Doctor Who Offical Television Soundtrack - The Music Behind The Monsters

The Doctor Who official soundtrack was released in December 2006, containing all the music that was used in the first two series of Doctor Who. Tucked inside the cover was notes by Murray Gold - Doctor Who's resident composer - and a note of thanks from one of the executive producers Julie Gardner.

Overall, there are thirty-one tracks but some of them are very short (the shortest being the theme for the opening credits at a mere 41 seconds) and some are a lot longer (Doomsday being the longest at just over five minutes long). For the unknown listener of the soundtrack, it can be viewed as a classical triumph: snatching small parts of many different styles of music and jam-packing them into one CD. Even so, many people who are not fans of the show could be captivated by Melanie Pappenheim's slow and eerie voice in three of the tracks with Gold commenting that her voice was the sound of the Time Vortex itself. On the flip side, there are two tracks that do not seem to fit with the rest of the album; Song for Ten and Love Don't Roam.

Song For Ten was originally sung by Tim Phillips in the actual episode 'The Christmas Invasion'. However, for the album version, Neil Hannon was brought in to take over. The song was Gold's celebration of the Tenth Doctor - also known as David Tennant - as he seemed a more jovial and less troubled Doctor than the previous. Originally, there were only two verses, reflecting the regeneration process and how weak The Doctor was during an alien invasion. Gold, after learning of Rose's departure from the series quickly penned a new verse and edited his chorus:

So have a good life
Do it for me
Make me so proud
Like you want me to be
Where ever you are
I'm thinking of you oceans apart
I want you to know

Well I woke up today and you're on the other side
Our time will never come again
But if you can still dream
Close your eyes it will seem
That you can see me now and then

Even for a non-fan, you can recognize the connection between The Doctor and Rose and that not every song has to be from a top selling rock band to be sad.

Love Don't Roam, again, was sung by Neil Hannon. Gold chose him again as he loves his 'rich, smooth voice' and the way he sings this song is a dirty blues style that you cannot seem to find in the twenty-first century and you know that if anyone else sang it, it wouldn't sound right at all. The song was recorded to reflect The Doctor's thoughts in 'The Runaway Bride' and shows that he is not as fierce and strong as one thought beforehand. The lyrics themselves are beautiful but not in the normal sense of the word. They are an alien love letter: displaying his love and yet saying that she should go on, live her life and forget about him. The chorus in particular is painful to read:

Yeah, reel me in, my precious girl,
Come on, take me home.
'Cause my body's tired of traveling
And my heart don't wish to roam.

It shows that The Doctor not only loved Rose but that he liked having somewhere to consider home after his home planet was destroyed, showing that under the cool exterior there was a lonely little boy.

Ranging from choral symphonies, thoughtful bass lines and sad jazz, this soundtrack is one to listen to as it could give a million inspirations or drag up a million memories that you had previously forgotten.