BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: THE SCORE
Music composed by Christophe Beck
 Label: Rounder Records
Catalog: 11661-9078
Year: 2008
Tracks:

1. Massacre (from "Becoming, Part Two")

2. Angel Waits (from "Passion")

3. Remembering Jenny (from "Passion")

4. Twice the Fool (from "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered")

5. Moment of Happiness (from "Innocence")

6. Loneliness of Six (from "Lovers Walk")

7. Sugar High (from "Band Candy")

8. Tai Chi (from "Band Candy")

9. Kralik's House (from "Helpless")

10. Magic Snow Music (from "Amends")

11. Slayer's Elegy (from "The Wish")

12. Faith's End (from "Graduation Day, Part One")

13. Drink Me (from "Graduation Day, Part Two")

14. One Last Moment (from "Graduation Day, Part Two")

15. Haunted (from "Fear, Itself")

16. From the Grave (from "This Year's Girl")

17. Demon Got Your Tongue (from "Hush")

18. Golf Claps (from "Hush")

19. The Princess Screams (from "Hush")

20. Spellbound (from "Who Are You")

21. Fyarl in the Morning (from "A New Man")

22. A Really Big Sandbox (from "Restless")

23. Spaghetti (from "Restless")

24. Body Paint (from "Restless")

25. Xander's Nightmare (from "Restless")

26. The Tower (from "The Gift")

27. Losing Battle (from "The Gift")

28. Apocalypse (from "The Gift")

29. Sacrifice (alternate version, from "The Gift")

Total Time: 57:56
Rating:

Reviewed by
Jorge Saldanha

  
Buffy the Vampire Slayer ended its television running in 2003, after seven successful seasons. Starting like a mere teen-horror show, soon Joss Whedon's creation revealed to be something greater, while its young and memorable characters faced more than vampires and demons. To save the world each year was the light part, the harder for the Scoobies was to grow up and to accept the responsabilities of adulthood, the losses of loved ones and, in the end, against all odds, to keep united by the unbreakable strenght of their friendship and love. The show was plenty of adorable characters, memorable lines, adventure, fantasy, some halloween/scary stuff and even touching drama, and until today has millions of loyal fans around the globe.

Musically speaking, it was strong - starting with Nerf Herder's main tittle tune (imagine The Police with steroids) and following through rock songs from alternative bands, the viewers were invited to jump into the perils and action from the Hellmouth. However the show's more dramatic and solid side was  translated by the underscores that conducted every episode. The series received contributions from Douglas Romayne, Robert Duncan and Thomas Wanker, but it was Christophe Beck the main composer on Buffy during seasons 2-4. After season 4 Beck continued to compose key episodes such as "The Gift" and "Once More, with Feeling". He has also scored many films including Elektra, We Are Marshall, What Happens in Vegas, and Under the Tuscan Sun, besides music for Angel, the television spin-off to Buffy. All of them recommended efforts, but my personal favorite still remains his Slayer music.

Some of his memorable creations include the Buffy-Angel love theme, "Close Your Eyes" which was used throughout Seasons 2 and 3 (this appears on the first Buffy compilation album, and here can be heard inside some tracks), "Remembering Jenny" (that plays after the death of Jenny Calendar in "Passion"), "Slayer's Elegy" (heard during the final assault of "The Wish"), "Loneliness of Six" (plays at the end of "Lovers Walk" as various heartbroken Scoobies walk off in different directions) and "Sacrifice" (plays when Buffy sacrifices herself for her sister and for the world in "The Gift"). This last one also appears on "Once More, With Feeling" episode soundtrack along with Beck's suites from "Restless" and "Hush".

Better than his colleagues, Beck knew as to capture the show's adventurous, light-hearted, dramatic and suspenseful aspects on music. Even with some selections from his scores already available on previous Buffy's CDs - "Buffy" (1999), "Once More, with Feeling" (2002) and "Radio Sunnydale" (2003, UK edition), the lack of a score only album was regrettable. Now arrives this welcome Rounder Records release which is exclusively dedicated to the TV series' musical scores composed by Beck, featuring 29 tracks, including highlights like "Massacre" (the Emmy-winning score from Season 2 episode "Becoming"), "Loneliness of Six" (from Season 3 episode "Lover's Walk"), "Haunted" (from Season 4 episode "Fear Itself") and more music from the episodes "Hush" and "Restless", all mixed, and produced by the composer himself.

Listening to this highly recommended album we revive such classic moments of the show, like Buffy and Faith's final confrontation ("Faith's End"), the more touching scenes of the memorable Graduation Day at Sunnydale High ("Drink Me", "One Last Moment") or Buffy sacrificing herself for the sake of Dawn ("Losing Battle", Apocalypse", "Sacrifice"). And if we have a lot more of music to enjoy here, also there are a large part of Beck's material yet to be released. Hopefully this score CD will generate a nice profit, making possible the availability of further volumes. Speaking for myself, I can guarantee that I would be extremely grateful to Rounder and Beck for that.

BACK TO SOUNDTRACK REVIEWS