I saw Ted Neeley reprise his film role in a touring production of JCS in Philly sometime in the '90s - he still held his own!Honorio wrote: 1. TED NEELEY "Ghetsemane (I Just Want to Say)" (1973)
A song I discovered (and loved) when I was a child, before learning about tastes (and all the prejudices that come with learning). "Gethsemane" was the central piece of the musical "Jesus Christ Superstar" and it was written as a prayer from Jesus Christ to God expressing his doubts before his passion and crucifixion, with a strong emotional content ranging from fear to anger but ending with acceptance. The original version was part of a concept album released in 1970 and was sung by Ian Gillan of Deep Purple fame (this version still can be considered almost cool, you can listen to it here). But the one I like the most was sung by Ted Neeley for the 1973 motion picture. I know that those spine-tingling (or ridiculous, depending on the side you're on) falsettos from 2'25" to 3'25" are Gillan's but the part from 3'57" was the part when Neeley wins it for me. While Gillan's sticks to the melody of the first part Neeley makes an impressive transition from the defeated whisper of "now I'm sad and tired" to the final piercing growl of acceptance in "I will drink your cup of poison, nail me to your cross and break me." It's strange because despite my catholic upbringing now I consider myself an agnostic. But what can I do? This song still send me chills every time I revisit it. Verdict? Guilty, of course.
I'm a big fan of the show/movie & it's music as has been noted elsewhere, and while I prefer the Gillan version, "Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)" currently ranks at #2265 on my all-time list. No guilt here!