My Personal Top 11 Musicians
Hello fellow readers. For this blog post, I shall be ranking what I personally regard as the top best musicians.
In this case, I'm defining an individual musician, which means that I shall be excluding music bands such as Queen and the Stranglers from this list. I'll be judging each musician by their skills in vocals, instrument playing, writing, and/or so forth. Some of the musicians are known to have performed in bands, but these bands will mostly have featured instrument playing musicians, with technical and/or writing skills. I judge not so much on one's personality, nor do I consider the "iconography" or success. Each time, I shall provide a list of what's included in the musician's portfolio which I personally recommend. For some, I have provided YouTube links, but only for those that I could find.
Because this is a review based-post, all of the information is opinion-based and I'm sure you have different opinions, which is fair enough. But in the meantime, this is my personal top 11 musicians of all time. Why 11? Because I'm going one step beyond.
Number 11;
Dave Brubeck
My dad has played the saxophone since sometime before my early childhood and partially for that reason, as a family, we did listen to quite a bit of jazz during that period. Dave Brubeck was one of those artists which we had on CD and I've been a fan of his music ever since.
Most music fans are likely to remember Dave for his recording of "Take Five" which is a personal favourite track of mine. But some things which I find very unique about his music are his experiments with time signatures, tempos, and rhythms. "Take Five", for example, starts with a 5/4 piano riff consisting of two chords (Ebm and Bbm7), then we get a saxophone melody based on an Ebm blues scale, then it switches to Gb, then back to Ebm. Later on, a very cleanly improvised drum solo joins in.
Other examples include "Blue Rondo A La Turk", which experiments with 9/8 and 4/4 time signatures, and "Unsquare Dance", which is notable for its unique clapping rhythm.
Not only did he perform his own compositions, but he has also performed unique covers. These include; "Give A Little Whistle" from Dave Digs Disney and "Maria" from Bernstein Plays Brubeck Plays Bernstein.
Number 10;
Syd Barrett
I suppose most people are more familiar with Pink Floyd's material which David Gilmour contributed to and I think he's made a great contribution to the band since he joined, but the band probably wouldn't've started, nor been successful had it not been for Syd Barrett.
Syd's time with Pink Floyd was unfortunately short as was the rest of his music career that followed on, including only two solo albums. It's also sad to learn the reasons why he ended his career so soon, especially considering the mental health issues that got him kicked out of Pink Floyd in the first place. I'd have even advised not taking psychedelic drugs. But with that said, Syd did make a huge difference to the band. You could compare him to Mozart in a way. Through the majority of his songs, he uses quite a lot of notes, even ones out of certain keys, but always in tune. If you listen to "Arnold Layne" for example, its verses consist of eight chords starting with G#, quickly sliding up to A, repeating the process sliding down from G to (F#, F) E, and you get the picture.
In fact, he actually wrote the whole of the album The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, all songs, except "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk", and most of them all by himself, excluding "Pow R. Toc H." and "Interstellar Overdrive", both of which are credited to the whole band. Speaking of the latter, this one has a very distinctive bass riff again with heavy usage of notes. I say the same for "Astronomy Domine".
Syd may have faded away so soon, nor will we ever hear from him again, but he left behind a unique song portfolio. Other songs I recommend checking out include;
"Bike"
"Love You"
"Maisie"
Number 9;
Annie Lennox
For this list, I did mention that I was judging musicians by their creative, artistic, and/or technical ability. I bring this up because Annie Lennox is mostly a vocalist, but she has played a few instruments throughout her career. When she performed with the Tourists, she served as a keyboard player, sharing vocals with Pete Coombs. She also played the flute on the first three Eurythmics albums and even the harpsichord on the Tourists album Reality Effect.
