Jesus Christ Superstar | ||||
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Studio album by various artists | ||||
Released | 16 October 1970 [1] (UK) 27 October 1970 (US) [2] [3] | |||
Recorded | 10 October 1969 ("Superstar" single) 1970 | |||
Studio | Olympic, London | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 86:56 | |||
Label | Decca/MCA/Decca Broadway | |||
Producer | Tim Rice, Andrew Lloyd Webber | |||
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice chronology | ||||
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Singles from Jesus Christ Superstar | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [4] |
Christgau's Record Guide | C− [5] |
Jesus Christ Superstar is a 1970 album musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice,on which the 1971 rock opera of the same name was based. Initially unable to get backing for a stage production,the composers released it as an album,the success of which led to stage productions. The album musical is a musical dramatisation of the last week of the life of Jesus Christ,beginning with his entry into Jerusalem and ending with the Crucifixion. It was originally banned by the BBC on grounds of being "sacrilegious". [6] [7] By 1983,the album had sold over seven million copies worldwide. [8]
Webber and Rice had earlier success with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat . Then,according to Webber,the Dean of St Paul's,Martin Sullivan,suggested they do the story of Jesus next. "Tim and I rather resisted it," Webber said,"but then Tim came up with this interesting angle. What if we told the story from Judas Iscariot's perspective?" [9]
Lyrics in the 1964 Bob Dylan song "With God on Our Side" resonated with Rice:"You'll have to decide / Whether Judas Iscariot had God on his side." [10] Another inspiration was an advertisement showing Tom Jones dressed in white with the word 'SUPERSTAR' emblazoned across him. [11]
Rice and Webber wrote the title song,Superstar, first,in July 1969. Webber explained,“It was agreed that we would first sort of ‘send up a flag' to see whether the public would accept our approach to the subject." [12] They spent the next four months producing the single. They wrote the rest of the songs from November 1969 to March 1970. [13]
The album's story is based in large part on the Bible and Fulton J. Sheen's Life of Christ. Rice said,"I used the King James and Catholic versions —whichever was handier —interchangeably. My biggest aid was Fulton Sheen's Life of Christ, in which Bishop Sheen calibrates and compares the Gospels." [12] However,greater emphasis is placed on the interpersonal relationships of the major characters,in particular,Jesus,Judas and Mary Magdalene,relationships that are not described in depth in the Gospels.
"Herod's Song" is a lyrical rewrite of "Try It and See",previously written by Lloyd Webber and Rice as a proposed British entry into the Eurovision Song Contest 1969 to be sung by Lulu,then recorded and released as a single by Rita Pavone. The writers had also included it (as "Those Saladin Days") in an aborted show about Richard the Lionheart called Come Back Richard Your Country Needs You.
The melody of "I Don't Know How to Love Him" also predates Jesus Christ Superstar;it was rewritten from a 1968 Lloyd Webber/Rice collaboration titled "Kansas Morning". [14]
The album was recorded from March to July 1970. [13] For the recording,Lloyd Webber and Rice drew personnel from both musical theatre (Murray Head had just left the West End production of Hair ) and the British rock scene (Ian Gillan had only recently become the singer of Deep Purple). Many of the primary musicians—guitarists Neil Hubbard and Henry McCullough,bassist Alan Spenner,and drummer Bruce Rowland—came from Joe Cocker's backing group The Grease Band. Saxophonist Chris Mercer had also played with Hubbard in Juicy Lucy.
The first piece of Superstar released was the title song,as a single in November 1969 backed with the instrumental "John Nineteen Forty-One" (see John 19:41). The full album followed almost a year later.
In the U.S.,the double album was released on 27 October 1970. Less than three weeks later,on 16 November,it achieved gold status ($1 million in sales). [15]
The album topped the U.S. Billboard Top LP's chart in both February and May 1971 [16] and ranked number one in the year-end chart ahead of Carole King's massive hit Tapestry . [17] It also served as a launching pad for numerous stage productions on Broadway and in the West End. The original 1970 boxed-set issue of this two-record set was packaged in the U.S. with a special thin brown cardboard outer box ("The Brown Album") [18] which contained the two vinyl records and a 28-page libretto.
Hubert Saal,in Newsweek, called it "nothing short of brilliant —and reverent. Staying well within limits prescribed by the Gospels,the opera galvanizes the story and the scenes of the Passion with its own fresh imagination and vitality." [19] Critic John Rockwell,writing in the Los Angeles Times, thought,"...at its best,Jesus works. Rice and Weber have managed more effectively than the composers of any previous rock-opera that I know of to characterize individuals in both words and music. And they are helped by an excellent cast." [20] Billboard's critic wrote,"This brilliant musical portrayal of the last seven days of Jesus is destined to become one of the most talked about and provocative albums on the pop scene. [21] Music critic Thomas Willis wrote in the Chicago Tribune,"I am neither a theologian nor a rock critic,but if Jesus Christ Superstar isn't the most important religious music of the year —and one of two or three significant recordings of the decade —I am sadly mistaken." [22] He added,"The ingredients in this unique production are absolutely first rate." Nat Hentoff,in Cosmopolitan,called it "the most remarkable large-scale rock work yet created" and called the singers "superbly cast." [23]
Other critics unfavourably compared it to the Who's Tommy:Variety thought,"Somewhat overstated,the opera lacks the overall impact of Tommy." [24] Mike Jahn,in the Baltimore Sun,went further:"Tommy seemed a labor of love,with good stories well-told...In comparison,Jesus Christ Superstar seems a labor of opportunism with almost no inspiration. In fact,when it isn't dead boring it's embarrassing..." [25]
All compositions written by Tim Rice (lyrics and book) and Andrew Lloyd Webber (music).
