It was upon hearing Ian singing Child In Time that Lloyd Webber and Rice knew they had their Jesus. Amazing to think that the entire album, with all those singers and instrumentalists, was recorded in around two weeks. They wanted Ian him to do the stage show and three years later the film, but Ian explained that it would mean Deep Purple would have to be put on hold, losing them hundreds of thousands of pounds. His fee alone for the months of filming the film was less than he could make from one Purple gig. Ian set the template for the role of Jesus, everyone that followed him had to attempt his screams. Some did better than others, but no one had that great tone he had when he screamed, which always makes the hairs on my neck stand on end. Overall, we forget that Ian wasn't a trained singer or actor and did an incredible job.
Very true and it would not be surprising if they had also heard Deep Purple’s Hallelujah th-cam.com/video/Rk6VYN31v2U/w-d-xo.html along with Child in Time these 2 songs feel like the parents of Gethsemane - Take care
I respectfully disagree. He did do a great job of the song but nobody will ever match (let alone surpass) Ted Neeley's version from the motion picture. The way he hits the high notes is absolutely incredible and his entire performance of the song is unforgettable!
Ted Neeley is equally as good. They are just different people different singers. I love both performances. Neeley has the added ability to act it out as the vocal track is played and the impact is phenomenal.
I recorded and mixed JCSS the original studio album with Tim and Andrew ... Ian only did >> perhaps three takes . I so loved his singing that a 120 piece symphony orchestra just happened to support his brilliant singing ... I was an opinionated 22 year old 50 years ago >> Ian = you are amazing
Wow. I suspect when you went into work the morning you were told the contract went through, you had no idea you would be a part of history... 😛 (We never do, when we're doing it, do we??)
@@MrJest2 Well I was passionately involved in the production, and wanted it to be really super... I was just a staff music engineer... ( who already had an American #1 album to my credit). I had met Ian years previously when he was in Episode Six, and he arrived looking the part, and said ' hello mate'. We made history that day .
💯❗️ I saw the film in 1973, so Ted Neeley’s was the first version I heard. But I bought the studio soundtrack shortly after (still have it, in fact), and after hearing Ian’s performance, I felt like Ted Neeley (while good in its own right) just couldn’t hold a candle to Ian Gillan’s rendition.
well, if you want a jesus that is bored about dying, then ian's version is the one to go. if you (like me) prefer a jesus that get's really angry about his upcoming death, then you should stick with ted neeley.
@@montanus777I would offer that Ian sang it as a rock concept album, not a musical. That was how he was produced by ALW. It only went to Broadway and then film after the album was a hit. He could have easily sang it more like dialog (Ted Neely) if that was the producer’s intent.
@@liontone fair enough, but at the end of the day that doesn't really matter to me. i don't really care about who _could_ have done the better version, but who _did_ the better version.
I worked for DP in the mid 90's. Gillan is a genuine, beautiful person, and him keeping the bar open for us until 4AM in NYC is an all time favorite memory
Lucky you. I've met him three times, and he was so lovely, spent ages chatting and signing autographs for all the waiting fans and didn't leave until he'd seen everyone. Such a gent. Love him.
YES!! YES!! I have been waiting for this since your channel started!!! It's one of my all-time vocal performances by any singer ever! Nothing touches this original version. He has unlimited creativity, control, sensitivity, range and power. This has given me goosebumps ever since I "borrowed" this recording from my older sister in 1970. Every performance on the original recording is THE seminal version and will always be to my ears. This performance and his performances of "Child in Time" are all the evident required to put Ian Gillan into the very, VERY rare group of the best singers ever. Simply amazing!! THANK YOU for visiting this!!!
Seems like a pattern here. My dad gave this original LP set to me and my older sister "borrowed" it from me, like 20 or so years ago. She still has it. :D
Every once in a while something comes along that just set a bar no one will ever reach. This is one of those times. The feelings, the emotions, the angst, the doubt, and finally the acceptance. A true masterpiece that will never be replicated. Others have come after Ian, but no one will ever touch this performance. How Andrew Lloyd Webber came to choose Ian, is unknown to me, but this is how greatness happens. I remember when my parents bought this album when it was first released and it still brings me to tears. I encourage everyone to hear the genius that Ian put into being Jesus.
@@chrissimonian3409 I am thrilled to have been the man who chose the valve microphone, pressed the record button, and mixed this epic, still a wonder for Ian and us all, onwards …history.
That iconic note that everyone tries to hit it was not on the score, it was put there by Ian, and now it is like the go to if you wanna show yourself as a singer.
He took a taxi across town from his day job, walked in and dropped this, and then went on to do a Deep Purple gig the same night. I'm not religious, but his singing of this song makes me understand why some people are. Just astonishing.
I was 7 when this album came out. My uncle had it and was playing it when we visited. He let me take it to my room and play it on a portable record player. That was all I did for our entire visit. I memorized it in it's entirety. I got the album for Christmas that year. Fast forward 30 years and I'm in the car with my boyfriend, he is playing Deep Purple. As I'm listening to the song, my brain was scrambling to figure out why the singers voice was so familiar to me, why it was raising different emotions in me than the song called for and why it felt like I was listening through a child's mind. After a few minutes, I found the mental file that held Jesus Christ Super Star. I screamed, 'It's Jesus!' My boyfriend looked at me like I had 4 heads and asked if I'd lost my mind. I explained that that was the voice from the album, he was quite annoyed that I would suggest that one of his idols would stoop to play Jesus, lol. The second we got home, I pulled out my CD and found Ian Gillan in the credits. I then asked my boyfriend who was singing in the Deep Purple song...Ian Gillan...shocking, lol. Take that, HA! I think he still hasn't forgiven Ian, lol. I on the other hand have nothing but praise for his amazing vocals and for those who had the insight to recognize that only Ian could bring the depth and passion required to give humanity to part he played. All other renditions, whilst brilliant in their own right, cannot compare to Ian Gillan.
WHAT JUST HAPPENED?! My world was just blown. I've listened to Steve Balsamo (who is phenomenal) but had no idea Ian Gillan recorded the original album. Ian slays this. So grateful to know about this recording!
Ian Gillan has changed the game, he set a new level of voice for the generations to come. There is a way of singing before Ian Gillan and a way of singing after Ian Gillan. Thank to Webber, Thank to Rice and thank to Gillan for it. This musical will live forever!
The amazing fact for me is that he's just in a studio singing. The range of emotions on display here, he's connecting with the words and you can feel it in every word he sings.
the amazing fact is that two hours later he was at the pub. and fifty years later every singer is still tryin' to top THAT line. That highest note that every single singer keeps tryin' to hit was put there by Ian himself, it was not "written" by the composers. he just set a template for the role. and then went out drinking and forgot about everything
I think, what sets Ian Gillan apart from all others who have sung this, is that he isn't giving a "performance," there is no audience or expectation surrounding what he does. So it feels very internal, intimate, sincere and spontaneous. Everyone else who came afterwards is unavoidably self-conscious because they will already be aware of the song, and the significance of Jesus Christ Superstar. Ian Gillan went into the studio with no such pre-conceptions.
True enough! Ian set the standard. He is the archetype, Ian's interpretation of Christ paved the way....I don't think Ian gets enough credit for his contributions. He is really a great singer
Perhaps, but more than any of those other singers, Gillan has a unique personality. You always hear the human behind the vocal, the speaking behind the singing. I think that is a huge factor in its emotional resonance.
Also remember that he created and effectively wrote the whole part. For huge sections, the written sheet music just says "ad lib" Everything we "know" about how to sing this sing is because Ian created it
@Philip Chilvers Deep Purple were reaching the peak of their popularity at that time, and the band was under a lot of pressure to be in the studio and on the road, so the organisation was not going to be very keen on Gillan taking a break to go off on a solo project. It's just not what you do, unless you've reached a point in your career where such whims can afford to be indulged. Records say, Deep Purple played 224 shows across 1971-72, and were on the road while the film was being shot, in addition to writing and recording. Besides which, other than the few hours he spent on the original recording, Gillan has shown no interest at all in Jesus Christ Superstar, or any wish to revisit it.
@Tessmage Tessera Made in Japan was actually recorded at the same time as Jesus Christ Superstar was being filmed, so rock history could have been very different.
That shift Ian made, between the kind of total collapse of his own will, and the line "God, thy will is hard..." to this day sends chills up my spine. I've listened to this original recording probably well into three digits (my parents bought that "Brown Album" set, that has the graphical images displayed in the video, the year it first came out - before the official stage production was even launched) over the years. And it *still* "hits me in the feels" as it were. Probably one of the absolute highlights of Gillian's professional career, even if a lot of people who bought the initial run of records didn't quite understand that at the time.
