Silva Screen Records, out September 13

Peter Howell’s score to the 1983 Doctor Who 20th Anniversary special gets the deluxe treatment from Silva in an expanded and remastered release.

Prior to now, fans of Peter Howell’s synth The Five Doctors’ soundtrack had to content themselves with an eight-minute suite on Silva Screen’s 1992 The Five Doctors release or 2013’s 11-disc The 50th Anniversary Collection. An even shorter five-minute piece graced the 4-disc The 50th Anniversary set, and considering that the original special was 90-minutes long, we were clearly being short-changed. And then the story was segmented into individual episodes and a special edition version expanded it further – but where was the music? Thirty-five years later, it’s here… but was it worth the wait?

Doctor Who soundtrack supremo and archivist Mark Ayres has compiled, mastered and produced a disc that fills all available space on the silver platter, organising cues chronologically to the different releases. The first 33 tracks are from the regular 90-minute special, then there’s a track from each of the three cliffhanger episode edits, 36 from the 1995 Special Edition and a half dozen atmospheres and sound effects.

Wisely, by including all available content, Ayres has given the listener the opportunity to pick n mix what they want to listen to. Some of the sound effect tracks would be better suited to a sound effects record, but being sequenced where they are they don’t interfere with the flow. With 80 tracks over a little under 80 minutes, some simple maths (it’s as easy as Pi!) reveals that many of the tracks are very short, and in many cases are little more than stings or whooshes. But that’s fine, there’s enough thematic material in the earlier tracks to provide a more enjoyable listening experience.

Verdict: The last word on The Five Doctors score, as you hear the ominous blasts across the Death Zone you may find yourself timescooped back to the 80s as you recall the dialogue and on-screen action that this synth soundtrack accompanied that magical hour-and-a-half on that Friday, 25 November 1983. 10/10

Nick Joy

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