Jesus Christ Superstar, The Original Album....

[JKL2000]

Which leads to an interesting, if off-topic, conversation that might be best handled in a separate thread:

What are your thoughts on the "CHESS" album, that came out some time after JCSS? I think it's one of the most underrated released of the era.

Music by the 2 guys from Abba, lyrics by Tim Rice, and inspiration from Gilbert and Sullivan, IMO.

I spun it a few weeks ago, and still have the earworms!

Gillian is pretty great!

I’m not overly familiar with Chess - what’s the Gilbert & Sullivan influence though?

To go even further off topic, do you guys like the movie “Topsy Turvy?” It’s a favorite here in the Zaius household! We’ve watched it countless times. I’d say it’s in my top five movies of all time.

[Mister Triscuits]

To go even further off topic, do you guys like the movie “Topsy Turvy?”

It's been ages since I've seen it, but I liked it enough to buy the DVD. Love G&S.

[UnephenStephen]

got this on CD.. even though it is not a soundtrack of a broadway performance or a movie, it is the best version i've heard. the combination of singers, arrangements, etc are just the best here (maybe a close second goes to the NBC live broadcast from Easter 3 years ago). pretty proggy in spots too.
got Godspell too but not quite the enormity of story as JCS.

[ronmac]

Quite likely, Ian Gillan's greatest performance.

[MudShark22]

For these ears, it is Gillan's best.

Re: NBC version
Everything BUT John Legend was pretty tight, but he was terrible.

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[interbellum]

Listening to Gethsamane as part of my annual immersion in this record. What a great performance by Ian Gillan! Great songwriting by a pair of songwriters that were less than 22 years old at the time. Damned for All Time and Judas' Death and any number of the other performances are sublime. Murray Head is a wonder.

Although not every year I still listen to Getsamane regularly. And yes, Murray Head is great too. Based on YCS I once bought an solo-LP from him called Between Us (produced by Rupert Hine, featuring Trevor Morais, John G. Perry, Geoffrey Richardson, Bob Weston and Simon Jeffes). The song Sorry, I Love You has the same impact on me as his performance on YCS:

[ronmac]

Re: NBC version
Everything BUT John Legend was pretty tight, but he was terrible.

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Totally agree. He might be a nice guy and has a lot of talent, but was not the one for that role.

[Guitarplyrjvb]

Although not every year I still listen to Getsamane regularly. And yes, Murray Head is great too. Based on YCS I once bought an solo-LP from him called Between Us (produced by Rupert Hine, featuring Trevor Morais, John G. Perry, Geoffrey Richardson, Bob Weston and Simon Jeffes). The song Sorry, I Love You has the same impact on me as his performance on YCS:

Wow! Great performance and nice arrangement.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

Gillian is pretty great!I’m not overly familiar with Chess - what’s the Gilbert & Sullivan influence though?

I'm only familiar with "ONiB" (I'm listening to the album on YT now), but based on that I think there's a descendant of a pattersong here. H'mmm. The opening number sounds very G&S.

[happytheman]

Quite likely, Ian Gillan's greatest performance.

Agree.. after revisiting this thread I dropped the needle on this release this weekend to revisit my "youth".. remember it well when it was released. Even saw the stage production performed. We were living in Germany at the time.. cool to hear all the songs sung in German. Did a quick Wiki search and came up with this under Ian's page...
In 1970, Gillan received a call from Tim Rice, asking him to perform the part of Jesus on the original 1970 album recording of Jesus Christ Superstar, having been impressed with his performance on "Child in Time". After rehearsing a few times with Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, he recorded his entire vocal contributions in three hours. He was subsequently offered the lead role in the 1973 film adaptation. Gillan demanded to not only be paid £250,000 for his role in the movie, but also insisted, without the consent of his manager, that the entire band be paid because filming would conflict with a scheduled tour. The producers declined, instead casting Ted Neeley in the Jesus role, and Gillan continued on in the band

[miamiscot]

Ted Neeley did a fine job in the film but Ian Gillan would have been a Revelation!!!

[JJ88]

Musical theatre isn't necessarily my thing but I do like the original double album.

Worth watching the BBC's three part documentary on British musicals if it's available in the US. A fair bit about JCS but also Chess.

[Mister Triscuits]

Revelation!!!

I think that comes later in the book.

[pb2015]

[B]In 1970, Gillan received a call from Tim Rice, asking him to perform the part of Jesus on the original 1970 album recording of Jesus Christ Superstar, having been impressed with his performance on "Child in Time".

ALW wrote in his memoir that he went to the performance of Deep Purple's Concerto for Rock Group and Orchestra and wasn't impressed with the piece, but liked Gillan's vocals.

[ronmac]

ALW wrote in his memoir that he went to the performance of Deep Purple's Concerto for Rock Group and Orchestra and wasn't impressed with the piece, but liked Gillan's vocals.

The encore would have been where he heard "Child in Time." They played that, "Hush" and "Wring that Neck."

[Duncan Glenday]

I think that comes later in the book.

[ronmac]

I think that comes later in the book.

Different book, too.

[progmatist]

The encore would have been where he heard "Child in Time." They played that, "Hush" and "Wring that Neck."

Wring that Neck Gillan would have no participation in. My friend acquired a recompilation with a more obscure performance. At the end when the crowd is cheering, Gillan said thank you. My friend said, "Why? What'd you do?"

I think that comes later in the book.

Or more accurately a later book in the library. The word bible comes from the same root as biblioteca and bibliography. Literally a collection of books.

[BarryLI]

Neely did a commendable job but couldn't match Gillan's powerful delivery, his performance left me wishing Gillan had gotten the role. Something about the bass performances in JCS grabbed me and have held on, there are some drop dead gorgeous bass lines although I have to re-listen to remember which I thought were exceptional.

[ronmac]

Wring that Neck Gillan would have no participation in.

I know that.

[bigbassdrum]

Something about the bass performances in JCS grabbed me and have held on, there are some drop dead gorgeous bass lines although I have to re-listen to remember which I thought were exceptional.

See post #43
https://www.progressiveears.org/foru...ll=1#post79159

[vmartell]

Another prog connection, if you allow me - this is just a sample:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrTCLZGtJM0

Yes - the Spanish (from Spain) version from the mid-70s. This is prog-related because the band is actually Canarios - who put out a well regarded prog album:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za4DxmWkPak

And yes, Judas is actually the singer of Canarios. The rest of the cast are Spanish pop stars of the era...

v

[happytheman]

Another prog connection, if you allow me - this is just a sample:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrTCLZGtJM0

Yes - the Spanish (from Spain) version from the mid-70s. This prog-related because the band is actually Canarios - who put out a well regarded prog album:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za4DxmWkPak

And yes, Judas is actually the singer of Canarios. The rest of the cast are Spanish pop stars of the era...

v

I didn't realize till I read the Wiki page on Ian that the band for JCS album was Joe Cocker's..

[Rarebird]

Sometimes I think of getting this album.
Our biology and French teacher played the album in our class. Don't ask me what the occasion was, because I don't know.

[MudShark22]

Now I have to get the Teddy version!

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