Jesus Christ Superstar – Special Edition Albums
To mark the 50th anniversary of the 1970 concept double album, Jesus Christ Superstar, a variety of special anniversary edition albums will be released on September 17th. This landmark release features an array of exclusive demos, commentaries, interviews and much more!
Andrew said: “A musical about Jesus Christ! Back in 1969 the mere thought had theatre producers falling about with laughter. But somehow Tim Rice and I persuaded MCA to record a single. It came at a time when fusion was all the rage. The Rolling Stones had recorded with the London Bach Choir. Deep Purple’s Jon Lord composed a symphony for rock band and orchestra. So I was like a kid in a sweet shop when I was able to combine a rock band, a symphony orchestra and a gospel choir in what was the first track to be recorded, simply titled Superstar.
Overriding everything was that we were telling our story in sound – and sound alone. We had none of the visual elements of theatres and film to fall back. A cast-iron musical and dramatic structure was the key. Dialogue had no place on a record, so music and lyrics had to carry everything. In truth, we were writing a musical radio play. Ultimately, this gave us one enormous advantage. Audiences came to know our recordings so well that no future director or producer could add musical passages for scene changes or tamper with the construction. The score had become set in stone.”
