Search - Christophe Beck :: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Score

The score on The Score

M. G Watson | Los Angeles | 09/09/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When one thinks about BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, there are certain names which spring immediately to mind: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Joss Whedon, Nicky Brendon, Alyson Hannigan, Tony Head, et al. One name I don't necessarily think of is Christophe Beck, the man who arranged and performed the musical scores for the entire series. This is a stupid oversight on my part, because while Beck had only one single cameo appearance in the seven years BUFFY was on the air, he was as much a part of the show's success as any of its actors, writers, producers or directors.



To say that Beck is a musical genius is merely to recite the obvious, but it becomes even more apparent when one can listen to his works by themselves as stand-alone tracks, rather than as background accompaniment. THE SCORE is not, by any means, a comprehensive anthology of all Beck's output for BtVS: in fact it's only a selection of his better known compositions from Seasons 2 - 5. The diversity of the material, however, is really astonishing. Like BUFFY the show, Beck's music runs the range from comedic to tragic, from slow and tender ballad instrumentals to crashbang fight scores, with everything imaginable in between. The show defied easy categorization, and so does the music, with the exception that most of it is damn good.



THE SCORE has twenty-nine tracks taken from sixteen episodes of BUFFY, most of which are (not surprisingly) fan faves. Among the very best, in my opinion, are:



"Angel Waits" (from "Passion"). If Angelus had a song stuck in his head, this is probably what it would sound like: creepy, sinister, like the soundtrack to a bad dream.



"Remembering Jenny" ("Passion"). This is probably my favorite of the tracks, played when Giles and Buffy are at Jenny Calendar's graveside. As beautiful as Robia LaMorte and as tragic as the death of her character.



"Tai Chi" ("Band Candy"). Just as Sarah Gellar and David Boreanaz were able to communicate a great deal as actors without speaking, Beck had an almost eerie ability to sum up the unspoken feelings between Buffy and Angel in his music.



"Loneliness of Six" ("Lover's Walk"). This was one of the best episodes of an excellent season, and Beck's use of single, melancholy guitar to describe the mood following Spike's relationship-annihilating visit to Sunnydale is masterful.



"Magic Snow" ("Amends"). A two-kleenex score which manages to be ridiculously sweet without every crossing the line into sickly.



"Slayer's Elegy" ("The Wish"). This is a very sad, haunting, powerful piece of music which makes excellent use of a chorus, chronicling the death of Buffy at the hands of the Master.



"Spellbound" ("Who Are You?"). More minimalism, this time with a piano, evokes a half-melancholy, half-creepy mood that is pure Buffy.



"A Really Big Sandbox" ("Restless"). The job of background music is to enhance the mood already created by the story, and Beck's use here of eerie, vaguely Moroccan choral sounds to accompany Buffy's walk into the desert is spot on.



There is of course plenty more here, including comedic razzle-dazzle ("Twice the Fool") ("Sugar High"), slambang fight music ("Faith's End") ("Xander's Nightmare"), more creepy, Resident Evil style mood music ("Kralik's House") and of course many emotionally stirring tracks pertaining to B & A ("Drink Me", "Moment of Happiness"), but the point is there is something here for every emotional state. I myself was surprised how certain tracks had my mind replaying whole scenes from various episodes, as if they were on a flatscreen in front of me. My only real beef with the album is one Beck had no control over, i.e. that most of the songs are very short (two minutes) and need a lot of replaying to be enjoyed fully. But that's pretty hefty, Comic Book Guy nerd-nitpicking on my part, idn't it?



Anyway: Christophe Beck may not be a household word, even to Buffy fans, but he should be, and this album proves it. And that's the score on THE SCORE.

"

An Excellent Soundtrack, Long in Waiting

Phoenix Child | USA | 09/10/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Score is both what fans of BtVS have waited for for years and also a compilation that any instrumental music lover could enjoy. Christophe Beck (the composer for seasons 2-4) has compiled a master list of some of the most moving and exciting incidental music in the history of the cult classic TV series.



True, the Buffy soundtracks (i.e., The Album, Radio Sunnydale) were excellent mixes that brought back memories of the show, but there is nothing like a score to truly bring back memories, and Whedon and Beck have chosen the most evocative of the tracks. The exciting opener, "Massacre" truly makes one FEEL as if they too are battling Angelus with Buffy as she races to save her friends (incidentally, the entire score for the episode "Becoming (Parts I & II)" won Beck an Emmy award).



The other joy of the Buffy Score is that while the first fourteen tracks were previously available if you could find Beck's promotional soundtracks for seasons two and three, everything from track fifteen to track twenty-nine have never before been heard by anyone save for during the show itself. AN IMPORTANT NOTE: I've read other reviews online since posting this, and felt I should make these notes.



FIRSTLY: Track twenty-nine, the alternate version of "Sacrifice" is just what it says: an alternate version. It is not the short clip of the "Sacrifice" theme heard during season six's "Bargaining;" it is a possible version of what "Sacrifice" could have been before going through the editing process.



Secondly, THERE ARE NO REPEATS ON THIS CD. For those who need their memory refreshed, Christophe Beck has had these songs published before: "Close Your Eyes" on the Album, "Dead Guys With Bombs" on the British/Australian version of Radio Sunnydale, and "Suite from "Restless"", "Suite from "Hush"", and "Sacrifice" on Once More, With Feeling. All the music from "Hush" and "Restless" featured on The Score are not included in the Suites, and everything from seasons four and five HAVE NOT BEEN RELEASED.



If you are already a fan of Buffy, this score will bring back memories as if you were not only watching the show itself but experiencing it as well. If you are not a fan of Buffy but of instrumental music, the Buffy Score is a worthy addition to your music library - from sweepingly emotional tracks such as "Remembering Jenny," "Slayer's Elegy," and "Sacrifice" to heartpounding themes like "Massacre," "Faith's End," and "Apocalypse;" from teasing tracks like "Twice the Fool" and "Fyarl in the Morning," and also just plain wonderful songs as well, you will listen to the Buffy score more than once.



This score was worth every penny, and whether you are a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, instrumental music, or Christophe Beck (or all three), there is something in the twenty-nine tracks for you. The fact that it has been published five years after the end of BtVS gives fans hope that there may be another volume for the other worthy composers of this amazing show.



Also recommended:



Angel: Live Fast, Die Never [This album is mostly comprised of score music from Angel composed by Robert J. Kral, and also features a song by Christophe Beck; Buffy: The Album; Buffy: Radio Sunnydale"