The incredibly loud orchestra of the stage performance is toned down a bit, showcasing the excellent rock songs that made this album a #1 hit in 1971. I first heard this album when I was about 4 or 5 years old, and still, even today, there's a chill that runs down my back when Judas sings "Heaven on Their Minds" or when Jesus screams "just watch me die!" in "Gethsemane". Not one of the endless movie soundtrack, or broadway versions can hold a candle to this interpretation. It's the only Jesus Christ Superstar one needs to own.

84 of 87 found the following review helpful:

The original concept album is still the best version of JCS  Nov 17, 2002
By Lawrance M. Bernabo
Believe it or not, I first heard "Jesus Christ Superstar" when it was played for us in my freshman English class in high school (I think our student teacher was trying to show he was cool, because there was no assignment to go with spending two days listening to the album). I also remember trying to remember how the theme for the title song went so I could keep it in my mind and thinking that this really was an opera because the two main characters are both dead at the end, certainly a traditional ending in many operas. The controversy over this two-album studio production was like a firestorm and focused on two key issues:

First, there was the uproar that rock music was being used to tell a religious story; you have to remember that this was a time when having a folk mass or service was seen as being cutting-edge radicalism in Christianity. But Andrew Lloyd Webber's music involves much more than rock, although certainly the guitar that opens the "Overture" is a definitive statement. "I Don't Know How to Love Him" is a traditional pop ballad, as Helen Reddy proved with her cover that hit the charts, while "John Nineteen Forty-One" is a classical piece for strings. "King Herod's Song" stands out as one of those stylistic pastiches that Lloyd Webber loves (as we would later see in "Cats" and "Phantom of the Opera"). More importantly, it seems to me that the rock music is used strategically. Certainly Judas has songs that are more rock oriented (e.g., "Heaven on Their Minds," "Damned for All Time") when compared to those for sung by Jesus (e.g., "Gethsemane"), which makes sense in terms of character dynamics. Rock music is also used selectively within songs, most particularly "Everything's Alright," where the pop chorus by Mary Magdalene and the other women finds a dramatic counterpoint in the rock style versus of Judas and Jesus. The whole controversy on this score is certainly moot now because within a few years many denominations offered new liturgies with "modern" music, which certainly did not go as far as rock music, but certainly shifted the music to the 20th century and away from classical music in the mode of Bach.

Second, there was a charge that "Jesus Christ Superstar" presented a secular version of Jesus as man, rather than as divine (a similar charge was leveled against Zefferelli's television mini-series "Jesus of Nazareth"). It is certainly true that Jesus does not perform any miracles during the story being told, but then neither do the Gospels for the last week of the life of Jesus, which is the time frame of this rock opera: It begins Friday night in Bethany and ends pretty much one week later as the body of Jesus is lain in the tomb. Miracles aside, the Tim Rice libretto is as faithful to the Gospels as any other dramatic account of these events I have ever seen, whatever the religious beliefs of Rice and Lloyd Webber. Some took the show to task for ending with the "Crucifixion" rather than the Resurrection, but I find it powerful to ask audiences to make a judgment on the divinity of Jesus on the basis of how he lived and died (Note: I was in production of the show in which we actually did the Ascension at the end as the music ended). I would also point the end music of "John Nineteen Forty-One" and have people go back and pay attention to what lyrics that same music is used for in "Gethsemane" as a way of assessing what is ultimately being emphasized in this rock opera.

Ironically, "Jesus Christ Superstar" created a resurgence of interest in both Jesus and Christianity among youth. The concept album, as it came to be known, was turned into a Broadway show that offered outlandishness that made "Hair" look like a Medieval mystery play. It might be insightful for you to compare the concept album of "Evita" with the Broadway version to ponder what would have happened if someone had enforced a similar revision on "Jesus Christ Superstar" (the production I was in had to find creative ways, such as having banners unfurl with quotations from Scripture, to deal with the problems of songs that fade out). Purely from a listening standpoint my preference remains for the original concept album with Murray Head and Ian Gillian as Judas and Jesus. I know part of this is the residue of the excitement that was generated when this came out, but I happen to thing everything is alright with that.

77 of 80 found the following review helpful:

Maybe the best album I ever heard!  Mar 16, 2000
By Eric V. Moye
After thirty years, this is still moving. The performances nothing less than spectacular.

Murray Head as Judas steals the performance, to my mind. The rest of Deep Purple never got from Ian Gillian what Rice and Webber were able to, but maybe portraying Jesus will do that for a Brother. Hearing Yvonne Elliman's positively angellic voice as Mary singing "Everything's Alright" would tempt even a Saint. I cannot recall who portrayed Ciaphas, but the depth of his voice is awsome.

Aside from the great music, the story is much more multi-layered than I recall from Sunday School. The characters, including Jesus himself, seemed to be much more reachable. I remember listening to "I Only Want To Say", and marvelling about whether there was ever any doubt that came with being the Son of God. I saw Judas for the first time as a man who just had to do the things he did, and the disciples not as saints, but men with uncertainties too.

Even if you don't like the fabulous music (I'd bet against it), it is nothing if not thought provoking. One of those attributes alone would suffice. Both make it a great a couple of discs as one could want.

47 of 48 found the following review helpful:

Outstanding recording of this great musical  Jan 12, 2000
By Joshua A. Pesikoff
The question is not whether or not you should purchase the soundtrack to Jesus Christ Superstar, but which recording to get. There are a variety of recordings from which to choose, so do your homework. I wrestled with this issue, but ultimately settled on this remastered recording for a number of reasons. Firstly, the performances are the best of the three that I would include in the set of legitimate possibles (this original cast recording, the movie soundtrack and the 20th anniversary London Cast). Ian Gillian as Jesus and Murray Head and Judas are spectacular. Secondly, they did a great job remastering this recording as the music is crisp and clear--much more so than you would expect from a 25+ year old reel. I weighed the fact that this recording does not have "Can We Start Again, Please", which was added to the score later, against the vibrancy of the performance and decided to go with this one. If you're going to get a recording of the full musical, this is the one to get.

22 of 22 found the following review helpful:

How Does One Describe A Masterpiece?  Apr 17, 2003
By Stephanie Dray "Author of Lily of the Nile"
There are musicals, there are operas, and then there is Jesus Christ Superstar.

It is different than anything else you have ever heard, and anything else ever made. It's even different than anything else Andrew Loyd Webber or Tim Rice ever did again. While both of them went on to be famous and produce other respectable pieces, neither of them ever touched the heavans again. This was their moment of truth.

This album represents one of those rare times in history when talent, inspiration and magic clashed in a way that goes beyond music, into politics and into spirituality that affected the entire generation that listened to it.

The lyrics tell a story that we all know, and yet they tell it in such a human way that one cannot help but be drawn into the story on a more personal level. How jaded we become looking at that crucifix at the front of the church and that unknown unknowable God upon it. This album will remove all that, and confront you with a divinity that is reflected in humanity--our awfulness and the beauty we are capable of.

The performances are haunting and raw. Intense. Did I saw raw? So raw, primal and powerful that you will not be able to tolerate any other rendition. These people had to have known what they were doing--had to have known what they had stumbled over, because they give the performances of their lives. Voices that will stay in your head and figure into your thinking about God and mankind, even if you are an atheist.

You will cry at the whips. You will cry as the nails are driven in. You will cry when Judas hangs himself. You will identify with Pontius Pilate's unfathomable rage. You will find yourself laughing at Herod's song, and feeling guilty for it.

There has never been a time since I was a child that I have listened to this album and not been profoundly moved.

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