Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Once More, with Feeling
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Free Music Notes for Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Once More, with Feeling
Free Music Review: Walk Through The Fire to get this CD!
Hit: 5 Stars
I'm a fan of both BtVS and Xena and I have to say that this musical episode far outshines the Xena musical episode. Why? For one thing, each actor sang their own songs and didn't lip synch and that adds a lot. Secondly, "Once More With Feeling" seemed more like a musical, stylistically speaking, whereas the Xena episode was more like an opera. Depends on what you like, this is just my opinion. Ok, now to the CD. Many have said it and I'll agree that Amber Benson's "Under Your Spell" was a standout. Ms. Benson revealed in an interview that the song was actually not in her register and she had to sing it at a higher pitch than what she normally does. Geez, if that was not in her normal register, I'd love to hear her sing a song in her comfort range! You get a hint of the strength of her voice in the "Under Your Spell/Standing Reprise." Bravo, Ms. Benson! Other wonderful performances were of course Anthony Head's "Standing" solo and any song where his voice is featured. His voice is so velvety and clear - a real pleasure to listen to. I understand he played Dr. Frank'n Furter in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" on stage - he probably blew the songs out of the water like he does here.
James Marsters (who I think has a band in "real-life") was just great on "Rest In Peace," a gothic-rock piece. Well done, Mr. Marsters! As others have said, Sarah Michelle Gellar did a remarkable job when you consider that she's really not a singer. Her songs, "Going Through The Motions," "Walk Through The Fire," and "Something To Sing About," were quite acceptable for a non-singer but just ok for a singer. Considering that she is not a singer, Ms. Gellar did quite a fine job. The rest of the CD features a duet, "I'll Never Tell," which is OK musically but very amusing and important to the story of Xander and Anya's relationship. The big group numbers, "I've Got A Theory," "Walk Through The Fire" and "Where Do We Go From Here" were the most musical-like. I thought the voices blended well, i.e. strong voices like Anthony Head and Amber Benson did not dominate, which is always a good thing in group numbers.
I gave this 5 stars because for what it is, it's excellent. The singing is not Broadway production quality (with notable exceptions already discussed), but it's definitely sincere and heartfelt. Any BtVS fan, casual or die-hard will love this. If you don't watch the show you might not get a lot of it and you might not be as forgiving of the cast's singing as the fans. That said, it's a great piece of TV history to own and enjoy. Go ahead, buy it and soon you'll be under the spell of all the catchy tunes.
Free Music Review: Great cd!! Definetely worth buying!
Hit: 5 Stars
I've become a big fan of Buffy, just starting in September, I watched most of the 4th season, all of the 5th and 6th, and I love it!! The musical episode, which what this cd is based on, was so funny! Anyways, here's the track review.The track list on the cd is different, here it is:
1. Going Through The Motions: 10/10 Gellar sings this one, with some vampires from the show, and a victim, really cool song!!
2. I've Got A Theory/Bunnies: 9.5/10 The whole group, even Willow combines to make a great song! Enya's part is so funny, for Bunnies, cause she's so afraid of them!
3. Mustard: 7/10 Okay, as funny as this is, it's not worth any better, too silly!
4. Under Your Spell: 10/10 Great song by Tara(Amber Benson), sang to Willow(Alyson Hannigon)!
5. I'll Never Tell: 10/10 This is so funny! By Xander(Nicolas Brendon) and Enya(Emma Caufield)!
6. Parking Ticket: 7.5/10 Better then they got the mustard out, but it's kinda bad, unknown woman sings this song!
7. Rest In Peace: 10/10 Spike(James Marsters) does a great job in this one, punk song!
8. Dawn's Lament: 9.5/10 Good vocals by Michelle Trachtenburg, only 2 lines!
9. Dawn's Ballet: 8.5/10 Nice and short, fairly good instrumental!
10. What You Feel: 9/10 Mostly sang by Sweet(the demon that Xander called upon) and joined in halfway by Dawn.
11. Standing: 9/10 Rupert Giles(Anthony Stewart Head) sing this one to Buffy and does a fairly good job!
12. Standing/Under Your Spell: 9.5/10 Tara and Giles combine their songs and make it great!
13. Drawn To the Fire: 10/10 My favourite song off the album, whole group and done great! Mostly done by Buffy, and she's just awesome!!
14. Something To Sing About: 10/10 Buffy's great solo, and finished off by Spike! This song is so funny, the next best song!
15. What You Feel(Reprise): 9/10 Sweet says goodbye!
16. Where Do We Go From Here?: 9.5/10 Whole group song which is done very well, especially give credit to Giles!
17. Drawn To the Fire(reprise): 9/10 A short clip done by Buffy and Spike, really good!
18. Buffy Theme: 9.5/10 Really nice and short, done by Nerf Herder who also composed the actual theme!
19. Coda: 7/10 Arrgh! Need I say more!
20. Suite from Restless: 8.5/10 Nice instrumentals and scary sound!
21. Suite from Hush: 8.5 Really good instrumental!
22. Sacrifice: 10/10 So sad, when Buffy jumps to kill herself and save the world at the end of season 5!
23. Something To Sing About: 8/10 This is the actual version, kinda good, I like Buffy's better, it's so much funnier.
Free Music Review: Once more, again and again.
