"The Sound of 007" Apple TV+ Documentary

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Looks like this has been switched over to Amazon Prime, and will premiere on October 5th.

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Watching it now. Very cool so far.

Despite wishing it had been longer this was a standout documentary and the graphical elements were visually stunning. Extremely well done.

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I completely concur.

Every single aspect of this documentary stood out as being something really quite special. Yes, whether this one program could have been longer, or more probably the creation of a mini series to allow more in depth information to be shared, as it stands, a stunning program leaving you wanting more.

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Finally saw it. Very well done, emotionally pleasing.

Only one quibble: Dame Shirley Bassey, really, you did not like MOONRAKER?

CĀ“mon, such a wonderful song.

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She really didnā€™t. Was offended that she was bought on so late in the process to sing it, and rarely included it in her concerts.

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I donā€™t agree with her that itā€™s awful, but I have to say it was fun to see some frank opinions in an officially-approved documentary. Usually these things are whitewashed so that every song was always wonderful and everyone had a great time recording them. With all the Barry love (I know I love him) it was fun to see Duran Duran trying to be diplomatic about how difficult they found working with him (if calling him a d*ck is diplomatic LOL) and the various rockers trying to find something nice to say about ā€œAll Time High.ā€ Also Jack White being totally candid about knowing some people were going to hate ā€œAnother Way To Dieā€ (which we do) and admitting he would never have gotten away with it if the producers had had time to do anything else.

What might be the most interesting was what was left out: there wasnā€™t one note of Madonnaā€™s DAD (if anything in it qualifies as a ā€œnoteā€) or Sheryl Crowā€™s TND (I think Madge at least got name-checked, but Sheryl might as well never have happened). Also it was interesting that they included comments from Sheena Easton, but none of her song (not a favorite of mine, but fairly successful at the time, I think).

The editing was cleverly done and some of the graphics were great.

My only complaints? I found it a bit jarring at times jumping around the timeline instead of taking things in sequence, and I quickly tired of circling back to NTTD. I mean, I know Billie Eilish is big now and was available for interviews, but the song isnā€™t that great compared to others and that aspect of it was the only real reminder that this was an EON-endorsed project with commercial aims.

Also, it was hard seeing the effects of time on some of those rockers. Simon and John in particular seem to have really been through a lot. They look older now than Paul and Ringo.

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I agree completely.

But every Bond documentary highlights the most recent one, and Eilish is the only one to get the kids watching this.

By the way: If the Duran Duran guys have aged so much, am I that much older, too?

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We all are.

Iā€™m sure it didnā€™t help that I havenā€™t seen Duran Duran for nearly 40 years (and even then I wasnā€™t looking closely). I see myself every day (alas) so the impact of the years is lessened for me, but Iā€™m sure if someone I havenā€™t seen since high school ran into me now theyā€™d be tempted to give me the last rites. :smile:

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Indeed. I can understand why she doesnā€™t feel complete ownership over the song in the same way as Goldfinger and Diamonds Are Forever. However I really like the atmosphere of the song, and having Bassey singing it was a prestigious bonus for both the Moore era and the film.

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I mean, it is approaching 40 years since A View To A Killā€¦

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Unfortunately so. Time sure flies, even if one is not just having fun. My immature brain tells me childishly that I still am young and could do whatever I wish. But my body says: hah, I will make you do what I want, you old git.

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We are about the same age and I have similar feelings. I really now identify with Leonard Cohenā€™s line ā€œI ache in the places where I used to playā€ā€¦ especially true of my knees.

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The documentary was entertaining. As a Jack White fan, I was pleased that he was part of it. I certainly place AWTD ahead of WotW and NTTD (I still scratch my head when I think that out of all the great Bond songs those two got Oscarā€™sā€¦) and Iā€™m glad he got the seal of approval from Prince - Iā€™m sure that means more to him than fan rankings!

The concert I really have to say was a bit of a hard watch.
Highlights were Dame Shirley Bassey who still sounds fantastic, YKMN (what a great voice David Arnold has) and, surprisingly, Luluā€™s TMWTGG which I thought was far better than the original recording.
The rest was very bland and at times awkward (particularly the Zimmer/Arnold ā€œjamā€ or whatever that was). The orchestra seemed to lack any punch and a a result it was all really flat.

Agreed on the concert. Dame Shirley did an amazing job and I enjoyed Luluā€™s rendition of TMWTGG which is a phrase I never would have imagined I would type.

The rest was pretty unimpressive, though, and I actually felt bad for Celeste. I mean, I assume thatā€™s not how she wanted YOLT to sound. Yikes.

Maybe Iā€™m out of the loop but I never realized David Arnold could sing. That was fairly impressive, actually.

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The extended release of TWINE has Arnoldā€™s pitches for the two songs on it and sings those. He also did this a few years ago David Arnold - No Good About Goodbye - YouTube