I find Annie to be one of the most unique female singers with her strong projective alto voice. She somehow reminds me of a local lady named Carol I know who you could describe as a "diva", not only due to her soulful voice but also by her songwriting ability. She and Dave Stewart have written some great songs during the new wave period for both the Tourists and Eurythmics. The steel drum melody of "Right By Your Side" provides a beautiful carnival-type atmosphere. "There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)" has a very heavenly sound added to it. And of course, many pop bands have made it a tradition to experiment with rock sounds - the Eurythmics were no exception and successfully did it with their album Revenge. I'd most recommend "Thorn In My Side" and "When Tomorrow Comes".
And here's one reason why she reminds me of the lady I was briefly talking about; since starting her solo career, she has experimented with..., genres might be the wrong term, I'd say different atmospheres within her music. "Why" is a gentle soul song with quite a genetic background sound behind her smooth lyrics. As for my personal favourite solo song of Annie's, "Sing", I'd say this one's the most powerful one of hers so far. It incorporates a gospel sound with a sharp piano melody and its lyrics are well constructed relating to its subject matter - the song was written to promote AIDS awareness and to aid those with the condition and also incorporates feminist themes ("Let your voice be heard/What won't kill you will make you strong").
Other songs I recommend include;
"The Loneliest Man In The World" (The Tourists)
"Week Days" (The Tourists)
"Take Me To Your Heart" (Eurythmics)
"She's Invisible Now" (Eurythmics)
"Never Gonna Cry Again" (Eurythmics)
"Jennifer" (Eurythmics)
"Let's Go" (Eurythmics)
"Walking On Broken Glass" (solo)
"Into The West" (solo)
"Shining Light" (solo)
Number 8;
Yuzo Koshiro
Some readers may not have heard of this guy and it's possible that that also goes for some avid video gamers. For those of you who don't know, Yuzo Koshiro is a Japanese composer who writes/performs music for video games. His career started in the mid-late 1980s and his portfolio especially includes soundtracks for games produced by Sega, some of which I played as a kid. He is also the founder and current president of the game development company Ancient.
Yuzo Koshiro sites new wave, dance, technopop, classical and hard rock and you can sense that through some of his soundtracks. Though his earlier soundtracks always sounded quite "jazzy" and "funky". "Ninja Step" from The Revenge Of Shinobi, for example, could be classified as funk as it has a staccato drumbeat all the way through with the synthesizer joining in on some of the beats, whereas "Dark City", I swear, has a smooth saxophone-sounding melody playing through. But "Chinatown" does have a new wave feel to it - as a matter of fact, it does sound like Duran Duran's "Save A Prayer".
By the 90s, there was a pop-feel to some of his soundtracks. "Under Logic", from Streets Of Rage 2, is similar to The Shamen's "Move Any Mountain" and in my opinion goes well with Level 4's setting; at a baseball stadium. If you listen to the opening theme of the first two Streets Of Rage games, it does sound quite like Enigma's "Sadeness", but it does fit in well with the prologues since the series is about a group of vigilantes whose city, whilst once peaceful, is plagiarised with crime and violence. I also praise the work on "Attack The Barbarian" and "Never Return Alive" used as Boss themes respectively. They both incorporate the drama used when the playable characters are forced to fight some extremely tough characters at the end of each level awesomely. One example of a tune I could classify as rock-ish is "Dub Slash".
Without Yuzo, we may have never heard of the genre chiptune.
Other tracks I recommend include;
"Terrible Beat" (The Revenge Of Shinobi)
"Make Me Dance" (The Revenge Of Shinobi)
"Go Straight" (Streets Of Rage 2)
"Back To The Industry" (Streets Of Rage 2)
"Fuze" (Streets Of Rage 3)
"Percussion" (Streets Of Rage 3)
Number 7;
Rick Wakeman
The fact that he supports the Conservatives and hates Wikipedia is beyond my observation within his music. Rick Wakeman is known not only as a keyboard player for Yes, but also for his solo albums and what a collection he has.
