The album version is a rerecording. Consensus seems to be that the original, more unpolished b-side version is far superior.
Yes, the extended version of The Living Daylights is quite interesting, as, for the most part, the song is the same as the 7" version. However, there is a very atmospheric opening that lures you into a false sense of security, before it suddenly changes course. Likewise, the alternate mix that kicks in during the instrumental break are subtle and unexpected, but they add a dynamic to the song that I think would have worked well if used in the film. Thanks for reminding me of this. I dug out my copy of the 12" single last night, just to listen to it again.
It is not VERY different but it is a bit more rough and stripped down and that gives it a certain nerve lacking in the SOTR-version I guess. The most notable difference is the absence of the build up (two bars) between verses and chorous and a slightly more groovy ending.
Great discussion about The Living Daylights. As simple as the lyrics are, I love the song. I found myself on an airplane to Frankfurt with nothing but the soundtrack to that film after leaving my bag of cassettes at home. I picked up the soundtrack at the airport and by the time I landed, I was well versed in each and every chord. It would be interesting to see why the collaboration with John Barry went South as A-ha seem like pretty grounded and laid back individuals. I still like "View To A Kill" a little better but this one is definitely up there.
I don't think John Barry (or director John Glen, for that matter) had a lot of respect for a-ha. They were chosen primarily because A View to a Kill had been a massive hit - a song composed and performed by a contemporary act - and the producers decided that the formula could be repeated again with another successful chart act. There is also a suggestion that - like Duran Duran - they had mastered the medium of the pop video, and as such, producers thought they would be a good choice for a Bond theme. Apart from Live and Let Die, where the composer and performer were effectively the same, most Bond title songs prior to 1985 had been first written by a tried and trusted songwriter or songwriting team and duly handed over to the artist, but the success of A View to a Kill changed that, and the additional interest that a popular act brought to the franchise probably made good business sense. In the end, however, even Bond producer Michael G. Wilson said he was "disappointed" with The Living Daylights' theme. There are a lot of conflicting stories surrounding the Living Daylights collaboration, sometimes with the band saying different things, though that could be explained by simply being revisionist, e.g., Paul's assertion in a 2006 documentary on Bond music that - despite all the tales of the experience being unhappy and unpleasant - he "loved the stuff that [Barry] added to the track... It gave it this sort of really cool string arrangement. That's when it started, for me, to sound like a Bond thing". The executive from Warner Brothers who proposed a-ha in the first place eventually conceded that it was a case of "creative friction". John Barry reflected on the experience as "playing ping-pong with four balls. They had an attitude which I didn't really like at all. It was not a pleasant experience". Magne remarked, "We were working with John Barry. He just wasn't working with us". Magne also has a story about a specific part of the song, where they had a synth hook line that they (the band) were particularly happy about, and Barry went away and wrote the string arrangement, but amended the line, so then when they were back in the studio, they changed it back. Magne concluded that Barry just wasn't used to having his artistic decisions reversed. Barry himself described a-ha as "a pain in the ****" and there is a (possibly unconfirmed) report that he once referred to them as Hitlerjugend (Hitler Youth). I suspect that there was just a serious clash of personalities, due to pairing off Barry (a longstanding, respected composer) with Waaktaar, who probably (not unjustifiably) felt he wasn't being given enough credit for his abilities. Also, Paul brought an almost-completed song to the table quite quickly, without even seeing the film. This was viewed with annoyance by the producers, who couldn't understand how anyone could write the song without any knowledge of the film. In fairness, the vague, espionage-laced lyrics are no different to Duran Duran's in being suitably Bond-esque, without being plot-specific. Plus, of course, Paul's almost-completed song was regarded as being worthy of a sole songwriting credit, something Magne even tried to argue for, on his behalf, but Barry felt his arrangements and contributions warranted a co-credit. Personally, I love the track, and - as it happens - the film too.
