Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1973 London Studio Cast)
In 1973, the phenomenal success of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim  Rice'sJesus Christ  Superstarcreated great interest in an earlier show by the same  team--Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, based on the  Old Testament story of Joseph and his coat of many colors. That demand  resulted in this studio recording (not connected to any stage  performance), only the first in along line of recordingsand undoubtedly the  weakest. What's interesting, though, is how little the show has changed  since this early draft, the only notable omission here being the  prologue. The major difference is a male narrator (Peter Reeves), and  listeners will be hard-pressed to miss a fewJCSriffs tossed in  to draw a parallel between Joseph's visit to Pharaoh and Jesus' to  Pilate. All in all, underpowered performances by the leads (Gary Bond  in the title role, Gordon Waller as Pharaoh), sloppy choral work, and a  general lack of zip make this recording a historical novelty at best.--David Horiuchi