In celebration of this year's Bond Day, Renovatio Records proudly presents a new album release of Thomas Newman's haunting score for Spectre, the 24th official James Bond film and the second directed by Sam Mendes. Daniel Craig reprises his role as agent 007, joined by Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Dave Bautista, Monica Bellucci, and Ralph Fiennes. Spectre follows Bond on a globe-spanning mission to uncover a shadowy criminal organization known as SPECTRE. As he unravels the mystery, Bond is forced to confront figures from his past, all while questioning his future as a secret agent. While the film earned praise for its action sequences and performances, it faced criticism for its pacing, length, and reliance on formulaic narrative decisions. Still, it grossed an impressive $880 million worldwide, becoming the second-highest grossing Bond film after Skyfall.
One of the film's most lauded elements was the score by Thomas Newman, who came back after his acclaimed work on Skyfall. For Spectre, Newman crafted a score that further integrates his signature style while pushing the Bond franchise’s music in new directions. He skillfully weaves the iconic James Bond theme into the score in subtle and inventive ways, while also exploring a more introspective tone. With his use of delicate strings, haunting woodwinds, and layered electronic textures, Newman creates a sonic landscape that mirrors Bond’s internal struggles and the looming menace of the SPECTRE organization. Additionally, Newman uses location-specific cues to enhance the film’s international scope. Tracks like “Los Muertos Vivos Están” incorporate percussion, flutes, and guitars with Mexican flavor, while “Funeral in Rome” features an angelic choir to evoke the grandeur of Rome, giving each setting its own unique soundscape.
A distinctive action motif appears throughout key moments in the score, including the car chase in the cue “Rome Pursuit” and the high-octane sequences like “Snow Plane” and “Westminster Bridge.” However, much of Spectre’s score leans towards atmospheric, ambient textures, reflecting the film’s darker, more personal narrative as Bond faces off against his greatest nemesis, Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Tracks such as “CNS”, “The Pale King,” “Hoffler Klinik,” “Secret Room in L’Américain,” and “Oberhauser’s Base” feature subtle electronic pulses and abstract flute lines that evoke the shadowy presence of the SPECTRE organization, adding layers of tension and intrigue.
Newman's romantic themes are also a standout feature of the score, showcasing his ability to craft lush, emotionally resonant melodies. “Donna Lucia,” which accompanies Bond’s seduction of Lucia Sciarra, features delicate woodwinds and sweeping strings, while “Madeleine” develops a bittersweet, introspective yet romantic theme for Bond's evolving relationship with Dr. Madeleine Swann. The gentle woodwinds and soft strings of this theme are quintessential Newman, known for his ability to convey deep emotion through his music.
While some critics have argued that Newman's score lacks the classic Bond swagger of earlier entries, his work on Spectre offers a more mature and reflective take on the franchise’s music. It may not have the instantly recognizable, recurring themes of past Bond scores, but it compensates with intricate textures, atmospheric moods, creative use of location-specific sounds, and evocative romantic music. By stepping away from the more flamboyant jazz and rock influences that defined earlier Bond music, Newman allows the score to evolve in exciting new directions.
Originally released by Decca/Universal Music in 2015, the Spectre soundtrack contained most of Newman’s score but was criticized for being too lengthy, with extended ambient sections that challenged listeners. This new release from Renovatio Records trims the duration by almost 20 minutes, while still offering the score’s highlights, arranged in a chronological program that follows the film’s narrative arc that flows smoothly. Additionally, Sam Smith’s Academy Award-winning song “Writing’s on the Wall,” previously absent from the Decca release, is now included. Celebrate Bond Day by revisiting Spectre’s score and appreciating how Newman masterfully blends his style with subtle nods to the Bond musical legacy.
Track listing:
Cover Artwork:
Credits:
Cue Assembly:
|
Track Title |
Cue Title |
|
1. Los Muertos Vivos Están |
Los Muertos Vivos Están
(Edited) |
|
2. CNS |
Vauxhall Bridge |
|
3. Funeral in Rome |
The Eternal City (Edited) |
|
4. Donna Lucia |
Donna Lucia |
|
5. Rome Pursuit |
Hinx Backfire (Edited) |
|
6. The Pale King |
The Pale King (Edited) Kite in a Hurricane (Edited) |
|
7. Hoffler Klinik |
Crows-Klinik |
|
8. Snow Plane |
Snow Plane (Edited) |
|
9. Secret Room in L’Américain |
L’Américain (Edited) Secret Room (Edited) |
|
10. Madeleine |
Madeleine (Edited) End Title (Edited) |
|
11. Oberhauser's Base |
Silver Wraith (Edited) End Title (Edited) A Reunion (Edited) |
|
12. It’s Good to Have You Back, 007 |
Safe House (Edited) |
|
13. A Man Hard to Kill |
Blindfold Careless (Edited) |
|
14. MI6 Demolition |
Detonation (Edited) |
|
15. Westminster Bridge |
Westminster Bridge (Edited) |
|
16. Out of Bullets |
Out of Bullets |
|
17. Writing’s on the Wall – Sam Smith |
Writing’s on the Wall – Sam Smith |
Dear sir, Thomas Newman took a lot of flac for Skyfall, and went ahead and totally redeemed himself with the soundtrack he composed to "Spectre", but where were his detractors then (is "detractors" right? You know, the noser-looking-downers that are always too clever by half in their fault-findings, like they did to Brian Tyler's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" because the score revolved around itself by variations on the main-title (which according to the clever critiques was only done by stupid losers such as Brian Tyler and J.S. Bach). Farewell it, I will speak of it no more, and closing in the consequence, I just wanted to say that I see you cut back on the album-lenght on your excellent and choise relase of "Spectre", and thus I began a prologue to my brain, and, I, being in the opposite end of the, uh, spectre of, well, "Spectre" (some spin on the ball there, what!), I just aquired Thomas Newman's "Extended Edition" of "Spectre" tonight, hoping against hope that it will contain a series of variations and extended recordings of "Donna Luca's Theme", but more than that, that soul-searching haunting magic of "Fantasia on a theme: Skyfall", that errie, uncanny haunting variations of track #23, "Skyfall" on Newman's previous James Bond soundtrack album, that plays back throughout the entire "Spectre" score, like the heat-waves dancing in the noon-day sun, a shimmering mysterious something in the light. But I am sad to say that no "Complete Score" edition was ever released, and the "Extended Score" is no more than 15 minutes longer than the official album, filled of course up with 3 different servings of the Devil's diareha, that offensive toad-moaning that the Devil came up with for the "Official James Bond Movie Song", and true to form it was some la-di-dah loser crap that I have made dashed sure never ever to hear once, I held my fingers in my ears in the cinema in 2014, both during the Opening Title as well as when it came back like cancer in the car-chase. "Oh for a muse of fire accending the brightest heaven", what! Then can a demon-possessed loser yoodle the chorus in falsceto, and fool the world to believe that the distinctive difference between Man & Woman is hereby undone.
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