5 of the best
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to bellowed pleading, the song has rarely sounded better. It looks great, too, the Phantom’s eyes ablaze with longing through the mask.
2
Cats, Elaine Paige
It’s another song from Lloyd Webber’s ’80s heyday - and there’s perhaps none more famous in his entire canon. Sung with great bruised poignancy by Elaine Paige, who performed in the original West End, it builds into a stirring anthem of regret and defiance, taking TS Eliot’s impressionistic verse to soaring heights.
3 SUPERSTAR
Jesus Christ Superstar, Tim Minchin
Of course it’s grandiose and epic but, once the first few bombastic bars are over, we’re into a song with a verve, swing and soul that Lloyd Webber rarely equalled. Minchin’s delivery as Judas is full of snarl and bite but there’s a sense of genuine curiosity as he gets his mouth around Tim Rice’s characteristically clever lyrics while Christ is hoisted above him, crucified. It’s a startling and unnerving scene, possessed of a dark urgency that challenges the audience to swing and sway along in the face of torture and killing.
4 ANY DREAM WILL DO
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Donny Osmond
From Lloyd Webber’s first hit, this is one of his sweetest tunes, with lilting aah-aahs and a melody as light as air. It’s all endearingly effortless, with Osmond giving the song a suitably clear-eyed treatment.
5 I KNOW WHERE I’VE BEEN
Hairspray Live, Jennifer Hudson
Not Lloyd Webber this time, but a song from one of this century’s most popular musicals. Set in Baltimore in 1962, it blends feelgood toe-tappers and hip-shakers with insights into racial tensions. Jennifer Hudson sings this song of pride with great warmth and power.