Excerpt: "The entire album could easily be slotted into the background of a new-agey, fantasy/sci-fi, '80s movie or ... "Buffy The Vampire Slayer", and it's the "Buffy" guest stars on the album that will probably attract fans to "Elevators". (See complete review at http://www.canoe.ca/AllPopTVBuffy/feb7_musicforelevators-can.html.

9. ANTHONY STEWART HEAD Last Time
Written by Buffy mastermind Joss Whedon and sung by the show's Giles (Head) and Tara (Amber Benson), this is actually a perfectly credible atmospheric ballad, with nary a whiff of good-actor-turned-bad-singer syndrome. (www.musicforelevators.com). (complete text)

For those who don't know, Londoner Anthony Head plays Giles the mentor in the hugely successful TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer and, of course, Head's bio mentions Buffy ten times and Head's name four times. Any doubts as to the marketing slant for his new CD, Music for Elevators, will vaporize like an executed ghoul when you rifle through the promotional paperwork sent by his label, Beautiful Is As Beautiful Does (eye roll, please). Not that Head's a slouch: He's also played Jesus and Dr. Frank-n-Furter in theater versions of Godspell and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, respectively. These two roles offer some clues about Head's lyrical struggle between existential anguish and unselfconscious camp. Vocally, the actor navigates between Nick Cave, Phil Collins, and David Bowie, as he tackles issues like having to be away from his kids to pursue his career, or how "sobering and, quite frankly, depressing" LA looks in the rain. Producer/arranger George Sarah (whose extensive film and TV credits include music for Buffy -- hey, coincidence or what?) relays Head's pretension in a harmless blend of opaque, ambient chamber rock and car-commercial trip-hop.

Benevolently dissing Elevators' Spinal Tap-scale confessionalism proves great fun until you come upon the insultingly wide-eyed lyrics of "One Man's Rain," which finds Head revisiting his messianic anguish from stardom's guilty perch: "Why is one man blessed with plenty/ while the other's left to scratch in the dirt?" After that kind of musing, one can only say a thankful prayer for the secure day jobs of both Head and Sarah -- a prayer perhaps best punctuated by Music for Elevators' clatter at the end of its trajectory out your window.

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Last season, Giles serenaded us with a bluesy rendition of "Behind Blue Eyes." Is his musical side going to emerge further?
That represented the climax of his midlife crisis, so it's kind of done its thing. Joss hasn't proclaimed either way on it. But I have been approached by a little independent record label that wants to put me and George Sarah, who's written a few songs for our show and "Angel," together for an electronic music album. I've written a bit and we've compared notes and it looks great. (complete text)

It has now been confirmed that Tony Head, a man of considerable musical talent, will be venturing into the recording studio for a brand new album project with THC's George Sarah.

As Buffy fans may know, THC provided the music for Veruca's band during season four of the show. The tracks are featured on the band's Adagio album.

The new album is described as 'an eclectic collection of mostly original compositions written by both Head and Sarah'.

This project been in the works for some time, but the agreement was only officially signed last week with Bob Records, a new label which will be distributed by CMH Records in Los Angeles. Karrie Miller of CMH told TWW "It is rumoured, but not confirmed, that additional Buffy people may contribute to the album."

Interviewed at Nocturnal 2K this Summer, Tony had this to say about the proposed album and whether actors should venture into the studio: "There are a few of them out there - I'm not going to name any of them - but do you know what I mean? There's a certain factor that 'you shouldn't have really done that mate!' But If it was someone like Moby whose got a great feel and all I would be doing is providing the vocals....

"They are talking about me doing acoustic guitar as well which might be a big mistake but I'm all for it. Joss said he wanted to put one of the tracks on the next Buffy album."

Source - CMH Records

Tony Head, known for his singing talents in such productions as The Rocky Horror Show and, of course, Buffy, is exploring the possibility of recording an album with THC's George Sarah. THC have previously worked on Buffy, providing the music for Verucca's band in Beer Bad and Wild At Heart. "I'd love to do something Mobyesque" confirmed Tony at the N2K convention in June.

Page created January 13, 2001; updated February 12, 2002. Original material © Betsy Vera (bentley@umich.edu). This website is for information and entertainment purposes only and is not intended to infringe on copyrights held by others.