1,316 posts
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Post by tmesis on May 29, 2017 20:51:09 GMT
I'd like to make a case specifically for Frederick Loewe of Lerner and Loewe fame being underrated. Lerner is justly celebrated (apart from by Sondheim) but little is written about Loewe. His masterpiece is obviously My Fair Lady where he ranges musically very widely from ballads to music hall pastiche. But he was a superb melodist, with a great range of styles and funds of inspiration. There is some superb music in Paint your Wagon, Gigi, Camelot and Brigadoon; the latter has one of the great melodies of all time in Heather on the Hill.
He may not have written the sheer number of great melodies of a Richard Rogers but the quality is definitely as high.
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2017 9:28:18 GMT
the latter has one of the great melodies of all time in Heather on the Hill. Yes. Beautiful song. Marvin Hamlisch is a name that perhaps doesn't get spoken as often as it should.
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1,103 posts
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Post by mallardo on May 30, 2017 9:37:45 GMT
I agree on Hamlisch. Everyone (I hope) acknowledges A Chorus Line for the masterpiece it is but The Goodbye Girl and (especially) The Sweet Smell of Success are brilliant scores in very different genres.
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1,316 posts
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Post by tmesis on May 30, 2017 10:00:50 GMT
Yes I agree Hamlisch is a class act. I too love Sweet Smell of Success (good production at the Arcola a few years back) but also They're Playing our Song is a great musical.
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133 posts
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Post by whygodwhytoday on Jun 12, 2017 14:41:25 GMT
Underrated David Shire - 'Closer Than Ever' and 'Starting Here, Starting Now' are song cycles I listen to constantly. Maury Yeston - Go and listen to 'Titanic', 'Nine' and 'Phantom' if you haven't already! Frederick Loewe - If Ever I Would Leave You....
Overrated Stephen Schwartz - I love Pippin but none of his other scores particularly excite me... Pasek/Paul - Since they've just won Best Score I feel I can say they're overrated now... (too many sus chords ahhh) Jason Robert Brown - *hits snooze* Alan Menken - He was the first composer I ever loved... But how did he get away with rehashing the same old melodies under new titles?!
I love and hate Sondheim/Webber equally....
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2017 15:31:28 GMT
Yeah at this point Pasek & Paul are swiftly moving into being overrated. Seem like lovely guys, perfectly capable of writing a pleasant tune. But their Oscar was undeserved, as was their Tony. And their likely Grammy next year will be too. Waving Through a Window is a great song and probably their best, but it's no better than Kitt & Yorkey's Always Starting Over for example.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2017 15:41:21 GMT
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1,316 posts
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Post by tmesis on Jun 13, 2017 7:32:34 GMT
No one can build a song, with repetition, artful key changes and a massive rallentando at the end like Herman. It's totally calculated and guarantees an ovation but fabulously effective non the less. He also has the all too rare ability to come up with a very simple, open-hearted tune that is instantly memorable. He's never pretentious like ALW and B&S and is distinctly underrated.
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