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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0088111757266
Format: Original recording remastered, Soundtrack
Item Dimensions: 24
Label: Decca U.S.
Manufacturer: Decca U.S.
MPN: 11757
Number Of Discs: 2
Publisher: Decca U.S.
Release Date: March 24, 1998
Studio: Decca U.S.
Disc 1:- Overture
- Heaven on Their Minds
- What's the Buzz
- Strange Thing Mystifying
- Then We Are Decided
- Everything's Alright
- This Jesus Must Die
- Hosanna
- Simon Zealotes
- Poor Jerusalem
- Pilate's Dream
- Temple
- I Don't Know How to Love Him
- Damned for All Time/Blood Money
Disc 2:- Crucifixion
- Crucifixion
- Last Supper
- Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)
- Arrest
- Peter's Denial
- Pilate and Christ
- King Herod's Song
- Could We Start Again, Please?
- Judas' Death
- Trial Before Pilate
- Superstar
- Curcifixion
- John Nineteen: Forty-One
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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
This 1974 Norman Jewison film may have been a critical misstep, but some fans actually preferred it to Broadway's rock spectacle. The thing is, Jesus Christ Superstar was first introduced as a two-disc rock opera, not unlike the Who's Tommy, as it even scored several Top 40 hits. While no set matches the original, it's still hard to go wrong with the music, no matter what the source. This also includes the pretty "Could We Start Again, Please," composed for the stage version, and sung here by the original LP's Mary Magdalene, Yvonne Elliman. Ted Neely (Jesus) and Carl Anderson (Judas), meanwhile, have spent two decades on the road, recreating their roles night after night, although they have to now be at least two decades older than Jesus was at the Crucifixion. --Bill Holdship
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
Overture
3:02-3:06 severe drop-off when "jam" part starts
3:45 - sounds like someone bumped a turntable - shakes
String section mixed too high throughout
4:26-4:30 horrible mix
Heaven On Their Minds
0:00-0:08 is a different source than the rest of the song
Vocals too high; drums and bass inaudible
0:50-1:10 horrible mix
1:10 > drums completely inaudible, unless you like a guy singing along to a piano
2:00 drums mysteriously raised in mix
2:05/2:06 BAD piano chord, missed the note completely
2:20 drums go back down again
2:54-3:07 horrible mix - percussion inaudible to end of song
3:47 mix varies up and down through the course of 20 seconds, bass up/down, drums in/out
What's The Buzz
0:00-0:06 is a different source than the rest of the song
Vocals too high; background vocals from different source than lead vocal
1:15 guitar too low
1:52-2:00 bass suddenly is increased
2:05 suddenly backing vocals are mixed way too high, peaks around 2:15-2:23, horrible
2:30 returns to source from beginning - also, abruptly cuts out prior to cymbal crash ending
Strange Thing Mystifying
Drums low, but relatively OK until 0:47
"Hey cool it" is a sample probably from the film dialog, sounds slapped on
1:46 ends VERY abruptly, Horrible ending
Then We Are Decided
Vocals different source than background music
0:32-0:34 drums recorded HORRIBLY, sounds like pencil on paper
The problem here is the quality of the music recording, sounds as if one mike was used to pick up all the instruments in the room
2:12-2:18 French horns are too loud
Everything's Alright
0:06 As soon as the vocals come in, music goes COMPLETELY OUT
Bells at 0:19, 0:21 mixed excruciatingly loud
Microphone feedback at 0:32
0:49 Music coming in higher
Bass nearly inaudible
1:46 Horrible vocal mix - Mary inconsistent w/Judas
2:26-2:32 Jesus vocal drowned out by strings
Remainder of song: piano suddenly up front, drums nonexistent
This Jesus Must Die
1:15-1:24 obviously from different source than body of song which starts at 1:55
Horrible playing - instruments completely out of time with each other
1:55 music too low
2:23 > horrible mix with horns
The final lyric "die" (at 3:37) is supposed to be climactic, yet it comes in LOWER than the rest of the vocals in the song and fades out IMMEDIATELY
Hosanna
Drums inaudible
1:13 > unlistenable - strings way too high, drowning out vocals - compare this to the same melody at 2:01 - why is the same THEME mixed differently in 2 different points in the song?
Simon Zealotes
Here's where it all completely falls apart.
0:39 guitar too low
1:03 when singing starts, mix changes, different source? Completely different mix and instrumentation, possibly a different recording altogether
1:27 lead vocal overdubbed badly
1:44 mix levels immediately change, notice sudden strength of piano and guitar
2:03-2:11 backing vocals muted, horribly recorded - when they come in, drum mix changes
2:11-2:13 changes source/mix AGAIN
2:19 surge in overall music level
2:40 short interruption in timing of music, BAD
2:40 changes source/music back to first part
3:23-3:25 MICROPHONE FEEDBACK
3:37 suddenly, source and mix change, backing music drops out completely compared to orchstra and vocal
FADES from 4:09?? Why is the music fading out 30 seconds before the end of the song?
Compare: 4:14 HIGH, 4:16 LOW. Abrupt level change
4:31 to 4:34 change in level and source, also time change noticeable.
The end vocals during the "ah-men" are poorly recorded and mixed lower than the rest of the song. This is the CLIMAX of the first half of the entire show, yet it is recorded and mixed lower than everything else.
I won't continue, but I could. This is a travesty considering the legacy, the social importance, the history, the P R I C E. And this is a remaster, the best it's going to get? Hmmm.