I’m in tears. You’ve beautifully put into words why this has been my favorite song for over 50 years. I don’t listen to it very often because I never want to lose the awe I feel every time I hear it. Thank you.
This just cements Ian Gillan's place as one of the greatest rock singers of all time. and for those that have never heard it, Jesus Christ Superstar is an amazing album (and so much better than any of the musical recordings) and worth the listen. I've been playing it since it was released in '70 and it never gets old.
I feel exactly the same about this. Ian's raw emotion conveys everything essential to show the real depth of this. He has been top of his game since the very beginning and on top of all that he is a really nice guy.
I never tire of hearing Gillan’s version of this song, years and hundreds of listens since so bought the tape (and later CD) in college. But watching Gillan bring Elizabeth to the brink of tears now, brought me to the brink of tears also, and that’s never happened before. The emotional power of a perfect song, right there. I wish they had filmed this cast performing the concept album, even if it was just them standing on the stage (like a dramatic reading of a play) and not moving around in character. Gillan, Murray Head and Yvonne Elliman singing together on stage would have been electric.
I'm a thrilled that you are analysing this song! I adore it. I only just discovered you and your channel last week and I've been so very enchanted. When I watched your vid about Ian Gillian's 'Child in Time' I was so happy and then I searched to see if you'd done Gethsemane. When I didn't find it I hoped you'd do it someday and now here we are! So excited.
@@TheCharismaticVoice Pronounced Gill-an, not Gill-ian :). Loved the review, Ian is one of the finest vocalists of his generation. Great work and LOVE your channel!
@@DD-wn9uy harsh judge! Surely one of the great vocalists of all time? He stopped me in my tracks when I first saw him and has continued to over the decades. First time you see Child In Time live oh man!!
Child in Time was basically Ian’s audition for this part. Meaning that once Andrew Loyd Webber heard that performance he knew he wanted him cast as Jesus.
I cry uncontrollably every time I hear that performance. Grew up listening to it and loving it in a mostly classical music household, and this just has always been one of the most important performances of my life experience. I'm so happy to know you react similarly to hearing his amazing musical acting.... visually he wasn't dramatic, but vocally he was one of the best, maybe the best, of all of the amazing and skilled and dramatic and emotionally tugging of all singers that I personally am aware of.
The entire concept album/original studio recording is masterful, from Ian Gillan's sublime Jesus, Murray Head's conflicted Judas, to the London Philharmonic. 50 years I've been enjoying this record. Also the whipping scene in the movie is my first memory of silently crying in a theatre. I think I was 3
heard this for 1st time ,a night from a great radio producer at a monophonic sanyo when i was a kid ,,worked so hard to get so many versions of this from then ,the whole work is epic
And it's great that JCS is a real album with actual songs in it. Also musicals and theater works dissipate and disintegrate into separate lines instead of real songs...
He is, but his voice isn’t. He certainly was one of the best ever. But the best version of this song is done by Steve Balsamo at a musical show I went to see in The Netherlands. It was something I had never heard before and it blew me away. The show was aired also on Dutch TV so there is a recording of it. Just look for Steve Balsamo Ghetsame Netherlands on the Tube.
Thanks Elizabeth. Ian's "Gethsemane," was the first and, for me, is still the best. He came in without a frame of reference and blew the song away. Many of those who came later were very good, but they played off of this performance. I first heard it back in the 70s and it's still stirring even today.
This is ALW’s most powerful and moving song. It’s amazing how music, lyrics, and a voice can be so moving that I still tear up hearing it this many years later.
I have been a fan of the movie version of Jesus Christ Superstar since its original release, but was not aware of Ian Gillan's recording of Gesthemane. It literally moved me to tears. It is so gut-wrenching! I cried out to God asking His forgiveness for sending Jesus to the cross to die for me! I have never been so moved!
