Customer Reviews

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Once More, with Feeling

5 star:		(285)
4 star:		(47)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Episode number 107 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Once More, With Feeling - was an episode breakthrough for international television. It was a musical, so daring and bold, where the cast did all their own singing and the creator wrote all the music and lyrics. It was an amazing achievement and as a big Buffy fan I have to admit I was not disappointed by the episode. The CD is also brilliant, and as well as all the songs from the episode, it has some scores and suites from other episodes, like Hush and Restless, two of my other favourite epiodes beside OMWF.

Here's my track-by-track guide to ONCE MORE, WITH FEELING...

TRACK 1 - OVERTURE/GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS
Nice overture, and Going Through the Motions is one of the many comedic highlights of the episode while also showing Buffy's discontentment with her life. A great song, but would've worked better with the sound effects from the episode.

TRACK 2 - I'VE GOT A THEORY/BUNNIES/IF WE'RE TOGETHER
Awesome track, and still very funny on CD. I've Got A Theory has a cool little ring to it, and is so fitting for the Scoobies. Emma Caulfield's Bunnies is hilarious, and If We're Together is a touching track sung brilliantly by Sarah Michelle Gellar.

TRACK 3 - THE MUSTARD
This doesn't quite fit in the CD. It's hilarious in the episode though.

TRACK 4 - UNDER YOUR SPELL
Amber Benson proves she has an amazing voice. This is a great song with excellent guitar work and stunning vocals. I listen to it a lot.

TRACK 5 - I'LL NEVER TELL
Another really funny song, which shows Anya and Xander's nervousness before their wedding. Their complaints about each other are hilarious and always entertaining to listen to.

TRACK 6 - THE PARKING TICKET
I was happy they inclduded this, it was hilarious in the episode. It was nice to hear the full version.

TRACK 7 - REST IN PEACE
One of the more darker songs in the album. James Marsters is a member of the band Ghost of the Robot and he proves here why. He has an awesome voice and his Billy Idol-like song is a great addition to the episode and sounds great spinning on the CD.

TRACK 8 - DAWN'S LAMENT
Short but nice collection of little orchestrals. Lets you know how Dawn might be feeling at the time, and the scary music at the end is really cool. Would've worked better hearing Dawn's scream.

TRACK 9 - DAWN'S BALLET
A very short but brilliantly played ballet tune. The music here is exciting, fairy-tale like and memorable.

TRACK 10 - WHAT YOU FEEL
Jazzy, catchy and entertaining tune to listen to, it sounds almost better on CD. I think it would've ben just that tad bit better with the conversations between Sweet and Dawn. Hinton Battle is a great singer!

TRACK 11 - STANDING
Anthony Stewart Head is a great singer! This is the first of the very depressing songs on the album. It was written very well and shows the reason why Giles must leave and make Buffy stand on her own two feet. Just as great on CD.

TRACK 12 - UNDER YOUR SPELL/STANDING Reprise
Amber Benson and Anthony Stewart Head's voices just mesh really well together! They sound amazing as they are probably the strongest singers of the cast. Excellent stuff, and I loved hearing the two tunes of Standing/Under your Spell mixing together.

TRACK 13 - WALK THROUGH THE FIRE
On screen and on CD, this track brings a tear to my eye. It's brilliant. Sarah Michelle Gellar's singing here is very strong and the lyrics are heartbreaking. This is probably my favourite song on the track, I cherish it and listen to it a lot.

TRACK 14 - SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT
Brilliant lyrics and brilliant singing. Sarah Michelle Gellar hits all the right notes here, she rocks. This is just behind Walk Through the Fire for my favourite track on the album.

TRACK 15 - WHAT YOU FEEL - REPRISE
Wonderfully theatrical exit for Sweet. Great music and catchy tune.

TRACK 16 - WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE
A short song but I love it all the same. One of my favourite songs on the album, it's very sad and the music is great. Loved hearing the full version.

TRACK 17 - CODA
Nice little exit for the episode with Sarah and James' voices meshing well.

