Godspell [CAST RECORDING]

Stephen Schwartz, Godspell (Related Recordings)

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 9, 2001)
• Original Release Date: January 9, 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: Varese Sarabande
• ASIN: B000056JY3
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #85,535 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > Broadway & Vocalists > Musicals > Revivals

Track Listings

1. Prologue

2. Prepare Ye

3. God Save the People

4. Day by Day

5. Learn Your Lessons Well

6. Bless the Lord

7. All for the Best

8. All Good Gifts

9. Light of the World

10. Turn Back, O Man

11. Alas for You

12. By My Side

13. We Beseech Thee

14. Beautiful City

15. On the Willows

16. Finale

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some hits, some misses, July 30, 2004

By	Trixie "cupcakejones" (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This is one of my all-time favorite musicals and {disclaimer} I'm not even Christian. It's high-sprited, positive, sweet and (with one exception that I'll get to later) not preachy. In my opinion, the best version is the movie soundtrack followed closely by the original cast recording.

But onto this version, the 2000 recording of the Off-Broadway revival. Stephen Schwartz himself, the original lyricist, participated in updating the production, including a new prologue which is included on the CD.

To end on a positive note, let's go ahead and get to that parts that were problematic. This version felt a little preachy to me in parts which is (personally) a turnoff but different strokes. I always liked it that they removed my least favorite number, "Learn Your Lessons Well" from the movie but at least the version on here is high-spirited. I just don't find songs about burning in hell to be toe tappers. Some of the female singers suffer from growing up in the Celine/Mariah era. This is most noticeable on Shoshana Bean's rendition of "Bless the Lord." Still you can't help but get chills listening to this number, over-emoting not withstanding.

The Barry White-ish re-working of "Light of the World" was an interesting choice but doesn't really work. And why exactly were the choruses of "Let's have some wine" removed? I'm getting an uncomfortable whiff of evangelical sanitization here. But wait, here come Capathia Jenkins who, if you'll forgive me, sings the hell out of "Turn Back, O Man" and my good feelings were restored. "By My Side" is still starkly lovely and the "Finale" ,which is loyally rendered, still can make you cry. Barrett Foa, who plays Jesus, also has a great voice and presence. The version of Godspell's contribution to the top 40, "Day by Day," is decently done also but-have I mentioned Celine or Mariah already?-it's not my favorite. For the definitive version, seek out the movie soundtrack and Robin Lamont(come to think of it, seek out the late Lynne Thigpen's version of "Bless the Lord" on the same album for Gospel soul that will have Buddhists and Druids dancing in the aisles.)

All in all, some good choices, some questionable ones. A good addition to the Godspell canon but, as they say, if you only buy one version of Godspell, then this isn't the one.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars MIXED BLESSING, June 3, 2001

By	R. Penola (NYC, NY United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

As much as I LOVED the sparkling, expertly updated production that this recording represents, the Cd itself is a mixed bag for GODSPELL fans. It features perhaps the best assembly of voices I have yet heard performing these songs; however, the hip, techno-pop arrangements do not translate with the same electricity they had in person; it does not have the same you-could-play-it-forever-and-ever listenability as the original cast recording and the film soundtrack. It has a harder edge, and the arrangements of Light of the World and the Finale in particular are heavy-handed. Stephen Schwartz' revisited lyrics for the song Beautiful City, which was written for the film, scan oddly in this version, a ballad now placed as a set-up for the last supper. And Tower Of Babel, while wonderful to have on the recording, again places new lyrics (to represent updated philosophers) into the already-written-for-other-lyrics music -- it feels like a misfit. However, for younger audiences just getting into the infinite pleasures of this pop classic theatre piece, you could do much worse than this CD.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth owning!, April 13, 2003

By	"ddhyoung" (Palestine, TX United States) - See all my reviews

I read all the worst reviews about this CD before buying it and I must disagree with them. I have been in Godspell and am currently directing it and this CD is exactly what I was looking for. I wanted a recording that wasn't 20-30 years old but still kept the show accessible to the masses and this version is it. I also own the 2001 Touring as well as the original Broadway and Movie Soundtrack. This recording is actually quite good. The things that I like best is the band and the arrangements of the songs. They are fresh and new but still use an orchestration that can be reproduced by a community theatre. The 2001 was so far out there and "techno" that it is next to impossible to duplicate that in a smaller theatre without major sequencing. This CD feels new and updated without destroying the music that Schwartz wrote. I like it a lot. It is perfect for a director trying to get a feel for the music and wanting someonething new at the same time.