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Andrew Lloyd Webber and his 'original' songs

22/12/2014

15 Comments

 
Don't get me wrong, I'm actually a huge fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber. A lot of people seem to look down on his music, dismissing it as clichéd and 'safe'. In some ways, of course, it is. But that's because the general public like simple melodies and clichéd chord progressions.

There is nothing new nowadays. It doesn't matter whether you look at literature, art or music - pretty much everything has already been done to some extent. In Western music there are only 12 different tones; and so only a limited number of variations! I'm pretty sure every 'recent' melody you name can be already found somewhere within the wealth of written music generated over the last 500 years or so.

The video below is a tongue-in-cheek poking fun at ALW, performed live in a village pub. Originally written and performed by Kit and the Widow, with a few adaptions and additions by myself. 


~ Memory from Cats sounds like Ravel's Bolero.
~ I Don't Know How To Love Him from Jesus Christ Superstar is an almost exact copy of a theme from Mendelssohn's violin concerto in E Minor.
~ The 6 note motif sung with "Jesus Christ Superstar" is the same as one from Richard Strauss's September.
~ Themes in The Music of the Night from The Phantom of the Opera sound similar to Puccini's La Fanciulla (for which ALW was sued by Puccini's estate and settled out of court) and Come to Me, Bend to Me from Brigadoon.
~ The accompaniment to Don't Cry For Me Argentina is a version of JS Bach's Prelude in C.
~ The first few notes of Love Changes Everything from Aspects of Love are identical to the ones from JS Bach's Fugue in E Major (Well Tempered Clavier Book II).
~ The super famous chromatic riff from The Phantom of the Opera is almost identical to the one in Pink Floyd's Echoes.
15 Comments
Cornell Kimball link
23/12/2015 11:39:21 pm

I'm also a big fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber -- and of Pink Floyd and Johann Sebastian Bach. And I like all of the music/composers mentioned. I've listened to Jesus Christ Superstar many times and I kind of knew about the Mendelssohn violin concerto and "I Don't Know How to Love Him". But I didn't know about the Richard Strauss piece and the six notes of the JCS's theme song. I really like your video, it's all in fun and it's in appreciation. Thank you and thanks to whoever originally composed this witty (and educational) piece (Kit and the Widow, I'm guessing).

Reply
Matt Walker
24/12/2015 09:03:55 am

Thanks Cornell! Glad you liked it. Yes it is all in good fun. Kit & the Widow didn't originally include Pink Floyd's Echoes, which surprised me! Thanks for the comment.

Reply
ChrisR
3/8/2017 10:15:29 am

Thank you! An excellent piece and entertaining too. It is important that people understand the origin of work. They will be enriched by the original artist's repertoire AND not mislead into believing that another's uncredited theft is genius. It's theft and not 'borrowing' because there's no attribution or the intention to 'return' that which was misappropriated... A shame because credited improvements or 'variations' (pun intended) of a theme can be excellent.

Reply
Chris
21/4/2018 10:30:54 am

Is no one gonna mention Bacchanalia in the Wizard of Oz soundtrack completely rips off Mussorgsky's Night On A Bare Mountain

Reply
Stephen James
18/1/2019 10:28:15 pm

Do you still have the words and music for this? If so, would you be willing to share it for my musical theatre class? Unlike ALW, I would be happy to attribute credit.
Steve James

Reply
Matthew Walker
19/1/2019 02:42:11 pm

hi Steve, yes send me an email via the contact form

Reply
Hayden
21/4/2019 09:42:49 am

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Reply
M.CAmpbell.
16/5/2019 09:08:40 am

You can add Vaughan Williams opening music in the London Symphony which has the gothic organ music from Phantom. Not forgetting he stole Stratford East Theatre Royal production of Phantom of the opera production ideas written by Ken Hill. This included the same white mask and motorised boat.

Reply
Graeme
30/7/2019 11:28:35 am

Also worth remembering the song Lloyd Webber "composed" for the Rugby World Cup in 1991 The World In Union completely ripped off the most prominent and famous melody in Jupiter from the Planets Suite by Holst.

Reply
Pietro
24/4/2020 08:51:16 am

Haven't you ever heard of "I vow to thee my country"? Holst himself re-used his theme from Jupiter when he was asked to compose the music for that British hymn, which is still sung today along with the more famous God Save the Queen, Rule Britannia and Jerusalem. Using the same melody in a song which is meant to represent your country among others doesn't look like "ripping off" to me. Moreover, I haven't found anything about Webber being involved in that at all, so I don't really understand the point of your comment.

Reply
Adan Davidson
23/2/2021 06:14:53 am

You don't understand why reusing someone else's music is not the same as reusing something you yourself wrote? Especially when you are being paid for it it. Also, it's composed for a TV program, not a nation anthem.

Can you please send me anything you have composed, written, or filmed, so that I can pass it off as my own, if it's any good that is.

Anastasio Rossi
9/9/2019 12:13:55 am

ALW obviously borrowed from Rodgers and Hammerstein's "I Have Dreamed". I just can't recall the name of the song. ALW's melody is eerily similar to Rodgers' opening theme, "I have dreamed that your arms are lovely".

Reply
JWB
28/12/2019 11:35:02 pm

The "I am your angel of music...." melody from Phantom is markedly similar to the rousing horn sections from Sergei Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky, Battle on the Ice. The melody is almost note for note.

Reply
Callum P Salter
4/2/2020 03:39:13 pm

Many recent songs have been copied from, or at least have been inspired by the old masters. TOO many to list; but it matters not, as long as the reproduction is ‘easy on the ears’, & most of them ARE!

Reply
Kevin R link
31/12/2020 06:25:00 am

Thankk you for being you

Reply



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