2012 marks the 50^th anniversary of James Bond in cinema—a remarkable achievement that may only be paralleled in another iconic British character creation, Dr. Who.  The third film with Daniel Craig in many ways feels like a transition as well as an homage to the legacy of the Bond films.  The title song from Adele, is likely to be placed in the list of one of the best Bond songs.  In a move that has plagued previous score releases from Sony, the song is not included in the soundtrack album here at all, though the music is referenced. 

Thomas Newman seems at first like an odd choice to score a Bond film.  His previous four collaborations with director Sam Mendes, beginning with 1999’s American Beauty, tend to be the stylistic earmarks of his compositional style.  But, as fans discovered with his score for The Good German, Newman is a versatile composer quite capable, and comfortable, working in more traditional musical styles.  He becomes the second American composer to try his hand at the series (the last being Michael Kamen in 1989’s License to Kill) In Skyfall, he does a very good approximation of blending Barry and Arnold’s musical sound for Bond in a score that feels as if it slowly moves musically backward to Barry’s style.  The score tends to mostly avoid using the Bond theme, and even in the film an arrangement by Arnold is credited for the moments in the film where it appears.

A blasted hint of Barry’s Bond music opens “Grand Bazaar Istanbul.”  But soon we are right back to the electronics and drum machines oft overused in the Arnold scores of late.  The music even shifts into some ethnic suggestions.  In what is a rather exciting musical sequence, Newman manages to insert some of the screaming brass thematic material while moving through a number of action ideas.  Most interesting is that he tends to prefer acoustic instruments to incessant sequencing.  The track is oddly dialed down though.  The one thing that Newman does manage is a shift to a more traditional orchestral sound, especially as the score progresses.  The requisite nervous loops still appear but they tend to blend more into the fabric of the orchestra.

There are many interesting sophisticated moments in this score.  One worth noting is the scoring for “Silhouette” with its blend of atmospheric sounds kicked off by a horn idea.  “Modigliani” may be one of the most interesting opening sections in the score with a very Barry-esque lyrical sound as it opens.  Newman does not play much though with specific sounds nor does he shift into minimalist territory.  He provides a fairly straightforward musical support that melds well with the images of the film.    The tracks at the center of the disc are those which come closest to inserting Newman’s musical style with somewhat interesting textures in “safe” musical sounds.  But the electric guitar ideas are certainly reminiscent of an approach he often uses.  “Close Shave” also features musical gestures more typical of the composer’s familiar musical style.  The action sequences are also some of the best Newman has ever written with “The Bloody Shot” being one of the finest of the lot.

In Skyfall, we get a sense of a closure and a new beginning both in the narrative and in the musical score.  Overall, it is one of the better Bond scores since David Arnold’s first debut in the series.  Thomas Newman manages to stay faithful to the musical world of Bond while also providing some of his own personal stamps to the score.

Well, this month zipped by with a ton of new "special edition" releases being announced almost daily it is enough to keep one's pocketbook spinning.  But in the midst of all this here are 5 discs selected from those picked up "new" this month or received for review.

First up is Randy Newman's quite odd song disc from late last year, Harps and Angels.  I cannot imagine that this sold well.  How do you market a disc that appears on the surface a crazy mix of political rants, subtle--and not so subtle--cultural commentary and musical styles from ragtime to country to avant-garde atonal orchestrations.  The one breakout "normal" song of the bunch is "Feels Like Home."  But if you buy this album looking for a pop song set you will miss the point.  Newman's music here, as odd and bizarrely eclectic as it can get is reminiscent of song cycles from the likes of Stravinsky or Walton's Facade.  It's not a Schubertian concept of song cycle as these are seemingly disparate textual commentaries.  And yet, the more you listen the more you begin to hear that there is more going on in the music and texts than you first might have heard.  Newman's pop efforts still remain CDs you can't listen to with your windows open though!

