not logged in
| re: Broadway Fans? | |
Posted by:  |
rockfenris2005 08:02 pm UTC 04/14/16 |
| In reply to: | re: Broadway Fans? - Marklbetya 06:57 pm UTC 04/14/16 |
I turned into a real "completest" with ALW actually, including the original "Jeeves" album, from his big flop in the 70s, which opened at the same theatre where "Phantom" will be running for thirty years now. But it gets frustrating with the more recent work, because it's not as famous or well known as the 70s and 80s when he was more or less on top of the world. Like, there's some really, really pretty stuff in "Aspects of Love" for me, music like "Seeing is believing", "Chanson D'Enfance", "A memory of a happy moment", "There is more to love", "The first man you remember", and so on, but you don't really hear about those. You hear about "Love changes everything" instead, when there's all this other music as well. And even with "Sunset Boulevard", I still think "Too much in love to care" is right up there as well. "Whistle", of course, with "A kiss is a terrible thing to waste", which ranks pretty highly in both Jim and Andrew's careers for me. "The Beautiful Game" has some really stirring music as well for me too, and "By Jeeves" with "Half a moment" and "Love's maze". "The Woman in White", which I know was considered a bit of a blunder, I thought was very moody and haunting, and I really loved the atmosphere of it. Maybe it just worked better as a recording, and I can't help but love songs like "All for Laura" and "If I could only dream this world away". "Love never dies", with that ugh storyline, but still... The music! "Beneath a moonless sky" is STILL for me an absolute killer Webber tune, and many of the tunes from that score and the orchestrations. Even "Stephen Ward". But you hear more about the classics, of course, which I suppose tends to be what happens in general really. But I'm a real supporter of those lesser known works. "Starlight express", which I still really like, ran for like how many years in the West End, and then you get shows like "The Beautiful Game" which only run for a year. Oh well. I still have to check out the OTHER R&H musicals at some point too. People think R&H and generally they don't think "Allegro", "Me and Juliet", "Pipe Dream". And that's something I still want to look into. > I agree completely about Sound of Music. There are some > good songs, but it never really clicked for me the way > other R&H stuff did. They were amazing though, in that > they were able to do so many different styles completely > through a show. Flower Drum Song; Oklahoma; King and I. > > > Oddly, I could never stand ALW. Occasionally he'll pen a > tune I like, but by and large, not my style at all. > > > > > I got interested in musical theatre THROUGH Jim Steinman > > because I got "The Very Best of Meat Loaf" as a Christmas > > present when I was 12 years old. And when I was looking > > through the lyrics, it said "Home by now/No matter what" > > Andrew Lloyd Webber/Jim Steinman. Knew that name! I even > > recognized him from the news once but I don't know what > > they were talking to him about. And that was the > > beginning. > > > > Then when I first used the internet, "naturally" I typed > > Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman, and came to this site, "Dream > > Pollution", where I found out about "Whistle down the > > wind", which was actually where those songs were from, and > > all the rest. The rest is history, so they say. > > > > I got interested in Andrew Lloyd Webber in a big way. I > > heard the original double album "Jesus Christ Superstar" > > on the original vinyl, with the big star on the front > > cover, and Ian Gillan as Jesus, and wow. It was all such a > > revelation. But I'd seen "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" > > right around that time as well because of the Meat Loaf > > connection and I wanted to check it out, and just always > > remember thinking. Wow this movie is odd! > > > > And I love "Fiddler on the Roof". I had never actually > > really known what the full thing was like until I watched > > the movie a few years ago now (Norman Jewison again I > > think, who did "Jesus Christ Superstar" the film, another > > one I love, with the great Ted Neeley, who of course sang > > "Come in the night" with Meat Loaf and the Neverland > > Express later on) and just thought wow. "Sunrise, sunset", > > "Anatevka" stick with me most in my mind now. > > > > Rodgers and Hammerstein of course are brilliant and all. I > > just feel a bit "disappointed" with "The Sound of Music" > > compared to the other ones because it lacks something. I > > think the critics at the time actually talked about this > > maybe. But I just got things from "Carousel", "South > > Pacific", "The King and I", even "Oklahoma!" that I didn't > > get from "The Sound of Music", and I think "If I loved > > you" is one of the most beautiful love songs ever written > > in the history of the world. Meat said at his "Last at > > Bat" concert that he'd searched for a love song that was > > better than "For crying out loud", and while I can see > > what he's getting at, I think this one's definitely up > > there. Even just the melody would rip my heart out. And > > "You'll never walk alone" is now linked so vividly in my > > mind with the ending of "Heavenly Creatures" the Peter > > Jackson movie based on the Parker Hulme murder in New > > Zealand in 1954. (I still think, FWIW, Jim could have done > > a cool adaptation of Peter's other movie from the 90s "The > > frighteners" with Michael J. Fox.) > > > > THEN we - my friend and I - got our rock musical produced > > a couple years ago, which was one of the most amazing > > experiences of my life. > > > > > We all know Jim is theatrical and has had some success > > > (and some disappointments) on the Broadway stage. And I > > > also see some references to Broadway shows peppered > > > throughout this board, which got me wondering. > > > > > > How many of us are fans of Broadway, and of those who are, > > > what are you favorite shows? More modern stuff, or > > > classics? I lean heavily toward the classics. > > > > > > Personally, I think My Fair Lady is the best and most > > > complete show ever, with no song not clever, appropriate > > > and/or memorable. > > > > > > Others on my list: Wicked (only modern show on my list), > > > Fiddler on the Roof, Guys and Dolls, Oklahoma (as R&H must > > > be represented), and my guilty pleasure, Damn Yankees. | |
| reply | | |
| Previous: | re: Broadway Fans? - Marklbetya 06:57 pm UTC 04/14/16 |
| Next: | Sweeney Todd - rockfenris2005 07:33 am UTC 04/14/16 |
| Thread: | |