The BBC’s veteran time-traveling sci-fi hero returns via a smart 21st-century update, one whose adventurous plot lines and super-charged visuals inspired this equally ambitious musical score anthology (covering seasons one and two, as well as two extended specials) by Murray Gold. The composer’s sinewy, synth-charged update of Ron Grainer’s original ’60s series theme is a study in spooky dramatics that’s also treated to a more expansive, album-closing arrangement, while “Westminster Bridge” and “Slitheen” revel in muscular evocations of spy music past that recall Michael Giacchino’s similar tongue-in-cheek romps for The Incredibles. From there, Gold’s music steadily expands in scale and scope, often achieving big-screen dimensions via the cinematic sweep of “Boom Town Suite”/”I’m Coming to Get You,” the minimalist-tinged rhythms of “Clockwork Tardis,” or the overt piano-and-orchestra melancholy of “Rose’s Theme.” Completing the saga’s musical makeover are a pair of ballads sung by the Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon–the effusive pop charmer “Song For Ten” and the more retro-R&B-quirky “Love Don’t Roam.” –Jerry McCulley
“You hear that. That’s the sound of the universe.” After waiting for 2 years the BBC have finally released the fantastic soundtrack to what is essentially their flagship television show.Murray Gold, the British equivalent to America’s Bear McCreary (check out the Battlestar Galactica CD’s to see what I mean) weaves a collection beautiful scores which span seasons 1 and 2.It’s not until you listen to this soundtrack that you realise just how much of the series is affected by this music.The CD consists of 31 tracks, starting with that unforgettable opening theme and launches straight into Westminster Bridge which is the first track from the episode Rose.From there we launch into a collection of tracks from across the first two seasons and both Christmas specials. The only downside here is that they are not in episode order but for those with a keen ear you can work out what goes where.Several tracks stand out from the rest; the touching Father’s Day, the haunting Doctor’s theme (one of my favourites), the militaristic UNIT, the dramatic scores for both the Cybermen and the Daleks and the bittersweet Doomsday are all excellent.There are several great examples of leitmotif for certain characters which occur in other tracks and add an audio cue for the audience as to what’s about to happen.There are two songs by Neil Hannon, Song For Ten (from the Christmas Invasion as David Tennant goes through his clothes in the Tardis wardrobe) and Love Don’t Roam (from the reception in The Runaway Bride) which are both good tracks as there are used as cues in other pieces of music.All in all this CD gives you 75 minutes of great music and it’s a must for any sci-fi collection. If you enjoyed this then check out any of the current Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, Serenity and Alien Nation soundtracks for more good sci-fi music of similar quality.Enjoy!
Brilliant Wow is the one word that sums up this sound track. I have never been a big fan of sounds tracks as so many have been poor in the past – so i was a little apprehensive about this one. However, i need not have been as this is to put it simply a brilliant sound track all round.As past reviewers have said if you close your eyes on some tracks you can visualise the scenes in your head “The Daleks” and The Cybermen” being two tracks that do just that.Then you get the haunting sounds of “Fathers Day”, “Madam De Pompadour”, “The Impossible Planet” and the incredible “Doomsday” used at the end of series 2.However, the best track of all has to be the full version of the Doctor Who Theme it’s brilliant really is worth the listen on it’s own.Murray Gold has done wonders in the world of Doctor Who with this outstanding album. If your a fan of Doctor Who or sound tracks then i urge you to buy this album as you’ll not be disappointed.
Brilliant mix of music, though not quite perfect I have been an avid viewer of Doctor Who since it returned to our screens in 2005 and have been particularly fond of Murray Gold’s music, which covers a whole range of emotions. Now to have it on CD is a lovely Christmas gift.There are some very lively pieces like “Westminster Bridge”, some thoughtful moments like “Clockwork TARDIS” and some real tearjerkers, particularly “Doomsday”. It is all extremely rich and would be suitable for a major motion picture. However, this album is not as good as it could be. While Neil Hannon’s jazzy “Love Don’t Roam” is wonderful, his version of “Song For Ten”, the song featured in the 2005 Christmas special “The Christmas Invasion” just doesn’t suit Hannon’s smooth voice. Personally, I would have preferred to hear a fuller version of Tim Phillips’ version and the Phil Spector-like sound that accompanies him (fortunately, this can be found on the official Doctor Who website).As well as this, the album version of the “Doctor Who” theme is a rather thrown together amalgamation of elements present in the 2005 and 2006 versions. The traditional sci-fi effects coupled with the huge orchestra in the middle eight don’t seem to mix or compliment each other very well, and this is the one song which could have done with some extra touching-up and unification. Also, some fans will be disappointed that certain scores from episodes like “The Girl in the Fireplace” and “Army of Ghosts” are not present either.Still, to get over 31 tracks for such a good price was well worth the wait, and both casual and longtime fans of the show won’t be disappointed with the effort that has gone into making this CD. Highly recommended.