Soundtrack Review: Doctor Who – The 50th Anniversary Collection

Are you having Doctor Who withdrawal after the awesomeness of last fall’s 50th Anniversary celebrations, or feeling stuck in the doldrums of the long wait until new episodes come along? If so (or even if not), it’s the perfect time to check out the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Collection Soundtrack, a two-CD set of representative tracks that span the entire history of the series. Fans of Old and New Who alike will enjoy this auditory trip down memory lane to hear the iconic sounds and the evolution of the music through the decades.

What is so great about this soundtrack? First of all, we get six different versions of Ron Grainer’s theme tune, starting with Delia Derbyshire’s original realization of it using the then-modern technology of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. We also have three versions from the 1980s with updated instrumentation and orchestrations, and John Debney’s arrangement (in Epic Orchestral Soundtrack Style, with some interesting harmonies) can be heard at the beginning of the sampling of music from the 1996 TV movie. The fifth, of course, is Murray Gold’s New Who theme that has become so familiar to everyone over the last decade.

In addition to the evolution of the theme tune, the soundtrack selections show the evolution of music in general. We start with the ’60s Go-Go sound of “Three Guitars Mood 2” from “An Unearthly Child,” followed by a number of tracks from ’60s and ’70s episodes that highlight the electronic music — often more reminiscent of sound effects than true soundtrack — created by the Radiophonic Workshop. There is a brief foray into accoustic instruments with the musical selections from the mid- to late-’70s (“Revenge of the Cybermen,” “Terror of the Zygons,” and “Invasion of Time”) before the 1980s synthesizers take over. The music from “Castrovalva” reminds me of contemporary sci fi shows like Knight Rider, the rest of the tracks on Disc 1 feature sustained synthesizer chords that evoke movie soundtracks like Dune and Blade Runner, and on Disc 2, the tracks with music from “Remembrance of the Daleks,” “The Curse of Fenric,” and “Survival” make me think of late ’80s action movies. The suite of music from the TV movie serves as a transition point from Classic Who to the orchestral soundtrack style of Murray Gold’s music for New Who.

Many Whovians are most familiar with Gold’s music, having heard it for almost ten years now. The New Who era is represented here by ten tracks in addition to the theme tune, and overall I was pleased with the choices. The most iconic character themes are included (“Rose,” “Amy’s Theme,” and Eleven’s “I Am The Doctor”), as well as Ten’s swan song, “Vale Decem” from “The End of Time,” which is one of my favorite pieces in all of Murray Gold’s Doctor Who collection.

Only two things disappointed me about this soundtrack: the inclusion of two tracks from “The Rings of Akhaten” to represent New Who Series 7 (the little girl’s song that the crowd joins in on is just so cheesy, and one of the most eye roll-inducing parts of an episode that wasn’t that great to begin with), and the omission of “The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon” from the First Doctor story “The Gunfighters.” (Hey, it’s better than the “Rings of Akhaten” song, and one of the few musical selections I am familiar with from that era of the show!) It’s a fascinating musical journey that shows how the composers and musicians created an auditory background that has regenerated through the years to keep up with the sounds of the times, much as the Doctor himself has. I highly recommend this soundtrack!

Track Listing:

CD 1

1. Ron Grainer/Delia Derbyshire – Doctor Who Original Theme
2. Derek Nelson/Arthur Raymond – Three Guitars Mood 2 (from “An Unearthly Child”)
3. Brian Hodgson – TARDIS Takeoff (from “An Unearthly Child”)
4. Tristram Cary – The Daleks (from “The Daleks”)
5. Martin Slavin – Space Adventure Part 2 (from “The Tenth Planet”)
6. Dudley Simpson – Chromophone Band (from “The Macra Terror”)
7. Dudley Simpson – Mr. Oak and Mr. Quill (from “Fury from the Deep”)
8. Brian Hodgson – Zoe’s Theme (from “The Mind Robber”)
9. Don Harper – The Company (from “The Invasion”)
10. Malcolm Clarke – Music from “The Sea Devils”
11. Tristram Cary – Music from “The Mutants”
12. Carey Blyton – Music from “Revenge of the Cybermen”
13. Geoffrey Burgon – Terror of the Zygons Suite (from “Terror of the Zygons”)
14. Dudley Simpson – Music from “The Invasion of Time” Episodes 3 and 4
15. Paddy Kingsland – It’s the End? (from “Logopolis”)
16. Ron Grainer – Doctor Who Theme (1980 – Full Version)
17. Paddy Kingsland – Music from “Castrovalva”
18. Malcolm Clarke – March of the Cybermen (from “Earthshock”)
19. Peter Howell – Music from “The Five Doctors”
20. Jonathan Gibbs – Music from “The Mark of the Rani”
21. Elizabeth Parker – Music from “Timelash”
22. Roger Limb – Music from “Revelation of the Daleks”
23. Ron Grainer – Doctor Who Theme (1986)

CD 2:

1. Dominic Glynn – Music from “The Trial of a Time Lord”
2. Ron Grainer – Doctor Who Theme (1987)
3. Keff McCulloch – Music from “Time and the Rani”
4. Keff McCulloch – Here’s to the Future (from “Delta and the Bannermen”)
5. Dominic Glynn – Music from “Dragonfire”
6. Keff McCulloch – Music from “Remembrance of the Daleks”
7. Mark Ayres – Music from “The Greatest Show in the Galaxy”
8. Mark Ayres – Music from “The Curse of Fenric”
9. Dominic Glynn – Survival Extended Suite (from “Survival”)
10. Mark Ayres – Back to the TARDIS version 2 (from “More than 30 Years in the TARDIS”)
11. John Debney – Music from Doctor Who The Television Movie
12. Ron Grainer/Murray Gold – Doctor Who Theme TV Version
13. Murray Gold – Rose’s Theme (from Doctor Who Series 1)
14. Murray Gold – Doomsday (from Doctor Who Series 2)
15. Murray Gold – The Doctor Forever (from Doctor Who Series 3)
16. Murray Gold – All the Strange, Strange Creatures (from Doctor Who Series 3)
17. Murray Gold – This is Gallifrey: Our Childhood, Our Home (from Doctor Who Series 3)
18. Murray Gold – Vale Decem (from Doctor Who Series 4: The Specials)
19. Murray Gold – I Am The Doctor (from Doctor Who Series 5)
20. Murray Gold – Amy’s Theme (from Doctor Who Series 5)
21. Murray Gold – The Long Song (from Doctor Who Series 7)
22. Murray Gold – Infinite Potential (from Doctor Who Series 7)

Rating: 5 / 5 Stars