Well, Doctor Who Series 7 has come and gone. The anniversary special has aired, and Matt Smith has officially left the building. But that doesn’t mean the show has to stop dead! Murray Gold, the amazing orchestrator of most of the memorable tunes behind the revived series, still had a lot left to give. With the release of the Series 7 soundtrack, we’re about to see just how epic things can still be.
The first few tracks deal with the Series 7 opening “Asylum of the Daleks”. Most of the tracks are very dark, as the Asylum is a dark place where the defective Daleks are sent to stay. The episode also contains the first encounter of Oswin Oswald (Clara) who will later go on the become a companion. As such, the track “Oswin Oswald” is rather happy and cheery, with a big sentimental feel to it.
The next group of tracks are from the second episode, “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship”, where The Doctor, Amy, and Rory find themselves on a spaceship containing a lot of dinosaurs. A lot of these tracks are high energy and frantic, considering when you’re dealing with dinosaurs it’s hard to remain calm.
The group after that are from the Western-themed episode “A Town Called Mercy” and as such, sound very Western. They have a lot of string instruments that sound very twangy, and they emulate an old Western feel when Americans were just starting to head west to settle.
The next few tracks are from the fourth episode “The Power of Three” and are energetic, but subtle enough to convey the fact that there’s still an air of mystery surrounding the mysterious cubes that have started to pop up all over the world.
The next group of tracks are from the final adventure with Amy and Rory in “The Angels Take Manhattan”. As is expected, a lot of the tracks are very sad and solemn, conveying the utter loss the Doctor feels after losing the first companions he’s had in his current form. It does this with such perfection that the music alone tells a more emotional story than the episode could.
As we get to Series 7.2, we move into tracks from “The Bells of Saint John”, and the music is very high tech and fast paced to match the feel of the episode. The Doctor is driving up the side of a building on the motorcycle, and when he gets to a certain point, he crashes in and dismounts. Then, the track “Spoonheads” cuts to a sample of “I Am the Doctor” and he begins to interrogate and defeat the woman responsible for destroying the lives of so many innocent people.
The next group of tracks are from “The Rings of Akhaten” and convey a feeling of unity as all different races come together for the ceremony and to hear the girl sing to their god. The track “God of Akhaten” features vocals and beautiful harmony with amazing instrumentation, and just sounds divine and fits perfectly with the ceremonial motif of the episode.
The next few tracks are from the episode “Cold War” and are very dark and atmospheric before switching tones quickly as the Ice Warrior makes his escape. Then, it becomes dark again as he stalks the corridors, shrouded in shadow as the submarine’s crew try in vain to locate him. One by one he picks them off, until finally, The Doctor shows up. Reasoning with him, The Doctor manages to convince the Ice Warrior to leave in peace, and all is well… right?
The next two tracks are from “Hide” and “Journey to Centre of the TARDIS” respectively, with each track fitting perfectly in with the feel of the episode. “I Am a Ghost”, with its slow and somber tone, sets the stage for the story of the episode, while “A Machine That Makes Machines” is rather high-tech and energetic as The Doctor and Clara make their way through the TARDIS and try to fix what went wrong.
The next group of tracks are from the episode “The Crimson Horror” and fit a rather idealistic fantasy feel, like you’d hear in a carnival. That’s because Sweetville is supposed to offer a higher standard of living, but… that would be too good to be true.
The next few tracks are from “Nightmare in Silver” and feature more high-tech sounds, as the episode deals with the Cybermen trying to take over the planet, and the Doctor struggles as the Cyber Planner tries to take possession of his mind and body.
The last group of tracks are taken from the series finale “The Name of the Doctor” and feature a somber tone as the Doctor feels that it is the end of his life, as he is on Trenzalore… his final resting place.
The whole of the album is rather amazing, each track giving off the feel of its respective episode. You can really SEE each episode playing out in your head just through the orchestrations, and that’s one of the most important aspects of music.
The album has already been released, and I would highly recommend checking it out. Murray Gold is amazing at creating music that fits, and this is as fine an example of that as any.
