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My taste in music is somewhat eclectic. I like several different styles, but there are common themes in what I like. One is the musicianship required to perform a piece. I appreciate music that requires a high level of technical ability from its performers. Many people can sing while a pre-programmed synthesizer and drum machine deliver a chord progression with an underlying beat. For me, musicianship requires more than that. But, technical ability alone is not enough. The performance also has to have a certain feel to it. Sometimes that feel is characterized as soul or emotion, sometimes as energy. And sometimes it's hard to characterize it at all. Many great pieces have intangible qualities that speak to its listeners in subtle ways. All that aside, what's important is whether you can relate to the music. Below (in no particular order) are some of the artists that I enjoy.
Not your typical rock band. In fact, some might say they've never really been a band in the traditional sense of the term. Instead, Steely Dan has served as the vehicle for the musical talents of Walter Fagen and Donald Becker. This duo, along with an array of top-notch studio musicians, have crafted a large body of work that exhibits influences from jazz, pop, blues, and R&B. Their pinnacle, in my humble opinion, is the 1977 album Aja.
To me, these guys perfected the avante-gard rock genre. Most of their work prior to 1982 is very good. The band's driving force, Ian Anderson, is a spectacularly talented and versatile musician. My favorite releases include: A Passion Play, Aqualung, Thick As A Brick, Songs From The Wood, and Heavy Horses.
One hot blues/rock guitarist that, sadly, is no longer with us. Drugs and booze nearly ruined Stevie's life, but he got clean and sober before his untimely demise in a helicopter crash. The magnitutde of his talent was apparent to this fellow guitarist: "And I remember being fascinated by the fact that he never, ever seemed to be...lost in any way. It was as though he never took a breather...or took a pause to think where he was gonna go next, it just flowed out of him. It's going to be a long time before anyone that brilliant will come along again." -- Eric Clapton
These guys were incredible, especially as the Lennon/McCartney writing team matured. Sgt. Pepper remains a favorite of mine to this day. So many years after John and Paul's first, fateful meeting, no one doubts their place in the history books. Some think they were the greatest band in rock-and-roll history, and the most important musicians and composers of the twentieth century.
"Jazz is not dead... it just smells funny." That was Frank. Can you say unconventional? Sure, I knew you could. Frank and his crew churned out some technically challenging works of originality that often deny classification. Critics thought him a genius, others thought him a fool. Pick up the Roxy and Elsewhere release and judge for yourself.
South African vocalist/guitarist Dave Matthews formed the Dave Matthews Band in Virginia in the early '90s. At the time, he (supposedly) was working as a bartender and decided, after hearing various bands play where he worked, "I can do better than that". The rest, as they say, is history. His vocal styling are distinctive, as is the band's music. This is not just another homogenized pop act.
James Taylor is a great fingerstyle guitarist with a style all his own. His poetic soft-rock ballads have been an American favorite for many years. His work transcends the banality of most pop music. As Burt Korall puts it in the Saturday Review, the songwriter-singer-guitarist "brings to bear a substantial gift and admirable artfulness in the creation and performance of songs. ... Taylor's work is touching because it reveals intensely personal yet universal yearnings--and does so with sweet, simple melodies that do not overshadow the sentiment."
Amy Ray and Emily Saliers are Indigo Girls. Together they write, play, and sing what Rolling Stone described as "lanky, deeply felt folk-tinged pop songs." Their freshness of approach and depth of feeling have combined to earn the Atlanta-based duo both critical acclaim and commercial success. These two talented ladies have written some incredibly beautiful songs and thoughtful lyrics.
Perhaps the greatest musical genius that ever lived, this Austrian composer and child prodigy was a major figure of the classical period. He wrote in most musical forms of the time, especially opera, symphony, concertos, and chamber music. From light-hearted frolics like The Magic Flute to the dark force of Don Giavonni, Mozart's ability to express emotion through musical virtuosity is unrivaled.
The sweeping grandeur of a Wagner opera is an experience not to be missed. Many of Wagner's works are fascinating combinations of power, emotion and myth. Wagner's epic music drama, Der Ring des Nibelungen, is thought by many to be the greatest single artistic achievement in the history of Western culture -- more than holding its own against Aeschylus' Oresteia, Shakespeare's Hamlet, and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
Born in 1948, Andrew Lloyd Webber is the composer of such work as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Cats, and The Phantom of the Opera. When it comes to musicals, this man is perhaps the most successful composer of our time. Some of the melodies and lyrics in Phantom of the Opera are stunning.
Other Notables:
Doobie Brothers, Stevie Wonder, Cake, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Natalie Merchant, Chuck Rainey, Olospo.In addition to listening to music, I also occasionally attempt to play some on my guitar. I get lots of request when I play my guitar, but I play anyway.