Hit: 5 Stars
Since it's debut on our TV screens, "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" has had a strong following and has since developed cult status, and rightfully so. Every season, creator Joss Whedon would bring out the best of his cast with each week's original episodes. Sometimes humourous, sometimes terrifying and often heartbreaking. In its 6th Season, probably the darkest season, the infamous musical episode made its appearance and has quickly become a favourite episode. And now the wait is over, and the music from that episode has landed on its own soundtrack. One you can play again and again.All of the cast give their vocal chords a workout, and whilst they all aren't great vocalists, their voices are suited to their respective tunes. Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy) shows she can hold a note on the preppy "Going Through The Motions" interspliced with her fighting a series of backup singing demons. Whilst its her soulful rock/pop "Something To Sing About" where its her finest hour, or 4 minutes. Occasionally her voice falls flat but the honesty, emotion and pain brought in adds up to be one of the album highlights. On a happier note, Nicholas Brendon (Xander) and Emma Caulfield (Anya) share a jazzy duet on "I'll Never Tell", where they express their love and their fear of the their relationship. Both actors aren't the best vocalists but are having such a great time that it's hard not to sing along. Amber Benson (Tara) shows amazing vocal skills in her whimsical love song "I'm Under Your Spell". Elsewhere Anthony Steward Head (Giles), who has already proved he has a great voice, is right at home with the rock ballad "Standing". And last but not least James Marsters (Spike) goes gothic/rock/pop on "Rest In Peace", where he showcases impressive and unexpected vocals.
The group performances are also worth a listen, or two. "I've Got A Theory/Bunnies/If We're Together" is a fun mixture allowing each actor their own part. The rock edge of "Walk Through The Fire" and the sweet "Where Do We Go From Here" bring out the raw emotions of each character in the best way possible.
Overall the album is a must for any Buffy fan, and if you're not, you should check it out regardless as it holds its own as an Andrew Lloyd Weber style musical, only this one has more attitude. GET SOME FEELING TODAY!
Free Music Review: "Please give me something..."
Hit: 5 Stars
What is part rock, part pop, a large dollop of Broadway, a dash of new age, and, without question, a whole lot of Hollywood. If you guessed that it is the last Monkees album - you're wrong. Instead, imagine the sublime - Opera Buffy. Only the powers that be know how long Joss Whedon nursed a secret desire to pen musicals, but one day he realized that his actors could do more than just carry a tune, and months later an enthralled television audience was listening to the impossible - a vampire slayer musical.Giles (Anthony Head) has already demonstrated singing ability, but we quickly forget that today's actors often have invisible talents. Thus, the singing abilities of Tara, Spike, and Anya come as a surprise. And, even if Buffy will never be the next Aretha Franklin, her voice has the poignancy needed to communicate her loss. Truly, the show was the triumph of the season, and one of the most memorable episodes in a series that produced more than its share of the remarkable. Remember though, what we find engage and the actors find fun was a harsh visit to reality for the characters. For each, honesty prevails, not as release as a face to face confrontation with truths unbearable. The price of the demon's curse is to make one's dearest illusions equivocal at best.
Whedon has never fallen victim to the temptation of being too cute. Once More With Feeling follows the pattern of the season - bitter, painful, and in the long run, tragic. As Buffy struggles to adjust to her fall from paradise, Tara confronts Willow's compulsive spell making, Giles realizes the Buffy needs to grow, and Spike realizes once again that all he can ever create with Buffy is a self-destruction. The music is used to deepen the episode rather than gloss it over, short-circuiting the contractions of the spoken dialog.
Production values - considering this was a made for television effort these are excellent. In fact, the music exceeds all expectations. Tongue in check at moments when it adopts the pompous attitude of the classic broadway extravaganza will all the fanfares, it also delivers intimate moments of tenderness and loss with the same fidelity. While Whedon had a lot of help reaching this level of polish, the inner concepts and structure are his, enhanced mostly by his own staffers, and then perfectly executed by the staff. This would be good music regardless of its context.
Free Music Review: "First I'll kill her, then I'll save her..."
Hit: 5 Stars
This is an incredible soundtrack from one of those rare shining moments of network television. Being a Buffy fan, this is a definite treasure for me. I was so impressed by the talent of this ensemble. Finally, my mp3 disc can be replaced with a professional copy!Amber Benson is incredible. This woman has so much talent. She shines above everyone else on this disc. We can only hope she will be appoached to do an album or another musical. Besides having the voice of an angel, she is also now quite the accomplished film maker with her new short movie, "Chance" which stars both her and Buffy alumni, James Marsters. What a delightful person she is. What a shame she got such a raw deal from the show's producers by having her charachter killed off in such a lame and horrible way. But, I digress...
James Marsters is the epitome' of cool on this show. Spike sings from the heart about his love for Buffy. Very touchingly and achingly done in a Billy Idol/Brian Setzer rockabilly kind of way. He really delves into the duality of Spike, wanting to be the big bad, yet bound by his feelings for the slayer. This guy can sing. Check out his website and find a way to get his band, "Ghost in the Robot"'s cd.
Sarah Michelle Gellar was very impressive with her vocals also. Her voice was really very surprisingly pleasant to listen to. Going through the Motions is one of my favorite songs and alltime favorite scenes.
Anthony Stewart Head, what can I say, this guy is amazing. He has such a soothing voice. Truly a talented man who we all need to hear more from. His own cd, "Music for Elevators" is awesome. He truly sings from the heart and almost effortlessly shows us how concerned Giles is for Buffy's future. Really cool. What a shame they didn't put his other singing parts from other shows on this disc!
Xander and Anya's number is lots of fun. Poor Willow, her singing is timid, yet ever so cute. The extra music from the episodes "Hush" and "Restless" is great to have also. Lord, I can feel the Gentlemen floating down the hallway now giving me a polite smile and nod of the head.
I really enjoy listening to this disc and will treasure it always. My wife and I have listened to this episode more times than we can count and will continue to do so.