User:FacesSmall/Too Much

"Too Much" (often reissued as "Much Too Much", "(Much) Too Much" and "Much (Too Much)") is a song written by William Hoang first recorded by his group the Prelude. It is noted as being the first track on which Hoang plays the piano and Victor Friberg sings lead vocals unaccompanied. It was first released as the B-side of "Zoot Suit" in 1964.

Background and composition
Hoang claims he wrote the track in 1963 in the same wave as "E Too D", but was never rehearsed. It wasn't until mid-1964 when he showed the band the track, upon they rehearsed it. Although lacking in original material, "Too Much" was never incorporated into their setlist.

"Too Much" was originally planned to be featured on their debut album, however, this was rejected by Olga Records. The originally planned B-Side of "Zoot Suit" was supposed to be "With A Girl Like You" until that too was shelved.

It had the working title "Much Too Much, Much Too Much" which was an inside joke among the group, who considered it too long. "Too Much" is composed in G-major and unlike other Prelude tracks, opens with a vocal harmony between Friberg and double-tracked Anton Wihlborg, unaccompanied by any instrument. Wihlborg's guitar and Friberg's starts at the same time, suddently accompanied by a crescendo in Hoang's piano. Their vocal harmony is interrupted by Brazer Özel's drums which also brings the track to its' first verse. The chorus is the introduction (albeit accompanied by instruments). Hoang claims the song is about heartbreak, signified by the chorus "Much too much to bear", but states that it is not an extract of his own life.

Recording
"Too Much" was like "Zoot Suit" recorded on 24 July 1964 at Europafilm Studios. Unlike the recording of "Zoot Suit", which was relatively unhindered, the recording of "Too Much" was painstaking, and Hoang never got the track perfected like he wanted. Eventually during the eleventh take he was satisfied. It features a guitar and piano overdub by Anton Wihlborg and Hoang respectively. Hoang had originally planned on singing the track himself. However, he had a cold during that particular session, and only attempted one vocal take on it. Instead, Wihlborg recorded three takes on it, before they eventually decided that is was perfect for Friberg's vocal range. The seventh vocal overdub is the master version. Hoang nor drummer Brazer Özel sing any vocals on it, instead, Wihlborg double tracked his backing vocals.

Just like most recordings the group made for Olga, Åke Gerhard is credited as a producer. This is a formality, as both producer Tim Blomberg and Özel have stated that his involvement in the production of "Too Much" was minimal, only commanding the control room. In the liner notes, he's credited as studio engineer. This statement has once again been refuted, and this role has been credited to Janne Frisk on later reissues.

Release and Reception
"Too Much" was first released in the Nordic countries on 8 August 1964 as the B-Side of "Zoot Suit". The A-Side garnered some success, entering the Top-fifteen in most of these countries. However, it remained unavailable in the rest of the world due to "Tired Of Waiting For You" being their debut international single. It got its' first official international release on the 1970 compilation album The B-Sides (co-released with The Singles), but had previously been heavily bootlegged in the US. For this release, it's dubbed either "Much Too Much" or "Much (Too Much)" on American and British releases respectively. Alternative takes with Hoang and Wihlborg on vocals can be found on the 1998 compilation album The Olga Years: 1964–1965 on which it is titled "(Much) Too Much". Hoang has stated that he prefers "(Much) Too Much" rather than "Too Much" or the other titles.

Due to it's relative obscure position as a B-Side, it garnered virtually no attention from mass media, as opposed to "Zoot Suit". It is however mentioned in Bosse Hansson's review of "Zoot Suit" in which he "adores the nonchalant request for love". In a retrospective review, Richie Unterberger of AllMusic gave it a positive review, stating that "it brought Hoang's brilliant songwriting into perspective" and that it has "a wonderful choir-like intro with Friberg and Wihlborg." He also states that it was their best B-Side until "Daddy Rolling Stone" in 1965. Özel's drumming has been praised by Ultimate Classic Rock who claims that the pure expression and explosiveness has never occured before in rock music. They also add that "Too Much" is a heavy rocker which is characterized by Hoang's ragtime piano and Wihlborg's power chords in the chorus and in some of the verses.

The Prelude

 * Victor Friberg – lead vocals, bass guitar
 * Anton Wihlborg – guitar, double-tracked backing vocals
 * Brazer Özel – drums
 * William Hoang – piano

Technical

 * Tim Blomberg – producer
 * Åke Gerhard – studio engineer
 * Janne Frisk – studio engineer
 * Hans Sidén – liner notes