By David E Russo

David Russo, out now (also available with Season 2)

The start of Alfred Pennyworth’s time back in London…

Coming from the same creative team as the earlier Gotham, it’s perhaps not surprising that Pennyworth brought over its composer, David E Russo, to give it  a memorable – if pretty far from original to the ear – theme, and a score plotting to evoke the sounds of London in the Swinging Sixties.

Of course, being Hollywood London, what Russo’s score more evokes is what Austin Powers told us was the sound of 60s TV spy action, rather than what it actually was. There are a lot of cheery harpsichords and bells bouncing on the hip here and there, which really was something The Man From UNCLE scores did at the time, but modern – especially US – audiences think of, thanks to Mr Powers.

Fortunately Russo doesn’t only do that, and there’s a fair touch of John Barry throughout, from the intro to The Persuaders theme (albeit without the pipe organ in the dub) being the intro to the Pennyworth theme – the main melody line of which basically sounds like an inverted Sherlock with a Kingsman kind of vibe to it – to a more subtle hints of a Bondian air in several later tracks.

This isn’t to say the score outright lifts anything from elsewhere, apart from that Persuaders intro, and while Russo uses more harpsichord and mandolin type sounds than late 60s TV actually did, he does use it well, giving us memorable atmospheric and action tracks such as “Alfred Investigates,” “Inspector Aziz And His One-Eyed Butler,” and “The Rise And Fall of Lord James Harwood.”

He also blends the series theme well into both menacing, action, and more introspective passages throughout, that do a good job of bringing out the appropriate responses in the listener. “Esme’s Theme” is also another highlight too. The score gets better as it goes on too, with more focus on the events and emotions of the episodes, and less on trying to pastiche what the audience will think of as a 1960s sound, and it should make good reading accompaniment for the right sort of books.

Sadly the album doesn’t include the various songs from the era that were used in the series, but it’s not like any of them are hard to find.

Verdict: It may not sound like a 1960s movie, but it sounds like a modern movie set in the 1960s, with a feeling to it of confidence and solidity. It is, if you like, a solid score, no question. 7/10

David A McIntee