What modern musicians are as good as Amadeus?
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yolhanson — 11 years ago(April 07, 2014 06:02 AM)
Perhaps Andrew Lloyd Webber is the closest we've got to a modern Mozart. He's been around for decades and is virtually synonymous with musical theatre. Yes, I know his output has been limited in other areas, and Mozart wrote in every style for every audience, but I think the idea is valid.
Mozart's operas accounted for a large measure of his fame in Europe. I've been involved in musical theatre for 20-odd years and I don't know anyone who disparages the status of Lloyd Webber. They're not equal; they can't ever be. But they both have that inerrant sense of melody and that dramatic, sometimes playful skill in music that makes you sit up and listen. They never fail to surprise.
I saw a documentary in which a speaker claimed that Lloyd Webber was the "most influential artist to ever work in the genre of musical theatre" and I thought, "Hang on, what about Mozart?"
In their vastly different styles, I'd rate them almost equally in their influence on musical theatre. -
speccyboy — 11 years ago(April 16, 2014 10:44 AM)
I was going to say the late great Freddie Mercury - born into a privileged family, well-educated, musically and artistically gifted, loved having a good time (on and off the stage), shy and private in real life, died young.

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Chrisbc-1 — 11 years ago(February 09, 2015 08:46 AM)
W. Axl Rose. One the surface he is crazy and eccentric, maybe he really is, but the man can create great music. The Chinese Democracy album is a masterpiece in modern rock that is not touched by anything in the last 25 years. The amount of detail of the music going on is staggering. Axl is a musical genius and it shows when you compare GNR work with Velvet Revolver and Slash's Snakepit. Axl was the mad genius behind GNR's greatest work in both the Slash and post-Slash eras.
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mrkovacs1 — 11 years ago(March 15, 2015 06:23 AM)
All joking aside
Phil Collins
The man is a great producer, song writer, drummer, and performer. He can play lengthy, complex prog rock and make sweet, catchy pop masterpieces.
Whether you're a fan or not the man cares about his music, isn't in it for fame or money, and worked his ass off for four decades. -
degree7 — 10 years ago(May 29, 2015 11:39 PM)
Phil Collins is probably one of the greatest rock drummers to have lived. His jazzy, complex drumming on albums like Selling England by the Pound or Foxtrot are nothing short of awe-inspiring. And he's a pretty good singer to boot.
Unfortunately, his pop music was just soulless baloney.
~ I am the tiny voice inside your head. -
bbomberr — 10 years ago(May 20, 2015 12:52 PM)
Ennio Morricone without a doubt!
ROCK: Focus (Dutch Band with Jan Akkerman & Thijs van Leer), Mick & Keith from Rolling Stones, Lennon & Mcartney, Kurt Cobain, Deep Purple, Mark Knopfler, Neil
Young, Jimi Hendrix.
POP: Benny & Bjorn from ABBA, Bjrk, Madonna.
RAP: Dr.Dre (producing), RZA (producing), Marley Marl, DJ Premier, MF Doom.
SOUL: Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Isaac Hayes, Barry White, Isley Brothers.
And also look especially at the ELECTRONIC genre wich is more like classical:
Aphex Twin, Benno De Goeij (from Rank-1), Ferry Corsten, Thomas Bangalter, Liam Howlett, Chemical Brothers.
Producers: Phil Spector, Rick Rubin
these guys were/are all enormously versatile musically skilled musicians in their own right!