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


"First I'll kill her, then I'll save her..."   October 6, 2002
 16 out of 19 found this review helpful

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.


This album is worth the wait   September 25, 2002
 15 out of 15 found this review helpful

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.


Oh my GOD - I am under your spell, Tara!   October 9, 2002
 14 out of 15 found this review helpful

When I first heard that Joss Whedon was making a musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I was excited yet nervous wondering if it was going to be good or not. So on Thursday 14th February 2002, I sat down and watched Once More, With Feeling on SKY One and witnessed one of the greatest hours of TV I have ever seen in my whole life! The episode was first broadcast on Tuesday November 6th 2001 in the US and was adored by critics and fans alike - they called it "the greatest Buffy episode ever", "A classic in TV history" and "thoroughly enjoyable - there isn't anyway Buffy can get any better."

I thought it was inevitable that a soundtrack to Once More, With Feeling would be released as the episode was such a hit. The album contains a worthy 19 tracks from the episode and an extra 4 songs from other classic Buffy episodes written and directed by Joss Whedon such as The Gift, Hush and Restless. There are some amazing songs on here such as Going Through The Motions sung entirely by Buffy as she's out in the cemetery doing the usual - slaying the vamps. She manages to kill the demons and slay the vampires while singing away to her heart's content! Another highlight is I'll Never Tell. Xander and Anya are waking up one morning and just burst out into song! They dance and sing their way around the kitchen and dining room while climbing onto tables and "dancing crazy!" Nicholas Brendon and Emma Caulfield give surprisingly good vocal performances as the two love birds. But the absolute highlight of this episode turns out to be I'm Under Your Spell. Willow and Tara are walking along merrily in a park as Tara burst out into song. Amber Benson is fantastic as Tara and has a phenomenal voice! Who would've guessed that the stars of Buffy could sing better than most full-time singers, even though they're full-time actors?! Tara's lyrics turn out to be true in more ways than one - in the previous episode, Willow put Tara under a spell to make her stop going on about how Willow is using too much magic. Even on a light tone, the episode manages to set the dark tone for the remainder of the season.

There isn't much singing from Willow, however. Alyson Hannigan admitted to Joss Whedon she was a terrible singer and didn't want people to hear her voice. She only has small parts on songs such as Walk Through The Fire and I've Got A Theory/If We're Together. Rest In Peace is sung by Spike. James Marsters also has a rather impressive voice. Buffy visits his crypt to see if he knows anything about why everyone is Sunnydale keeps bursting out into song when he bursts out into song himself! Buffy just rolls her eyes waiting for it to end. "So since I'm only dead to you, I'm saying stay away and let me rest in peace. Let me rest in peace, let me get some sleep. Let me take my love and bury it in a hole 6 foot deep. I can lay my body down but I can't find my sweet release. So let me rest in peace," he sings - being rather upfront and more revealing than usual. It really is truly amazing; Joss Whedon is supposed to be a writer and director of Buffy. He does this to the best of his ability yet wrote every single lyric to every song on Once More, With Feeling - he even composed the music and wrote/direct the episode! He truly is a God amongst us Buffy fans! He never stops pulling through and surprising the millions and millions of Buffy fans. Another great song is Dawn's Ballet. Dawn is captured and taken to the Bronze by the man who is making everyone sing and dance. Dawn dances around with the people who captured her to a brilliant instrumental before singing along with the main Bad Guy. Michelle Trachtenberg's voice is a little cringe-worthy, but she still gets credit for using her real voice. Anthony Stewart Head who plays Giles is a real-life singer, so it was a bonus for him to be able to sing in Once More, With Feeling. His main song is Standing. While training with Buffy in the Magic Box, he sings about how he is just standing in Buffy's way and that he has to leave her and return to England. His voice is just fantastic. Something To Sing About is a phenomenal song. Buffy confronts the Bad Guy to rescue Dawn with the rest of the Scoobies. She accidently reveals while singing that she thinks she was in heaven when her friends brought her back from the dead in Bargaining Parts 1 and 2. Willow is racked with guilt, as are Xander, Anya, Giles and Tara. The episode ends with a kiss - between Buffy and Spike! There are also other mini songs on here such as The Mustard and The Parking Ticket - even the Mutant Enemy monster that goes "Grrr....Arghh!" at the end of every episode gets in on act! All the songs are fantastic!

OVERALL GRADE: 10/10 (what else did you expect?!)

The fans loved Once More, With Feeling as the episode won the biggest viewing ratings of Season 6's entire run in the UK. People who had never watched an episode of Buffy in their lives were tuning in and loving it - finding themselves addicted to the show like most of all Buffy's viewers. I hope you found this review helpful and buy this CD now! This truly is essential for Buffy fans everywhere...


Good but could add some things   September 26, 2002
 13 out of 16 found this review helpful

Perhaps its because my MP3 of the songs in the musical have the background sounds and conversations in it that I find the pure musicality of this CD to be a little empty.

For example, in Sweet's song, Sweet says, after Dawn announces her sister is the Slayer, for his minions to "find her. Tell her...tell her everything. Just get her here." In my MP3 version I have that conversation but the soundtrack leaves it out.

Also, because conversations and background noise drowned out some of the music in the episode I find myself constantly being surprised with an extra few notes in the beginning or end of a song.

It was nice to hear the entire Parking Ticket song and I am very happy they didn't combine Dawn's ballet with What you Feel like it was in the show.

Its a great soundtrack and I really only have one gripe with it. If Joss included a suite from Resltess why couldn't he have included the song Giles sang in the nightmare with the First Slayer. "I've got to warn Buffy, there's every chance she could be next..." I personally love that song and wish it had been included.