Angel: Live Fast, Die Never [Music from the TV Series] (CD) by Original TV Score

CD. For those who can't get enough of Angel, the TV series, Rounder Records has released Live Fast, Die Never, an album comprised of music from the show. Much of the album reminds one of an orchestrated movie soundtrack. Pieces like the emotive "Start the Apocalypse" and the quiet "End of the World" are impressive, but still qualify as the type of music that works best as a backdrop to an appropriate scene. The real fun of the album doesn't really kick in until the last few tracks, when a variety of performers tackle a handful of songs. VAST's "Touched" builds a passionate, dense musical web, while Christian Kane's "LA Song" captures a quieter, folk-rock mood. There's also room for humor with Andy Hallett's "It's Not Easy Being Green," perhaps the oddest lyric ever attached to lounge music, and there's a good cover -- also by Hallett -- of "Lady Marmalade." The album comes to a satisfactory finish with the quiet, haunting "A Place Called Home" by Kim Richey. While some fans may have reservations about leaning toward 50 minutes of theme music, Live Fast, Die Never does offer a nice balance between orchestrated pieces and songs. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., Rovi