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Article - John
Barry takes action (as does Goldsmith)
By
Terry Walstrom
2
December 2003
If
you were seated in a room opposite two people having an argument
in Chinese you are likely to remember what they did and the tone
of their conflict. But, the particulars would certainly be absent;
i.e. the why and the wherefore. The general grievances might have
substance and merit on both sides, of course, but you'd never know--would
you?
Now,
change the Chinese couple to people who speak your own language.
You could follow the nuances of the argument and fit the dialogue
to the general tenor of anger, resentment and rebuttal in a more
meaningful way. I submit that action music is analogous. How so?
In
John Barry's action music, as we all know so well, there are "words"
and "phrases" selected out of the melodic main theme which are always
intelligible as such even when "spoken" fast or slow or this instrument
and that one.
Take
Goldfinger, for an instance of this. In the PRE-title sequence we
will hear the "gold-fing-er" phrase in many guises. We will find
it parallel with the semi-tone rising and falling James Bond motif
too. These occurrences of readily identifiable phrases are like
bookmarks that enable our perhaps non-musically educated minds to
keep pace with the action onscreen in a discernible way. In effect,
we are reading several texts simultaneously (like having three books
open in front of us) and skipping from one to the other without
losing THE SENSE of any of them in the process. The visual, the
general ambient sound or dialogue and the music can fit together
and integrate a conglomerate thought which might otherwise be too
complex or inexplicable to cohere comprehensively.
From
Russia with Love gave me personally the best glimpse into how Barry
achieves the cohesion of his style with the film. There are many
separate melodic themes that circulate throughout the film. The
general genius of fitting them together and overlaying one atop
the other is the real prize. The melody to the song From Russia
with Love, though it be composed by Lionel Bart, is so elegantly
taken apart and reassembled over and over again by John Barry that
no matter what new guise it appears in we recognize it as a part
of some previous whole.
Take
GUITAR LAMENT as an example of this. The melody to Guitar Lament
is From Russia with Love refashioned. Five note phrase....two notes...two
notes....
From
Rush Uh with Love I fly to you.......
behind which is a refashioned James Bond rising and falling figure.
MAN
OVERBOARD...Smersh in Action gives us yet another incarnation of
FRWL theme in 3/4 time transformed. This too has the James Bond
rising falling figure. Now Guitar Lament isn't action music per
se. But, it is a gentle way of demonstrating the technique in use.
The
real action music is the 007 theme unique on all the Bond films.
Barry has a theory about the lurching rhythm of 007 that I always
refer to as 3-3-2. (Clusters of eighth notes with the duration of
three eighth notes followed by three more and then two for a total
of eight to the bar.) Barry believes by breaking up the rhythm into
unconventional beats there is a sense of forward movement which
is more dynamic than straight accents on 2 and 4 or 1 and 3 which
is natural to pop music. Barry lays his very simple theme for horns
and brass on top the lurching rhythm and it is all very easy to
follow. The in-between accents in the snare drums and instrument
groups certainly lend excitement without over-complicating what
the mind easily follows.
Without
overdoing my explanation I'll just point one thing out. There is
a lot going on for the ear to follow individually in 007. However,
it isn't difficult at all to comprehend because Barry's logic and
layout are exceedingly well chosen. It is actually a surprisngly
elegant variation on the old OOM-PAH band technique.
What
is the OOM-PAH band technique? In German bands, for example, the
tuba player hits the keynote with a loud OOM and the brass plays
the "answering" PAH. The tuba lays down the bass with a first and
fifth note alternating and the brass echoes the chord with their
PAH. What Barry does is substitute the kettledrum or low bass for
the Tuba and change the duration to the 3-3-2. The "answering" PAH
fits in the spaces. OOM pah pah OOM pah pah OOM pah OOM pah pah
OOM pah pah OOM pah. Clever and effective.
Goldsmith,
on the other hand has many changes in rhythm per track alternating
unexpectedly to keep your sense of expectation off-balance. He might
have 4/4 followed by 5/4 and 7/8 or 12/8 without telegraphing in
advance which way he is going. He varies his instrument groups and
interlaces them with electronic "stings" or supplemental colors
constantly. Now you see it--now you don't is the order of the day.
I very much enjoy Goldsmith's action music without having instant
comprehension of what the music is "saying" internally.
It
is a Chinese argument.
For
me, raised on songs and singing and lyrical melodicism I am drawn
to a song-like leading line in music. Barry really beautifies his
action music lyrically. Sometimes it has a disturbing beauty to
it. Barry's music for the Diamonds are Forever laser weapon in space
is gorgeous and stately---but, lyrical. In The Man with The Golden
Gun his action music practically sings the song to you while the
orchestra decorates the rhythmic background wittily.
The
closest Goldsmith comes to a Barry type score is his OUR MAN FLINT/IN
LIKE FLINT films. His theme returns again and again in so many variations
and guises it is burned into your subconscious indelibly. Naturally
it is obvious he is mining the Bond-like similarities of the films
while remaining true to his own muse.
The
greatest thrilling action music of Goldsmith, for me, is in films
like Papillon and The Wind and the Lion where moments of great lyricism
penetrate the kaleidoscopic variants raging in the orchestra in
flurries of mathematical complexity.
These
two men have invented their own particularities. Of the two you
would expect the easier man to imitate is John Barry. You would
be wrong! There are more composers imitating Goldsmith than have
ever come close to John Barry. Take just two. David Arnold and George
S. Clinton. Arnold only appears to complement Barry's style. But,
he cheats. He simply traces certain figures familiar to Bond fans
and injects them like gravy into a Turkey's innards for flavoring.
75% of Arnold's meandering is furious competing voices in overblown
orchestral settings set to thundering drumtracks. George S. Clinton
tries to ape the general ambience of a Bond film in Austin Powers
films. However, the imitation is so colorless and bland the energy
and the humor dissipate rapidly into mere Punch and Judy.
John
Barry remains unique among action film composers because his personality
is everywhere in the music; that of a master in control of vast
forces summoned to do his bidding. The result is so intelligible
that the emotional veracity hits the audience with a double whammy
and the spellbinding pleasure of total immersion into the shadowy
world of film is made into a magical experience.
Terry. |
