Series 5 Soundtrack Review

Series 5 Soundtrack When you're not watching back your favourite episodes, reading the latest Doctor Who novels or reinacting scenes with your figure collection, you're probably listening to the official series soundtracks on a continuous loop, allowing Murray Gold's dramatic, heartbreaking and fantastically terrifying themes to embody your soul and take you on an epic journey through time and space...

Following the success of the previous soundtrack releases, a CD dedicated to Gold's spectacular Series 5 scores was inevitable - perhaps before he had put pen to paper to even compose the Eleventh Doctor and Amy's first series! Throughout the 13 episodes, he brought the brand new Doctor, the brand new companion, the brand new TARDIS and their brand new adventures to life through the power of his music, and it's that music that is included on this 2-disc set, which you'll be able to buy from November 8th. Thanks to Silva Screen Records, we were sent a copy of the CD to review, and you can read what we thought of the tracks below. Geronimo!

The Doctor and Amy
DISC 1
Track 1: Doctor Who XI
Kick-starting the proceedings is, naturally, Murray Gold's latest arrangement of Ron Grainer's iconic theme. Although it was met with some controversy when it made its debut at the start of The Eleventh Hour, it's only fitting that the show's new era is accompanied by a new version of the theme. As Murray Gold himself points out in the CD sleeve, the music 'should be played loud for best effect' - and we couldn't agree with him more! Ooooo-eeeeee-oooooooooo...

Tracks 2-11: Music from The Eleventh Hour
Down to Earth, Little Amy, Fish Custard, Can I Come With You?, Little Amy: The Apple, The Sun's Gone Wibbly, Zero, I Am The Doctor, The Mad Man in the Box, Amy In The TARDIS
The Eleventh Hour is an epic enough story by itself, but it's made even more so thanks to Gold's music. With the TARDIS just seconds away from crash landing slap bang in the middle of London, the Eleventh Doctor has definitely arrived as the thrilling Down to Earth signals the start of his first adventure - and what an adventure it is! Yamit Mamo's wonderful peformance in Little Amy - which becomes a familiar theme throughout the course of the series - is played for the first time as we are taken to the small village of Leadworth to be introduced to the companion-to-be. Amy in the TARDIS, played when Amy finally gets to step inside the blue box, sums up her mixed feelings of complete happiness and complete bewilderment, while at the same time reminisces the tragic past of the girl who waited. I Am The Doctor undoubtedly deserves a mention, not only because it is arguably one of Gold's most loved and recognised pieces to date, but because it perfectly marks the beginning of a brand new chapter for the Doctor, Amy, and also for the series itself. Goodbye Leadworth, hello everything!
Recommended: Fish Custard, Can I Come With You?, Little Amy: The Apple, I Am The Doctor, The Mad Man in the Box, Amy In The TARDIS

Tracks 12-14: Music from The Beast Below
The Beast Below, Amy's Theme, A Lonely Decision
Amy's maiden voyage in the TARDIS, with some first class scores from Gold. The Beast Below wonderfully conveys the troubled life and times experienced aboard Starship UK, while the heartbreaking track, A Lonely Decision, brings a great sense of heartache and tragedy to the final moments of the episode. We all depend on the Beast Below...
Recommended: A Lonely Decision

Victory of the Daleks
Tracks 15-17: Music from Victory of the Daleks
A Tyrannical Menace, Victory of the Daleks, Battle In The Sky
An enemy as frightening and defiant as the Daleks deserves an equally frightening and defiant theme to go with them, and Gold's music for their latest appearance is definitely that. The hair-raising Victory of the Daleks track, which boomed across the nation when the new paradigm of the metal monsters came from out of the shadows and into the Doctor's nightmares, made their creation all the more powerful and terrifyingly triumphant. When listening, you can't help but shout "Exterminate!" in your best Dalek voice, but try and refrain if you're playing it on your iPod on the bus! K.B.O!
Recommended: Victory of the Daleks

Tracks 18-19: Music from The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone
River's Path, The Time of Angels
One of Steven Moffat's most terrifying stories is made all the more petrifying by these tracks. The return of the Weeping Angels wouldn't be complete without the classic horror-style shrieking violins and chilling silences we first heard in Blink, but for their most recent appearance, Gold turned it up a notch, and rightly so! Suffice to say, The Time of Angels is more than enough to leave you on the edge of your seat - we're just hoping the theme song of an Angel doesn't become an Angel!
Recommended: The Time of Angels

