Andre Lloyd Webber is lame?- Page 2

[Daniel3]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 8:46pm

is it by sondheim?

[pab]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 8:46pm

Yes, that's "A Chorus Line" and Sondheim sill did not write the music. Try Marvin Hamlisch.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 8:47pm

nope. Sondheim has not written a song and dance musical to my knowledge. Help me out Sondhiem fans. Am I right?

Posted: 12/27/04 at 8:48pm

yah, thats Chorus Line, by Marvin Hamlisch(sp) and Edward Kleban(sp?) Although those lyrics are waaaaay off. Im not even going to try to correct them, becuase they are just so off.

[Daniel3]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 8:49pm

do you think i could ever be forgiven

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 8:49pm

At this point you either love him or hate him. Nothing he writes today is going to change anyone's mind. Personally I think EVITA and JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR are his best scores.

I think he did a great job with PHANTOM OF THE OPERA making it very much an operatic piece. It would be great as a symphonic piece like was done with the SWEENEY TODD concert.

CATS is fun to me because it's written in so many different musical styles for each character it's almost impossible not to find at least one song that you like. But, I love 'em all.

STARLIGHT EXPRESS is CATS on wheels so of course, I like that too.

SUNSET BOULEVARD has some really nice tunes but they do get recycled a lot and become repetitive by the end, still a very nice piece though.

And BY JEEVES!!! I mean, this is one of his most interesting scores because it's so NOT Webber. It's a total throw back to Gershwin and Porter even if the book is a little so-so and VERY British. Maybe even more British than MY FAIR LADY.

JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT is nice too. Some very catchy tunes.

THE BEAUTIFUL GAME is interesting because "Our Kind Of Love" is really quite beautiful and the rest seems like trunk songs from SUPERSTAR.

I've yet to hear THE WOMAN IN WHITE, but I've heard some nice things so I'm looking forward to it.

[Daniel3]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 8:52pm

By Jeves is from an old LONDON news paper comic strip or something

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 8:53pm

CATS--I think you would really like Woman in White. I love it so much.

[Daniel3]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 8:54pm

CATSNYREVIVAL

I heard you were a bit of a composer yourself, so am i,


lyrics or music?

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 8:55pm

I believe By Jeeves is from a book series. I might be wrong. I really like By Jeeves, not one of my favorites, but I really like it.

[BWayBoy88]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 8:55pm

I am not a fan of ALW. His music is just blah. It does nothing for me.

[Daniel3]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 8:57pm

Andy Webb's best stuff is the in-be-tweeny stuff. especially in EVITA.

also, he likes to write in 7/8 time to make his stuff a bit more interesting which is fun

[pab]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 8:57pm

"yah, thats Chorus Line, by Marvin Hamlisch(sp) and Edward Kleban(sp?) Although those lyrics are waaaaay off. Im not even going to try to correct them, becuase they are just so off."

I'll correct them. Actually they are not that far off:

"So I dug right down to the bottom of my soul"

"This man is nothing! This course is nothing! If you want something, Go find another class."

[Daniel3]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 9:00pm

feww, thanks for that, maybe i can get back to sleep

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 9:29pm

Webber was really at his best with Tim Rice. I feel his collaborations after Rice have been uninspired or based on a gimic (a tire, roller skates, chandelier, staircase). Audiences love Webber because he never demands to much out of them, and gives them what they want. I believe Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita are truly inspired works, but everything else is just dogfood. Webber is talented, but seems bent of popularizing musical theatre by trashing it up with a gimic. I like a lot of Sunset Boulevard, but the spectacle behind it was too much.

[Daniel3]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 9:31pm

yer, he is better on a budget

Posted: 12/27/04 at 9:38pm

CATSNY funny what you say about Beautiful Game--the song you mention is the same musically as the one Kiri te Kenawa (?) premiere don televison as the song from Phantom 2 at that ALW anniversary-so it's a trunk song too (one thing ALW is always faulted for--most of the Phantom score for instance was written for the original version of Aspects of Love, most of Aspects is music from his short musical Cricket done ofr a royal benefit performance, etc)

Also I gotta point out Starlight Express is missing something Cats has--Eliot's amazing words. I think Starlight is pretty tacky and revolting. I also can't get into Jeaves--though it's definitly intriguingly different for ALW.

I LOVE themusic for Aspects--gorgeous and haunting. I saw Whistle Down the Wind (which deserves a US production) sorta byt chance in London expecting to hate it and had a wonderful time.

As for whoever asked if Sondheim's ever done a dance heavy musical--Michael Bennett got many ideas for Chrosu Line from choreographing and co-directing the original Follies (ALW connection--Hal Prince said he staged much of Phantom after some ideas from Follies--like the restoration fo the theatre during the overture which he claims echoes the Loveland sequence) and Anyone Can Whistle had A LOT of dancing including the great 10 minute Cookie Chase ballet.

E

[MagicToDo82]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 10:14pm

I'm a Sondheim die-hard, but I'll give Webber mad props as well.

I really enjoy Evita, Superstar, Joseph, Phantom, and I think Aspects of Love is one of the greatest scores ever. Webber on a budget...I liked that, whoever said it... :) I have recently enjoyed hearing Whistle, The Beautiful Game, and I'm currently obsessed with The Woman in White - which is closest to Aspects of anything he's done. Cats and Starlight can both disappear or whatever, but I figure for a man who has composed that many "successful" (As in, many of us here know them)shows, my only disliking two of them is pretty darn good.

I will end by echoing the earlier statement that I wish I was as lame as ALW.:)

[paradox_error]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 8:36am

I'm surprised that the internet is still alive after Spider found this thread.
I'll make it short and sweet.
ALW writes good music (and sometimes steals good music...but he has impeccable taste) but suffers from bad lyricists.
I don't think you can say ALW writes shows that aren't deep enough, seeing as he only writes music. The lyricists and the librettists are responsible for that. He could dabble with 6/4 and 12/8 and 3/2 etc all he wanted and still have a show that was shallow.
Don't blame ALW for what his lyricists failed to do.
Sondheim is brilliant, but unmarketable. I love him, but his works will never have the popularity of ALW shows.
THEY ARE BOTH GOOD, BUT BOTH HAVE FLAWS.
Name one flawless musical.
It's impossible.
Enough said.

[paradox_error]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 8:58am

AND AM I THE ONLY ONE THAT FINDS THE TITLE OF THIS THREAD ANNNOYING?!?!?!?!
This irritates me as much as that dolt dramaqueen saying it was "Sir" ALW.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 9:05am

To be honest, it makes me mad. But, I try to overlook it. For one it is ANDREW not ANDRE and Grrrrr......

[paradox_error]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 9:21am

there there Spidey...
love, don't hate!

Happy vibes, happy vibes!

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 9:31am

I don't hate. Just makes me peterbed. Happy vibes received, Happy vibes received.

[paradox_error]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 9:33am

Now I'm not a huge ALW fan, but all this ALW bashing is really getting up my goat. I'm tempted to start an ALW love thread, just for the sake of it.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 9:36am

I have been putting up with crap like this since I joined this message board. I have just let it go and barely said anything but something about this thread and the "Is America ready" thread just made me want to throw my computer out of the window. Now, I am not going to sit back anymore and watch people bash ALW over stupid, idiotic things. If you don't like him because of his music, that's fine. It's your opinion. But, when you start insulting me and other ALW fans because we like him.....then gloves are off.