Jesus Christ Superstar (1996 London Cast) [SOUNDTRACK]

Joanna Ampil, David Burt, Steve Balsamo, Zubin Varla, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jesus Christ Superstar (Related Recordings), Tim Rice

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 7, 2000)
• Original Release Date: March 7, 2000
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Decca Broadway
• ASIN: B000025UEI
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #94,569 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Jesus Christ has been very good to Andrew Lloyd Webber. Indeed, the Rock of Ages inspired one of the greatest stories ever sold and launched composer Lloyd Webber to musical theater superstardom; lyricist Tim Rice hasn't done too bad for himself, either. This Lloyd Webber-supervised "definitive" recording (undertaken in London in 1996) was finally released in America to coincide with the show's 2000 American revival on Broadway. Though oft touted by its creators as the first rock opera (a claim that might raise the hackles of fans of Pete Townshend's and the Who's Tommy), Lloyd Webber's "rock" sensibilities often had a decided Brill Building bent that's dated about as well as Don Kirshner's leisure suits. Perhaps not surprisingly, this Superstar redux leans more on the over-the-top operatics that characterize the composer's mega-hit Phantom of the Opera than its original cast album and soundtrack album roots. While rocker-for-hire Alice Cooper takes a refreshing, if familiar, vaudevillian turn on "King Herod's Song," much of the remaining music has been rendered notably Big and Serious--just the sort of thunderous, orchestral pomp that has gained Lloyd Webber a worldwide following and a knighthood. --Jerry McCulley

Product Description
2005 Digitally Remastered (At Abbey Road Studios) Deluxe Edition of the Critically Acclaimed London 1996 Cast. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Fourth Best Recording of Jesus Christ Superstar, April 8, 2000

By	Faron Sparkman (Hazard, KY USA) - See all my reviews

Before you consider purchasing this, consider that there have been quite a few recordings of this piece of work. Naturally, one wonders, which of these is the best all around recording? That for one depends on your personal music tastes.

If you like late 60's/early 70's rock operas/concept albums (such as Tommy, Hair etc.) then I strongly suggest The original 1970 concept album. The concept album features Ian Gillan of Deep Purple as Jesus, Murray Head (One Night in Bangkok) as Judas and Yvonne Elliman (Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack) as Mary Magdalene. The musicians are primarily composed of Joe Cocker's Grease Band and Juicy Lucy. This version is true rock - no Broadway "Showtune" atmosphere on it. This version also is by far the most successful, being a number one album on the Billboard charts (in early 1971), and selling over three million copies.

If you're a fan of Motown recording artist Ben Vereen, I highly recommend The Original 1971 Broadway Cast Highlights Album (Available upon import from footlight music). While it features a rather average Jesus, Ben Vereen adds true soul and original interpretation to the role of Judas, such that is unmatched to this day.

The movie soundtrack, which I rank third in JCS recordings, features tremendous voices (a texan drummer with incredible passion and range as Jesus) but sounds as if it was recorded in a tin can (this refers even to the remastered version). Also, Jesus and Judas are played by the Broadway understudies in this version.

In Fourth place, comes this particular recording. A 1996 British studio album with Steve Balsamo, Zubin Varla, and Alice Cooper, it falls short of the aforementioned recordings. Of course, it is still an excellent recording in and of itself. The performances are passionate, deeply felt portrayals... However, I do get the feeling I'm listening to musical theatre actors pretending to be rock singers (Alice Cooper even sounds more showtunesy then you would think). There's also the fact that these particular singers/actors have borrowed a great deal of interpretation from the JCS albums of the past. I do appreciate the fact that they didn't try to "modernize" the music too much, but the slap bass in the Overture seems a little tacky (again, trying too hard to say "See, we showtunes people can do rock music too!") Sonically, this doesn't hold together as well as the above three.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most incredible JC Superstar CD made so far, March 24, 2000

By	Jeff (PA, United States) - See all my reviews

I am extensivly into musical theater, and I have heard every version of Jesus Christ Superstar to date. I must say this is the best made so far. The cast and orchestra is incredible and the man who plays Jesus is one of the most incredible voices of his generation. During "Gethsaname" he sings a "G" above high "C" and holds it for 20 seconds. You must hear it to believe it.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is THE recording of JSC, October 28, 2000

By	Andy Leviss (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

I've watched/listened to the movie, seen the recent Broadway revival, and I have to keep coming back to this recording as the best, bar none. Steve Balsamo is amazing as Jesus -- his falsetto is incredible (I'm not a vocalist myself, but I have friends who are training in classical music who literally dropped their jaws when they heard Balsamo's "Gethesemane"). His power over the role drives you to tears at moments, as does Zubin Varla's terriffic Judas -- the "cracking" another reviewer mentioned wasn't his voice slipping, it's his characterization -- he's feeling pain, feeling death, and unsure -- and you feel every moment of it. Joanna Ampil is pretty good as Mary (although I think she was better in "The Complete Miss Saigon" as Kim), Alice Cooper brings a brilliantly different twist to King Herod, and the rest of the cast is terriffic.

Glenn Carter, who played Jesus in the recently closed revival (and who took over for Balsamo in London before that) is on here as Simon Zealotes, a role in which he is absolutely superb -- I only wish he could have carried that over into Jesus on Broadway, but unfortunately while his range is perfect for Simon, it fell pretty short as Jesus -- even if you didn't like him as Jesus, I think you'll like him here...and if you did, you'll love him here.

Anyway, this is THE recording to buy of this show -- the orchestrations are incredible, the engineering is terriffic (I'm a musician and a sound engineer, and I can only have the utmost respect for the musicians and engineers on this CD, as much if not more than the cast), and the performances are superb. Wow!