Jesus Christ Superstar: Cast Recordings and Soundtrack (1970-2000)

Andrew Lloyd Webber: composer of some of the most successful musicals of the twentieth century, including "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor® Dreamcoat", "Jesus Christ Superstar", "Evita", "Cats", "The Phantom of the Opera", and more. Tim Rice: lyricist of some of the most successful musicals of the twentieth century: "Joseph", "Superstar", "Evita", "Aladdin", "The Lion King", and more. Their work has been performed by millions of people all around the world for fifty years and counting.

On 27 October 1970 they released the original studio recording of their musical "Jesus Christ Superstar" on MCA-UK Records, but let's go back a bit. To the time Tim and Andrew had recorded the 35 minute version of their "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor® Dreamcoat" released by the Norrie Paramor Organization and Decca Records. Now, if I'm not mangling my history here, Tim and Andrew submitted this LP, along with a proposal for a pop music museum, to a gentleman named Sefton Myers. It was the "Joseph" album that won them over, the result of which Sefton and his partner David Land signed Tim and Andrew to a management contract, effectively giving them three years to write a successful musical. No tall order!

The first piece Tim and Andrew wrote was an oratorio in the vein of "Joseph", this time following the story of King Richard the Lionheart and the minstrel Blondel. "Come Back Richard Your Country Needs You" was performed once at the City of London School in 1969, directed by Alan Doggett, and besides a single recorded by Tim Rice and the Webber Group, the musical was never reprised. Trivia: if you didn't know, Tim Rice returned to the King Richard/Blondel idea in 1983 with the musical "Blondel" with score by Australian composer Stephen Oliver. Good luck finding the CD. Thank you to Andrew Lloyd Webber's book "Unmasked", Tim Rice's book "Oh What A Circus" and his archived website, and Lord Wiki for the info.

The next project they decided to develop was... I'll let Lord Wiki do the talking here: "The album's story is based in large part on the Synoptic Gospels and Fulton J. Sheen's Life of Christ, which compares and calibrates all four Gospels. 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."

The idea had come from Tim Rice, who had at least been partly inspired by Bob Dylan's "With God on our side". Quote: " Through many a dark hour/I’ve been thinking about this/That Jesus Christ was/Betrayed by a kiss/But I can’t think for you/You’ll have to decide/Whether Judas Iscariot/Had God on his side." At some point, Tim had approached Andrew and before they knew it, they had conceived their next musical, the rock opera tentatively titled "Jesus Christ" according to the sleeve of its first single "Superstar".

Ah yes! The single "Superstar" as recorded by Murray Head with the Trinidad Singers, featuring full orchestrations by Andrew Lloyd Webber with members of Joe Cocker’s Grease Band. The B-side contained an earlier version of the musical's ending "John 19:41", with an unusual jazz section that you'll never find in any other version.

Due to the success of this single, e.g. peaking at #74 on the US Billboard 100 Singles chart, Tim and Andrew were given the green light by MCA-UK Records to complete their 1970 rock opera. In case you were wondering why they were recording this as an album: because they were pretty much turned down by every theatre group and producer in the universe. Not only were they relative unknowns (that old chestnut again), but they were dealing with subject matter that could be deemed sacrilegious. Because Tim and Andrew had been rejected by the theatre, they used the facilities they had available, tailoring their musical as a through sung rock opera lasting the duration of eighty minutes, enough for one double record.

On 27 October 1970 the album was released and the rest as they say is history. I was about 14 years old when I first came across the LP, the UK version with the "exploding sun" on the front cover, for about $15 at a local recycle centre. I snapped it up and I've never looked back since. The album captivated me from beginning to end. I was sucked into the world of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber and have been a great admirer of their work, very much including this album, ever since.

The original album includes Murray Head as Judas, Ian Gillan (after he joined rock band Deep Purple) as Jesus, Yvonne Elliman as Mary Magdalene, Victor Brox as the High Priest Caiaphas, Barry Dennen as Pontius Pilate, and more. I cannot praise it highly enough. Really, there are no words.

The success of this album led to Tim and Andrew and their manager David Land (Sefton Myers passed away in 1971) being brought into the legendary Robert Stigwood Organization.

In the wake of numerous unsanctioned stage productions, the Stigwood Organization set up a live concert tour of the original album, culminating in a Broadway dream come true. The first Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical to hit New York: "Jesus Christ Superstar" directed by Tom O’Horgan, premiering at the Mark Hellinger Theatre on 12 October 1971. Ben Vereen played Judas, with Jeff Fenholt as Jesus, Yvonne Elliman and Barry Dennen reprising their roles from the original album, and Bob Bingham as Caiaphas.

