The thumping beat and tom-toms of tribal house music emerged briefly, only to be challenged and deflected by the other musicians; one member sang wordless syllables over shivering cymbal sounds and a rippling guitar chord.

The chorus was often called upon to sing only nonsense syllables, most famously "zu-zu" and "pow!"

But as Tyler sings moaning-scat syllables in the underused lowest-register of his still-astonishing voice, the yearning, bluesy melody sounds like Ray Charles, or maybe Randy Newman.

Instead, the cast sings wordless syllables, conveying the dramatic action through movements and tone of voice.

There are no lyrics as such, instead the vocalists sing syllables and 'words' invented by Jenkins.

An alto sang nonsense syllables from beyond one horn of the crescent beach, punctuated by splashing sounds.

When Mr. Vandross sang nonsense syllables, his voice seemingly had two tones, the melody note and a hissing note, like steam leaking from a radiator, that construct his sound.

Mr. Lewiston also recorded the Kecak monkey chant, a circle of men singing hearty, percussive syllables that go ricocheting all around.

Ms. Berenyi's singing, manipulated electronically, crept slowly over the heaps of guitar sound, while Ms. Anderson sang high-pitched syllables or occasional words that meshed with the band's bright overtones.

When she forgets the words, she sings syllables, da-da-da.