The third release in Silva Screen's TV theme compilation series offering a comprehensive snapshot of the very best music on television. This 4 CD sets featuring 100 Classic TV Themes both old and new - from Downton Abbey to everyone's favourite Sunday afternoon game show theme Bullseye, from Agatha Christie's Poirot to Wonder Woman. Also includes small screen opuses such as Bergerac, Midsomer Murders, Mr. Bean, Only Fools And Horses, Thomas The Tank Engine and The Wire...

The third volume in Silva Screen Records's 100 Greatest TV Themes series technically contains the 201-300 "greatest TV themes". You'd be forgiven for thinking that all the good stuff has already been used up for the first two volumes, leaving a load of naff tunes to creep out of the woodwork... You'd be wrong. In fact there are tracks on here that I'm surprised weren't on either of the first two volumes (Coronation Street; Eastenders; The A-Team; Game of Thrones; Inspector Morse; The Walking Dead...)

I'm not usually a fan of these compilations, but over the years Silva Screen's output in this genre has changed my outlook. No longer do I dread listening to them as the production values (on the whole) are as close to the original tracks as possible.

Highlights include The Apprentice ('The Montagues and the Capulets' from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet); Around the World with Willy Fog; Get Smart; The Pacific and The Protectors. And in some instances (Agatha Christie's Poirot, Get Smart, Cheers) the music on offer is much more than was broadcast on TV.

Sadly, unlike Silva Screen's various movie theme compilations, you can't use this album as a sampler to whet your appetite for entire scores - as the TV themes, on the whole, is all that you can pick up for most TV shows of old.

While not an essential purchase, there's enough quality recordings here to pick this release up for that TV mad relative who is hard to buy for.

7

Darren Rea