Musical Genius Awards....Your Nominations Please

The one and only PHIL LYNOTT.

Mark Oliver Everett
Trent Reznor
David Bowie

Scott Walker, who has achieved the feat of disappearing up his own genius.
Bob Dylan, for 'Like A Rolling Stone', 'A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall' and 'Idiot Wind' specifically.
Neil Young, right across the board.
Phil Spector, Brian Wilson, Lee Hazlewood, Jack Nitsche, for the teen operas and suchlike.
Richard Hawley, for the reinvention of 'the song'.
All of The Who, bar Roger (I'm afraid).
Keith Richards for still being able to recognize what a plank of wood with strings attached can do.
Curtis Mayfield for the richness of his musical palette.
Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, James Brown, Otis Redding, Booker T and The MG's.
Van Morrison, Leonard Cohen, too many to mention.......

None other than that French wizard of the ivories the one and err..Richard Clayderman.

Joni Mitchell - consistently brilliant.
Chopin - exquisite.

My main personal one has to be Tori Amos who I've been a fan of for years. Individual, literate, emotive, intelligent, uncompromising, influential... and no, she's not just ripping off Kate Bush! Amos certainly set a sort of template for female singer-songwriters in the nineties and onwards, which unfortunately has resulted in a fair amount of tedious watered-down tween-girl piano-pop type singers who have been marketed as less complicated versions of Amos.

I'd also throw in Billy Corgan and the Smashing Pumpkins, who I know a lot of people don't rate at all, but they were one of the foremost American rock bands of the nineties and are still around today (even if they are basically just Corgan, the primary songwriter, and drummer Jimmy Chamberlain). Like Amos, Corgan's tends to be a spectacularly prolific songwriter, usually backing every album up with another two or more albums worth of original material.

And yes, these are basically 'nineties' acts, so that's where I'm aiming from. Obviously others will have different faves...

I'll credit Cassetteboy only because I heard his track that 'remixes' some of the Streets and cuts up Mike Skinner so he says something along the lines of 'Kill me. Seriously. Just shoot me. I'm a t%$. I'm just a massive t%$.' Very funny.

Eno
Sylvian

Mmmmm, interesting.

Individuals are Frank Zappa (naturally!), Todd Rundgren, Brian Eno, Roy Harper, Robert Fripp, all of whom have created/produced/written/contributed to some of the finest music ever recorded.

Groups are Yes (o.k. I'm probably alone on this one, but the era from The Yes Album to Relayer, except Topograhic Oceans, saw some of the most inspiring, passionate and uplifting music I've ever had the pleasure of listening to.), Porcupine Tree, Van Der Graaf Generator, Steely Dan.

There are others, but I'm all flu'd up and these are the only ones I can think of at the mo'.

stevie ray vaughan-fantastic blues guitarist that everyone wants to play like it seems these days.
also brian wilson for "good vibrations"
but the REAL genius was mozart.
discussion closed

feat did keep the aura intact.....

not just lowell, all of little feat.
eric clapton - for the genius of wasting his talents but making millions
charlie watts - a true gent
Kylie - for making a little go a very long way

lowell george. his slide guitar is genius.
mark e smiths songwriting ability is god given
cassetteboys satyrical editing
roisin murphys voice ('specialy on 'truth' with handsomeboy modelling school).
not massive on guitar jazz meself. loved django tho. and les paul. guided by voices do rock tho, no denying that!!!!

We all have our likes and dislikes and thankfully, we are all different......but what music really gets you there (points at heart)?
Who is your musical genius?
Who really connects with your wiring?

(Mine are Eric Johnson, Robert Pollard and Pat Metheny)