Alas, “Angel,” spin-off of the legendary (and Emmy-winning) show “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” met its death with a slam-bam-thank-you-ma’am series finale, sending off television’s best hope for the sanctity of quality programming.

	“Angel: Live Now, Die Never” Entertainment Art Soundtrack – Various artists (Rounder Records)

The first track of “Die Never” is an extended version of the show’s opening credits, titled here as the “Sanctuary Remix.” The most notable addition of this remix is the insertion of vocals. Though the song brings back many memories of Wednesday and Sunday nights, watching my favorite TV show, this remix borders on grating after a few listens.

The first batch of scoring from the show revolves around themes from season four and season one. “Start the Apocalypse,” my favorite purely orchestrated track on this album, is the music played during the epic rooftop fight in season four’s “Apocalypse Nowish.” Track five, “Home,” has a lonely flute part that highlights the sense of loss felt by Angel in the season four finale as he watched his son’s new life unfold. Track six, “Hero,” sounds like it could have come out of a blockbuster movie. Featuring vocals by Elin Carlson, this song was played during the character Doyle’s death in season one.

Tracks seven though thirteen focus on the character Darla and on Angel’s inevitable descent into darkness in season two. These songs are mostly hit-and-miss; but just like season two of “Angel,” the whole outweighs the individual parts, as these tracks tell a compelling story of passion and destruction. Track nine, “Rebellion,” is a favorite among “Buffy” and “Angel” fans – it’s the song played during the vampire montage during the Boxer Rebellion on both shows.

Tracks 14 through 18 revolve around the Plea arc at the end of season two and the introduction of the character Fred. These scores, though fairly stereotypical of their source material, will please fans of operatic orchestrations and sweeping romanticism.

Track 19 is the heartbreaking “Farewell Cordelia,” played during the final moments between Angel and Cordelia in season five. Track 20 is another highlight of the soundtrack, titled “I’m Game.” This track is the recurring ‘hero’ theme for the character Angel throughout the show, most remembered for its instances in the pilot episode and during the season five season opener.

All is good and well with this collection of scorings from “Angel’s” vivid history, but there are cast performances and licensed songs as well that have helped “Angel” tell its dark and interesting story. “Die Never” features two perfectly selected licensed songs from the show, Vest’s “Touched” and Kim Richey’s “A Place Called Home.” “Touched” is a song that I was pleasantly surprised to find on this album, considering I went searching for it on the internet the first time I heard it during the street-walking montage of season one episode two, “Lonely Hearts.” Epic and very relatable to the character of Angel, “Touched” has not only converted me to the band “Vast,” its inclusion on the show and on this soundtrack is ingenious. “A Place Called Home” is the song played during the end of “Shells,” the episode in season five where the character Illyria is officially introduced and it’s confirmed Fred is dead and never coming back. You might remember the montage – it featured the characters left behind by Fred’s death followed by a flashback of Fred’s move away from home. Yeah, I got teary-eyed too, and listening to this song on this soundtrack is so heart wrenching, I still have yet to get more than thirty seconds into it.

Three songs are original cast performances, one by Christian Kane (who played the character Lindsey) and two by Andy Hallet (who played the green demon Lorne). Kane’s “LA Song,” written by show co-creator David Greenwalt, is wonderfully performed and contains key foreshadowing for future events in the series. Andy Hallet is as charming as ever in his two songs, “Lady Marmalade” and his original creation “It’s Not Easy Being Green.” Listening to these two songs makes me yearn to see his character on television again, and make me upset that they underused his character in the show’s last season.

“Angel” and “Buffy” fans need not wait any longer – this soundtrack is a must-have, an absolutely essential part of any fan’s Joss Whedon collection. Though the scoring can get a tad monotone and dreary, the wonderful memories of the show brought forth by listening to these songs will make for a beautifully nostalgic journey.

Non-“Buffy” and non-“Angel” fans will still find some value in “Die Never.” The orchestrations are synthetic yet solid, and the two licensed songs are absolute winners. Still, there are many other albums that one could better spend their time listening to. For sweeping, dramatic orchestrations that originate in dramatic interpretation, I recommend the “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “Between Heaven and Earth” instead of “Die Never.”

Here’s thanks to Joss Whedon, Christopher Beck, and Robert J. Kral for releasing this soundtrack, even after the show has ended. “Angel” can be seen now in syndication on TNT and Fox. “Angel: Live Now, Die Never” can be found at most chain electronic sellers and on Amazon.com.

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