Wow. I truly do not know my own music collection. I have the deluxe version and totally forgot about it! Listened to the 'early' version and well...I prefer the album version, which make sense as I have only heard that version for many years. The missing pauses and added flourishes just really threw me off. For whatever reason it sounds more like a demo than an actual completed song. NJB
Yes, Can only hope Warner Archives or Rhino will finish a few more of the albums off in Deluxe Editions!
Disagree on the 12" of TLD - the album version is my favorite of that song. I also really like You Are The One!
I don't think the pace is too slow myself. I enjoy having all these in-depth comments that keep coming from contributors.
I like slow speed in these threads. It gives people the chance of listening and reflecting a bit in between. Just my opinion.
Being a long time fan of Duran Duran, I've read that their collaboration with Barry was more or less the same.
I'm not sure how good or bad their experience was. Apparently, the song came together pretty efficiently for them, and I read an interview with John Barry, where he said he got on fine with Duran Duran. I do know that the film producers were a bit bemused by the level of hysteria that the band generated at the London premiere; they got more attention than the film's stars.
Being a newcomer, I'm trying to see when the comments slow to a trickle then introduce the next one. It was sort of looking like time for "East" to make it's way into the discussion this evening.
I can definitely see where an artist or band that writes it's own material will want more input rather than a Sheena Easton or Carly Simon who just sing what was given to them. First of all, when a band performs something someone else wrote it raises a few red flags, especially is the song is a little out of character for them as evidenced by the river of ****e Simple Minds' longtime fans let loose on them. It brings up images of boy band unable to write its own material. In both cases, the final products were outstanding but I think I have to agree with the school of thought that the Barry-esque mix is the better of the two. Much more powerful.
Apologies for going a bit off-topic, by way of a "compare and contrast", but just to return briefly to the whole Living Daylights collaboration problems, I think it was probably as much down to a simple (i.e., disastrous) personality clash as it was to each side wanting to do things "their way". Duran Duran got the Bond gig because John Taylor was a Bond nut. Having accosted Cubby Broccoli at a party, effectively challenging him to hire them for the next Bond theme, a lunch meeting was arranged with John Barry, who was impressed with his knowledge of the franchise, and they were effectively offered the job as a result. Already, this was a much better starting point than a-ha's later perceived indifference to even seeing the film, and Morten's later remark that they (the Bond films) were all pretty much the same, anyway. Duran Duran apparently came up with the song in about a week, a fairly collaborative effort, by all accounts. Barry didn't contribute any initial musical ideas, he just heard what they had come up with, and made adjustments, accordingly. As Simon Le Bon remarked, "... it happened so quickly, because he was able to separate the good ideas from the bad ones ... [he] was working with us as virtually a sixth member of the group, not getting on our backs at all". They spent two weeks in rehearsal rooms, assembling the song, which was - as Barry put it - an "alien way of working from the way I'd worked all my life", but he was pleased with the results: "I think we came up with a very strong song". Either way, both songs remained mainstays in the band's set lists. I saw a-ha in Glasgow on the Analogue tour. Given that it was a Scottish crowd, Magne figured he'd really work the crowd for the “oh-oh-oh-oh” Living Daylights chorus, by saying, in turn, “Do it for Pierce Brosnan”, then “Timothy Dalton”, “Roger Moore” and then did all this schtick along the lines of, “Was there another one?” “I’m sure there was another one”, etc., before finally doing it “for Sean Connery”, at which point the place went nuts. Sure, it sounds a bit daft as I write it now, but trust me, it was great.
Stay On These Roads was the first album I bought with my own pocket money. I played it to pieces then so it has a nostalgic value to me I guess. In hindsight it is not as solid as the previous two but at the time I remember thinking that it sounded "more modern" than HH&L.
I've had that happen as well. Grew unnaturally close to Duran Duran's Liberty as it was the only cassette I had access to for a few months while I was in between apartments. SOTR is a decent enough album, it's just that the preceding albums were so vibrant that it just seemed like they had run out of that streak of creativity since they had been on a marathon run for the previous 4 years or so.
