I’m sharing specific songs from my life that hold a permanent place in my heart. If I were to present a mixtape to everyone that would attend my funeral, it would likely contain these songs. These won’t come in any particular order; I’ve got an ever-expanding playlist that I’ll be pulling from.
Gethsemane (I Only Want To Say) : Jesus Christ Superstar (Original Cast Recording) - Jesus, sung by Ian Gillian (of Deep Purple).
My love for Jesus Christ Superstar originated when my friends and I discovered the movie in high school. There was the time in 1995 when my friends mom drove us to see it performed live on stage with Ted Neeley reprising his role as Jesus. That night my friends and I chased down the tour bus and snagged some autographs. Check it out, Jesus gave me “Best Wishes!”

It wasn’t until college that I discovered, and aurally devoured, the original cast recording of JCS. As good as the film versions of these songs are, the versions on this original album are, for me, superior in almost every way, not the least of which is Ian Gillian singing as Jesus. Now, don’t get me wrong here: movie and stage Jesus - Ted Neeley - is a god; he can do things with his voice that makes mere mortals fall to their knees and bow before his greatness, but Ian’s performance is so heartfelt and intense that I feel like weeping every time he belts out a moan or a scream. I get chills every time I hear him belt out “Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy should I diiiiiiiiiiie?” at 2:27 of this recording (just short of halfway through). From my experience listening to Deep Purple, I’d say that I’ve heard no point in his career that Ian sounded better than he does on this album. He thoroughly owned this recording.
Picking a favorite song from JCS is an impossible task for me. I had 5 songs queued in my playlist trying to decide which I would use for this post (This one + Pilate’s Dream, What’s The Buzz/Strange Thing Mystifying, Dammed For All Time/Blood Money, The Last Supper), each with different characteristics that make this album so meaningful to me. I settled on Gethsemane because of Ian’s performance, the impressive orchestration and arrangement of the song, and because it’s often the song that I find myself singing hours after listening to the whole album.
Aside from the brilliance of Ian Gillian, this rest of the players on this album are superb, especially the instrumentalists. In particular, Alan Spenner’s bass playing is downright awe inspiring in it’s loose structure and unwavering groove. As far as I can tell, he improvised his way through the entire album, following along with the written chord changes. Any aspiring bass player should study these recordings inside and out. Put the albums under your pillow and hope that you’ll pick up some technique through osmosis.
Tuesday night I’ll be heading to Buffalo to see JCS live on stage for the third time (each with Ted Neeley). I can think of no more appropriate week of the year to enjoy a live performance of the final week of Jesus’ life.
(reposted after a bit of an edit)