Having completed a successful three year run, the cast of Hair celebrated this achievement with a mass. In April 1971 the cast assembled at the Cathedral of St John the Divine to perform Divine Hair/Mass in F, with the mass music composed by Galt MacDermot.

Backed by three choirs both the band and the Tribe - as the cast were often referred to - the recording mixes both the mass and selections from the Broadway show. Anyone who has attended a Christmas or Easter event at their church, featuring the local kids, will get the idea, except here it’s the hippie counter culture meeting the Orthodox Church.

Although it features the original cast, this is not a recording of the show in its totality; it would have been hard to justify either ‘Sodomy’ or ‘I'm Black/Colored Spade’ within the context of a mass, whereas others, such as ‘The Flesh Failures’ slot straight into a mass.

Because of the venue, the acoustics seem to have been harder to tame. The higher end of the spectrum comes over nice and clear, but the more bassy elements sound more than a little muddied. Not that it really spoils the overall impression.

The Track listing is as follows:

'Introduction (Organ)', 'Canon West's Welcome', 'Aquarius (Introit)', 'The Collect', 'Sanctus & Benedictus Qui Venit - Mass in F', 'The Lesson', 'What a Piece of Work Is Man (Sequence)', 'The Epistle', 'Hair', 'Three-Five-Zero-Zero (Offertory)', 'Where Do I Go?', 'The Gospel', 'Agnus Dei - Mass in F', '1000 Year Old Man', 'Kyrie - Mass in F', 'Gloria in Excelsis - Mass in F', 'Organ Improvisation on Aquarius', 'The Lord's Prayer' and 'The Flesh Failures'.

I’m not really sure who this album would appeal to, apart from Hair completists. It certainly records the highlights of the mass, but misses much of the show out. Anyway, there are better recordings of the show available. Still, as a recording of a particular event, it’s not too bad.

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Charles Packer