Find the JCS original studio cast album, the whole thing is amazing vocally, both Jesus and Judas are epic as well as Mary’s part (although she was one of the few original people who were in the movie), I’ve been listening to it my entire life. It’s so good, the movie pales in comparison
Funny story for you: I was about 11 yrs old, I was cranking Child in Time on my record player. My mum came into my room demanding I turn it down!. Saying the singer was horrible, can only scream, etc. I showed her the liner notes on my album: Ian gillan as singer ..she's like so what??? I went into her album collection. Pulled out her copy of Jesus christ superstar. Showed her the liner notes showing Ian Gillian singer....she never complained again lol
Wow!! You took me back 50 years!! two of my friends and I would sit around listening to this entire opera (yes, the original... I'm that old!) We knew every word, every breath, and every musical interlude. It's interesting that for THIS song, we often just lip-synched since none of us could sing it! So powerful!! Thanks for doing this!!
I saw it with my husband in the 70s when it first came out as a play at the Fox Theater in Atlanta. I have the Blue album as well as the brown album (both on vinyl).
Same here, AudioVile! I’m 64 and saw the film first in 1973 (Ted Neeley’s version), but I loved the soundtrack so much that I had to buy it…not even realizing the studio recording used different singers. Ian’s rendition blew me away! I listened to that soundtrack over and over, probably hundreds of times just that decade. Age is a funny thing. I can’t remember what I had for dinner last night or where I put my glasses, but can I still remember EVERY SINGLE WORD to EVERY SINGLE SONG on that album, to this day. Even the timing, breaths, rises & falls, pauses, and inflection changes, etc.
This really shows the genius of Ian ....... he was so young here, yet he seems to be singing with a lot more experience ....... great analysis ...........
I’ve been listening to this song for about fifty years and it always hits me hard. I don’t know if you’ve looked at Yvonne Elliman’s “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” but that’s another emotional punch in the gut for me, and now that I’m thinking about it, her duet “Could We Start Again, Please” with Phillip Toubus is pretty good as well. Shoot, now I have to listen to the whole album again. Thank you!
I'm so glad you chose this to analyze this track. This version of Gethsemane is for me, the finest male vocal performance in Rock history. It is emotional to point of tears. In Ian's voice I can hear the full gamut of emotions that are so vividly portrayed in the Gospels. This song and performance to me are utter perfection! Lastly, and it's a minor quibble, but Ian's last name is pronounced Gillan, not Gillian. It's an easy mistake, and one I made frequently when I first started listening to Deep Purple back in the 70's. I Love your analysis and your accompanying videos by-the-way! It's nice to hear the vocalizations broken down from a technical viewpoint. Keep up the great work!!!
Purchased this record when it first came out. I have seen multiple live performances of this over the years, plus multiple versions on film, but there is one one Jesus Christ-Ian Gillan. I listen to this music every year at Easter time, particularly this part, and “John 19:41”, the instrumental part at the end. These two selections are, for me, the most emotional parts, with “Damned for All Time” close behind. I also purchased the sheet music book for the album, and have trouble playing John 19:41 without tears.
Gillan recorded this in a matter of hours. All the other versions are based on his original performance because they HAVE TO BE. Webber & Rice allowed Gillan to create this title role in his image. Gillan had much to do with the initial huge international success of the original album. This piece of the opera might be the greatest & most influential single vocal performance in rock history.
Tell all the guys filing useless lists "best Rick singers" in the US where they consistently forget Ian (in favor of other guys that couldn't even start singing this song)... And I'm US, never understand why Ian is so underrated...
This record is a absolut masterpiece from beginning to end. Not only Gillian but all artists are fantastik, so is the music. In my opinion no one can beat this the original recording.
really a great show...Not only Ian and Ted, but Ben Vareen and Carl Anderson and Yvonne Elimon, Barry Denon, Bob Bingham...so much talent, it is one of my favorite shows...Legend and Barriellis left me wanting...but I will see this show whenever it comes to my neighborhood, no matter the performers
@@sueparras6028 He’s been doing for 40 + years, he should know the material. I have seen him several times, he always put on a great show. I think he finally retired.But I will see JC Super Star whenever it comes to my local theater.
Agreed that Neely did a great job. But yes, Ian Gillan is unmatched. Yeah he had the voice and the range and the control and all those technical things, but DAMN he is just stunning on this track. And it’s because unlike some others, he uses all his tools to truly serve the song. He sublimates himself to it, and thereby transcends it. And yes, the parallels of that description to the subject matter of the song itself do not escape me.
I've heard some versions of this song. In my opinion, Ian Gillan was the best in showing that mix of feelings, anger outside/fear inside. And his high notes are the most brutal. Some can sing it cleaner, but that doesn't seem to me the right way to sing a song like this.
