Though Matt Smith’s first season seemed to take a momentary sidestep into sounds inspired by Doctor Who’s radiophonic, synth-heavy past, the musical paradigm for the new Doctor Who series’ first decade has always been John Williams: big, unapologetically brassy action music, widescreen action cues, and heavy choral doom when the occasion demands.
Peter Capaldi’s first season, however, seems to mark a major turn left (sorry, had to) for new Doctor Who’s musical style: the paradigm has shifted from Williams to a Hans Zimmer-inspired sound, more reliant on synths and urgent low cello ostinatos. There are still brassy action scenes, but they’re brassy in a different way than before. Several cues seem to echo Doctor Who’s 1980s sound, including the new theme tune arrangement (included here in a full-length version).
A suite of themes and variations of the musical signature of the new Doctor proves to be more introspective than the popular, in-your-face bombast of “I Am The Doctor” (a running theme throughout Matt Smith’s tenure). Inexplicably missing is Foxes’ unexpectedly catchy big band cover of Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” – a musical highlight of the season that could have served as a single to raise this collection’s visibility. (Only an instrumental version is available…and even then, only as a bonus track on the download version, not on CD.)
The first two CDs cover the entirety of Capaldi’s freshman year in the TARDIS, while the third presents virtually the complete score of his first Christmas special, Last Christmas.
Disc One
- Doctor Who Theme (01:17)
- A Good Man (Tweleve’s Theme) (07:34)
- Something It Ate (02:40)
- Concussed (03:28)
- It’s Still Him (02:00)
- Pudding Brains (05:27)
- Breath (04:45)
- Hello Hello (03:17)
- Drink First (02:02)
- Aristotle We Have Been Hit (01:00)
- We’re Still Going To Kill You (03:56)
- Tell Me, Am I A Good Man? (04:04)
- Blue Rescue One (01:38)
- What Difference A Good Dalek (03:32)
- The Truth About The Daleks (02:08)
- You Are A Good Dalek (01:49)
- Old Fashioned Hero (02:16)
- This Is My Spoon (02:07)
- Robert, Earl of Loxley (02:00)
- The Legend of Robin Hood (02:18)
- Robin of Sherwood (03:15)
- The Golden Arrow (01:37)
- Listen (02:25)
- Rupert Pink (03:57)
- Fear (02:47)
Disc Two
- The Architect (01:28)
- Rob The Bank (00:59)
- Account Closed (02:09)
- Open Up (02:07)
- The Caretaker (05:16)
- Missy’s Theme (01:34)
- Hello Earth, We Have A Terrible Decision To Make (00:54)
- Are You Going To Shoot Me? (01:57)
- When I Say Run (01:46)
- They’ve Been Here The Whole Time (02:48)
- That Is The Moon (02:02)
- NASA Is That Way (01:00)
- Start The Clock (01:33)
- There’s That Smile (02:24)
- The Sarcophagus Opens (03:59)
- The Artefact (02:05)
- Study Our Own Demise (02:13)
- Not Knowing (03:01)
- Siege Mode (01:27)
- In The Woods (02:22)
- We Weren’t Asleep That Long (01:03)
- The Song of Danny and Clara (02:41)
- Forgetting (01:46)
- Throw Away The Key (04:15)
- Browsing (02:23)
- Missy Theme Extended (02:06)
- Heaven (01:30)
- They Walk Among Us (02:21)
- There is No Clara Oswald (01:00)
- Missy And Her Boys (01:18)
- Freefall (01:41)
- Need To Know (05:00)
- Missy’s Gift (02:04)
- (The Majestic Tale of) An Idiot With Box (02:22)
Disc Three: Last Christmas
- Perfectly Ordinary Roof People (04:21)
- Unsealing The Infirmary (02:47)
- Ghosts (01:53)
- What Seems To Be The Problem (01:08)
- We Don’t Know What’s Real (02:34)
- Thinking About It (01:16)
- Clara’s Dream Christmas (03:57)
- The Doctor’s Dream Christmas (05:33)
- Dreams Within Dreams (04:51)
- Believe In Santa (01:31)
- Sleigh Ride (02:48)
- Reunion (03:12)
- Every Christmas Is Last Christmas (03:49)
Released by: Silva Screen Records
Release date: May 26, 2015
Disc one total running time: 1:12:54
Disc two total running time: 1:14:01
Disc three total running time: 39:27