For a debut, The Origin is certainly solid. Many of the songs are vigorous and rosy, and the band knew its way around a groove, particularly sprightly piano-led ones -- "Growing Old," "Everyone Needs Love" -- that show a passing familiarity with Elton John but are much jauntier. Michael Andrews sings with animated, malleable vocals that are enchanting, once you warm to them, and the band definitely excels on the sunnier tracks where his idiosyncratic voice has the chance to stretch out and find crevices in the music to explore. The album owes a debt to Crowded House in terms of some of its melodic content and the buoyant acoustic textures -- there is a distinct absence of electric guitar, with Andrews' lively picking standing in, for the most part -- on songs like the jazzy "Ride" and "Who Would've Known," with its Eurythmics-like orchestration. At other times, the Origin picks up where the Police left off ("Set Sails Free") with precise, architectural rhythms, worldbeat inflections, synth washes, and airy choruses. The production is somewhat too antiseptic, yet the emotion of the performances gradually swells to the surface. As wide-eyed as it is, though, the album is very much an inconsistent effort. It especially goes flat in the middle on the ponderous, overlong ballads "Lonely Place Alone" and "Never Coming Down," which aim for dreamy but only manage tepid. Promising in the way of chops, the Origin nevertheless still had some growing to do before their next album. ~ Stanton Swihart, All Music Guide
Tracks
Track Title
Composers
Performers
Time
Growing Old
Origin
Origin
(3:29)
November Days
Origin
Origin
(3:18)
Everyone Needs Love
Origin
Origin
(3:21)
Never Coming Down
Origin
Origin
(5:43)
Lonely Place Alone
Origin
Origin
(4:07)
Set Sails Free
Origin
Origin
(4:25)
Ride
Origin
Origin
(4:02)
Who Would've Known
Origin
Origin
(3:20)
Troubles on the Inside
Origin
Origin
(3:16)
Pull the Weight
Origin
Origin
(5:15)
Credits
Origin (Main Performer), Rony Abada (Composer), Rony Abada (Drums), Michael Andrews (Guitar), Michael Andrews (Composer), Michael Andrews (Vocals), Ross Hogarth (Engineer), David Kershenbaum (Producer), Brian Kilgore (Percussion), Bob Ludwig (Mastering), Paul McKenna (Producer), Paul McKenna (Engineer), Paul McKenna (Mixing), Topper Rimel (Composer), Topper Rimel (Guitar (Bass)), Topper Rimel (Vocals (Background)), Daniel Silverman (Piano), Daniel Silverman (Composer), Daniel Silverman (Keyboards), Daniel Silverman (Vocals (Background)), Kevin Smith (Engineer), Kevin Smith (Mixing), John X. Volaitis (Engineer), Steve Gerdes (Design), Craig Doubet (Engineer), Craig Doubet (Second Engineer), Melanie Nissen (Art Direction), Annalisa (Photography)
The Origin is a trade paperback collecting comic stories based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series. It retells the events of the film on which the television series is based, in an attempt to reconcile the series and its vastly different precursor.
Buffy Summers considers herself a normal high school student until a stranger approaches her and explains her destiny. Buffy only gradually accepts her new role as Vampire Slayer and must prevent the vampire Lothos from taking over Los Angeles.
The Origin #1
Buffy's a popular high school student who's planning her next big school dance. Merrick, a Watcher approaches her and announces that she has become the one and only Vampire Slayer.
The Origin #2
Buffy Summers learns how to fight vampires. Meanwhile the evil vampire, Lothos is gathering together a large group of undead Americans hoping to spread evil across the city. The rebel, Pike becomes entangled in Buffy's destiny.
The Origin #3
Buffy's Watcher, Merrick, is no more. Buffy has to deal with the evil of Lothos with only Pike to help her. Buffy must somehow negotiate the school dance and a growing evil. In the end the school gym is burned down (a major variation from the original film, in which the gym still stands at the story's end, but in agreement with the series, in which Buffy is notorious for having burned it down and is cited as the reason for her moving to Sunnydale).
Continuity
Whedon stated: "The origin comic, though I have issues with it, CAN pretty much be accepted as canonical. They did a cool job of combining the movie script (the SCRIPT) with the series, that was nice, and using the series Merrick [. . .]." [1]
