Album Review by Nigel A. Messenger
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER TV series is no ordinary TV series and this album is no ordinary soundtrack album.
The first track by NERF HERDER, the actual ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer Theme’ sets the mood at the beginning of every TV episode and the only thing wrong with the track is that it is too short, and should be repeated at the end of the album. You couldn’t get any more action filled intense excitement from a theme if you tried. Let’s hope some day soon there will be a long version released on a single.
The sensational GARBAGE with ‘Temptation Waits’ fits in so well with Buffy. It’s so sophisticated, complex and beautifully sung, just as the TV series is intellectually written, humorous and well acted. And that’s what makes this album so different from other soundtrack albums, just as the TV series is so well thought out and knows it’s audience.
This album has not been thrown together. The music is the music that you would hear in the background or at the club “The Bronze”, that Buffy and her friends hang out, vampires included.
It’s an excellent mix of known artists and not so known artists that will be famous in the future.
HEPBURN’s track I QUIT was a recent hit in the UK and is launching the group in the US. Other tracks like ‘Strong’ by VELVET CHAIN and ‘Over My Head’ by FURSLIDE present a glimpse of different bands that if you don’t already know them you should go out and check out their albums. There’s also ‘Virgin State Of Mind’ by K’S CHOICE and the FACE TO FACE track ‘The Devil You Know’. The excellent KIM FERRON ‘Nothing But You’ and ‘Pain’ by FOUR STAR MARY are all different in their sound and yet go together so well on this album. ‘Teenage FBI’ by GUIDED BY VOICES is almost descriptive of the series’ characters, and the final track by CHRISTOPHER BECK ‘Close Your Eyes’ melodic and sad represents the current love situation for Buffy and Angel.
If you have never seen the series, this is still a brilliant album. If you have seen the series or are a fan, rush out and buy this now. Get a copy for the car and one for the home – you can play this again and again.
