SickthingsUK

Hello DD!

I'm curious - who's idea was it to use Mussorgsky's "Night On Bald Mountain" between the different segments of the "Billion Dollar Babies" show? Did it come from the band, from management, from Bob, or from Joe Gannon? If not from the band itself - did You like the idea, or were You against it? Was any other music considered to be used before You settled on that particular piece? Also wondering about the reaction from the audience - was it "appreciated", or were people wondering about the combination of rock and classical music?
Thanks,
Chris

I'm not sure who suggested it but it was always a favorite with Alice and I because of Disney's Fantasia.

We wanted a scary segue for a costume change and something lengthy enough to give the crew enough time to roll the props into place. "Night on Bald Mountain" and, I think, "In The Hall of The Mountain King" were considered.
Being classical pieces made them Public Domain and the composition's length was a safety net in case there was a snag with getting the props into place. The dimly lit activity on stage, plus the power of the music, was well accepted by audiences. The anticipation of what was about to happen carried it in a grand way. And following an hour of rock, the classical piece not only was a refreshing break, but it also set the mood for the dark dramatic segment of the set.

When the crew and band was ready, the music faded out into a thunderous fuzz-bass playing the intro for "Sick Things".

For me it’s the greatest piece of music ever written. I first heard it in 1973 when i got a bootleg tape of the Boston Gardens show. I became obsessed with it, got the score out the library, took up violin again and adapted as much as i could of it for guitar. I was lucky enough to see the Moscow Philharmonic perform it in England in the 1980s. The best recorded version is Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic when he was their principal conductor. The mountain to which Mussorgsky referred in his tone poem is Mount Triglav, near Kiev (Kyiv) now in Ukraine. I always wanted to visit that place where the Witches Sabbath took place that inspired the piece. Think i’ll give that a miss now!