Once More, with Feeling (Buffy soundtrack)

Once More, with Feeling is the soundtrack album for the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode of the same name. The album features the original series cast performing the songs from the episode, as well as additional music from other popular episodes by regular composer Christophe Beck, including suites from season four episodes "Hush" and "Restless", as well as a score piece from season five episode "The Gift". Also included is a demo track of "Something to Sing About" performed by series creator and album songwriter Joss Whedon and his then-wife Kai Cole. The art for the album, which is also used as cover for related items, such as the script book, the Region 2 DVD and the poster, is by popular comic book artist Adam Hughes. The booklet includes liner notes by Whedon, the lyrics for the numbers, and various pictures from the episode.

Critical reception
AllMusic gave the album five out of five stars, stating that the music is "every bit as fun as the episode itself", praising the voices of Benson, Marsters and Head. Reviewer Melinda Hill called it "a must-have for Buffy fans, but it wouldn't be out of place in anyone's collection". Sputnikmusic states: "All in all, this is by far the greatest TV musical of all time," and "it's a shining example of what any TV musical should hope to accomplish."

Commercial performance
The album achieved moderate success in the United States, where it reached 49 on the US Billboard 200. The album also charted at number 97 in Australia. Although not charting in the United Kingdom, the album was eventually awarded a Gold certification in 2022 for sales of over 100,000 copies.

Track listing
Vocal performers are in brackets and are listed as their character name. Tracks with no performer are score pieces by Christophe Beck.

Personnel
Production: Executive producer: Christopher Buchanan Coordinator: Marni Feenberg Produced by Christophe Beck, Jesse Tobias and Joss Whedon Arranged by Christophe Beck and Jesse Tobias Associate music director: Douglas Stevens Supervising music editor: Fernand Bos Music editor: Tim Isle All music and lyrics: Joss Whedon Track 9 composed by Christophe Beck Track 19 composed by Nerf Herder Tracks 20, 21 and 22 composed and produced by Christophe Beck Recorded by Casey Stone and Andrew Alekel Mixed by Casey Stone and Matt Wallace Mastered by Jonathan Wyner Mastering Facility: M Works, Cambridge, Massachusetts Orchestrations by Christophe Beck and Kevin Kleisch Orchestra contractor: Shari Sutcliffe Vocal contractor: Sally Stevens

Musicians: Timothy Anderson – background vocals Hinton Battle – vocals (tracks 10, 13, 15) Amber Benson – vocals (tracks 2, 4, 12, 13, 16, 17) Nicholas Brendon – vocals (tracks 2, 5, 13, 16, 17) Kai Cole – vocals (track 23) Emma Caulfield – vocals (tracks 2, 5, 13, 16, 17) Laura Engel – backing vocals Alex Estronei – background vocals Josh Freese – drums, guitars David Fury – vocals (track 3) Sarah Michelle Gellar – vocals (tracks 1, 2, 13, 14, 16, 17) Alyson Hannigan – vocals (tracks 2, 13, 17) Angie Hart – background vocals (track 4) Anthony Head – vocals (tracks 2, 11 to 13, 16, 17) Steven McDonald – bass, guitars Michelle Trachtenberg – vocals (tracks 8, 16, 17) James Marsters – vocals (tracks 7, 13, 14, 16, 17), guitar (track 7) Christian Vincent – background vocals Daniel Weaver – background vocals Joss Whedon – piano, vocals (track 23) Zachary Woodley – background vocals Scott Zeller – background vocals

Album personnel: Executive in charge of music for Twentieth Century Fox: Robert Kraft Music supervisor for Twentieth Century Fox: Geoff Bywater and Jacquie Perryman Music production supervised by Carol Farhart Fox Music business affairs: Tom Cavanaugh Public relations: Jeffrey Taylor Light Album artwork: Illustrations by Adam Hughes Photographs by Mitchell Haasath and Richard Cartwright Design by Steven Jurgensmeyer