Incredibly great analysis -- thank you! Book, film and thrilling score, OHMSS is the overlooked gem in the Bond canon, as so many have said, really the complete deal. Nobody has mentioned the delicious Diana Rigg, so I will.
Fascinating. OHMSS has always been my favorite bond film, but now I will listen to the music more closely and appreciate it more next time I watch it. Thanks.
Wow - brilliant! I never knew there was so much in it {as the old advert said}. You have certainly opened this up for me. Your exposition is clear and easy to understand, both visually and audibly. Thank you. To me, John Barry was a vital part of the Bond films. He is the Beethoven of film composers, and this is my favourite Bond theme {as it is for many other people}. I am going to re-watch this.
@@jasonfredericksscore-ytime4452 John Barry was easily one the most gifted and creative composers. I think of this sequence of chords as c min with an F in the bass, E flt minor with a B in the bass, Em with an A in the bass and an inverted A augmented with a B fit in the bass.
@@BossLevelAudio24 Sure, if that works! My brain has always tried to push it into F because of the riff being in F, but the theory is always there to support a way to understand whats going on better, imo.
John Barry will always live on... Dances with Wolves, Out of Africa, there's a beautiful little score in You only Live Twice. Barry said his parents had just died and it went into part of the score. I might have the movie wrong, maybe it was the love song, the one Louis Armstrong sang. 'We have All the Time in the World". Omg I've cried so many times to that song, knowing the ending with Tracy😭❤️
Brilliant analysis - probably the best of all the Bond scores - though I'm looking forward to hearing what Hans Zimmer does with such a vast back catalogue of themes to play with in the latest instalment!
deep dive putting the brows to it as Zappa would say. I had the honor of building a guitar for Vic Flick. 60 years of Bond id say that and Ennio are my first influences on guitar. Vic was very kind to me I hope his white strat is holding up. the neck was a 1961 it had a chip of original paint which I matched the body I made too. Vic said how on earth did you know what color my original Guitar was without having the body. I said because ive got license to Kill in Connery's voice.. Then explaining id seen a rub of color on the neck he had sent me and matched that. The original theme of course was not played on a fender but rather a paragon falcon hollowbody guitar.. Vic could read music... thats how he got the gig. Im not a great reader but ive learned how too read should have learned Piano as first instrument.... but anyone can learn to read if I can. Just learned you only live twice on guitar last night and charted it after tuning to the recording which is Eb. My Father took me to these films I miss him alot thanks for posting im subbed ...
Wow - great story! Sounds like it's a beautiful instrument as well - I think the Vic Flick guitar sound was subconsciously one of my early influences as well, because I'm often not satisfied until the guitar reaches that level of bite on my own recordings :) Thanks for sharing.
In John Barry’s Film Score for “ Thunderball “ there seems to me themes belonging to more than one movie , a double film score so to speak - plus the underwater ambient music - as I understand The Barry original Title Track ( Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang, ) was not allowed .
Yes, I think it's a pretty stellar example of how creative and flexible composers have had to be for logistical reasons, coming up with 'Thunderball' at the last minute as JB managed to do. They're both pretty fabulous, I think.
The first record I ever bought was the “ Goldfinger “ soundtrack, but The Second Album I ever purchased was “ The Professionals “ soundtrack by Maurice Jarre - A Western movie score with Mexican sensibility … Then came Sgt. Peppers !
What a fantastic video, this is one of my favourite soundtrack albums to listen too. I personally think it's the best movie soundtrack album ever. Another really good one is The Living Daylights. I only got the album early this year having watched the video I can see commonality with On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
Yes, it's been decades now and I never get tired of it. And I know what you mean - I think it and TLD have a pretty large amount of reinvention to freshen up the character in common (musically). It still sounds like John Barry, but approaches from a different angle that's pretty timeless but also rooted right in the era that they're done in.
