If you're a fan of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Joss Whedon's iconic horror-comedy, La-La Land Records' latest release certainly doesn't suck.
The soundtrack label makes Buffy The Vampire Slayer Collection: Original Soundtrack Recordings available today. This 4CD set features both music from across the seven seasons of the acclaimed TV series as well as Carter Burwell's score from the 1992 film adaptation that predated it.
Whedon, a writer on Roseanne and a short-lived sitcom adaptation of Ron Howard's Parenthood (not to be confused with the drama that ran for five seasons in the 2010s), got his first break in Hollywood with a witty script about a seemingly normal California teenager who embraces her destiny to hunt and kill vampires while trying to maintain her social status in high school. But the adaptation, which sacrificed some of the more acerbic dialogue and social satire for broad-based comedy, left him cold, and failed to catch on with audiences as well.
Undeterred, Whedon's star continued to rise as a screenwriter (he cowrote the script for Toy Story) and script doctor (working on big budget action flicks like Speed and Twister). Ultimately, Dolly Parton's production company, Sandollar, who'd produced the Buffy film, approached Whedon about adapting the script for television. With the dialogue even sharper and the satire at its most cutting (taking the horrors of high school and adolescence to its monster-movie extreme), Buffy became a runaway success, making stars of cast members like Sarah Michelle Gellar (as Buffy), Alyson Hanigan (Willow, the teen witch in training), Seth Green (wisecracking werewolf Oz) and David Boreanaz (Angel, a vampire fighting with his human soul).
The "Scooby Gang" (as the cast became known) went through seven seasons of adventures on both The WB and UPN networks (Angel became a spin-off in 1999 and lasted five seasons), earneing multiple Emmy nominations - most famously for the acclaimed episode "Hush" (one of many represented on this collection). To this day, as obscure as Buffy the film seemed destined to be, the series is considered to be one of television's finest works - and Whedon soon went from cult hero to action auteur, writing and directing the first two Avengers mega-movies for Marvel and co-writing last year's Justice League film for DC Comics.
This Buffy collection is produced by Mike Joffe and Nick Redman, mastered by James Nelson, and features a 40-page booklet designed by Mark Banning and featuring a foreword by writer Mark Altman and liner notes by Randall D. Larson. Limited to 3000 copies, it's available now for you to sink your teeth into!
Buffy The Vampire Slayer Collection: Original Soundtrack Recordings (La-La Land Records LLLCD 14xx, 2018 - original series aired 1997-2003)
Disc 1 (Tracks 1-9, 11-15 and 20-38 written by Christophe Beck; Tracks 10 and 16-19 written by Shawn Clement and Sean Murphy)
- When She Was Bad: Opening
- Buffy The Vampire Slayer Theme (performed by Nerf Herder)
- When She Was Bad: Buffy Saves Friends
- When She Was Bad: Smashing the Bones
- Inca Mummy Girl: Ampata's Kiss
- The Dark Age: Philip Asks for Giles
- Ted: She'll Come Around
- Ted: I Hit Him
- Ted: Ted Attacks Buffy
- Bad Eggs: Cordelia's Bear
- Surprise: This is Nice
- Surprise: Buffy Meets Judge
- Innocence: Yesterday on Buffy
- Innocence: Spike My Boy
- Innocence: Get Out
- Phases: Meeting Cain
- Phases: Werewolf Crashes Party
- Phases: Cain Prepares
- Phases: The Chase
- Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered: You're So Sweet
- Passion: Angel Waits
- Passion: Remembering Jenny (performed by Anthony Stewart Head)
- I Only Have Eyes for You: Love is Forever
- Becoming, Part 1: Show Me Your World
- Becoming, Part 1: Devil Child
- Becoming, Part 1: Cursed
- Becoming, Part 1: As Angel Becomes
- Becoming, Part 1: Massacre
- Becoming, Part 2: Waking of Willow
