Blogtor Who: REVIEW: "A Christmas Carol" soundtrack by Murray Gold

You may remember from my reviews of Murray Gold's exceptional soundtracks to The Specials and Series 5 that I commented on how we Doctor Who fans were being spoiled with regards to the music releases. Well, blimey - there was more to come. 2006 saw just one disc cover 28 episodes; five years on and we're getting a CD (or download if you're under thirty - smiley emoticon) for just one hour of Who goodness. Complaining? Am I eff!

Especially as Gold is on top form jumping from the trouser~enducing quake of Come Along Pond (brilliant name for a song, btw) to the choir~laced emotion of Halfway Out of The Dark; in but the space of a minute. Although the soundtrack consists of wonderful harmonious melodies and sounds, there are hauntingly discordant strings and noises to be found in a number of tracks like Geoff (yet another great name for a tune) and the celeste~laden (or possibly xylophone) Fish.

If the album has a story to tell, a narrative to relay, it's the musical "battle" of The Eleventh Doctor's rousingly heroic theme and the hauntingly beautiful melody of Abigail's Theme. The soundtrack includes cues with various versions of Matt Smith's "hit" but finds itself eroded over the course of the disc as Abigail's theme creeps in, stealing the light (or sound, even). By the end of the CD, it's her theme, subtitled Silence Is All You Know (note for The Sun: not "silents"), that fills your ears and touches the heart.

The song is certainly one of Muzza's finest contribution to his Whoeuvre. Gold knows the ins and outs of the soundtrack and how to produce one so it's most refreshing to hear him gift us with a song; pure and simple - a song. And one that wouldn't look out of place at the top of the hit parade (people still call it that, right?) with Kazza Jenkins delivering a finely pitched vocal that soars and is then devoured by the luscious orchestration and exquisite choir.

Murray Gold continues to demonstrate just how in tune with the show he is, matching the action, the humour, the universal spirit and, most importantly, the heart and essence of Doctor Who. In this instance, his work excels the story itself, creating a piece of work that is more worthy of return than the story it represents - a piece of work that is possibly one of his finest episode scores.

And bravo to Silva Screen for this release, more single discs for stories? Pur~lease??