Visions of Excess is the title of a collection of essays by the late French writer, bibliophile, cultural critic/anthropologist, and pornographer Georges Bataille.
Bataille's work has always been close to Marc Almond's heart, so much so that he's been part of a tribute gig to him released as The Violent Silence.
Almond's work as a solo artist apart from Soft Cell has been so wide-ranging and abundant -- wildly careening between post-pop R&B, cabaret songs, electronics, classic and kitschy pop, glam, French chanson, disco, and more -- that it embodies the entire notion of "excess." That's far from a bad thing, and though he's missed the mark with his records from time to time, he's never done anything that would be remotely considered untrue to his vision.
Each recording has been a snapshot of where Almond as an artist was at the time of any work's creation.
Sure, this is a lot to say for a pop singer, but then Scott Walker and Jacques Brel were pop singers, too, as was Lotte Lenya in her native Germany before the Second World War, and it's from this tradition that Almond's work comes.
Indeed, his life -- both aesthetic and everyday -- is the stuff of a collection of poems by Paul Verlaine or Charles Baudelaire, Oscar Wilde or Laure, Bataille's gloriously infamous poet lover.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I Have LivedCharles Aznavour, Al Kasha | Marc Almond | Play | 03:55 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | I Close My Eyes and Count to TenClive Westlake | Marc Almond, Sarah Cracknell | Play | 04:06 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | Bedsitter Images | Marc Almond | Play | 04:10 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | The London BoysDavid Bowie | Marc Almond, Sarah Cracknell | Play | 03:27 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | Strangers in the NightEddie Snyder | Marc Almond | Play | 04:40 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | The Ballad of the Sad Young MenFran Landesman, Tommy Wolf | Marc Almond, Antony Hegarty | Play | 04:38 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Stardom RoadPeter Avery | Marc Almond | Play | 04:54 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | Kitsch | Marc Almond | Play | 05:31 | 12 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | Dream LoverBobby Darin | Marc Almond | Play | 03:23 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | Happy HeartJames Last, Jackie Rae, Fred Weyrich | Marc Almond | Play | 04:09 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 11 | The Curtain FallsSol Weinstein | Marc Almond | Play | 03:11 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 12 | Backstage (I'm Lonely) [feat. Jools Holland] | Marc Almond, Jools Holland | Play | 03:39 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 13 | Redeem Me | Marc Almond | Play | 04:32 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 54 mins | 124 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marc Almond | Composer, Main Personnel, Original Session Producer, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 2 | John Anderson | Main Personnel, Oboe |
| 3 | John Anderson | Oboe |
| 4 | Fred Anisfield | Composer |
| 5 | Peter Avery | Composer |
| 6 | Charles Aznavour | Composer |
| 7 | Trevor Barry | Bass, Guitar (Bass), Main Personnel |
| 8 | Jason Boshoff | Audio Engineer, Engineer |
| 9 | David Bowie | Arranger, Composer |
| 10 | Andy Bradfield | Mixing |
| 11 | John Brough | Audio Engineer, Engineer |
| 12 | Rob Burger | Keyboards, Main Personnel |
| 13 | Andy Caine | Main Personnel, Vocals (Background) |
| 14 | Sarah Cracknell | Guest Artist, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 15 | Chris Dagley | Drums, Main Personnel |
| 16 | Bobby Darin | Composer |
| 17 | Marius de Vries | Arranger, Audio Engineer, Composer, Engineer, Keyboards, Main Personnel, Producer, Programming |
| 18 | Kiki Dee | Main Personnel, Vocals (Background) |
| 19 | Willie Denson | Composer |
| 20 | Derek "Dek" Fearnley | Arranger |
| 21 | Ernie Freeman Combo | Arranger |
| 22 | Dominic Glover | Main Personnel, Trumpet |
| 23 | Isobel Griffiths | String Contractor |
| 24 | Antony Hegarty | Guest Artist, Original Session Producer, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 25 | Richard Henry | Main Personnel, Trombone (Bass) |
| 26 | Chris Holland | Main Personnel, Organ |
| 27 | Jools Holland | Guest Artist, Main Personnel, Piano, Primary Artist |
| 28 | Al Kasha | Composer |
| 29 | Fran Landesman | Composer |
| 30 | James Last | Composer |
| 31 | Gilson Lavis | Drums, Main Personnel |
| 32 | Avril Mackintosh | Audio Engineer, Digital Editing |
| 33 | Keith Mansfield | Arranger |
| 34 | Robbie McIntosh | Guitar, Guitars, Main Personnel, Ukulele |
| 35 | Neal Whitmore | Guitars, Main Personnel, Programming |
| 36 | Del Newman | Arranger |
| 37 | Igor Outkine | Accordion, Main Personnel |
| 38 | Tris Penna | Audio Production |
| 39 | Tristram Penna | Arranger, Executive Producer, Producer |
| 40 | Lenny Plaxico | Bass, Guitar (Bass), Main Personnel |
| 41 | David Powell | Main Personnel, Tuba |
| 42 | Jackie Rae | Composer |
| 43 | Winston Rollins | Main Personnel, Trombone |
| 44 | Anna Ross | Main Personnel, Vocals (Background) |
| 45 | Mike Smith | Flute, Harpsichord, Keyboards, Main Personnel, Piano, Recorder |
| 46 | Mike Smith | Arranger, Flute, Harpsichord, Keyboards, Musical Direction, Piano, Recorder |
| 47 | Eddie Snyder | Composer |
| 48 | Chris Storr | Main Personnel, Trumpet |
| 49 | Dave Swift | Bass, Guitar (Bass), Main Personnel |
| 50 | Gary Thomas | Engineer |
| 51 | Gary Thomas | Audio Engineer |
| 52 | Hugh Webb | Harp, Main Personnel |
| 53 | Sol Weinstein | Composer |
| 54 | Clive Westlake | Composer |
| 55 | Fred Weyrich | Composer |
| 56 | Tommy Wolf | Composer |
| 57 | Gavyn Wright | String Conductor |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |