Torchwood [Original Television Soundtrack] [PA]

Performer: Original Soundtrack/Ben Foster (Conductor/Arranger)
Producer: Ben Foster; Murray Gold
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: Composers: Ben Foster ; Murray Gold. Composer Murray Gold, who scored the television series Dr. Who, is joined in writing the music for Dr. Who's "sister show" (as executive producer Julie Gardner puts it in her liner notes) Torchwood by Ben Foster, who orchestrated and conducted Gold's music for the second, third, and fourth seasons of Dr. Who. The need for two composers is explained by the sheer amount of music required, as much as 38 minutes per episode, says Gardner. No wonder that the excerpts here nearly fill the capacity of the CD at 78 minutes. That required quantity (combined, no doubt, with severe time constraints) does not necessarily lead to a drop-off in quality, but it may favor proficiency over inspiration. Gold and Foster's music is not particularly inventive, opting for a fairly typical combination of orchestral themes (especially on the downtempo cues) and percussion-heavy electric/electronic arrangements (especially on the uptempo cues), all of which is standard in the movie/TV action genre according to Hans Zimmer. Occasionally, acoustic and electric elements are combined, usually with the strings beginning things before the synthesized drums arrive, notably in "Toshiko Sato -- Betrayal & Redemption" and "The End Is Where We Start From." But generally, either the orchestra is accompanying a poignant or romantic interlude with lushly played melody, or heart-stopping action is being supported by driving rock-oriented rhythms. ~ William Ruhlmann

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