This week, Andrew updates his Spotify playlist with some of the key tracks that influenced him when writing @JCSSTheMusical. Who would've thought Andrew was @ledzeppelin fan! – #TeamALWpic.twitter.com/YON3ru4Df8
It has been 50 years since Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote the music for Jesus Christ Superstar. Today, he added two songs to his Spotify playlist that he says inspired some of the tunes from the musical.
The first song was The Immigrant Song from Led Zeppelin because they were recording in the studio next door to them at the time. I think that the legendary band influenced What’s the Buzz, The Temple, and Damned For All Time/Blood Money.
The other song is Joe Cocker’s take on With a Little Help From My Friends because the sexy, raspy singer’s band worked on JCS. As soon as ALW said that, all I could hear in my head, was I Don’t Know How to Love Him.
Do you hear Zepplin and Cocker’s influence in JCS now, or is it just me?
There are a lot of great songs from the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Jesus Christ Superstar, and the one I sing most is I Don’t Know How to Love Him. My favorite version belongs to Yvonne Elliman, who sang it in the movie.
Today, I finally heard a cover that is now my second favorite, and it wasn’t even sung by a female. It is actually performed by Rivers Cuomo. An interesting choice for the Weezer singer. So much so, I wonder if there is a deeper meaning to it. Either way, it is very powerful for him to sing a song by the most famous prostitute to the son of Gd.
In case you haven’t heard, the movie Cats was so bad that real cats wished they were any other species but a feline after it came out. We heard this, but we had never seen how they reacted to it when they were around the man who created the awful 1981 musical.
That is until now. Andrew Lloyd Weber was walking on a secluded path when he came up to a pussy that was in front of him. As the producer (who has created several amazing musicals) got near the kitty, it fell to the floor. Then Weber caught up to the cat; it turned its back on him. Which makes you wonder if it is sending him a message to the playwright. Something like you had me at Memory but lost me when the curtain went up.
Luckily for Weber, he came upon a nicer kitty. I don’t think most cats would have given such subtle messages. They would be more like the kitty in Pet Semetary. Me-ow! At least that was how mine was when I pressed play on the theatrical release. Thus, I have never seen the film.
When you watch the trailer for Cats, you think this musical looks beautiful. I cannot wait to see it this Christmas.
Then you remember that it was one of Manhattan’s biggest mysteries. People wondered why it was the longest-running musical on the Great White Way when almost everyone who saw it, hated it.
I grew up in NYC, so I went to plenty of Broadway shows growing up. Cats was the first one I hated and so did my parents. And we are cat people. Andrew Lloyd Webber has made some great shows and some awful ones. This falls in with the latter.
When it comes to Jennifer Hudson singing Memory, her singing is all power with no emotion. It is a showstopping number because it is the heart of the show. Not enough heart in her voice. The other problem is it cast a lot of A-listers, they are just celebrities that people find annoying. Not Judi Dench or Idris Elba, but you know who.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gjp1kbxEdGU
Who says you cannot go home again? Definitely not James Corden who is doing a week of The Late Late Show over in his native London. Since he has been over in the States, he has added a bunch of new bits that the Brits do not know about like Crosswalk the Musical.
If you are going to do a musical production near the West End, then you have do something from Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. How can you do just one? You cannot, so the CBS host did a number from four of his biggest musicals. And did I mention the musical genius was there to witness it all on the streets of London. Not Mr. Sheffield, but Mr. Webber.
They started it off with Don’t Cry for Me Argentina from Evita, and no one was crying until the light turned green. Next up was a song from Cats, the most overrated musical of all time. For their traffic stopping number they did something from Phantom of the Opera with a surprise guest. As we know, many a dreams are made on the Great White Way, so you have to end it with Any Dream Will Do from Joseph and the Amazing Techicolor Dreamcoat. Although, I prefer Go, Go, Go Joseph or Joseph’s Coat.
Anyways, there were so many great moments, but the best one was when a dog walked by them when they were dressed as Cats. It was the only hiss they heard all day, but there were plenty of boos. Not because of the production numbers but because no one likes to be stuck in traffic anywhere in the world. Even if they are getting a free show.
