Arista
1971
Godspell
About This Album
Jesus Christ made a big comeback at the start of 1970s in the guise of a rock star. Perhaps it was the general disillusionment of the late '60s that sent people back to that old-time religion, or maybe it was just that, with his scraggly beard and sandals, Jesus was suddenly identifiable as the prototype of the anti-materialist hippie. In any case, his (or His) return to prominence was heralded by the success of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, which topped the American charts in February 1971. Lloyd Webber and Rice had always intended Superstar to be a stage musical, only recording the album when they failed to find the funds for a production, and they wasted little time in putting it on Broadway, opening the following October. But in between, another stage show about Jesus appeared, Godspell. It was the brainchild of John-Michael Tebelak, who had written the text as a college exercise at Carnegie-Mellon University. Tebelak brought in 23-year-old fellow alumnus Stephen Schwartz to write the music and the "new" lyrics, which, like the book, were adapted from the gospel according to St. Matthew, along with some borrowings from Mark, Luke, and John.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,6 and 9)

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