No Time to Die (soundtrack)

No Time to Die: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album to the 25th James Bond film of the same name. Released by Decca Records on 1 October 2021 (a week before the film's North American release), the music was composed by Hans Zimmer, making him the sixth non-British composer after Marvin Hamlisch, Bill Conti, Michael Kamen, Éric Serra and Thomas Newman to score a film in the series. The film's theme song of the same name performed by Billie Eilish, was composed with her brother Finneas O'Connell. The 12" vinyl album version features an additional four short music cues listed only as Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4.

No Time to Die: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by
Released1 October 2021
RecordedJanuary 2020
StudioAbbey Road, London
GenreFilm score
Length71:00
LabelDecca
ProducerSteve Mazzaro
Hans Zimmer chronology
Dune
(2021)
No Time to Die: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
(2021)
Army of Thieves
(2021)
James Bond soundtrack chronology
Spectre
(2015)
No Time to Die
(2021)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Times[1]
Filmtracks[2]

Development

edit

In July 2019, Dan Romer was announced as composer for the film's score, having previously worked with Cary Joji Fukunaga on Beasts of No Nation and Maniac.[3] Romer left the film due to creative differences in November 2019.[4] Hans Zimmer replaced Romer by January 2020.[5] It is the first time in the Bond series history that a composer has been replaced during post-production, and the second major personnel change for the film after Danny Boyle left as director.[6] Steve Mazzaro produced the score, while Johnny Marr played guitar. London Voices provided the choral element to the soundtrack. The No Time to Die score album was set to be released through Decca Records in March 2020 but was delayed to 1 October 2021 to coincide with the release of the film.[7][8]

In January 2020, Billie Eilish was announced as the performer of the film's theme song, with her brother, Finneas O'Connell, serving as co-writer as well as the track's producer. The song, which has the same title, was released on 13 February 2020.[9] At the age of 18, Eilish is the youngest artist to record a James Bond theme song.[10][11] Despite the film's delay, the song was nominated for and won the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, on 14 March 2021, six months before the film's release date, because the song itself was released during the 2019–20 eligibility period, in anticipation of the film's original April 2020 release date.[12] At the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, Zimmer's score was nominated for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media.

The soundtrack contains references to two tracks from On Her Majesty's Secret Service soundtrack:[13]

  • We Have All the Time in the World (featured in "Matera"); it appears twice in the film instrumentally, the latter rendition of the theme not being included on album. The full version of the song also plays during the ending credits, but also does not appear on the soundtrack.
  • Over and Out (featured in "Good to Have You Back").

Reception

edit

Will Hodgkinson of The Times stated, "The key to a great James Bond theme tune is to capture a sense of nagging emotional loss in a way that’s glamorous. Step forward, Billie Eilish, the world’s most melancholic teenage pop star, who wraps her intimate, whispered vocals over words that, in proper Bond style, seem on the surface to be profound but in fact don’t mean much at all."[1] Saeed Saeed of The National wrote, "While the pulsating score by German composer Hans Zimmer fulfils the brief in heightening the film’s spectacular action sequences, the creation of the music featured a few dramas of its own... The solitary vocal tune in the soundtrack is the titular track performed by Billie Eilish. While the dramatic power ballad, with her trademark whispery vocals and sweeping strings, was acclaimed and won a Grammy Award in March, the recording process wasn’t so smooth."[13]

