Following on from Jeron's topic, I really do believe that John Barry is one of THE most under-appreciated composers in film scoring history. Sure, everyone's heard of DANCES WITH WOLVES, and perhaps think that it's a boring score. That's exactly what I thought when I unknowingly received the score in a double CD package. 3 years later (I think I was about 14 at the time, I popped the CD into the stereo and finally realised how stupid I had been in dismissing the score as being boring- it was, and remains to me the greatest film composition ever.

So, why do I think this way? Firstly, I think Barry, unlike many of the composers today, can write a good, thought-provoking melody. Not just something that sounds good, but something that has a much more deeper meaning to it. I think that's a fault of many other composers today- they write music that certainly sounds good, but they miss something that I long for when I listen to music- feeling, and imagery.

By imagery, I mean music that creates vivid images in your head about the music you're listening to, EVEN if you haven't seen the film that the music accompanies. I find that to be of the utmost importance, because it allows me to be creative by allowing me to think about what the music is telling me, rather than just "feeling it" (hmm..... I'm not sure if you guys understood that. Anyway...) Like, tell me, have any of you honestly heard a piece of music that made you think about love in ways you never thought possible? Or, have you ever heard music that made you think about tranquil green pastures that were shadowed by beautiful blue skies? Probably not.

This is exactly what John Barry's music does to me- it allows me to ponder, to reflect, and to admire the beauty that is life. In my honest opinion, NO other composer does that to me (not even Williams or Goldsmith), although I have to mention Danny Elfman's score to EDWARD SCISSORHANDS- an absolute marvel to listen to for the emotional content.

Here are some picks for some great Barry scores:

THE LAST VALLEY- one of the best scores written. I don't think anyone has even heard of this score- it's only available on LP, or a bootleg CD- in any case, it is deeply reflective, very moving, a full of incredible pieces by a mixed choir. The suite on Silva's Zulu CD is hardly representative of the great music Barry composed.
(I'll upload some clips to my webpage soon- so stay tuned!)

MY LIFE- every note of music in this score is simply dripping with emotion. It is by turns sad, romantic, and most importantly, joyous. A must for any score collector.

OUT OF AFRICA- a string, and flute dominated score- it's romantacism tinged with sadness. Excellent score- my second Barry CD. Btw, look for the Gold Edition of this score- the remastered sound does wonders!

FRANCES- words just can't describe this one. 100% class- brilliant, and moving piano cues litter this score. It captures the right amount of loss, tragedy, and romance.
Hard/expensive to obtain- the suite on Moviola is fine, but omits some great harmonica work.

CHAPLIN- has one of the most beautiful cues ever written- "Chaplin: Main Theme/Smile." I listen to this every time I question the value of life.

MOVIOLA- great compilation of Barry's work. Includes liner notes by Richard Attenborough that have formed the basis of my topic.

PLAYING BY HEART- still going strong in his 60's, Barry wrote a wonderful jazz score that is very soothing, moving, and inspiring. Look out for the last track!

DANCES WITH WOLVES- every track on this CD is a new experience- it's hard to find a score in which every track is Oscar-worthy. This is the score of the century.

THE SCARLETT LETTER- pleasant romantic score, with moments of brutality.

SOMEWHERE IN TIME- my version of this score has horrible sound quality! Oh well... it's a very pleasant romantic score, with some incredibly heart-breaking moments.

MONTE WALSH- a good balance of different music: cowboy, sad, honky tonk, and a great title song!

SWEPT FROM THE SEA- this in my opinion, isn't one of Barry's better scores. A couple of good tracks on this one (and a nice song at the end)

THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS- fun Bond score, with a surprisingly good love theme amidst the spy mayhem!

THE BEYONDNES OF THINGS- the liner notes describes this album well: "an inward, poetic voyage of discovery." Check it out, but don't be discouraged if the music doesn't connect with you on first listening.

I think this post is long enough. I hope I've made a difference in the way you guys see John Barry's music. Thanks for listening, and why not try his music sometime?

Take care,

Alain

Scott

[This message has been edited by Scott (edited 09-28-99).]

Thanks for expanding on what I said originally. Your points are very well made and actually express everything I didn't put into words. Awesome!

I'm just curious... how much have you visited this site and read the newsgroups before posting your first post? And... you said you were 14 when you obtained "Dances With Wolves"... this makes me curious, how old are you?

~Jeron

PS - Forgive Scott for mispelling your name. He's a horrible speller, which we have all come to accept as part of his great, outgoing personality.

Alain,
I'm sorry. After reading Jeron's post I re-edited (for the second time) my post and corrected the spelling of your name.
(Got to do something about that spelling...)

Actually, my father was the first to introduce me to Barry´s music. He´s his favorite composer...he´s allways been japping about how really, great and fantastic and wonderfull and awesome and magnificent and sweeping and lovely and bla bla bla Barry´s score to Out of Africa is. So I finally bought it. And he was right!

SFT

Thanks for your kind comments. Well, I've frequented this site many times before, but have never posted (don't know why though!). However, I happen to like this board quite a lot, because unlike "some" other message boards, the people here are normal!

Anyway, I'm a measely 18 years old, and have been seriously collecting scores since mid-1997. I have about 80 original scores in my collection, with 5 or so scores that are quite rare (ALL the Barry scores! hehhe)
I'm not sure if any of you do this, but every now and then, I like to go by myself into town to do score-hunting, and to look for every bargain possible!

Now, I guess some of you are wondering why I have a Zimmer fan site when my number 1 composer is John Barry?
I know it's odd, but there was a stage that only Zimmer's music meant so much to me! When I was introduced to the score to OUT OF AFRICA, that all changed. But don't get me wrong, I still admire Zimmer heaps, because he is the reason I turned to film music (otherwise, I'd still be listening to classical!)

Catch ya later!

Now before you string me up, let me just say that I do admire his music. It is very stylish and polished. His themes are excellent and convey a deep sense of emotion.
His music is beautiful

The one thing I find lacking in most Barry scores is Energy. I am not talking about the driving beat of an Elfman score or even the all-action of a Goldsmith score. I am talking about a certain vibrancy that his scores fail to give me.