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Overture" | 4:00 |
2. | "Heaven on Their Minds" | 4:23 |
3. | "What's the Buzz/Strange Thing Mystifying" | 4:13 |
4. | "Everything's Alright" | 4:36 |
5. | "This Jesus Must Die" | 5:11 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Hosanna" | 2:09 |
2. | "Simon Zealotes/Poor Jerusalem" | 4:49 |
3. | "Pilate's Dream" | 1:28 |
4. | "The Temple" | 4:43 |
5. | "Everything's Alright (reprise)" | 0:34 |
6. | "I Don't Know How to Love Him" | 3:41 |
7. | "Damned for All Time/Blood Money" | 4:36 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "The Last Supper" | 7:10 |
2. | "Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)" | 5:33 |
3. | "The Arrest" | 3:24 |
4. | "Peter's Denial" | 1:27 |
5. | "Pilate and Christ" | 2:46 |
6. | "King Herod's Song" | 3:02 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Judas' Death" | 4:17 |
2. | "Trial Before Pilate (Including the 39 Lashes)" | 5:13 |
3. | "Superstar" | 4:16 |
4. | "The Crucifixion" | 4:04 |
5. | "John Nineteen Forty-One" | 2:10 |
Main players [26]
Supporting players
Other players
Musicians
Other musicians
Production
In 2012, the MCA reissue was remastered personally by Andrew Lloyd Webber, who released the result on his own Really Useful Music imprint under the Decca banner. In his liner notes, Webber states that he was hoping to find some unreleased recording within the original masters, but he found out that only three out of twenty tapes had survived the 2008 Universal Studios fire, and those tapes did not contain any unreleased material. However, it later turned out that he did possess a copy of the complete masters in his own archive, and he worked from that. [27]
In 2021, for the 50th anniversary of the original staging, Universal Music Group released an expanded reissue (under its Decca Broadway imprint) consisting of 3 CDs and a hardback book. The first two discs contain a new remaster of the original album, made at Abbey Road Studios by staff engineers Miles Shovell and Nick Davis; the third disc includes demos, rarities, single edits and more, all sourced from Tim Rice's personal archive. [28] The book includes many photos from the era, an extensive chronicle of the making of the album (compiled by writer Lois Wilson from interviews with Webber, Rice, Yvonne Elliman, Murray Head, Ian Gillan and musicians involved in the album), appreciations by English comedian/musician Matt Berry and Chic founder Nile Rodgers, a facsimile of the lyric book included within the original 1970 album and the script for an "open-end interview" (i.e. a pre-recorded interview with music and gaps for radio DJs and presenters to insert their own voices) with Webber and Rice, whose audio part is on the third disc. The artwork for the box set includes both the brown American cover (on the slipcase for the set) and the more colourful British one, on the book itself.
Note: the A-side of the original UK Superstar single (MKS 5019) is not included here as it is identical to the album version.
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [40] | Gold | 350,000 [41] |
France | — | 60,000 [42] |
Israel | — | 2,500 [43] |
Italy | — | 100,000 [44] |
Netherlands (NVPI) [45] | Gold | 250,000 [46] |
South Africa (SARI) [47] | Gold | 12,500 [47] |
Sweden | — | 90,000 [48] |
United Kingdom (BPI) [49] 1970 release | Gold | 180,000 [50] |
United States (RIAA) [51] | Gold | 4,500,000 [50] |
Summaries | ||
North America 1970-1972 | — | 3,500,000 [52] |
Worldwide | — | 7,000,000 [8] |
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber, is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, a song cycle, a set of variations, two film scores, and a Latin Requiem Mass.
Jesus Christ Superstar is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with much of the plot centered on Judas, who is dissatisfied with the direction in which Jesus is steering his disciples. Contemporary attitudes, sensibilities and slang pervade the rock opera's lyrics, and ironic allusions to modern life are scattered throughout the depiction of political events. Stage and film productions accordingly contain many intentional anachronisms.
A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been adapted as rock musicals. The use of various character roles within the song lyrics is a common storytelling device. The success of the rock opera genre has inspired similar works in other musical styles, such as rap opera.