Track listing

edit

All tracks are performed by Hans Zimmer, except for "No Time to Die". Writing credits are from the ASCAP repertory.[14]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Gun Barrel"Monty Norman0:56
2."Matera"1:59
3."Message from an Old Friend"
  • Mazzaro
  • Norman
  • Zimmer
6:35
4."Square Escape"
  • Mazzaro
  • Norman
  • Zimmer
2:06
5."Someone Was Here"
  • Mazzaro
  • Norman
  • Zimmer
2:56
6."Not What I Expected"
  • Mazzaro
  • Zimmer
1:24
7."What Have You Done?"
  • Mazzaro
  • Norman
  • Zimmer
2:14
8."Shouldn't We Get to Know Each Other First?"
  • Mazzaro
  • Norman
  • Zimmer
1:21
9."Cuba Chase"
  • Mazzaro
  • Norman
  • Zimmer
5:40
10."Back to MI6"
  • Steven Doar
  • Norman
  • Zimmer
1:30
11."Good to Have You Back"Barry1:17
12."Lovely to See You Again"1:25
13."Home"
  • Mazzaro
  • B. O'Connell
  • F. O'Connell
  • Zimmer
3:45
14."Norway Chase"
  • Mazzaro
  • Norman
  • Zimmer
5:06
15."Gearing Up"
  • Doar
  • Norman
  • Zimmer
2:53
16."Poison Garden"
  • Mazzaro
  • Zimmer
3:58
17."The Factory"
  • Mazzaro
  • Norman
  • Zimmer
6:42
18."I'll Be Right Back"
  • Mazzaro
  • Norman
  • B. O'Connell
  • F. O'Connell
  • Zimmer
4:59
19."Opening the Doors"
  • Mazzaro
  • Norman
  • Zimmer
2:44
20."Final Ascent"
  • Mazzaro
  • B. O'Connell
  • F. O'Connell
  • Zimmer
7:25
21."No Time to Die" (performed by Billie Eilish)
  • B. O'Connell
  • F. O'Connell
4:04
Total length:71:00

Charts

edit
Chart performance for No Time to Die: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[15] 9
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[16] 10
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[17] 4
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[18] 58
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[19] 25
French Albums (SNEP)[20] 28
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[21] 12
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[22] 40
Irish Albums (OCC)[23] 41
Japan Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[24] 46
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[25] 38
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[26] 39
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[27] 22
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[28] 9
Scottish Albums (OCC)[29] 6
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[30] 30
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[31] 3
UK Albums (OCC)[32] 7

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Hodgkinson, Will (1 October 2021). "Hans Zimmer: No Time To Die soundtrack review — Bond reborn? Not entirely". The Times. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Filmtracks: No Time to die (Hans Zimmer)".
  3. ^ "'Bond 25': Composer Dan Romer to Reunite with Director Cary Fukunaga to Shake Up the Franchise". Indie Wire. 2 July 2019. Archived from the original on 20 July 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  4. ^ Burlingame, Jon (6 January 2020). "'No Time to Die': Hans Zimmer Takes Over as Composer on Bond Movie (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 13 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  5. ^ "Hans Zimmer to score No Time To Die". 007.com. 13 January 2020. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  6. ^ "Hans Zimmer hired as last-minute composer for new James Bond Daniel Craig film". The Independent. 8 January 2020. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  7. ^ "No Time to Die soundtrack". 007.com. 19 February 2020. Archived from the original on 19 February 2020. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  8. ^ Macdonald, Kyle (26 July 2021). "No Time To Die soundtrack: what's the music in the new Bond film and when is it released?". Classic FM. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Billie Eilish's James Bond Theme, 'No Time to Die,' Gets a Release Date". Billboard. 13 February 2020. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  10. ^ Savage, Mark (14 January 2020). "Billie Eilish to sing the new James Bond theme". Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  11. ^ Snapes, Laura (14 January 2020). "James Bond: Billie Eilish to provide No Time to Die theme". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  12. ^ Burlingame, Jon (24 November 2020). "Billie Eilish Earns Grammy Nomination for 'No Time to Die' Despite Bond Film's Delay Into Next Year". Variety. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  13. ^ a b Saeed, Saeed (1 October 2021). "'No Time to Die': how a Bond worthy soundtrack was created". The National. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  14. ^ "ASCAP Repertory Search". Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  15. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Soundtrack / Hans Zimmer – No Time to Die" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  16. ^ "Ultratop.be – Soundtrack / Hans Zimmer – No Time to Die" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  17. ^ "Ultratop.be – Soundtrack / Hans Zimmer – No Time to Die" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  18. ^ "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 40.Týden 2021 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  19. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Soundtrack / Hans Zimmer – No Time to Die" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  20. ^ "Lescharts.com – Soundtrack / Hans Zimmer – No Time to Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  21. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Soundtrack / Hans Zimmer – No Time to Die" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  22. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2021. 41. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  23. ^ "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  24. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums: 2021/10/13 公開". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  25. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2021-10-18" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  26. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Soundtrack / Hans Zimmer – No Time to Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  27. ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  28. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Soundtrack / Hans Zimmer – No Time to Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  29. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  30. ^ "Discos Más Vendidos en España". El Portal de Música. 17 October 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  31. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Soundtrack / Hans Zimmer – No Time to Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  32. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 October 2021.