Originalsoundtrack to the BBC TV series. If David Arnold and Michael Price didnot exist, it would be necessary for man to invent them. Theircontribution to Sherlock is immeasurable. Thrilling, cheeky, sinister,playful and simply world-class: the musics not bad either!?

Whilefans of the hugely popular BBC adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doylesclassic detective novels had to wait 18 months to get their hands on theoriginal score for the first series, the official soundtrack to thesecond arrived just weeks after its intriguing finale pulled in amassive eight million viewers. Composed yet again by Michael Price (Bandof Brothers) and David Arnold (James Bond), its 19 instrumentals pursuea similar minimal and suitably suspenseful classical sound as itsBAFTA/Emmy-nominated predecessor, from the haunting violin solo ofIrenes Theme (the opening track dedicated to the ruthless dominatrixwho appeared in A Scandal in Belgravia), to the unsettling percussionand eerie sound effects of Pursued by a Hound (from a pivotal scene inThe Hounds of Baskerville), to the unbearably intense orchestralcrescendo of Prepared to Do Anything (the climactic number from thewatercooler final episode, The Reichenbach Fall). Apart from thesweeping elegance of Sherlocked, which could have wandered in fromDownton Abbey, and the playful incorporation of the theme music onStatus Symbols, the sparse and restrained pieces are little more thanincidental music which understandably fail to pack the same punchwithout any visuals. But its still an appropriately dramatic andatmospheric affair which should appeal to those who want to immersethemselves even further in the modern-day mysteries of the greatdetective.
Review by Jon OBrien, Allmusic.com
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