@@ponytrekker8996 you just agreed with them 😉 Pretty sure they weren't using brutal in a "that sucks" kinda way but "that crushed and pierced me right in the soul" kinda way 😅
I've been regularly listening to this for almost 50 years, saw it on Broadway with ben vereen playing Judas ... for me, Ted Neeley doing this song in the movie is the best version
There is so much about this song in my life. I've been listening to it since I was born, as my parents always had a recording. My grandparents listened to it for the first time on Christmas 1971 in the USSR in the dark room in the museum-house of a Russian painter Polenov, where his grandson brought the recording from abroad. We always listen to it with my mom when we drive back from the church on Easter night, it's a tradition. And I can play it on the guitar and sing together with my uncle, who gave me a libretto of JCSS when I was six, which helped me to learn English to a large extent.
Ian's Jesus was the first one I heard many, many years ago. But even now I cry every time I listen to ‘Gethsemane’ (Prayer for the Chalice, as I call it to myself😊). He's so emotionally deep there. Because of this, unfortunately, I can not listen to any other versions 😆
That note: "whyyyyy ", slays me everytime. NOBODY does it better. Nobody. It's like a gift from God. It's stupendeous! I don't have words. And that's why, to me, no other version compares to this version. Sorry. I enjoyed your analysis. From a fellow enthusiast, you are right on target! You recognize greatness in theathre and the greatness and genius in the voice of Ian Gillian. I always come back to this song as a masterpeice of theathre. The right time and the right place. Andrew Lloyd Weber is someone whom I would love to invite out to dinner and sit down and have some serious chats with! The musical , It's so beyond the writers and the singer. And I can't even imagine the process that brouoght this isnger into the voice of Jesus. It's a gift to us all and I am so thankful that I live in a day and time that God has granted to us. To see so many great things that others have not thought of in ages, in all their wildest dreams, in terms of art and voice. I truly am appreciative to God.
Not only does he hit that note, the quality of the scream, and the fact that he actually runs down off it into his head voice, it's simply amazing. Amazing technically, sure, but it's more than that. It's a dramatic technique that others have tried to to, but none have been able to do it quite like him.
Thank you so much, ms Voice. My brother had this album and I played this track over and over, many times bringing me to tears in harmony with the emotion being expressed by the vocalist. Your narration has added so much to my love of this amazing track. You’ve made one of my favourite tracks…one of my favourite tracks. Still gives me shivers. I have so much respect for your knowledge of the vocal aspect of music. His last name has only one ‘I’ though. ‘Gillan is killin’ it’
This is a wonderful crafted reaction to a iconic vocalist Ian Gillan,along side your reaction to child in time.His vocal and expression range and delivery is second to none.I did read that from a early age Ian always wanted to be a singer since the age of 8years old he was in a church choir as a soprano. His writing ability is amazing and this can be seen from Deep purple concerto for group and orchestra 1969 at the Royal Albert hall the second movement,He sings like a Angel fallen from the sky.
I'm glad you like Ian Gillian!!!he has such a haunting voice in his head range and his voice has a certain quality in his delivery ,he's quite memorable
Got to sing with Ian after winning the national Vocal contest to be with him in Vegas in 2006. My hero as a singer growing up and an even better human being when we got to hang. This was my favorite song of his. He still rips it out on stage.
Your director must have had some hella confidence in you! I actually do this weird thing where I do all the voices in a puppet performance of JCS, and I can even do Caiaphas and mostly Judas…but Ian Gillian as Jesus I have to modify.
If you like Ian Gillan's voice, you should maybe give Deep Purple's live album "Made in Japan" a listen. It's really their definitive release; it captured the band at the absolute peak of their powers in 1972, including Ian Gillan. The version of Child in Time on it is hands down the best rendition he ever sung.
@@ronnienose8608 I preferred the studio verson of Lazy on the Machine Head album, as far as the basic part of the song. But I will say, the extra material and effects on the Made In Japan double-live LP version is phenomenal.
I loved the whole experience which slowly, when we overdubbed the voices, became tangible... It was my head trip to make the album the best congruent connected mix down it could possibly be for that day and time of my life. It worked, and spanned the world.. Andrew & Tim were young, assured and ebullient even then.
I cannot begin to express my gratitude for all of this! If I was to name my #1 album of my life, it'd have to come down to this. I was born in '63 and wore this album's grooves down during a very influential part of my life. There is no equal. Amazing to see your input here!
