Doctor Who Series Six Soundtrack Review

Doctor Who Series 6, Murry Gold (The BBC National Orchestra of Wales, directed by Ben Foster), BBC and Silvascreen USA, Jan 2012, $29.99 Aust RRP.

Wow- nearlly a month since I last posted! Now that I have some more time on my hands, I will soon remedy that. I have gotten back into my ms rewrite and so far am writing at a steady pace. I aim to average about 10 000 a week. I have also written three and a half short stories and have an idea for a fifth. I am also planning some posts on vampires and steampunk. Be excited!

I intended to review the s6 soundtrack ages ago but time ran away with me (Time IS the boss of me apparently!) Murry Gold has consistently written quality pieces for New Who and s6 may well be the best soundtrack yet. My other personal favourites are the s3 and s5 soundtracks. Like s5, s6 has two cd’s which allows for a longer musical journey time. He also weaves in many of the key motifs of the Pond run including I am the Doctor, Amy’s Theme and the lovely River/Melody theme.

From the track starter of I am the doctor in Utah which utilises a western guitar riff to revisit Eleven’s popular theme to the more traditional Tell Me Who You Are/Melody Pond and The Majestic Tale (of a Madman in a Box), there are plenty of riffs on the epic I am the Doctor theme first heard in The Eleventh Hour. Other personal standouts include the siren call in Deadly Siren from The Curse of the Black Spot, Loving Isn’t Knowing (The Almost People Suite) from The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People double bill, the zany watlz Growing Up Fast from Let’s Kill Hitler, the creepy Tick Tock Round the Clock children’s rhyme from Night Terrors and 5:02pm and Forgiven from The Wedding of River Song.

It’s hard to choose favourites from such a diverse range of sounds. This is definitely a soundtrack. The score is enhanced by knowing what happens in the series and aides in helping you to relive the series emotional moments and big revelations (I find the double of Tell Me Who You Are and Melody Pond particularly good for this) If you love New Doctor Who; its themes of Greek tragedy, hubris and the fairy story epic of the Pond’s, then this soundtrack is for you. If you are more keen on the big orchestral sounds, these sounds are still there but are more muted. This is a soundtrack that focusses on storytelling through music. Each track bleeds into the next. Yes- some tracks stand out more than others, but ultimately, this is a cd that works best played back to back.

For this reason, it’s the best album yet.

Doctor Who s6: 5/5 inky stars