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Various Artists (Concept albums & Themed compilations) - Jesus Christ Superstar CD (album) cover

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR

Various Artists (Concept albums & Themed compilations)

 

Various Genres

4.19 | 229 ratings

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HarmonyDissonan
4 stars I'VE LOVED THIS MUSIC (and movie) SINCE OUR 8th GRADE CATHOLIC SCHOOL CLASS SAW THE MOVIE AT THE LOCAL MOVIE THEATER BACK IN '74!

Being Holy Saturday and a Christian, it seemed appropriate to review my favorite musical and a favorite movie also since they are this movie/musical. First I'd like to say that I love the music from this recording! Even though I love the movie and truly like the song (Can We Start Again Please) that is in the movie but not on this, the concept album production, I do prefer this recording to the movie soundtrack. The cover of the this album has a brown leather-like look to it with two gold fanciful angel renditions meeting at the bottom giving a slight horse shoe effect. I hope you, the reader, don't mind if I refer to the movie as well as the recording here in question. I find it virtually impossible to separate one from the other. I've always felt that the music and the movie went hand-in-hand. The stark middle-eastern setting with minimal stage sets, set upon existing antiquity sites always seemed ideal for the production. A good amount of artistic license was used making this movie but I think that if you watch it with an open mind listening to the fantastic music IMHO, realizing that symbolism plays a major role in it's story telling, that you can be moved by it. I know that I have been many a time.It never seemed too difficult to me to interpret. Whether my interpretations were correct, well I don't know that, but I feel satisfied with them. Before I forget, I'd like to mention one of my favorite symbolic moments in the movie. It is just prior to the 'Damned For All Time/Blood Money' scene when Judas Iscariot is crouching in the dessert and, in slow motion a line of 5 or 6 military tanks rumble over the top of a small hill directly behind him. Now I've always interpreted that as the tanks representing evil which drives Judas to his appointed role in Jesus' betrayal. But it's just one of those scenes that make this movie and it's music so special to me. I love all the music in this musical and it's a hard call as to say whether or not or to what extent of a recommendation I can make. If you love 70's era rock and very good musicals and if the fact that the story told is a religious one and that doesn't bother, offend or annoy you then I think you'd appreciate the music from this movie/musical. I think I recall hearing back in the early 70's the local rock radio station actually playing the track 'Jesus Christ Superstar' on the air once and a while. Sadly, radio stations these days couldn't play anything like that today. It was a time when freedom of expression in music and not only hype for record sales was respected. Oh well. that's about it. Take care, and enjoy God's gift of music.

HarmonyDissonan | 4/5 |

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