- Becoming, Part 2: Vision of Jenny
- Becoming, Part 2: Close Your Eyes
- Anne: Deliverance
- Band Candy: Tai Chi
- Band Candy: Sugar High
- Lovers Walk: Loneliness of Six
- The Wish: Bizarro Sunnydale
- The Wish: Blood Machine
- The Wish: Slayer's Elegy
Disc 2 (all tracks composed by Christophe Beck)
- Amends: Dublin 1938/Dreaming Of/Magic Snow Music
- Helpless: Betrayal/Kralik's House/A Father's Love
- The Zeppo: Dead Guys with Bombs
- Doppelgangland: Alt. Willow
- Choices: Into the Mayor's Lair
- The Prom: Dearly Beloved/Beginning of the End/Class Protector
- Graduation Day, Part 1: Poison Arrow/Faith's End
- Graduation Day, Part 2: Aftermath/Drink Me/Little Miss Muffet/War/One Last Moment
- Fear Itself: Haunted
- Hush: Demon Got Your Tongue
- Hush: Golf Claps
- Hush: Silent Night/First Kiss/Enter the Gentlemen/Schism
- Hush: The Princess Screams
- A New Man: Fyari in the Morning
- This Year's Girl: From the Grave
- Who Are You: Spellbound
- Restless: Body Paint
- Restless: A Really Big Sandbox
- Restless: Spaghetti
- Restless: Willow's Nightmare/First Rage/Chain of Ancients
- Restless: Xander's Nightmare
Disc 3 (Tracks 1-17 and 27 written by Thomas Wander, Tracks 18-26 written by Christophe Beck, Tracks 28-30 written by Robert Duncan)
- Buffy vs. Dracula: Dracula's Power/Opening/Buffy Fights Dracula/Dracula Bites Buffy
- Fool for Love: The Chinese Slayer
- Shadow: Love Montage
- Into the Woods: Riley's Departure
- Forever: The Funeral
- Tough Love: Previously
- Tough Love: Tara and Willow Argue
- Tough Love: They'll Take Dawn Away
- Tough Love: Glory Brainsucks Tara
- Tough Love: Spike Talks to Dawn
- Tough Love: Darkest Magick
- Tough Love: Willow Attacks Glory
- The Weight of the World: Previously
- The Weight of the World: Willow Takes Control
- The Weight of the World: Willow Helps Buffy
- The Weight of the World: Spike At Glory's
- The Weight of the World: Buffy Holds Baby Dawn
- The Gift: Previously
- The Gift: Oh God, My Leg
- The Gift: The Construction
- The Gift: Xander's Proposal
- The Gift: Spike's Love
- The Gift: Buffy Confronts Glory
- The Gift: Buffy Fights Glory
- The Gift: More Fighting
- The Gift: Buffy Dies
- Grave: Xander Saves the World
- Dirty Girls: Recap
- Dirty Girls: The War Begins
- Dirty Girls: A Bloody Battle
Disc 4 (Tracks 1-19 written by Robert Duncan, Tracks 20-35 from 1992 film score by Carter Burwell)
- End of Days: Recap/The Scythe
- End of Days: Escape the Wreckage
- End of Days: Buffy Saves the Girls
- End of Days: The Wounded
- End of Days: Xander Grabs Dawn
- End of Days: Faith the Loner
- End of Days: Spike and Buffy
- End of Days: Angel Arrives
- Chosen: Recap/Angel and Buffy Kiss
- Chosen: Finishing Off Caleb
- Chosen: Angel Leaves
- Chosen: The Necklace
- Chosen: The First Vists Buffy
- Chosen: Buffy's Plan
- Chosen: The Chosen
- Chosen: Willow and Kennedy
- Chosen: The Night Before/Off to War Part 1/The Old Gang/Off to War Part 2
- Chosen: The Last Battle
- Chosen: The War Against Evil
- The Dark Ages
- Merrick is Revealed
- Dark Ages Reprised
- Lothos' Chambers
- Buffy Believes Merrick
- Graveyard Attack
- Buffy's Dream
- Cassandra in Lothos' Chamber
- Pike Leaves Town/The Alley
- Buffy and Merrick Bonding
- Vampire's Return
- Buffy and Pike/Lothos
- Vampire Basketball Player
- Pasadena Floats/Lothos At Floatyard
- Friends Leave Buffy
- Lothos' Death
- Sacrifice
- Buffy The Vampire Slayer End Credits
- Grr Argh/Fox Logo
DJ Dust says
I'd have been happier if they'd released the film score on its own and dedicated another disk to more from the series.
Gootsy says
Maybe they could have skipped the movie soundtrack, which is apples and oranges with the series, and include the "once more with feelings" album
Martin says
I will have to check all my Buffy albums on CD as I know I have the standalone movie CD, the 'Once More' CD and a couple of others, although on second thoughts, I'll probably just buy this anyway.