Jesus Christ Superstar has been the definitive rock musical ever since its 1972 stage premiere in London. Revived to great acclaim in the late 1990s, it has everything you'd expect from a blockbuster: great songs, strong characterization, and, crucially, a cracking good story. This release is based on the 1998 London production (also available on video and DVD). For the revival, director Gale Edwards pulls few punches in her efforts to draw a modern interpretation from a gifted cast. Pilate's cronies are sinister Darth Vader look-alikes. The whole thing has a hard, brutal edge, which both startles and thrills. And anyone who dismisses musicals as lightweight confections could do worse than look at the way Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice treat Judas: this is a complex, well-written role. The performances are largely excellent: Jerome Pradon's Judas shines, and Renee Castle's Mary reinvents "I Don't Know How to Love Him" as a delicate exploration of her dilemma, far removed from its usual overblown treatment. Rik Mayall's relentlessly mugging Herod is less of a bonus than he would like us to believe, but he will doubtless appeal to his fans. And the quality of Glenn Carter's singing in the title role makes up for a slight deficiency in the charisma department. --Piers Ford

Customer Rating:
Summary: Hmmmmm
Comment: Ok, so, comparing the soundtrack and the original album to this, we are missing a couple songs. You really need Blood Money to get the full effect, yet this version seems to do well without it, despite the fact it is a key song. The song from the movie soundtrack is not necesarily needed, but I thought it was a good addition. Musically, I like the updates. And Mary Magdelene, OH-MY-FRICKING-GOD!!!! The Mary's on the other versions are great and right for the time, but Renee Castle is phenomenal, I don't care what anyone says. "I don't know...love him" had me in tears. Of the three, I think this is the best version I've heard. She combines he best of the two previous Mary's and yet is a unique and wonderful Mary Magdelene. For that reason alone, I should give this 5 stars, but the song omissions keep me from doing so. At any rate, this does not disappoint for anyone who owns or has listened to the other two versions of this. The CD is fully emotive, and you feel like you are actually going through all this with the characters. Pick this apart all you like, this is a good listen.
Comparing characters, there are certain aspects of each that I like. I thought Ian Gillian's Jesus was a little better overall, but this Jesus is a bit more emotive. There are aspects of all three Judas's I like so it makes it hard to pick a winner there.
All in all, if you like Superstar, you'll love this album, despite, or because of, what is presented.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Omissions unforgivable
Comment: Blood Money/Damned For All Time's omission from the soundtrack throws the whole progression off. And "Could We Start Again, Please?" just sucks.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Disappointing on several levels...
Comment: This updated version of the transcendant 1973 rock opera has deep, glaring flaws as well as at least one bright spot- Fred Johanson's powerful performance as the cruel, conflicted and bureaucratic Pilate. Johanson's ripping low vocals are a refreshing take on the earlier reedy interpretations of this role.

Unfortunately, most of the other performers cannot hope to match the technical prowess or emotional power of the 1973 cast. Glenn Carter, as Christ, has a limited range and a thin voice. He can hit the notes and that's about it. The agonized skyrocketing power of Gillian's 1973 vocals in Gethsemane as he accepted his cup of poison is nowhere to be found in this version, as Carter mails in a technically correct version of this iconic piece without touching the raw humanity delivered by the former Deep Purple singer.

Pradon has been roundly criticized for his portrayal of Judas, but Owens' portrayal of the basso profundo villian Caiaphas is worse. Owens had great stage presence in the DVD as the towering malevolent priest, but he really cannot sing, and he certainly cannot sing deep bass. It is embarrassing to listen to him try to go downstairs on the richest and deepest notes of the score. He has to go an octave up, then try to roughen his voice so it's still sufficiently evil, and it simply doesn't work. We need Victor Brox back. Or Johanson should have sung both parts.

The other bright spot of this production in this adaptation on film was the cruel alien wierdness of Michael Shaeffer's Annas and his work with the other priests in "This Jesus Must Die" and "Blood Money," yet these integral songs are unforgiveably missing from the soundtrack. Superstar already has throwaway songs built into it, like "Could We Start Again, Please" that should have been cut long before the numbers that symbolized the gathering menace of the priests and an essential plot line in the Judas story thread. Cutting those numbers, which have some great electric guitar riffs attached to them (something else missing this gutless, synthesizedm, homogenized soundtrack arrangement- an electric guitar) is one more bad decision by the producers of this CD.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Missing several key songs
Comment: Love the DVD of this version of JCS, but was less than impressed with the CD, as it was missing several key songs. Since I purchased the downloadable version, this omission is inexcusable.

With the exception of those missing songs, the downloadable version was very good. The talent of the cast was supurb, to say the least. There is some noticable clipping in the music and vocals, likely due to some volume level balancing done during the ripping process. I do not know if this problem exists on original CD's.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A Superstar Soundtrack!!
Comment: Tim Rice and Anderw Lyyoyd Webber's new musical "Jesus Christ Superstar" shines in this soundtrack that has beautiful music which is based on the musical movie. It is a very dark production, but it some ways the music helps enlighten the story in some ways due to its graphic nature. I love all the songs in this musical, and would highly recommend this edition of "Jesus Christ Superstar" because of their wonderful performences. There are several songs that happen to be my all time favorite: "Heaven On Their Minds, "What's the Buzz?/Strange Thing Mystifying," "Everything's Alright," "Hosanna," "Simon Zealoates/Poor Jerusalem," I Don't Know How To Love Him," "The Last Supper," "Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)," "King Herod's Song," "Could We Start Again," to "Superstar." I could listen to this soundtrack all the time and it would never get old or boring because its hip and now. The lyrics are so memorable that it could have easily been written yesterday. There are some complaints that there have been a song or two not on this edition, but it didn't bother me at all, I still charished it with all my heart. I can't wait until the next Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's newest musical premiers. I don't understand God's word very much, but I don't understand music, and I think the music in this production is very inspiring and will help me build a better relationshiop with my Lord. I'm very excited and happy about my product and would do buisness with www.amazon.com again.

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