TRACK 18 - END CREDITS
Another jazzy tune and a very happy note to go out on such a depressing episode. Very cool.

TRACK 19 - MAIN TITLE
Altered Nerf Herder music especially for the musical. Very cool remix!

TRACK 20 - SUITE FROM RESTLESS
Loved all of the tunes here, Willow's Nightmare is a scary one, while First Rage is awesome and action packed.

TRACK 21 - SUITE FROM HUSH
A great collection of music from a brilliant epiode. I love the track Enter the Gentlemen, it's very creepy and brings back memories of the Gentlemen demons. First Kiss is lovely.

TRACK 22 - SACRIFICE (FROM THE GIFT)
I love this music, it is so sad. It brings back acute memories of seeing Buffy jump into the portal to save the world in the season 5 finale. Brilliant, tearfully sad music.

TRACK 23 - SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT (DEMO)
A lovely touch to end the CD, Joss' wife Kai sings Something To Sing About. Great voice Kai, and nice to know what the song would sound like with just the piano.

**

TOP 5 TRACKS

1. Walk Through the Fire
2. Something to Sing About
3. I've Got A Theory/Bunnies/If We're Together
4. Under Your Spell
5. Suite from Restless

**

This is an essential item for any Buffy fan. I just love this album and I love all the songs on it. Perhaps it would've worked better with some more sound effects but Joss probably wanted to made the episode individual with those and have the CD with JUST the music. That works fine with me! I don't really know what else to say, oh, wait this - BUY IT!

NOW!

:)

Everyone involved in Once More With Feeling - from Joss to Christophe, from Jesse to Marti, from every mainstay and guest star to each extra or backup dancer - is to be thanked and praised. A musical episode is a huge undertaking and it was pulled off brilliantly.

Once More, With Feeling was a true musical. Sometimes, folks burst into song for no reason; other times, it was just the right time and place. It offered funny tunes (The Parking Ticket), a jazzy duet (I'll Never Tell), showstopping ballads (Under Your Spell, Standing), the group numbers and more. The hour was replete not just with songs but with emotion. It moved the stories, the people and the plots forward. This episode shook up almost every friendship and relationship and altered the course of the season. Secrets were revealed, hearts were broken, lives were changed.

Much like I pay heavy attention to the writing in a regular episode - the dialogue, the snappy our-show-only lingo to which we've grown fond, grown accustomed - here, I listened closely to the lyrics. I wasn't expecting everyone to sound perfectly. I was watching their acting and listening to the words. Not everyone wanted to sing, but they did. They were brave enough to do it. What I say to the naysayers who are telling me so-and-so sang poorly is this: Were you up there, on that screen, bearing your heart for the world to see? Just standing up there on stage - or in this case, in front of a camera - takes guts.

What an absolute pleasure it is to have the entire cast actually sing and take part in the episode rather than lipsynch to other people's voices. Granted, some shy away from singing, so Joss had them only sing a few lines by themselves and otherwise take part in the group chorus. Everyone took part; everyone was passable...

Some were outright outstanding. Amber Benson (Tara) stole the screen with "Under Your Spell," a lyrical, magical love ballad. Our hearts broke right along with her later on the reprise, and with Anthony Stewart Head (Giles) as he proclaims himself a hinderance to Buffy in "Standing." When you couple the two voices for their duet, not only do you get the mirroring of stories, but lovely harmonies. Tony and Amber deserve standing ovations. Nicholas Brendon and Emma Caulfield, as Xander and Anya, made me laugh out loud with "I'll Never Tell," the perfect piece for the two lively actors who possess such great comic timing. Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy) impressed me quite a bit. From the Disney-esque inquisitive "Going Through the Motions" to the emotional "Life's A Show," that girl gave it her all.

One cannot remark upon this music and not mention Christophe Beck. This amazing composer worked on the series full time for years, then departed to focus on scoring films, but returned to provide instrumental pieces and the overture for Once More, With Feeling. The bonus tracks also give us score pieces from famous episodes "Hush," "Restless" and "The Gift," also scored by Beck and instantly recognizable by any fan.