If you notice during live performances, Rick Wakeman plays quite a large set of keyboards. During most of his compositions, he demonstrates the ability to play his keyboard melodies at quite a fast pace as you will notice on his solo album The Six Wives Of Henry VIII - if you listen to "Anne Of Cleves", there's a lengthy Hammond organ melody which speeds through the track.
Added to that, what Rick does, especially through his solo albums, is combine classical music with progressive rock. The music itself contrasts unusually with the themes for each album. The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is a great example. "Sir Lancelot and the Black Knight" starts with a fast string ensemble and the English Chamber Choir adds their bit, with Rick's keyboard riff following making it feel as if we're experiencing a medieval battle. When I listen to "Merlin The Magician", I often sense a calm figure within the guy during the gentle piano bit and then that he's mixing some sort of magic potion during the guitar/keyboard segments.
Apart from his work with Yes and as a solo artist, even the material Rick worked on through collaborations with other artists are awesome. He was the pianist for Lou Reed's self-titled album and for T. Rex's "Get It On", and even on some of David Bowie's albums (Space Oddity and Hunky Dory). If there's one keyboardist you could call an expert in both classical and rock music, Rick would take the title.
Other Recommendations;
"Cygnet Committee" (David Bowie)
"Changes" (David Bowie)
"Oh! You Pretty Things" (David Bowie)
"Long Distance Runaround" (Yes)
"Don't Kill The Whale" (Yes)
"Arriving UFO" (Yes)
"Jane Seymour" (solo)
"Sir Galahad" (solo)
"The Prisoner" (solo)
"White Rock" (solo)
"Montezuma's Revenge" (solo)
"Perry Mason" (Ozzy Osbourne)
Number 6;
Gary Numan
Some people would describe Gary Numan as a robotic musician - to be fair, I don't think I've exactly heard that term, but I'm sure listeners would describe him as something similar and he's certainly an electronic music pioneer.
With that said, the musical engineering and heavy use of synthesizers are what manufactures Gary Numan as a musician who truly stands out in the industry. In terms of music, Gary does tend to write songs relating to vehicles, machines, engineering, electronics, non-human life forms, but also life in the military. He does often base his music writing/performances on his love for science-fiction.
If you listen to Tubeway Army's Replicas, you'll notice numerous references to androids, how they're operating, and so forth. It's kind of like when he produced "Are Friends Electric" that he was seeing through the eyes of a machine and the same could be said for the instrumentals "When The Machines Rock" and "I Nearly Married A Human" - even without lyrics, you can tell through the distinctive synth-riffs.
But it's not just sci-fi that Gary has based his music on. "We Take Mystery To Bed" from his album, I Assassin (which has a bit of a diesel-punk theme to it), is a reference to an ex-girlfriend of his. Yes, even he has occasionally written love songs, but using his experience with synthesizers has made them, including this one, more unique. He even expresses his interests in aircraft through his album Warriors and did I mention "Bombers" - which is also told from the point of view of a bomber pilot.
It's unfortunate that Gary's known to be a one-hit-wonder with his song "Cars" because he's released so much more. And speaking of "Cars", this is one such masterpiece that demonstrates how well he composes his songs, some that don't require choruses.
In conclusion, Gary has demonstrated that even with Asperger's Syndrome, one can still achieve something.
Other Recommendations;
"ME"
"Warriors"
"Pressure"
Number 5;
Brian May
Some people make the argument that the "guitar god" is Eric Clapton. Others say George Harrison. But in my opinion, I say the trophy goes to Queen's guitarist, Brian May.
Much like Eric Clapton and George Harrison, Brian May has throughout his life demonstrated a rather hard music playing skill; he can play the lead guitar and sing simultaneously. Of course, as most Queen fans know, Freddie Mercury provided the lead vocals for most of their songs, but I shall get to that bit later. What's also unique about Brian, unlike most famous guitarists, is that his main Red Special guitar was constructed by him - with a little bit of help from his dad of course. That gives him extra points.