My parents had this album in our living room and I fell in love with it in, like, 2nd grade, lol! It MAY be one of the first "rock" experiences for me. "Gethsemane" was my very favorite song on it. Later, in Jr. High or High School,. when I *ACTUALLY* became a rock fan, it blew my mind learning that the vocalist for my beloved Deep Purple was the same singer I'd been "worshipping" (the pun must be forgiven) all those previous years. I still thrill to this and other songs from this masterpiece.
The raw talent for him to be played the songs, then go directly into the studio, lay down the vocal tracks for the whole album in three hours. Ian said he was told they wanted him to sing it the way he felt and improvise like he does in Deep Purple. He said it was easy because everything was so well written it was very intuitive for him.
Ian Gillan's vocals on this album are the best performances he's ever done... Even with Deep Purple. Others that have performed this song just don't seem to match his intensity and preciseness. Truly a masterpiece. Thanks for the reaction/analysis.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this . I am a huge fan of Deep Purple and young Ian Gillan. I was blown away by Gillian's performance of Jesus Christ Superstar. The emotion he was able to exhibit in this performance. An interesting side note the rest of the Band played with the orchestra for the studio album. Again thank you so much. ❤️
Thank you for covering this song! I grew up in the '70s hearing the music my older siblings played, and they had a copy of the studio album. This song in particular has such powerful emotions. A half century later it still gives me chills.
This particular song is one of my favorites since I first heard this song when I was just a kid. Ian Giliian is a music genius in this recording, which I from time to time listen to and can never get tired of.
This is so wonderful, so emotional, so touching. I haven't heard this piece of the JCSS for so many years and I definitely heard it here for the first time in headphones. I just so to say revisited and reexplored it with this video. And it gave me wider emotions than I remember upon hearing it the first time and many other times back then fifteen years ago or so. Lady Elizabeth's reaction just amplifies the overall feeling. For myself I must confess the whole opera I consider a masterpiece. But the most emotional and personal piece out of it is "Poor Jerusalem" for my liking. I don't know why is it so. Every time I hear it I get shivers and tingles more than from anything else from the original record.
Hi Elizabeth! Thanks for this selection. This is the greatest song from Jesus Christ Superstar and a tremendous Ian Gillan's interpretation. I'd like to see you posting your comments about Deep Purple's song Place in Line, from 1973's album Who do we think we are! In this song, Ian uses all his capacity from lowers to highests notes. Thanks a lot! Humberto from Brazil.
You have made me really happy with this reaction. I have been a fan of Ian Gillan/Deep Purple for decades as well as a fan of the musical JCS. Thank you so much for this!
My absolute favorite musical. I had no idea Ian Gillian was the original singer. Such an amazing performance. I would love it if you reviewed more songs from Jesus Christ superstar. The singers are all so incredible.
No one surpasses this OG, when it comes to this song. Some have better voices, but Ian nails the whole intent, emotion, etc. Will always be the best JC Superstar in my book.
I have to disagree 😅 Ted Neely IS this song. None of the tens of singers i have heard singing this come even close to his interpretation and powerful voice.
@@leetroy3129 That's why blues exist. Buddy Guy don't give a damn about technique. He aims for your heart and your soul. Next thing you know your laying on the floor weeping like a toddler.
He is definitely unique. No one else sings like him. His voice is instantly recognizable, yet inimitable. A big influence on the next generation of rock and heavy metal sings as well.
Thank you for doing this song. This really brought me back to HS when Deep Purple released Perfect Strangers and we discovered that he had done the vocals for Jesus on the original album. I used to listen to this all the time. I probably haven't heard this in 25 years and it still gives me chills.
Almost 5 decades, and Ian still gives me chills. This is one of the only performances (not the original, a NC Company performed in the '80s) that could make me cry every time due to how well the actor channeled Ian's performance. Thank you for covering this, perfect video to end the day.
I look forward to future reviews of this role performed by a few other notable vocalists, like Geronimo Rauch, Drew Sarich, and if I can find the name of the Black actor who played Jesus for that NC production, who chose to emulate Ian Gillan instead of Neeley or Fenholt's vocals.... was truly one of the most impactful productions ever.
