Monday 28 March 2005
the devil in the details
With all the ruckus surrounding the return of Doctor Who, I got to thinking about that theme music.
The classic rendition, of course, is by the late Delia Derbyshire - now spoken of in hushed tones by electronic music and science fiction geeks - recorded in pre-synthesizer days using test-tone oscillators and splicing tape. Built up note by note, its phrases are all individually shaped, each note with a unique timbre and tuning - like that gorgeous detuned note right at the beginning: wooo-waaa...
(For the full story, see Mark Ayre’s history of the theme.)
You just don’t get that kind of richness and character playing a typical synthesizer, not without a comparable amount of hair-pulling and sweat. Having a keyboard with all the notes right there at your fingertips, properly in tune and identical from one to the next, makes the playing easier, but not shaping the nuances of the sound. Peter Howell did manage a gripping remake of the theme for the 1980 series (according to legend, using every piece of equipment in the Radiophonic Workshop to do it), but it was all downhill from there.
For the new series, according to composer Murray Gold, the production team had originally intended to use the original arrangement - but it didn’t “sit right” with the new titles and the general feel of the new show. So they opted for something of a remix, using Derbyshire’s melody but a new orchestral backing. From the snippets I’ve heard, it’s certainly a step up from the late-‘80s versions, but still…
When I read that I started to think: surely, with today’s instruments, you could pull off a unique version that’s just as nuanced and hopefully as thrilling as the original, if you were willing to put the time into perfecting it. But no one has, that I’ve yet heard. I know Orbital gave it a half-decent shot, but dammitall, their version was a straight 4/4 dance number which - I’m sorry - is just not right. *twitch*
So I’ve started it as an occasional project: creating a better cover version. I’ll post it if it comes to fruition, but it may take a while to stew.