Yvonne Marianne Elliman is an American singer, songwriter, and actress who performed for four years in the first cast of the stage musical Jesus Christ Superstar. She scored a number of hits in the 1970s and achieved a US #1 hit with "If I Can't Have You". The song also reached #9 on the Adult Contemporary chart and number 4 in the UK Chart. Her cover of Barbara Lewis's "Hello Stranger" went to #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and "Love Me" was #5; at the time she had 3 top 10 singles. After a long hiatus in the 1980s and 1990s, during which time she left music to be with her family, she made a comeback album as a singer-songwriter in 2004.
Jesus Christ Superstars is the fifth studio album by Slovenian industrial and electronic music group Laibach. Released in 1996 the concept album collects original and cover songs where religion is the central theme. The theme of religion is constructed around Christianity and the title references Andrew Lloyd Webber's rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar.
"Everything's Alright" is a song from the 1970 album and 1971 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. It is about the anointing of Jesus.
The Phantom of the Opera is the soundtrack of the 2004 film which is based on the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. There were two versions released, the standard 14-track release and a two-disc deluxe edition.
"I Don't Know How to Love Him" is a song from the 1970 album and 1971 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar written by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics), a torch ballad sung by the character of Mary Magdalene. In the opera she is presented as bearing an unrequited love for the title character. The song has been much recorded, with "I Don't Know How to Love Him" being one of the rare songs to have had two concurrent recordings reach the top 40 of the Hot 100 chart in Billboard magazine, specifically those by Helen Reddy and Yvonne Elliman, since the 1950s when multi-version chartings were common.
"This Jesus Must Die" is a song from the 1970 album and 1971 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, which also appears in the film version of Jesus Christ Superstar, and on the album of the musical. In the 1973 film, it is sung primarily by Bob Bingham as Caiaphas and Kurt Yaghjian as Annas; and on the 1970 album, by Victor Brox as Caiaphas and Brian Keith as Annas, with Paul Raven and Tim Rice providing the voices of the priests. In the 2000 film it is sung by Frederick B. Owens as Caiaphas and Michael Shaeffer as Annas.
"Superstar" is the title song from the 1970 album and 1971 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.
Jesus Christ Superstar or Jesus Christ Superstar – Original Australian Cast Recording is an album released in late 1972 on MCA Records. Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera created by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber in 1970. The earliest Australian version was staged from May 1972 to February 1974. This album features Trevor White, Jon English and Michele Fawdon. Together with other cast members, they performed vocals for a studio recording. It was produced by Patrick Flynn, the show's musical director and a conductor for Opera Australia. The album peaked at No. 17 on the Go-Set Albums Chart in June 1973, while it reached No. 13 on the Kent Music Report and remained on its charts for 54 weeks. It appeared in the top 100 on the 1974 End of Year Albums Chart. In May 1973, the album was awarded a gold record for sales of 50,000 albums.
Stages is an album by Elaine Paige, released in 1983 on the Warner Music and K-tel labels and has been re-issued on CD. The album charted in the UK album charts at #2 in 1983.
Evita is a concept album released in 1976 and produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice about the life of Eva Perón. Having successfully launched their previous show, Jesus Christ Superstar, on record in 1970, Lloyd Webber and Rice returned to the format for Evita. The album was recorded at Olympic Studios in London from April to September 1976 and released in the United Kingdom on 19 November 1976.
Sings the Songs of Andrew Lloyd Webber is a studio album by Shirley Bassey, released in 1993.
The Premiere Collection: The Best of Andrew Lloyd Webber is a 1988 compilation album, bringing together some of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber's best known compositions at the time of release. It includes songs from the musicals The Phantom of the Opera, Tell Me on a Sunday, Evita, Cats, Jesus Christ Superstar, Starlight Express and Requiem. Co-writers of the songs include Tim Rice, Don Black, Richard Stilgoe, Charles Hart and Trevor Nunn.
Jesus Christ Superstar is a soundtrack album released in 1996. Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera created by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber in 1970. This is the 1996 revival version supervised by Lloyd Webber himself.
Aspects of Andrew Lloyd Webber is the second studio album by Australian singer Marina Prior featuring Melbourne Symphony Orchestra conducted by Brian Stacey. It was released in November 1992 and peaked at number 22 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The album was certified gold for shipment of 35000 copies.
Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert is an American musical television special that was broadcast live on NBC on April 1, 2018 and rebroadcast on Easter Sunday 2020, April 12, 2020. Executively produced by Craig Zadan, Neil Meron, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice, and Marc Platt, it was a staged concert performance of the 1970 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. It received positive reviews from critics but had a smaller viewership than earlier musical specials.
Jesus Christ the Exorcist is the tenth progressive rock studio album by American vocalist, keyboardist and guitarist Neal Morse, released on June 14, 2019.
This is the discography of British singer and actor Murray Head.
...the complete Superstar hit the American market on October 27, 1970.
The Broadway opening was set for October 27, to coincide with the initial release of the album in the United States on that date a year before.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)The hit love song from Superstar was a pop number Lloyd Webber and Rice had written earlier and sold to a publisher; its rights were bought back by David Land, then Lloyd Webber and Rice's manager, and it got a new set of lyrics. Thus the pedestrian 'Kansas Morning' became the soaring 'I Don't Know How to Love Him.'