Top 7 Andrew Lloyd Webber Musicals

Why seven you ask well I could not leave numbers six and seven off of my list as they were too good not be get a mention.

    1.  Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat

From memory this was the first musical I went to see, I believe the production I saw was the UK tour that went along with the TV show Any Dream Will Do? The winner of this show was Lee Mead but I seem to remember that I saw his understudy, I saw this at my local theatre. I think this is part the reason this show is at number one. Fact I never used to like Andrew Lloyd Webber shows Joseph being the only exception, only during this lockdown has his shows grown on me. This is because of two series of events firstly his Composer in lockdown series on his social media sites it started of as him playing piano versions of his songs such as Any Dream Will Do and Hosanna. Some of these piano videos were then used to make larger group virtual performances my personal favourites were Hosanna and All I Ask Of You. I did also watch the Shows Must Go On you tube channel when they were showing Andrew Lloyd Webber shows.  I am as part of this top 7 be giving a top 3 run down of my favourite songs from the selected musicals.

1.       One More Angel In Heaven

2.       Any Dream Will Do

3.       Jacob and Sons/ Joseph’s Coat

2   2.  The Phantom Of The Opera

I defy anyone not to have this in there top 10 let alone top 5 it is his most famous show and longest running by all accounts. It certainly is the second longest running musical in the west end behind Les Miserables. I have yet to see this show but it will be one of the first I see once theatres reopen again. I think the soundtrack is iconic and some of the songs are stand alone great tracks regardless of the musical context they are for. I have loved many covers of Phantom songs favourites being Michael Ball and Alfie Boe’s cover of Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again, John Owen Jones cover of Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again (no prises for guessing which song is my favourite from Phantom) and Michael Ball and Lesley Garrett’s duet of All I Ask Of You. I did see the recording of the Phantom show from the Royal Albert Hall as part of the shows must go on and this got me even more hooked on Phantom and good news this show will be easy to see once the west end opens up again.

1.       Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again

2.       All I Ask Of You

3.       Think Of Me

3.  Love Never Dies

This is the sequel to Phantom and from seeing the Shows Must Go On recording for this show I think I personally prefer the story but I think Phantom has the better music. I do remember this show being on a UK tour not long ago so I will have to wait for a another tour or production before I see Love Never Dies, when I saw the online recording I thought it closed the Phantom story quiet well this was helped as I saw Phantom from the Royal Albert Hall the week before Love Never Dies was shown I think it was after this show when I became obsessed with Andrew Lloyd Webber shows. I also again love covers of different Love Never Dies songs. I love John Owen Jones cover of Love Never Dies, John Owen Jones cover of Till I Hear You Sing and David Shannon’s cover of Till I Hear You Sing (again no prises for guessing what my favourite Love Never Dies song is) I would like to see Michael Ball and Alfie Boe cover either Love Never Dies or Till I Hear You Sing on their next album if there is one that is. I am going to be a bit controversial here and say that Till I Hear You Sing is the better Phantom solo, I do love The Music of The Night but I personally think Till I Hear You Sing is the better song.

1. Till I Hear You Sing 

2. Love Never Dies 

3. Beautiful 

4  4.  Cats

This is a bit like Phantom in the sense of I would defy anyone not to have this show in their top 10 let alone top 5. This show just shows off Andrew’s creativity as a show about Cats ,people at the time must have thought he was mad but lone and behold it was and still is a smash hit now a bit like Love Never Dies I will have to wait for another production or tour of this to come out before I get to see it but I am assuming Cat lovers like myself will love it. I have heard nothing but good things from friends and family and I would love to see Michael Ball and Alfie Boe cover Memory on a future album also. I don’t see a lot of cover songs besides the odd cover of Memory. I think Mr Mistoffelees is one of the best Andrew Lloyd Webber ensemble numbers.

1. Mr Mistoffelees 

2. Memory 

3. Gus: The Theatre Cat 

5. Jesus Christ Superstar

I think this is as a result of the soundtrack and Hosanna virtual performance as part of Andrew’s Composer in lockdown series. Based on the Shows Must Go On recording I couldn’t say if I wanted to see this show or not but I am currently reading Andrew’s book Unmasked and reading the chapters surrounding Jesus Christ Superstar and it has made me rethink and reconsider this show and I would now happily see this show. There is a lack of covers for this show however I really enjoy Michael Ball’s cover of Gethsemane. I think that Heaven On Their Minds in one of the best Male solo’s of all time regardless of composer, it is most definitely the best Andrew Lloyd Webber male solo. Also Hosanna is quiet possibly one of my favourite ensemble numbers of all time also again regardless of composer. I would like to pay a special mention to Tim Minchin as his Judas is one of the best I have virtually seen and his version of Heaven On Their Minds is on another level.  

1. Hosanna 

2. Heaven On Their Minds 

3. Superstar 

6. Evita

This show is a fairly new discovery for me and again this is as a result of Andrew’s book Unmasked. I have always loved Don’t Cry For Me Argentina but I never really gave any of the others songs a chance well I was stupid as I am now currently obsessed with the Evita soundtrack and I love the majority of the tracks and Elaine Paige’s version of Don’t Cry for Me Argentina is as good if not better than her version of Memory from Cats (I know controversial), I know there is a more modern version of Evita that has happened and may potentially happen again when the west end opens I don’t think modern or not it will stop me from seeing this show, it was only the song Hosanna that put this show below Superstar and for a song to be the cause of a split decision is well quite something. Don’t Cry For Me Argentina is one of my favourite Andrew Lloyd Webber female solos behind the songs from Phantom. I know that Evita has gained a new long term fan from me, it makes me slightly annoyed that it has taken me this long to listen to the Evita soundtrack.

1. Oh What a Circus 

2. Don't Cry For Me Argentina 

3. Another Suitcase In Another Hall 

7.. Sunset Boulevard

I can safely say that the song As If We Never Said Goodbye is the main reason this show is at seventh spot however Glenn Close and Patti Lu Pone's versions of this track are again on another level. I have this soundtrack on my next to listen to as Evita is my current soundtrack that I am listening to and this show is next on my list I am coming up with a list of soundtracks  to listen to and this is top of this list as I am looking to listen to more musical soundtracks who knows it could help creep this show further up this top 7. You might be thinking but you’ve never seen this show nor have you given the soundtrack much thought beyond As If We Never Said Goodbye. I did see the Andrew Lloyd Webber concert as part of the Shows Must Go On series and what I saw of this show from the segment it had I rather enjoyed this was helped by Glenn Close but still I rather enjoyed what I saw and made me put Sunset Boulevard on my to listen list. I have started to listen to this soundtrack just so I had songs for my top 3 but I would like to pay special mention to Michael Ball and Alfie Boe’s cover of As If We Never Said Goodbye as I gave a newer slightly different musical perspective to this song. The Hollywood big band style instrumentals are up to a another amazing Andrew Lloyd Webber standard.

1. As If We Never Said Goodbye

2. Sunset Boulevard 

3. Surrender 

  

2     I do not have any more favourites beyond seven hence why it is a top seven but I will say that I love all of the top seven and would happily see any seven of them in the west end or on tour.