With an immediately-addicting hour packed with harmony, revelations and shakeups, this episode was rightly named: "Once More, With Feeling."

"Once More with Feeling" is a definitive "Buffy" episode. It displays the zany humor of the show, the dark brooding emotions, and the daring ability to take risks by the show's cast and creator. The cast's voices are good - not all great - but good and the songs honestly reflect the lives of the characters at this point in the show's development. Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy)'s voice is occasionally flat, but her stunning "Something to Sing About" is a heartbreakingingly honest performance. Other cast members whose voices excel include Amber Benson (magical Tara), Anthony Head (bookish Giles), and James Marsters (cynical vampire Spike). All efforts are put forth to create an incredible piece of pop culture that outshines many of its predecessors and, most likely, many that will follow.

I must say, this is probably one of the items in my Buffy collection I treasure the most. I LOVED the episode, and I was ultimately stoked when I discovered there was going to be a soundtrack. Naturally, I snapped it up the first day it arrived in stores. ;) It's a must-buy for any Buffy fan. Even if you're not a Buffy fan, any musical-lover will love this. I even find my college roommate humming a couple of tunes from it once in awhile, which she always denies - even she likes it, and sadly, I can't get her to understand the joys of the Buffyverse. *sigh* Anyway. Back to the review.

The fact that Joss Whedon was not credited with an Emmy nomination for this work is an insult. Of course, the Emmy people said they fixed it, blah blah, but whatever. The fact that he wrote all of the songs make it even more special. The man is definitely multi-talented - he even lends a bit of his voice to the final track.

However, it is the cast's voices that shine on this cd. Amber Benson and James Marsters in particular were gifted with fabulous, amazing PIPES. They make me wish Amber had a cd and I got to go a Ghost of the Robot concert once in awhile. Sarah Michelle Gellar and Anthony Stewart Head also give notable performances, and the rest of the cast isn't half-bad, either. The best song is probably "Walk Through the Fire", which includes all of the cast, plus Broadway alumni Hinton Battle.

The disc also includes some extra instrumentals, such as the tracks "Sacrifice" from "The Gift" - which always makes me cry - and the excellent suites from Emmy award-nominated "Hush" and season four finale "Restless".

All in all, it's a fabulous compilation. Five out of five stars, all the way.

-- ayla

Very glad to finally get my hands on this. I really enjoyed the episode from last season(I'm wondering now if there is anything Joss can't do well), and had some of the songs playing on my own interior soundtrack -- couldn't get some of them out of my head. Standouts here are "Under Your Spell" where Amber Benson gets to show off her amazing pipes, and "Walk Through the Fire", a powerful tune. Anthony Stewart Head also betrays an incredible singing talent here, especially on "Standing".

An extra treat is the inclusion here of some of the orchestral music from other Buffy episodes by Christophe Beck. I wish they would put out another cd compiling his work for the series; if Xena could get numerous soundtrack cds, we deserve at least one more for Buffy.

And to top it all off, the cd booklet has a cover and illustrations by comics art god Adam Hughes.

Do yourself a favor and get this today. Grr, Aargh.

In the liner notes for this album, Joss Whedon states that, having little experience with music-writing (or even playing the piano) he sat down the summer between Seasons 5 and 6 of "Buffy" and hammered out all the music and lyrics for this episode - a brilliantly creative and witty 51-minute self-contained "Buffy" musical.

While he may not be the next Andrew Lloyd Weber, his work shows undeniable talent and a very surprising ability to switch between musical fields like romantic ballads and rock opera. Possibly even more surprising, though, was the quality of the singing he got out of his cast. While Alyson Hannigan (Willow) and Nicholas Brendon (Xander) or even Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy) may not have musical careers ahead of them, virtually the entire supporting cast shows an ability to sing remarkably well - especially Emma Caufield (Anya) and Amber Benson (Tara). He not only shows courage in having everyone do their own singing, but he knows exactly whose strengths to play to.

