For those not in the know, the conceptual and artistic triumph, NBC’s live telecast of 'Jesus Christ Superstar' this past Easter Sunday may have finally justified the recent live musical fad on network TV.

Sure there were some technical mishaps, and some up and down variations of lead performers and their collective, let alone individual shining moments, but the overall production was genuinely thrilling.

So too was the soundtrack that accompanied it live on stage for the Original Soundtrack of the NBC Television Event was released digitally on April 6th, and as a physical 2CD set on April 20th (via Sony Music Masterworks / Masterworks Broadway).

The album contains more than two dozen tracks from the musical, which was headlined by ten-time Grammy Award winner John Legend as Jesus Christ and Grammy nominee Sara Bareilles as Mary Magdalene.

CD 1:
1. "Overture"
2. "Heaven On Their Minds"
3. "What's The Buzz/Strange Thing Mystifying"
4. "Everything's Alright"
5. "This Jesus Must Die"
6. "Hosanna"
7. "Simon Zealotes/Poor Jerusalem"
8. "Pilate's Dream"
9. "The Temple"
10. "Everything's Alright (Reprise)"
11. "I Don't Know How To Love Him"
12. "Damned For All Time/Blood Money"

CD 2:
1. "The Last Supper"
2. "Gethsemane (I Only Want To Say)"
3. "Transition'
4. "The Arrest"
5. "Peter's Denial"
6. "Pilate and Christ"
7. "King Herod's Song"
8. "Transition After Herod"
9. "Could We Start Again, Please?"
10. "Judas's Death"
11. "Trial Before Pilate (Including The 39 Lashes)"
12. "Superstar"
13. "The Crucifixion"
14. "John Nineteen: Forty One"
15. "Curtain Call"

Set during the final week of Jesus' life, the story is told from the perspective of infamous betrayer Judas Iscariot. As more and more followers flock to Jesus, Judas grows concerned that Jesus is becoming arrogant and losing sight of his principles.

So when Jesus attacks the money changers in a temple, Judas finally turns on his teacher, setting both on a path to tragedy.

With the R&B hitmaker John Legend playing Jesus Christ, Sara Bareilles as Mary Magdalene, Brandon Victor Dixon as Judas Iscariot, and the one, the only, Alice Cooper as King Herod, NBC’s 'Jesus Christ Superstar' didn’t lack for talent or star power.

Drawn, as it was, from the worlds of pop and theater, from the smooth soulfulness of Legend, to the pop quaintness of Bareilles, on through to Cooper’s magnificently scenery-chewing performance of “King Herod’s Song," there isn't a low or bad part to be heard on this superb soundtrack.

Sure Cooper has played King Herod before, singing the part during a performance captured on a 2000 recording with the cast of the 1996 revival, but here he stood high and mighty on the shoulders of his other leads, it has to be said.

It's as if both the character's being portrayed along with their singing voices, raised, articulated to be heard, were weighing a little heavier on the others. But that's completely understandable, and for the most part, nobody put a foot wrong vocally, nor fumbled a hand off on stage either.

Conceived as a concept album, the original 1970 recording of 'Jesus Christ Superstar' includes the hit songs "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "I Don t Know How to Love Him" and went to #1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart in 1971.

Indeed, it was nominated for three Grammy Awards®, including Album of the Year, and ranked number one in album sales on the year-end chart ahead of Carole King's massive hit Tapestry.

The first Broadway production, starring Ben Vereen, opened in 1971 and garnered five Tony® nominations in addition to winning a Drama Desk Award for Andrew Lloyd Webber.

It is also fondly remembered for the 1973 Golden Globe® and Academy Award® nominated film that featured a new song written for the Broadway production, "Could We Start Again, Please?" that was also included in the live broadcast and here on this soundtrack.