Jesus Christ Superstar: Mining the meaning of the '70 rock opera
by Tim Young
Jesus Christ Superstar, a
rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, created a lot of controversy
when it surfaced in 1970. Aside from the question of whether rock music
was an "appropriate" medium for the subject matter, there
were also complaints that Jesus was made to look bad, Judas seemed to
be the hero, and so forth.
In this commentary, I don't try
to have all the answers, but I do want to explore the themes running
through the work, both in terms of story and music. I hope that you,
the reader, will offer your own opinions or information if you are familiar
with JCS. If you have anything to add, click on the link for the JCS
forum and post your thoughts.
The following examines the original
1970 double album, which preceded the Broadway show and movie. The movie
soundtrack includes a few songs that are not on the 1970 record.
Global Sounds home