Varese Sarabande released a set of "limited edition club" CDs this month.  I think the ones offered may be all but gone and I had to swallow hard to grab the ones I wanted.  It's Waxman's score though for Lure of the Wilderness which continues to hold my imagination and memory the most.  This is a different sort of Americana style that has moments of Stravinskian fury a la Waxman.  The score is presented here in long edited tracks which makes for a compelling listen.  If you can still get a copy it is worth the effort.  A close second here was Alfred Newman's score for The President's Lady.  I do like this score a lot, and it just missed being a primary inclusion.  the annotator for the disc though must have been off their medication as the schizophrenic gushy notes are among the most embarassing liner notes for a special release I have ever seen.  Imagine a school girl crush writing about her nerdy boyfriend and you get a sense of how the notes for this release were written.  It was evidently a fluke because the same person provided notes for the Waxman release and they are more in line with the norm or musical commentary.

I've lamented before about the demise of the real record/CD store.  You know, the ones that sell music beyond the top 40.  These are the stores where one could browse for hours perhaps finding a specially-discounted recording of some new composer or artist.  Or, as in my case this month, have their eye caught by the display of "new" CDs.  Such was the case with a new release from the relatively minor label Atma Classiques.  An intriguing Chagall painting adorns the cover of a disc featuring 3 selections from Schindler's List and two works by Ernst Bloch.  It turns to be a pleasant surprise.  The performance is by the Bienne Symphony Orchestra and features a fairly young conductor and violinist in performances that are richly recorded and engaging.  The Williams score selections here begin the disc and though they are slower than Gil Shaham's recording with the composer, these are musically evocative.  The Bloch pieces (Suite Hebraique and Concerto grosso No 1) are equally interesting works of Bloch's use of Hebraic melodies reworked into his own unique neo-Baroque/Classicist style.  It's worth tracking down at good music stores, or you may just have to break down and find it at your on-line retailer.

Silva America tends to get skewered for their re-recordings a lot by purists who only like the studio recordings of scores.  Well, that and coupled with some horrid performances on the label's house orchestra, the infamous City of Prague Philharmonic, left bad tastes in the mouths of many fans.  Still the label made available music that in some cases still has not seen the light of day.  The past couple of years they have been relatively silent, slowly releasing a few repackaged effort (something they excel at).  I think it has been a US distribution problem for the most part perhaps coupled with the continued disolution of even music sections in larger retailers like Barnes & Noble or Borders.  I was intrigued by a recent compilation of Music by Thomas Newman.  It was essentially the first such disc of its kind featuring this composer's music.  While one wishes they had waited to add some music from Wall-E, this does capture the essence of Newman's style from the Golden Age sounds heard in The Good German (with 2 tracks devoted to this beautiful score) and even Little Women to the more classic sounds of American Beauty.  This is a great way to be introduced to Newman's music in performances that are beautifully performed and recorded. 

Finally, DRG released last year a single disc featuring two classic Elmer Bernstein jazz albums from 1959/1960.  The first is similar to other albums from the period (like M Squad or Peter Gunn) and features music from the short-lived TV series (Johnny) Staccato.  This is essentially West Coast jazz at its finest and features a host of great jazz artists from the period (Candoli, Manne, Nash, Pell, and a young and upcoming guy by the name of John(ny) Williams on the piano).  Great stuff all around.  And it is complemented by a jazz concept album called Paris Swings which features some appropriately themed standards.  Andre Previn is the pianist in this set of equally fine and engaging music.  A great bargain for fans of West Coast Jazz at any rate.

So there are five fine "new" discs to explore.  Though I want to also add here a disc that arrived last month and which has been a traveling companion in the car a lot lately.  It's the Frank Collett Trio's All God's Children Got Rhythm from Fresh Sound Records.  The disc is a jazz trio recording featuring music by Hollwywood great Bronislau Kaper.  I've played the disc a lot and so far am struck especially by the group's cover of the love theme from Mutiny On the Bounty.  Every time I hear it I have to double check to see just what this piece is.  This disc is a beauty too for film or jazz fans.

Enjoy!