Throbbing Bristles

I've embarked on a (possibly foolhardy) mission to collect the entirety of the BBC's audio Dr.Who output on CD (actually, scratch that 'possibly' - I might very well have to pay good money for the music of Carey Blyton at some stage). I've started, sensibly enough, with something that has a number 1 on it, as being only slightly unashamedly anal I find something comforting about the illusion of numerical progression - namely 'Doctor Who at the Radiophonic Workshop Volume One: The Early Years'.

And jolly good it is too. Mark Ayres' sleevenotes (for it is he) refelct on how the early show's music, effects and "atmospheres" intermingled with each other, some stories' soundtracks being entirely composed of 'special effects', punctuating the narrative in the places conventional music would ordinarily go. He notes that 'The Mind Robber' is one such story - incredibly, I've never noticed this before and that's one of my favourite stories! Better dig it out and have another look (or rather, listen)!

Listening to it as an album is a very strange experience, delightfully so. It reminds one of just how far ahead this little corner of the BBC were in pioneering what is now routinely referred to as 'sound design'. If they weren't making sound effects for cute robots or ambient noise for metallic alien planets, they were freaking out the nation's kids (and their parents) with theme tunes made up entirely from recorded sounds that were then bent entirely out of shape with old reel-to-reels - for the TARDIS effect, the sound of reality ripping apart and then being jumped through, we have Brian Hodgeson's front door keys and a piano wire to thank! (my other favourite sounds on this album include the 'Regeneration' music from 'Power of the Daleks', which uses backmasking and slowing heartbeats to suggest a physical/mental collapse, and the sounds of the Chumblie robots, which are just plain cute.

Best of all is the thrill of hearing the 'Dalek Control Room' music/effect in full. For a Who fan, if the theme tune is the National Anthem, then this is what it must have sounded like in the womb.