If you're any sort of fan of the show, I hardly need to tell you to get this album, but even if you're simply curious about "Buffy" or like a good musical, I'd recommend giving this album a shot. In spite of its recent Emmy snub, it has both excellent storytelling and really catchy music. The first is not surprising given that it came from Joss Whedon, but given that this marks his first foray into music, the second certainly is.

First off, I have to start by saying that I haven't always been a fan of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". I loved the movie when it was originally released. Then again, I was quite young. Had I known Joss Whedon's original intention, I'm not sure how I would have felt.

However, my love for the film played a huge role in my perception of the television series. I thought it was too dark. I didn't like how deep the storyline tried to get... until after the extremely dismal season seven aired on the FX station. It was upon viewing the final few episodes that I was hooked.

But I digress. Despite my foreboding for the later seasons, I have to admit that my favorite story in the entire Buffy arc would be "Once More, With Feeling". I'm not going to get into huge detail on the episode, as this is only a review for the soundtrack, however I would like to mention that this episode features some of my favorite cinematography in the series. Joss Whedon obviously dedicated a lot of time to this particular story, and for that I am quite thankful.

"Once More, With Feeling" has got to be my most listened to album, by far. Surprising, considering the broad range of music I enjoy. But maybe that's why I'm so drawn to it. In the span of fifty eight minutes, we get quite a variety of musical flair. Everything from rock anthem to 1930's swing influence, I find that the composition of tracks rivals even the cinematography of the episode.

I will admit that there are a few sour apples in the bunch. Alyson Hannigan and Nicholas Brendon both seem to struggle, which is understandable. They aren't exactly professional singers, though Brendon does seem to loosen up over the course of the story. They aren't horrible, by any means... just not what one would expect. Brendon is magical along side Emma Caulfield, however, in "I'll Never Tell". It's easily the cutest song on the album. Funny to watch, too.

There are some exceptionally good voices on this album, too. Anthony Stewart Head has a breathtaking voice, and Amber Benson has a voice to fall in love with. It's too bad that she doesn't sing professionally. I would really like to hear more from her. I can't say enough good things about her performance.

One of my favorite songs would be "Rest In Peace", performed by the incomparable James Marsters. While he does seems to have a limited range, the song is tailor fitted to meld with his scope and character. I guess maybe I'm just too much of the brooding type for my own good, but I've always found "Rest In Peace" the easiest song to associate with.

All said and done, the soundtrack album for this episode is well worth the purchase. The extra tracks (all composed by Christopher Beck, I believe, though don't quote me on that) are beautiful and are quite nice if you like score music. I still have yet to see the episodes they accompany, but I can't wait.

Buy it. You won't regret it.

No other show on television would have had the guts to do a musical episode and not end up being tongue-in-cheek. The Jossmeister has once again gone beyond episodic television to give us a superb episode... and now you can own the soundtrack!

Because the shooting schedule of Buffy is so chaotic, the actors didn't have time to sing on-set, so the songs were recorded off-set and lip-synched during takes. Here, you can own the original, "uncut" songs from the episode. Excellent all-round performances from the entire cast, in particular, praise for Amber Benson, James Marsters and Tony Head. "I'm Under Your Spell" is a track I keep playing and playing, along with Amber and Tony's sublime duet "Wish I Could Stay".

Everyone on the cast sounds like they're having a ball, belting out each track with style and real emotion. And we get three great tracks from Chris Beck, including the heart-wrenching "Sacrifice", from the Season 5 finale, "The Gift". Chris is one of the few composers on TV whose music calls the actual images to mind. As the music rises, we see in our mind's eye Buffy swan-diving into the portal to save the world. And the final push to the grave...

My only complaint is that this is not the last track on the CD (I have to program it so that it is), but the last track is a true gem anyway.

In preparing for the musical (which Joss tells us about indepth in the funniest liner notes ever!), Joss and his wife, Kai, recorded all of the songs on a demo Cd for the cast, Joss taking the male parts, Kai the female, and a little gift at the end of this release is a track from this demo, "Life's A Show". It's amazing. Kai has a beautiful voice, and trying to compare Joss to James just confused me!