One of my favorite Bond books and Bond movies and definitely my favorite bond score by one of my favorite film composers. Before I owned the greatest hits album (I bought the same one you framed) and later the entire score for this film on CD, I used to listen to a cassette that I recorded straight off of the TV when OHMSS aired. Oh, that ski chase! Great video and nice graphics throughout too.
That ski chase was filmed by Willy Bognor who literally was strapped to a seat hanging out of the front of a helicopter. Amazing shots that had never been attempted before...and the music that goes with it. Deffo in my top three Bond films.
I first saw this as a kid on vhs in the late 80’s and the music reminded me of the Golden Gate fight in “A View to A Kill” It’s basically the same thing or very similar
Thank you. I was pretty skeptical going in that you had something to teach me about this score I have loved for 50 years, but you very much did. The thing about the relationships you demonstrated here is that an audience is not going to be explicitly aware of them. They are part of what gives the score its tremendous unity, which the score aficionado will appreciate when listening to the score separately, but it's a mark of quality far far beyond the requirements of film scoring per se. Thank goodness such qualities are valued enough by better film composers that they pursue them regardless, thus inadvertently gifting a last bastion of quality music relevant to the entirety of the human experience to those who yearn for it (no matter how constrained in terms of form).
A great example of Barry introducing something musical right at the beginning of the film is his Bond swan song. Compare the gunbarrel sequence in The Living Daylights to Octopussy or A View to a Kill: being slower and more "orchestral", it previews the role that classical music plays in the film.
Hello fellow Canuck. I have also been a big Bond fan since the 70's. For me, the hook in the OHMSS theme is the four descending notes, following the four chords, which repeat as the tune progresses - probably also played on a Moog. I enjoy John Barry as well, especially his 007 theme - the action music I believe we last heard in Moonraker, during the Amazon boat chase scene. Well done video. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Frederick. I've wanted to learn more about my favourite pieces of music for years and found your parts on the Q the Music Lockdown sessions, with Mr. Warren Ringham, to be fascinating. Having now watched the Q the Music bonus material I am delighted to learn that you have a RU-vid channel and have immediately watched your video explaining the first four chords of OHMSS. Fantastically interesting and greatly appreciated.
So would I have to transpose these chords if I am playing keyboard?? I am trying to recreate, but if I play these chords on piano and midi to my horns, it sounds nice but not bringing it together for some reason...not sure what horn is playing which note from the 4 chords... I am not a reader, nor orchestral. But wish to get this sounding correctly. @@jasonfredericksscore-ytime4452
My chords I looked up with Dr. Google... and the chord shapes sound similar to what you play at 9:10, but something sounds more diminished if that is a way to describe it.. I can pick out by looking at the staff, but I never got past reading music, in guitar lessons.. my weak point. @@jasonfredericksscore-ytime4452
Horns are in F, instead of C, (so written notes sound a fifth below) and trumpets are usually in Bb (so written notes sound a second below), which may have something to do with it. Hope that helps.@@erictripton
If you haven't done it, take a look at the 1971 film "Mary, Queen of Scots" (it's on Netflix). John Barry's music plays such an integral part that the commentary track is devoted to his music, so much so that they completely mute the dialogue and only interrupt the discussion when the music comes on.
The first one minute and seven seconds sets the tone of the film. Imagine the Universal Studios logo coming into focus followed by a few opening credits. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fKz-ngbdK7I.html
Wow, this is excellently done and very educational! There's so much here I never connected together. The Goldfinger chords used in different ways throughout that score is very obvious, but 5 years later John Barry's compositional skills became much more advanced/ He's doing the same thing but in a much more interesting manner. I hope you will do the same for other Barry scores in the future (Bond or otherwise). -MS
Great movie and score. Everyone was over compensating for Connery's absence. Barry said he over wrote AND HOW !!! And Lazenby is still the 2nd best Bond really up close to the Seanster and every one else is a distant 3rd. Daniel Craig did a really good job and made the first Bond movies I could watch all the way through without turning them off before finishing.
