The Day / Time of the Doctor Soundtrack Review (Disc 1)
David Selby gives his verdict on Disc One of the soundtrack release.
I’m going to start this review by unashamedly saying that this is, indisputably, one of the best soundtrack releases for the new series so far. Regardless of the quality of the actual tracks – which will, to some extent, be a subjective matter – the scope and variety of music included is the most varied and appetising yet. Unlike previous releases, this includes 99% of the new tracks from both episodes (bar one frustrating omission which I’ll go on to talk about). Along with this, there are also a couple of reprises of old tracks – and, best of all, a whole host of brand new, never-before-heard tracks which didn’t quite make it to the final cut of Day and Time. There is literally no more you could ask for here, other than perchance a few of the reused tracks, but if you own all the old soundtracks you’ll have them on there anyway. And that frustrating omission. Which will be discussed. Don’t you worry.
So, I’ll get straight onto the tracks themselves starting with The Day of the Doctor’s. Whilst they can be reviewed individually, there’s something about them as a whole which sticks out. It’s difficult to describe. Perhaps it is, a year on, nostalgic value – perhaps it’s the memories of seeing The Day of the Doctor, and the splendid spirit of November 2013. Either way, there’s a strong undertone here which can be detected throughout the soundtrack. Something magical and, in fact, quite poignant. Something ultimately very Doctor Who. Uplifting, but immeasurably deep. Contemplative, almost.
And it truly does stir something within you. It’s most noticeable in tracks like The Moment Has Come and This Time There’s Three of Us, but is undoubtedly present the whole way through.
As with the special itself, Day’s soundtrack is made up of a variety of different emotional ideas. One criticism of the new series’ music is that it tells you what to feel and when, and forgetting the fact that it’s a criticism, it’s what makes the soundtrack work. It can be listened to on its own and the same emotions are still evoked. Across the one disc we move from sweeping bass crescendos to punk-ish bass with jazz overtones, and from relaxed but jovial woodwinds to quiet, haunting blends of piano and vocal ensembles. They all come in at the right times. My favourites might be the more emotional tracks, but I can’t deny that I love the little pizzicato riff in Three Doctors.
Also detectable are some familiar motifs such as The Doctor Forever, Westminster Bridge, Clara? and The Majestic Tale, each re-worked for a different atmosphere. These nuances are brilliant, combining rather than separating the old and the new – which, I think, for an anniversary soundtrack, is fundamentally ingenious.
Once again, the style of music competes with the scale the show itself achieved in its fiftieth year. Not only are there some formidable orchestral movements, but some very tense, pulsing (and, significantly, understated) action sequences that you’d expect to find only in the likes of the Bourne movies. One of these is Rescue the Doctor, which bears startling resemblance to River’s Path from the Series Five soundtrack (and its variation in the Series Seven soundtrack). Another even better example is We Don’t Need To Land, used in the memorable almost-destruction-of-London scene.
The disc culminates with some of the best – if not the best – tracks Murray Gold has ever composed. The aptly-titled We Are The Doctors was, criminally, left unused, but presumably covered the sequence in which the Three Doctors emerged epically from the painting. The next track, The Moment Has Come, is admirably delicate, featuring my favourite little leitmotif from the entire special. It’s a touching, evocative piano tune with some gentle, yet more evocative strings accompanying, turning sinister half-way through when the Doctor is confronted with his big red button. This leads into This Time There’s Three of us, the longest track of the whole lot, which comes to a total of seven minutes and three seconds. It begins with a new variation of Altering Lives which I honestly wasn’t expecting to emerge on the soundtrack (therefore, I was over the moon when it did). It launches from here into the forever-demanded ‘Saving Gallifrey’ music. It’s worth the wait. These tracks all accompany the Doctor’s greatest moral dilemma, and looking back, they were responsible for so much of the last fifteen minutes’ success. They set the tone, set the mood, and, I think, will stick out in peoples’ memories more than they credit them to. There’s some extension as well, and that badass guitar version of The Majestic Tale is included. Yes!
Once this is all over, I cannot possibly go without mentioning the final track on the disc, entitled Song For Four. I would argue that this is Murray Gold’s love letter of sorts to Doctor Who. A complex keyboard/piano/strings tune which introduces guitar a third of the way through, it’s an insight, I believe, into Gold’s own perception of the show. Whilst it was heard in full glory at the end of Deep Breath, it’s a tragedy that it never made it to the final cut of Day and was replaced with the mediocre-suiting The Wedding of River Song (a superb track which just belonged in its own episode).
There are those who’ve paid brief attention to the soundtrack of Day and I’m sure will have told you up until this point that there were barely any new tracks. They’re wrong. So much of the episode was comprised of outstanding new tracks, and now you can hear them all and more.
Here are my top five picks from the episode. If you’re sticking to a budget, these are the best value. But please, when the money works its way into your pocket, buy the whole soundtrack. You won’t regret it.
Three tracks you’ll all know:
Who Are You – it’s the one with the haunting, warping sound effects on the This is Gallifrey motif from the “How many children are there on Gallifrey right now?” scene.
2.47 Billion – whilst much of this one went unused, you’ll recognise the end tune, a Song For Four variation, used in both Day and Time.
This Time There’s Three of Us – the freezing Gallifrey music, which has apparently become a fan-favourite.
My own favourites:
- Song For Four
- This Time There’s Three of Us
- The Moment Has Come
- We Are The Doctors
- It’s Him
Disc One Verdict: 9/10
Come back tomorrow for the review of Disc 2 featuring the score from The Time of the Doctor.