With his incredible guitar skills, manufacturing skills, song-writing skills (which I'll dig deeper into in a bit), and even his degree in physics, plus a career in astronomy, you could describe Brian as the nerdiest guy in rock history. Speaking of which, his astronomy interests play a part in some of his writing skills - one example is "'39", which he sings lead vocals to and uses an acoustic guitar for and bases on a lengthy voyage.
Among his other compositions include some traditional, but still entertaining and often hard-to-play rock songs i.e. "Tie Your Mother Down", "Keep Yourself Alive" and "One Vision", songs with a sci-fi feel i.e. "Flash" and "Machines (Or 'Back to Humans')" and of course in more recent years, songs based on Freddie's final years and death i.e. the haunting "Show Must Go On" and the more gentle "Too Much Love Will Kill You".
The album I'd most recommend listening to that showcases Brian's skills is A Night At The Opera. This album is recognised for Queen trying out various different music styles. For example, "The Prophet's Song", one of Brian's compositions, is a heavy progressive rock song in which he plays a Japanese-style rhythm to and he briefly plays the koto towards the start and end of the track. Speaking of instruments, this is another skill he demonstrates; his fluency on other instruments as well as his main instrument. On "Love Of My Life", he briefly plays the harp and he plays the ukelele on "Good Company".
It's unlikely that anybody will be surprised that Brian is also a skilled keyboardist as you will hear on songs such as "Save Me", "Who Wants To Live Forever", "Scandal", "Too Much Love Will Kill You", and of course "No One But You" - fun fact, before I saw the music video, I had always thought John Deacon, the bass player, played the piano for that song, considering that he did play keyboards for "You're My Best Friend".
What could Queen possibly be like without Brian May?
Other recommendations (not just including Brian's compositions);
"Innuendo"
"Bijou"
"Call Me"
Number 4;
David Bowie
I bet some readers were thinking that I was going to place David Bowie on the list. Yes, he's been cited as the "King of Glam Rock" and the "Master Of Reinvention" and the "Picasso Of Pop", but my reasons for ranking this guy is because there's so much more.
It's no surprise that David Bowie has been cited by many musicians as a huge influence on their works. Throughout his career, he released a variety of creative albums and each time experimented with different rock genres. These include psychedelic folk (Space Oddity), glam rock (from Hunky Dory to Diamond Dogs), soul (Young Americans), krautrock (Station To Station to Heroes), post-punk (Lodger to Scary Monsters), disco (Let's Dance), house (Black Tie White Noise) and even industrial music (Earthling).
One thing that stands out about David is his sense of imagination through his song-writing. The Rise & Fall Of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars, my personal favourite album of his, is primarily based on a Martian rock & roll musician, hence his backing band named "The Spiders From Mars", who arrives to planet Earth ("Starman"), which has five years left before an apocalyptic disaster ("Five Years"). "Rock & Roll Suicide" signifies the character's demise. David once said during his famous gig before he performed the song that this would be the last time "Ziggy" was performing. Speaking of demises, the song "Ziggy Stardust" always reminded me of Jimi Hendrix, hence the lyrics; "He played it left-hand" and "when the kids had killed the man, I had to break up the band".
Another awesome example of storytelling through an album is David's last contribution to glam-rock and probably the darkest album relating to the genre Diamond Dogs. The album is heavily influenced by George Orwell's 1984, even containing the epically performed "1984". But the album is not without its melodic skill. David demonstrates how large a vocal range he can sing through the "Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing (Reprise)" suite. He is also fluent in a variety of instruments and plays the saxophone and keyboards on the same three tracks. And going back to what I said about Brian May singing and playing lead guitar at the same time, guess who else has that ability. Yes, David, as demonstrated through "Rebel Rebel".