I love this entire film. it's the james bond theme but upside down . its great because it follows the pace of the the bond theme but switches notes,,some upside down from monty norman. awesome
Love it! just started playing again so nice catch up on some music theory basics I forgot, or just never knew - much more entertaining than my old classical piano lessons definitely going to get some Bond sheet music now
Agreed. My favourite too. You, of course, know that the whole melody to A view to a kill is in the score for this film. Good walking music. Ha ha, A great and informative vid. Thanks
@@jasonfredericksscore-ytime4452 I used to be a “motivational speaker” (for my sins) and I used this a lot to get me in the mood. It helps of course to know that this soundtrack also kicked started my love of 1/ synthesisers - I studied them in the late 70’s and met Bob Moog AND 2/ led me to skiing, to become a ski instructor in France where I met my wife. She was my Tracy and brought a whole new world of adventure. So this one piece of music is so entangled in my DNA, so influential, I can’t imagine how my life would have turned out without it. Thank you for reminding me just how important it was/is. I have one unfulfilled ambition by the way - to make a short ski movie featuring this music (which I’ll record using synthesisers of course) recreating some of the skiing and adding in my own bit of spice from my unusual “off piste” adventures - skiing in unusually places, like the Sahara sand dunes, the rocky side of a volcano, etc. You have inspired me to go for it.
@@AndyFerguson Thanks - That's a great story! And I love ski movies (and ski chases on film - there's not enough of them!) of all kinds, sounds like a fantastic idea!
Fantastic video.. I learned something!!! Barry's genius for repeating the same things but doing them differently establishes his own unique sound in a way. Williams and Morricone do it too as do many others I guess? Different combo's of chords and instruments that end up speaking their own emotional language. The way they use the instruments, their influences, the things they steal and make their own. I find myself drawn to the guys with the jazz backgrounds in film music even though I often don't fully understand what they're doing unless it's explained to me like this. They are all easy to recognise (emotionally for the viewer) which must be part of the success. Fancy doing a video breaking down the theme from 'The Taking of Pelham 123'? The horns are unbelievable. I'll pay you ;)
I'd love to do that sometime! And I agree, that opening title (I presume you're referring to the 1974 version) is massive! That'd be a great one to get into.
@@jasonfredericksscore-ytime4452 Yes, the original. The funky one. The woodwind and brass are awesome. I'm a amateur composer (with aspirations) but I never really understood fully what's going on in it and how one composes such a piece. I hear funk, jazz and dis-chordant stuff and interesting rhythm and dynamics so any analysis on its structure would be most welcome. I find that period and style in film and tv music really interesting. Cheers for the reply.
It's a spy theme BTW. Morse code, encryption, new technology being stolen. I also realized a liking for "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" over others (spy themes) recently. Maybe from learning music and the guitar.
Hi Jason. You are exceptionally intuitive and able to explain your expert musical analysis here. Subbed. Will you look at Jerry Goldsmith's Alien Theme at some point? Thank you, my friend. Peace.
That's a good observation, I know what you mean - I've actually gone back and forth over the years with both sevenths being in that chord, and landed on this at the moment - I'd love to the see the original score :)
@@jasonfredericksscore-ytime4452 it’s tough to hear! I’m actually arranging a suite of music from ohmss, and I had to listen to it like 14 times. 😂. But I’m pretty sure that concert E5 is played by the 2nd Trumpet.
That's an interesting observation. I've not considered that before. I think I've heard it said that John Barry did appreciate Mahler - In a general sense, the shapes and interplay of his brass lines do have a personality in common with what I hear in Mahler, as one of the many aspects that are in what I consider to be Mr Barry's highly original writing in OHMSS.
@@jasonfredericksscore-ytime4452 Oh, what a pleasant surprise. Yes, Barry's OHMSS score is indeed a beautiful and highly original piece of music. Thanks for your insight.