Ever wonder why there's no recording information on the insert of this album, like where/when/who? Because no one wants anything to do with it.
Rating:  -
As a whole, this is a masterpiece, but each song is amazing. This is the kind of music that you learn by heart and remember the rest of your life. I heard it first 30 years ago and will never forget it. The opera when performed is nonpareil. A must listen (and see) for anyone who appreciates musicals.
Rating:  -
Most of the performances on this album are good, and I particularly liked Carl Anderson as Judas, and Larry Marshall as Simon.
However, Ted Neeley's vocal performance has always seemed far sub-par to Ian Gillan's in the original album.
Neeley has an annoying vocal habit which, once you notice it, is very hard to ignore: He consistently begins each line a beat or two late, and then catches up at the end of the line. I assume he intends for this to add extra drama to the vocal performance, but I find it very distracting because he does it so consistently.
I saw him play Jesus in a 1980s stage production, and this affection had gotten even worse, to the point, where on certain stanzas, I would be cringing, thinking he was going to throw the musicians off.
I suspect that if I had heard Neeley's version first, I wouldn't have quite such a problem with his performance. I imagine that many of those who prefer the movie soundtrack are those who heard it first, and for whom Neeley's interpretation feels 'right'.
For me, Ian Gillan is the definitive Jesus.
Rating: -
I gave this three stars because no matter how bad the sound, the music is that good. Still, it's hard to believe that this is a remaster. For some reason they decided to mess with the fine mix from the LP and, instead, crank the vocal parts way up above the instruments. Sample some of the cuts and listen for yourself--if the LP is drilled into your head (like it is mine), you'll notice the difference. ON THE OTHER HAND, the sound mix on the DVD is pitch-perfect, which makes the screw-up with the CD all the more baffling. Tip: buy the DVD and rip the tracks to mp3 using freeware like DVD-MP3 Ripper.
Rating: -
I hadn't heard or even thought of "Jesus Christ Superstar" for a long time, but came across the film on cable and watched it out of curiosity. By the end of the first song, I was hooked (again). I'd forgotten how good it was. I'll review the movie separately under the item listing for the DVD, but I will report that I ended up watching it repeatedly (HD cable on demand allowed me to watch it at my convenience). It actually seemed to get better with each successive viewing, and so did the soundtrack. Both the music and the film have held up extremely well considering how old they are. In fact, I think that JCS is Andrew Lloyd Webber's very best work and while I have enjoyed "Phantom of the Opera", it's not as good.
Since the only recording I had was on LP and packed away in a box somewhere, I needed to get it on CD or as a download. I started checking around on Amazon to see what was available and what other people recommended, and soon discovered that fans of this music have *very* strong opinions. There simply is no overwhelming consensus, but both the original studio recording (it was released as a studio recording before any stage performance had been given, let alone recorded) and this film soundtrack have fairly widespread support. Having watched the film so many times, I wanted the soundtrack, in spite of some negative reviews about the sound quality (mostly fair) and some reviewers who don't care for the performance. I purchased it as a download, since it was about half the price of the CDs and I could get it immediately.
First, I'll discuss the performance. If you don't like the film, or if you don't like the singers in the film, then you won't like the soundtrack. But it's hard to imagine why listeners would not like the singers. Carl Anderson as Judas is outstanding and so is Yvonne Elliman as Mary Magdalene. I found that Ted Neeley's performance as Jesus, which at first seemed a bit weak and underpowered, was actually nuanced, thoughtful, and built up through the movie, as is appropriate for his role. When he finally gets angry, you really pay attention. Having said that, some people really dislike Neely in the role and you may be one of them, so if you haven't seen the film, listen to his tracks before you make a decision. I also liked Barry Dennen as Pilate, and Josh Mostel as Herod.
Now for the audio quality. Many reviewers complained about the remastering, and I agree that there are some problems, but none of them is a deal-breaker. A frequent complaint about the CD is the gap between each track, which also exists on the download version. However, you can get rid of it in iTunes by setting the "stop time" of each track to match the instant that the music stops, and then selecting "gapless play" for all of the tracks. It takes a little time, but it does a pretty good job of getting rid of the gaps, which are very annoying. This music was supposed to be heard in one continuous flow, not as segments or songs with silence in between.
Another complaint that people have is that the sound was remastered and remixed poorly, and I agree that it's not nearly as well done as the remastered soundtrack that you'll hear while watching the film. I have no idea why they didn't just use the same mix for the CD, but they didn't, and it was a big mistake. There are noticeable changes in volume level between tracks, which makes it necessary to raise or lower the volume control. This doesn't occur during the film. The vocals tend to be a bit too "forward" at the expense of a fuller instrumental background, another problem that doesn't affect the film. There is also some very annoying high-pitched distortion at the very beginning of "Everything's Alright", which, while it only last a few measures, is also absent in the film version. Finally, this is not a totally complete soundtrack of all the music from the film. There is an all-instrumental interlude that takes place before the track "Judas' Death" that doesn't appear here, and it's very good music (reminiscent of a passage from Prokofiev's "Alexander Nevsky"). It could easily have been included and it should have been.
Still, even with these reservations about the sound quality, I strongly recommend this version. I'm also ordering the CDs of the original version, since that was the one I first heard years ago and it is indispensible. I decided against any of the later versions, though they also have their adherents. I think it says something about the power of this music that there are so many performances available, and that each of them has its supporters.
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