David Bowie is certainly a very unique songwriter. He shares a skill unusually just like screen-writers; to create characters. Among his characters include Ziggy Stardust, who I mentioned earlier, Major Tom ("Space Oddity", "Ashes To Ashes"), and The Thin White Duke ("Station To Station"). Another thing awesome about his compositions relates to the themes he incorporates. Some songs are based on his half-brother who had schizophrenia ("Watch That Man") and later committed suicide ("Jump They Say"). Others are quite political; in some songs, he expressed his concerns on homelessness ("Day-In Day-Out"), how right-wing politicians are handling situations ("'87 & Cry", "Under The God"), and race relations ("Black Tie White Noise", even basing some of its titular album on his proud marriage to Iman).
But of course, his final album, Blackstar, explored themes of life with illness edging towards death. The opening lyrics to "Lazarus" "Look up here man, I'm in heaven" justify what David was going through, while the closing track "I Can't Give Everything Away" smoothly signifies a permanent farewell to his career and life. In addition, the album mixes together art-rock and jazz very appropriately.
Other recommendations;
"Fame"
"TVC 15"
Number 3;
Roy Wood
Roy Wood is one of those musicians who's hardly ever talked about when it comes to conversations about musicianship, nor do people recognise him for enough of his material.
For those wondering who he is, Roy Wood worked with the following bands; The Move, Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), and Wizzard, yes, the same band that released "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" and just like Slade with their Christmas hit, this one overshadowed Wizzard's other successful singles. However, and I made sound like a complete nerd, but I am one of those people who has never ignored much of Roy Wood's other works of progress whether it be with his bands or solo.
During his time with the Move, Roy mostly played the guitar and he contributed a lot to the song-writing. The song I'd most recommend of theirs is "Fire Brigade" (also my personal favourite) on which you hear a distinctive guitar riff and Roy provides an artistic pictured mind involving a brigade in action with a vintage fire engine inside a coin-operated box similar to those one would find in a vintage museum. Some of their last songs "California Man" (on which Roy plays the saxophone) and "Ella James" contributed to what was to be the start of the glam-rock era. As for their final album Message From The Country, this was when Roy demonstrated his large instrument fluency; he is skilled in playing not only the guitar, but also the oboe, saxophone, bass, cello, sitar, clarinet, drums, recorder, bassoon, bagpipes, French horn, and keyboards.
Roy did have a very short time with ELO which is a shame because this was back when ELO were more artistic and unfortunately abandoned it for commercialism, which is another story. But through their first two albums, Roy picked up from his heavy instrumentation. If you listen to "10538 Overture", you'll especially notice Roy's distinct cello riffs and that he does play a bit of the oboe on there. He contributed a little bit less on their next album, Electric Light Orchestra 2, but he does play the cello and bass on "From the Sun to the World (Boogie No. 1)" and what I most recommend, the hugely atmospheric "In Old England Town (Boogie No. 2)" - for some reason, I often picture an English village in a vintage setting and where an execution's taking place whilst hearing the cello riff. If epic rock does exist as a genre, I could associate those songs with it.
And of course, there's Wizzard, and I do agree that their Christmas song is one of the greatest ones to represent the festive period. But we should remember them for their other songs such as "Ball Park Incident", which has an epic rock & roll rhythm to it, and "Angel Fingers", not just because they happened to be Top 10 chart hits. Many glam-rock artists are remembered mostly for their singles, but I'd recommend listening to Wizzard's album Wizzard Brew and especially the epic and endless "Meet Me at the Jailhouse". It's very underrated.
I should also talk briefly about Roy's solo career. Although they haven't gained as much recognition as his other material, his solo songs are worth a listen to. These include "Forever" and "Olympic Flyer", the latter which is an instrumental piece and juxtaposes the nervousness and drama of taking part in the Olympic games.
Perhaps the reason why Roy hasn't gained enough recognition through his music is because of how the careers of his bands were cut short due to the heavy touring and managing expenses. I must admit that it can be excessive to gather quite a large number of musicians to perform whilst touring. That's probably why I've come up with the term "epic rock" due to the work put in each song. All in all, Roy Wood is one of the most underrated musicians.
