In the 1984 film Amadeus, Mozart is accused of having used “too many notes” when his new work, The Marriage of Figaro, is performed in front of Emperor Joseph II.
And Liszt may not be immune from the same criticism with his composition Transcendental Etude No 4 (Mazeppa). Pianist Boris Berezovsky’s hands become a blur as he performs the piece. It’s an outstanding display. Staying with the classical composers, Mahler’s Symphony No 8 is an over-the-top production on a grand scale. A full orchestra, soloists and huge choirs ensure that it can only be given full justice in the largest of arenas. It is wonderfully powerful music.
When pop meets classical, though, the result can be excess of epic proportion. Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballé are no shrinking violets. Their performance of Barcelona almost becomes a battle scene. It is a fight in which the song itself is the victim. Caballé is the protagonist with Mercury playing the accomplice.
Heavy metal music could provide all examples for this subject 10 times over. Its very existence is built on the power of exorbitant displays, lyrics and vocalisation. Judas Rising by Judas Priest shows all these three categories in abundance. Lyrics such as “The burden of sin, echoes the prophecy” are typical of the band. For sheer speed of playing and over-the-top drumming it would be hard to beat Through the Fire and Flames by DragonForce, recommended by new poster John Yin. Grandiose productions of epic tales of heroic acts are the stock-in-trade of some heavy metal bands. American outfit Symphony X perform a 24-minute piece called Odyssey, from the album of the same name, based on the writings of Homer.
Extravagance is necessary when the plot demands it. The Rocky Horror Picture Show has become such a cult that audiences join in the fun by dressing as their favourite characters. Tim Curry spent much of his working life in the show dressed as the transvestite Dr Frank–N–Furter and extols the virtues of his lifestyle in the song Don’t Dream It, Be It.
Overacting and contorted facial expressions are to the fore in this version of Hocus Pocus by Dutch progressive rockers Focus. As well as some extraordinary vocalisation, they throw in some virtuoso instrumentation.
Doing tumbles on stage for no apparent reason is one thing. But having one of your group play with a heart-shaped three-necked guitar is perhaps taking things a bit far. David Lee Roth and his group show off far too easily in Just Like Paradise.
Is it Laurence Olivier in a production of Richard III? No it’s Alex Harvey performing his song Next for The Old Grey Whistle Test. It’s more a piece of acting than a rendition of a song. Wonderfully bonkers.
As chinhealer will no doubt attest, Bollywood films are a byword for excess, with the vast song-and-dance routines that often put in an appearance for no reason at all and go on far too long. I don’t know if this one was necessary or not, but I love it. A guy dressed as Elvis, a beautiful girl, a large troupe of dancers, an audience and bad editing. What’s not to like about Kishore Kumar singing and dancing his way through Saara Zamana?
This next track hopes to “Break new ground for emotional machine music”. Eh! What? Is there any need for it? Well Squarepusher thinks so, and has a machine with 78 fingers playing a guitar and another playing 22 drums on Z-Machines’ Sad Robot Goes Funny. Perhaps it’s the sound of the future.
And finally, here’s Jack Black performing under the name Tenacious D and the song Tribute. In his own words, “this is the best and greatest song in the world”. Let us be the judge of that, Jack.
The playlist
Dragon Force – Through the Fire and the Flames
Tim Curry – Don’t Dream it, Be It
David Lee Roth – Just Like Paradise
Squarepusher – Z-Machine, Sad Robot Goes Funny
