Angel

11.ANGEL (Robert Kral & Christophe Beck, Rounder Records 11661-9067-2)

LIVE FAST, DIE NEVER - MUSIC FROM ANGEL

© Rounder Records

While a commercial soundtrack CD of Christophe Beck’s outstanding scores for TV’s BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER remains unfortunately lacking, England’s EMI (released by Rounder in the US) has done its sister series, ANGEL, right in this excellent amalgamation of underscore music from each of the show’s five seasons (Beck scored most of the first season, then Kral came on board and composed the rest).

The musical approach of both composers perfectly mirrored the show’s mix of personalities, conflict, tragedy, triumph - and lots of cool fight scenes.

The album includes a very nice extended version of the show’s main theme, composed and performed by the alternative/gothic band Darling Violetta, which sets just the right tone for the show - a gothic cello melody enhanced by a modern urban rock sensibility.

Kral’s underscore maintains an exceptional blend of lyrical introspection and rampant action scoring, well serving the show’s mixture of brooding character interaction, humor, and blistering musical action.

The musical texture is pleasantly evocative and constantly interesting. The album is a great compilation of the show’s best musical moments (three songs are included, performed by cast members on the show), and remarkably in today’s song-heavy soundtrack environment, EMI has emphasized the show’s underscore.

The CD booklet includes excellent track-by-track notes by Kral, which puts each cue into its proper place in the series’ musical continuum, and an introductory appreciation by series creator Joss Whedon.