Other Recommendations;
"Yellow Rainbow" (The Move)
"Vote For Me" (The Move)
"The Battle Of Marston Moor (July 2nd 1644)" (Electric Light Orchestra)
"See My Baby Jive" (Wizzard)
"Are You Ready To Rock" (Wizzard)
"We're On The Road Again" (solo)
"O.T.T." (solo)
Number 2;
John Williams
There are two John Williamses; one is a classical guitar player, but I refer to the classical composer for the many film soundtracks he worked on. As a matter of fact, he also plays the trombone and the piano.
Whilst constructing this ranking, I knew I had to include a classical composer and someone who specialises in music for movies and I knew for both those titles, it had to be John Williams. The reason why I rank him is not just because his music was composed for movies that are popular and recognised worldwide and that some of those films are among my favourites i.e. ET The Extra-Terrestrial and Jurassic Park, nor does it have anything to do with any of the accolades, but because the majority of his compositions are epic, well-written/performed and/or they contrast well with the mood of what's occurring in the films.
Of course, many of us remember the score that was written for Jaws. It sounds cliché to say this, but the mostly simple two-note section contrasts with the tension each time Bruce (apparently that's the shark's name) swims up to his human prey that's loitering in the sea. Not only is that section composed with the basic notation, but to add to the drama, it starts off quiet, then builds up a crescendo once Bruce reaches the victim(s). We should remember that there are other extra notes played during parts of the score i.e. the gentle piece during the end credits and what I said has probably been said a lot of times, but nothing's been said about the score to Jaws that I personally can't agree with.
John Williams has also carefully analysed the cultural aspects and settings for each film. Take the score from Schindler's List. It features Itzhak Perlman on the violin whose melody provides a bit of a European Jewish flavour to the film, but at the same time reflects the sadness of how people were coping during the Holocaust.
Speaking of Judaism, and just to make clear that I personally don't consider myself to be a hugely religious person, the soundtrack to Fiddler On The Roof is another great example, as its score and songs reflect Tevye's family's attempts to follow their religious traditions and the Russian setting. In fact, it's slightly and quite obviously more light-hearted than the Schindler's List soundtrack. But of course, they're different films.
In short, John often provides an epic, yet atmospheric flavour to his music for each of his films. I sometimes imagine writing scores for films, but John puts in so much work and arranges such a large number of musicians that it'd be fairly difficult to compete with him.
Soundtrack recommendations;
Amistad
Saving Private Ryan
Before I get to Number 1, I want to give some quick honourable mentions;
Eric Clapton - for his epic guitar work and for the many contributions he made with other artists (The Yardbirds, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Cream, George Harrison, Derek & The Dominoes, and B.B. King). Recommendations; "For Your Love", "Sunshine Of Your Love", "Layla", "After Midnight", "Wonderful Tonight", "Promises"
Van Morrison - for his distinctive soulful baritone voice, lengthy music career, and instrument fluency (guitar, saxophone, keyboards, drums, ukelele). Recommendations; "Brown Eyed Girl", "Moondance", "Wild Night", "Whenever God Shines His Light", "When Will I Ever Learn (To Live In God)"
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - I never used to care much for his music as much as I did for Mussorgsky and Stravinsky until I saw the film, Amadeus. His ability to incorporate a large number of notes in his material was what stood out in my opinion. Recommendations; "Non-Più Andrai (from The Marriage Of Figaro)", "Die Entfuhrang Aus Dem Serail - Singt dem großen Bassa Lieder", "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (Allegro)", "Die Entfuhrang Aus Dem Serail - Finale", "Requiem, K. 626: Confutatis - Lacrimosa"
Yoko Shimomura - for her rhythmic compositions for soundtracks to video games including one of my personal favourites, Street Fighter II. It was a fairly difficult choice between her and Yuzo. Recommendations; "Ryu Stage", "Balrog Stage", "Blanka Ending", "Dark Impetus", "Shiva"
and finally Robert & Richard Sherman - as stated above, I was only listing individual musicians and it would've been unfair to separate this songwriting duo from each other. Recommendations (and I must warn viewers that some of the links may contain spoilers); "Let's Go Fly A Kite", "Colonel Hathi's March", "That's What Makes The World Go Round", "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", "Everybody Wants To Be A Cat"
And Number 1;
Brian Eno
It may take a fair bit of rocket-science to talk about him and his works, simply because Brian Eno is without a doubt a musical genius.
