Jesus Christ Superstar

By far the best version

This is the best of the JCS albums - the original with its funk still in tact. July 29, 2008

So many "Jesus's" to pick from..

This is the ORIGINAL "Jesus Christ Superstar"..The one that upset legions of people because "There is no resurrection !"......"Judas is more compassionate than Christ"...."Mary Magdelene is portrayed as a prostitute"...."Jesus questions God in Gethsemane (blasphemy)"... Ian Gillan (a rock and roll singer as Christ?)...."members of Joe Cocker's Grease Band (known for alcohol and drug extravaganzas) as back-up musicians "... Yeah , I remember all the negativity that surrounded this recording in 1970 , but it still remains the BEST "Jesus Christ Superstar" ever...PERIOD ! Having listened to "Gethsemane" over 500 times , I still get shivers when Gillan emotes "Why must I die ?" regardless of your religious inclinations , THIS MUST BE HEARD ! November 20, 2007

But you really need the film version, too!

Read on and you'll see a bunch of reviews that trumpet Ian Gillan's Jesus over Ted Neeley's (film version). I like them both. However, I think that Carl Anderson (film version) is the ultimate Judas. Saw him and Ted Neeley live in a touring revival production in the early nineties. Neeley was OK from a nostalgic point of view - not as good as in the film, but Anderson just stole the show. He was every bit as charismatic and nimble as in the film, and his singing was just as powerful and heart-wrenching. Might as well buy both versions. They're both great in their own ways :-) July 30, 2007

It would be sacrilege for me to criticize this I suppose ...

Written and first performed in the time of Andy Warhol and Coca Cola's "I'd like to teach the world to sing" advertisement, Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber's perhaps greatest work was more than just a musical story of the life of Jesus, although we can easily forget that now. It was, much like a Warhol, a way of speaking to that very vanilla heart of whitebread America. It was taking our most sacred myth and rendering it in the language of the people, and bringing it out of the refuge of the church and placing it on display right along with Coke, Pepsi, Rolling Stones, Marilyn Monroe, and all the great icons of the Western World, and subjecting it to the same overexposure and banality.

Sir Weber smashed that boundary between sacred and profane with this work portraying Jesus and the 12 disciples as a bunch of squabbling hippies, which were not in short supply in those days; the days when John Lennon made the famous remark that the Beatles were now "bigger than Jesus." Read the libretto of this work, and then read Tom Wolf's "Electric Kool-Aid Acid Tests" if you disagree.

But perhaps the story of Jesus deserved and needed to be placed in the same marketplace of ideas that Coca Cola and Led Zeppelin lived in. Whether this was right or wrong, whether the story of Jesus deserved to be subjected to the same appreciation as a Dr. Pepper ad is not something I will debate -- much. I just know that's what happened. Jesus went Platinum, just like Kiss, just like the Beatles, and Jesus Christ complaining to the Lord that "You're far too keen on where and how but not so hot on why" has been forever burned onto my consciousness. I grew up with JCS, and I've known every word and note by heart and have ever since I was 12 or so.

So JCS, like The Lord of The Rings, The Beatles or "Stairway to Heaven," is yet another culture phenomenon I can't stand any more due to overexposure. Also because as I've grown older the general shallowness of it has become offensive. But such is the fate of all Warhol-style "pop" icons. To properly appreciate Jesus, however you approach him, within your own heart or through study, you have to reach deeper than this cliche-ridden rock opera.

And cliche-ridden as it is, it remains an absolutely brilliant work of composition in both the music and lyrics, and also a telling portrait of late 20th C America; Americans who only went to church on Christmas Eve or Easter Morning were grooving to JCS in the millions. The real religion for many of us was the Rock and Roll, and JCS was missionary work for a profane age; a way of reaching out to us. And Sir Weber was very much a product of his era, and indeed a brilliant composer.

I cannot stand JCS now, any more than I can tolerate "Cats." But I can acknowledge the cultural icon that it is, just as I can appreciate a print of Marilyn Monroe at the dentist's office. That is what Sir Weber hath wrought ultimately. But the fact that you have to look deeper for the real living spirit, that has always been and will always be true.
February 6, 2007

The Best Webber Ever

I loved the recent review about Jesus Christ Superstar. From the reading of Judas' fate to the chill down the spine. I heard this music for the first time when I was only 13 (back in Bulgaria) and it stayed with me ever since. I still get the chill down my spine when I hear Pilate's Dream. Like most Europeans, I am an atheist of course, however, I adore the biblical stories and their philosophical depth. I find Webber's genius to be just incredible. Nothing in his later works compares to JCS. I would recommend to everyone to SEE the fantastic Australian production of JCS on DVD, which Webber thought is the closest to his vision. I liked the slightly slower pace of music there. The choreography is most amazing, no less amazing than Ian Gillan's famous performance of I Only Want To Say. The look of everyone on this DVD is just incredible. Perhaps only Jesus is somewhat weaker, especially in comparison to Judas and everyone else. It is fascinating to see how Webber's music affects people the same way across different cultures. (vgarkov@mbc.edu)

October 1, 2006

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