Tracks 20-24: Music from The Vampires of Venice
I Offer You My Daughter, Chicken Casanova, Signora Rosanna Calvierri, Cab For Amy Pond, The Vampies of Venice
One of the most important tasks on a composer's checklist is to set the scene with their music, and, once again, Gold manages to do this on top form, this time transporting us back in time to Venice in the year 1580. These tracks are really something to get your teeth into (no pun intended!), as, in Cab for Amy Pond, the beat moves at such a pace that you actually start to believe you're the one being chased by vampires! If slow and steady wins the race for you, though, we highly recommend Signora Rosanna Calvierri, a wondrous track which beautifully conveys Rosanna's desperation to save her race, the Saturnynians. We never thought we'd pity an alien fish!
Recommended: Signora Rosanna Calvierri, Cab For Amy Pond

Tracks 25-26: Music from Amy's Choice
Wedded Bliss, This Is The Dream
In this episode, Amy and Rory's relationship is tested to the limit at the hands of the mischievous Dream Lord. They're not the only ones who rise to the challenge, as Gold perfectly showcases the two worlds in his music. Whilst listening to Wedded Bliss, you can just picture Rory humming along without a care in the world, riding his bike through Upper Leadworth as his ponytail bobs joyfully behind him in the wind. Meanwhile, This Is The Dream is a complete contrast - slow and haunting, and with a great sense of foreboding. Tweet, tweet!
Recommended: This Is The Dream

Tracks 27-28: Music from The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood
Rio de Cwmtaff, The Silurians
Gold presents the ultimate warrior music for the ultimate warriors! There's a great sense of foreboding established in Rio de Cwmtaff, which can only mean one thing. A small village in the middle of Wales where nothing unusual ever happens? Not in Doctor Who! The Silurians are back, and they're marching to battle to the sound of their own magnificent theme...
Recommended: Rio de Cwmtaff

The Doctor
DISC 2
Tracks 1-5: Music from Vincent of the Doctor
Paint, Vincent, Hidden Treasures, A Troubled Man, With Love, Vincent
This heartbreaking story gave us an insight into the life and times of Vincent Van Gogh, and Gold's music enables us to fully empathise with the troubled painter. On several occasions, the Vincent track jumps from being quite up beat and jazzy to suddenly dark and slow - the changes representing the different attitudes Vincent himself felt throughout his life. With Love, Vincent is the perfect conclusion to the tale, as Amy realises that, although time can be rewritten, there are some things that were always written in the stars.
Recommended: Paint, With Love, Vincent

Tracks 6-13: Music from The Lodger
Friends and Neighbours, Doctor Gastronomy, You Must Like It Here, A Useful Striker, A Painful Exchange, Kiss The Girl, Thank You Craig
In The Lodger, the Doctor finds himself completely out of his comfort zone, however Gold remains on top form. Doctor Gastronomy is a light-hearted and catchy tune, while the dramatic Kiss the Girl piece brings together all the unfolding tension as the events in the mysterious flat upstairs reach their climatic conclusion. Our personal favourite, however, has to be A Useful Striker, another catchy tune which plays when the Doctor owns the football pitch with his impressive footwork - back of the net!
Recommended: Friends and Neighbours, A Useful Striker, Thank You Craig

Tracks 13-35: Music from The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang
River Runs Through It, Away On Horseback, Beneath Stonehenge, Who Else Is Coming, Amy And Rory, Words Win Wars, The Life And Death Of Amy Pond, Amy's Starless Life, Into The Museum, This Is Where It Gets Complicated, Roman Paradox, The Patient Centurion, The Same Sonic, Honey I'm Home, The Perfect Prison, A River Of Tears, The Sad Man With A Box, You And Me, Amy, The Big Day, I Remember You, Onwards!
The Series 5 finale was so Earth-shattering that it's no wonder more than half of the second disc is dedicated to its blockbuster score! It's safe to say that the Doctor, Amy and River's journey to the Pandorica just wouldn't have been the same without Murray's mind-blowing accompaniment, and whether the scene is introducing an alien Alliance or a Roman Rory, his music helps everything fit together like a perfect jigsaw. Our personal favourites include Amy and Rory, which brings with it sweet memories of their childhood days in Leadworth, and The Life And Death Of Amy Pond (tissues at the ready!), which played during Episode 12's bittersweet cliffhanger. The final track, appropriately titled Onwards!, has a dollop of nostelgia as it looks ahead to the adventures to come. Next stop, anywhere!
Recommended: The Life And Death Of Amy Pond, A River Of Tears, Onwards!

The official Series 5 Soundtrack will be available to buy and download online from 8th November 2010.