All in all, a great release, and an unusual one too.

Maybe now, we'll get the score soundtrack release that's been mooted for the past few years. If the series does come to an end this year, that would be a great final release...

Well, here's the CD we wanted.

And, as usual, the music part of a musical play turns out to be less of an experience than the production as a whole. Big surprise, huh?

That said, the songs are pretty good -- for music written by a non-musician, and the performances are quite good -- for a cast composed mostly of non-singers.

Standouts are Tara (Amber Benson) singing "Under Your Spell", a love-song to Willow, Anya and Xander (Emma Caulfield and Nicholas Brendon) with "I'll Never Tell", their paean to cold feet and Spike (James Marsters -- one of the two real singers in the regular cast) channelling Billy Idol on "Rest in Peace".

Anthony Stewart Head (Giles), the other singer (who played Frank N. Furter in a 1990 London production of "Rocky Horror")does well with his big number, "Standing", meditating on the line between helping and hindering.

"Walk Through the Fire", the big ensemble number, is a big ensemble number. Without the full-cast staging and visuals (the fire trucks were a brilliant touch), though, it's not quite so impactful.

Sarah Michelle Gellar's performance of Buffy's big number, "Something to Sing About" confirms my suspicion that she's a good actress. "DOn't quit your day job" applies, to others of the cast as well as to her. The irony of this song, of course, is that it's Spike, the vampire, who drives home the point that the only way to deal with life is just to live it.

Unlike some musical cast/soundtrack albums, this one cuts doesn't throw in bits of dialog to set up songs (which is an aesthetic decision, and may well go different ways for different shows or producers), but also cuts some dialog cues that were actually part of the songs or closely related to them -- especially several bits of Dawn's dialog with Sweet, the dancing demon responsible for the musical curse that has descended on Sunnydale, which i miss -- particularly her quote of Buffy's line from the end of Season Five "The hardest thing to do in this world is to live in it."

Most of the extra material included is Nice But So What -- instrumental suites from two shows and another instrumental -- but it's nice to hear Joss and his wife's demo of "Something to Sing About".

I sort of hoped there might be hidden tracks, maybe ASH's solo acoustic performance of "Behind Blue Eyes", say, but no -- 'twas not to be. Oh well.

If you're a "Buffy" fan, this is solid value for money. But then, if you're a "Buffy" fan, you saw the show when it was on teevee, and you know what's going on -- why people are singing and dancing and catching fire and so on.

Because, as i said, without the visuals (or the memory of the visuals) a lot of this disc, sadly, doesn't stand up very well.

But, since i remember the visuals, and i enjoyed the original boradcast, and because this CD calls it up for me, a solid four stars.

Best line in a song: Willow (Alysson Hannigan, definitely one of the non-singers in the cast) rhymes Spike's "First I'll save her, then I'll kill her" with "I think this line's mostly filler"... (After all, they KNOW that they're in a musical...)

So, if you're a fan of the show, buy this CD. Actually, if you're a real fan of the show, since it's been out almost a month, you probably already HAVE bought it...

So enjoy.

This CD features all the songs from the hit season 6 episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Once More, With Feeling" and if you're a Buffy fan - you should definitely buy this CD!!

It's a wonderful CD that you can listen to over and over and it has a song for every music taste!! James Marsters (Spike) does a wonderful job of Rest In Peace wihch has a Billy Idol/rock feel to it while Amber Benson (Tara) has the most beautiful voice out of everyone and sings Under Your Spell, a haunting love song with great lyrics!! Joss Whedon wrote all of the songs (creator of Buffy) and they're all great pieces to listen to!

I have some doubts over whether a non-Buffy fan would enjoy this CD but if you like musicals, and you've seen the episode, you'll be able to tell from the songs if you want the CD or not! I would recommend this CD to ALL Buffy fans and gutzy musical fans that want to try something new!!