From the New Broadway Cast Recording of GODSPELL, released digitally on Tuesday, December 20, 2011 and in-stores on Tuesday, January 31, 2012. www.godspell.com.
This version of "Beautiful City" may be one of the best rewrites in Broadway history. I liked the original, but rewriting the words and switching from the more up-tempo version to more of a ballad was brilliant!
This song definitely evolved further then it's debute in the 1973 Godspell movie. Obviously , Stephen improved it for the second best cast of God Spell ever. I love the new cast as much as the original .
Despite the good intentions of the rewrite, which the 1991 Rodney King riots occasioned, I have to disagree the implication that the song evolved for the better. "Can we see / A ray of hope? / One pale thin ray / Reaching for the day" isn't the finest lyric writing. "We don't need alabaster, / We don't need chrome" is mysterious and specific. "Can we see / A ray of hope?" could be followed by something like "One slender beam / Reaching out to dream," which adds syllabic complexity without leaning into the simplicity of cliché, without distorting the singability, and without changing the intention of the rewrite. That said, there is no argument that Parrish's voice is extraordinary. He should do a lot more singing, live and recorded, in any format.
I have a few questions: 1. Why isn't there a Love button? 2. How could anyone dislike this beautiful video, song, and voice behind it? 3. Has Hunter Parrish (Jesus) considered making an album of his own?
This is something that we all need to strive to achieve. We CAN build a city of Man and Woman. We are higher than God's angels and truth be know none of us are angels!
I remember Hunter Parrish was in a movie call Freedom Writers with Hillary Swank. He was the one white kid in the class, who knew where to get marijuana.
This is just brilliant. So many breathtaking mixes. I'm so in love with you for speaking my language. You are amazing. I am very grateful to you for introducing me to "Raise Me Up" and "Life is a Dancefloor". Happy Easter to you, sir. and Thanks again
@sinatrabooth89 I really want to see it, except I'm not in the New York area (which would make it difficult for me to participate in the pre-show ticket lottery), and I'm short on money. Perhaps a discount will present itself in the foreseeable future.
From a Christian standpoint, this is a song about sanctification. It's part and parcel of Gospel, although, admittedly, a part that some Christians ignore. Why would you think that somehow this song requires your finger-wagging as some necessary coda? And isn't the Gospel, in the final analysis, the ULTIMATE warm-and-fuzzy? Your sarcasm about good feelings puzzles me. I seriously doubt that anyone expects a song to save anyone...but a song CAN point toward a way. And for what it's worth, Hunter Parrish is a Christian. Anyway, you could hardly accuse a song that opens with acknowledging human ruin, rubble, and smoke of being overly warm and fuzzy. Seems like a pretty realistic assessment of our brokenness, along with an optimism that sanctified living CAN make a hopeful difference.