Only for Andrew Lloyd Webber this dream had become a nightmare! According to his autobiography "Unmasked", Andrew and his first wife Sarah Hugill on what should have been the night of all nights had been reduced to tears. My interpretation of what happened next: between "Superstar" on Broadway, and Andrew's "Jeeves" about four years later, the seeds of the Really Useful Group and the Sydmonton Festival had been sewn. It wasn't enough that Andrew became a successful composer, but a producer who would never again (if he could help it) have another "Superstar" nightmare.

In any event, the Stigwood Organization opted with different versions for their next productions, including the Australian one directed by Jim Sharman. If you love "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", then you may have already recognized that name. Jim Sharman and set designer Brian Thomson would do so well with the Australian "Superstar", they would be brought in to direct and design the West End version. This ran for a then unprecedented eight years at the Palace Theatre, London, with Paul Nicholas as Jesus, Stephen Tate as Judas and Dana Gillespie as Mary Magdalene. Lord Wiki reveals this trivia: composer Dmitri Shostakovich saw this production before he died and was so moved he wished he'd written something like it. Between Elvis and the Everly Brothers recording his music, and having lunch with Richard Rodgers and now this, Lloyd Webber is one lucky muso. Some more trivia: understudy Richard O'Brien briefly played King Herod, the result of which (to keep a long story short), O'Brien and Jim Sharman united to produce "The Rocky Horror Show".

The London production received a highlights recording, which I managed to find second hand a few years ago. Listening to it, it felt more subtle than the original rock version. If you're curious, check it out, also because of the connection with Paul Nicholas who would go on to appear in another mega Lloyd Webber musical: the Rum Tum Tugger in "Cats".

With many successful productions around the world, before and after, a "Jesus Christ Superstar" film was released in 1973. Shot on location in Israel, I believe, it included Carl Anderson as Judas, Ted Neeley as Jesus, and Yvonne Elliman as Mary Magdalene. The film was directed by Norman Jewison who also helmed the movie version of "Fiddler on the Roof", a favourite of mine.

I've always been struck by the scene in the movie with Ted's Jesus singing "Gethsemane", which is pretty all-encompassing in itself, and then being hit with a series of paintings of Jesus being crucified. It was an incredibly powerful cinematic moment and one that I've never really forgotten, even though I've only seen the movie *in full* once! The double soundtrack I only recently just got hold of and it's definitely right up there for me as far as "Superstar" experiences are concerned. The CD needs and deserves a truly great remaster/remix.

A highly successful concert version appeared in Australia in 1992, with Jon Stevens as Judas, John Farnham as Jesus and Kate Ceberano as Mary. This was followed by a New Zealand version with Darryl Lovegrove as Jesus, Jay Laga’aia as Judas and Margaret Urlich as Mary Magdalene. Neither production would receive a complete recording, but the Australian CD alone is practically iconic. It's a pretty different take on the music too, so I'm not sure what audiences used to the other versions would make of that. John Farnham's version of "Gethsemane" is hair-raising and Angry Anderson's take on "King Herod's Song" is still one of my favourite versions. You should find this second hand fairly easily nowadays. I haven't heard the New Zealand album.

A double album commemorating the twenty year anniversary of the London production also appeared in 1992. This contains a new pop version of "Could we start again, please?" the moment for Peter and Mary added for the original Broadway production. This is not a version I've heard many times, being so used to the concept album and the 1996 studio recording, but I didn't find myself complaining about it at the time.

In 1996, Australian director Gale Edwards would revive "Superstar" for Andrew’s Really Useful Company, opening at London's Lyceum Theatre. Steve Balsamo was Jesus with Zubin Varla as Judas and Joanna Ampil as Mary Magdalene. For a 1996 studio recording, Alice Cooper (!) was brought in to play the role of King Herod. That alone is worth the purchase. I was lucky finding the remastered version and have loved it ever since. For me, this makes a nice 90s companion to the original concept.

It was this revival that led to the Broadway production in 2000, with Glenn Carter as Jesus and Tony Vincent as Judas, as well as the filmed version. That film version released in 2000 also contained a highlights CD recording, perhaps most notable for me at the moment because of Rik Mayall's "King Herod's Song". I managed to find a copy second hand.

Many productions of "Superstar" have been mounted before or since, many I have neglected to mention here, and I'm sure that there will be many more to follow, but from what I've heard this could only complement or educate me in my experience with this musical. Because it is a powerful musical! Or should I say rock opera! If you're interested in more recordings, check out this website for further info: https://www.jesuschristsuperstarzone.com/discography/

Thank you for reading,

Ryan.