As a lot of people know, Brian Eno started back in the 1970s when he performed as the synthesizer-player for Roxy Music and in my opinion, his contribution to the band was what stood out during the glam-rock era. If you watch the clip for Roxy Music's performance of "Ladytron", you'll notice the effort that Brian is putting in turning the knobs on his instrument. The same is said for "Do The Strand".
It's rather unfortunate that Brian Eno's time with Roxy Music only lasted through their first two albums, but unlike ELO, Roxy Music remained artistically awesome, and as a matter of fact, so has Brian himself. Since then, he has collaborated with a variety of artists including U2, the Talking Heads, Paul Simon (for his album Surprise), 801, Coldplay, and of course David Bowie, serving as a writer, musician, and/or producer for their material.
I should talk a bit about Brian's collaboration with David Bowie. He helped David through a bit of his career, working on the albums that relate to what you call the Berlin Trilogy when David was going through some personal problems at the time, some relating to drugs - somehow, the ambient songs on Low give me that sort of feeling. From what I get from Heroes, it's a slightly joyous feeling that David is bouncing back. As for Lodger, which I agree is an underrated album, I get the sense that David's recovered from his issues. Added to that, the album has aged well - lots of more modern rock artists, including Oasis, have cited it as an influence on their work. Brian's contribution to the Berlin Trilogy also pays off, hence his amazing keyboard melodies on songs like "Breaking Glass", his smooth ambient skills on tracks i.e. "Warszawa" and "Sense Of Doubt", and his fluency on other instruments - he plays the trumpet and horn on "Look Back In Anger".
Brian's portfolio also contains a lovely collection of solo albums. His first two, Here Come the Warm Jets and Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy), are some of the best glam-rock albums I listened to, with swirling guitar licks and smooth compositional songs. But of course, one thing that generates Brian's portfolio is that he is the founder of genetic music. Most of his albums since Discreet Music have provided a smooth ambient atmosphere. I remember purchasing Ambient 1: Music for Airports on CD and for someone who's been working as an early morning facilities cleaner at a local college, I'd occasionally play this in my car, and by hearing the smooth synthesized sounds and slow piano notes, it has helped me stay awake in a healthy way. I say the same for Brian's most recent album, Mixing Colours, which he produced with his brother Roger. If ever people are looking for inspiration and/or something to listen to whilst meditating, I'd recommend some of Brian Eno's ambient albums.
Brian has also worked as a film composer, hence his score for Dune and Lovely Bones, but also, he was the composer for the 7-second short start-up tune for Windows 95 - he once admitted that it was the shortest piece of music he has ever come close to producing. His skills in engineering, his many contributions, and his intelligent instrumentation all relate to why I personally consider Brian Eno to be the greatest individual musician ever.
For the recommendations I leave, it mostly consists of his albums;
Roxy Music (Roxy Music)
For Your Pleasure (Roxy Music)
Here Come The Warm Jets (solo)
Evening Star (Robert Fripp & Brian Eno)
Discreet Music (solo)
Low (David Bowie)
Remain In Light (Talking Heads)
1. Outside (David Bowie)
Surprise (Paul Simon)
Mixing Colours (Brain & Roger Eno)
So that was my personal ranking of what I consider the greatest musicians in music history. These were all based on my own opinion and I understand that we all have different opinions. If you have thoughts you want to share, you can feel free to comment below.
Thank you for reading.
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