll work, Tom. But yeah, it's about nothing."

 

I love that. An I still love the Tom Jones version. Silly awesomeness.

 

I was sort of amused by the postmodernism of the McCartneys' "Live and Let Die," but I still thought it was awful, moving far-from-seamlessly (seamfully?) from treacly romper room melodies to overblown sturm und drang; no amount of trendiness could save it for me.

 

You know, I always thought that lyric was way underrated. I think it's cool in it's nasty word weary view. Coupled with heavy metal orchestral music. Pretty rockin' to me! But hey, there goes that taste of mine. I dig the tacky fun of the worst of the Bond themes. But Mancini's "Experiment in Terror" wins hands down. I love it.

 

what a cool genre.

[Bookumdano2]

 

He also sang the famous song Sealed With a Kiss that has similar elements of the era.

 

 

I thought Brian Hyland was the only guy to do "Sealed with a Kiss". Did Gene do it too? As an irrelevant aside, Gene used to use the ancient Hybrid Arts smptetrack sequencer program for writing. Anyone remember that one?

 

As far as "Tommorow Never Dies Except Much Later Sometimes", it's "Summer Rain" hooked up with a Jeff Buckley's "Forget Her", mixed up with W.O.L.D by Chapin, mixed up with GOLD by Spandau Ballet, mixed with with some Basia in 3/4, mixed with cute fast bow strokes from Tubular Bells, mixed with piano hits from Where the Boys Are/Town without Pity mixed with (I think) a kitchen sink at about 3:42 in the video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_K-sE8gy4c

 

To me, this is not the art of a Mancini or a Nelson Riddle or any of the well-studied arrangers of the days of my youth.

[WRGKMC]

I didnt know if my links were any good. Tubes are blocked from my work computer so I just had to give it

shot and hope for the best.

 

I'll have to check the Mancini thing out.

I know the easy listening FM stations played allot of elevator music versions of his music

in between the Sinatra and Mitch Miller.

 

The part of Live and Let Die thats cool is the instrumental between the chorus and when they come back into the verse.

Thats really some high speed action music there done with a full orchestra. I dont mind that or the chorus which has

a bit of thunder to it, but the verse? It doesnt fit and theres nothing Bond about it. Sounds whimpy/pop'y like alloy of

his B cuts during the Wings albums. I think McCartney could have done alot better with that, but its rough writing a song

thats got to be so short and still be intriguing enough to fit the Film.

 

I'm sure the Britts dont mind having Sir McCartney get the Theme song spot for their one an only major action British movie series.

The only one I remember Harrison getting was a song called Cheer Down at the end of Leathal Weapon 2.

I actually think its a much better song than McCartneys.

 

I think the Theme to the original Get Smart series had a cool guitar to it.

The show itself was awfuly corn ball even for the 60's. mell Brooks was involved in the

charectures involving A US spoof of the Bond thing for TV sort of like the Monkeys were were the answer

to the Beatles.

 

The guitar part and the horns in the theme song were actually pretty snappy.

http://www.popmodal.com/video/1457/GET-SMART--First-Season-Theme--1965

I heard it a few days ago and tried to figure out what the hell that guitarist was playing.

Theres a station on cable that playes the old re-runs. I'll have to record one and listen to it again.

Its some kind of repeditive riff like hammeron pulloff off an open string thats got that sixties fender

instrumental surf music thing along with the horns that gives it that Crime Fighting sound to it.

 

I dug this piece up about the original composer Irving Szathmary. Some interesting trivia in there.

http://www.filmmusicsociety.org/news_events/features/2008/072108.html

I know Tervor Rabin does the new version but It might be interesting to figure out who the

guitarist was on the TV series.

 

The Series The Prisoner has an excelent Theme with the same kind of clean guitars and Backup orchestra.

I still love that series to this day mainly the cool dound effects, fades and scales done on the guitar.

[WRGKMC]

I stumbled across this site of TV theme clips. Not great quality but I may need to check some of these out

even if only for nostalgia sake.

 

http://www.televisiontunes.com/Prisoner_(No_Number_6_voice-over_at_end)_(The).html