I really enjoy what you are doing. Breaking down and analysing vocal performances. There's a lot im learning, even though i have been a musician for over 35 years, i feel you never stop learning! And its NEVER to late to begin learning an instrument. But above all, you are teaching and showing the younger generations what really goes into a true and genuinely felt vocal performance. Its not just singing, the breathing control, vibrato, pronunciation, delivery and nuance! Thanks again for all that you do. Adam B.
Elizabeth. >> coming back in March 2024... love your viewpoint .. I was there ... unknowing the significence and wonder we created ... Thank you Ian ...
When he comes back in after the orchestra parts, he (Jesus) has accepted his fate to die in the name of God. So he's resigned, given up, accepted. This song is like going through all the stages of grief, except it's for oneself. He sings with such emotion.... Just the absolutely best.
Ian Gillan is one of the most unique singers of all time. Easily recognizable. Ian has a very strong identity. You always know it’s Ian Gillan singing. Nobody sing like he does. He was absolutely different in 70s and still is. It’s impossible to duplicate his voice. This performance is above everything. A wide range of emotions that he puts in every single note is uncanny. Range, dynamics, emotions, quality, honesty - all in. It’s impossible to listen his performance without tears. Greatest performance ever! World class act. P.S. By the way, a pronunciation is GILLAN not Gillian 😉.
It's a good performance I agree (and I really enjoy Ian Gillan and Deep Purple), but I would encourage you to listen to John Farnham sing it (the final Sydney performance) and consider revising that this is 'above everything'. Gillan certainly connects with the song however, Farnham connects much, much better with the role of Jesus. Gillan is strolling through the lines "let them hate me, hit me, hurt me, nail me to their tree", whereas Farnham pulls you in and makes you KNOW this is a sacrifice that will cause him untold pain. Farnham builds up to the "Why" cry in a far superior way that maximises the peak in a way that just kicks you in the guts, as opposed to hitting the key note well and that's pretty much it. Farnham sustains the cry from much, much earlier. No performer has moved me with this song as much as John Farnham. Elizabeth - PLEASE now check out Australia's "The Voice" take on this. Whoever sings it - it's an astonishing song.
@@grievesy83 sold. I'm going in search of this performance after I listen to the rest of Elizabeth's take. I get what you're saying about that phrase - let them hate me, hit me, hurt me.... Threw that away, a bit, did Ian. BTW, I have LOVED this performance all my life, so I'm still LOVING the fact that she's digging into it.
K. I'm back. John Farnham is an extraordinary singer. In the same realm as Michael Bolton, a strong blues/soul/rock singer with big, big pipes and great interpretive ability. I still prefer Ian's version, for the dynamics, for the authenticity, for Ian's uncanny ability to engage in a musical conversation with God, in this version, which is so much more like a prayer. Very different approaches. Glad I heard Farnham, though. He's amazing.
@@CathyKeating Good on you for giving it a go! Fair enough to prefer Gillian’s performance if it speaks to you more than others. I’m just happy when people discover and, without exception, appreciate John Farnham.
I did hear he sang these type if tunes before Deep Purple, but this is the first time I actually heard it. What would of become of Deep Purple if he did go to Broadway? Not the way we could ever imagine. Thank you for bringing this to all of us.
Ian Gillan was the original "Jesus" in JCS. Although many followed, none could equal his interpretation of a troubled Jesus who is agonizing over his fate. Ian Gillan is where it all came from. And the original Jesus Christ Superstar from 1970 is by far the best version. The vocals by Ian, Murray Head, Yvonne Elliman, etc, the rock music, primarily played by Joe Cocker's Grease Band...all done by kids in their 20s at the time. To me, this is mind boggling. Try listening to "Heaven on their Minds" by the singer Murray Head as "Judas" sometime. That whole album was a masterpiece.
Ian Gillan is unmatched. Easily one of the greatest vocalists of our time. The cries of impending doom and being in that zone throughout this piece moves one to tears and puts you inside his captured private moments. His vocal portayal is brilliant and this song is timeless. Beautiful analysis and for taking us on this insightful journey...thank you Elizabeth!
Ha!!..Cool !! In my message I posted a few hours ago, I was also going to suggest that JCSS original album with IAN!!.. along with the Glenn Hughes suggestion. I hope you get to hear the original JCSS studio 2 disc set someday.
As much as I love Gillan, Ted Neelys movie version grabs me more. Maybe because thats the one I grew up listening to, but never the less an awesome performance
My opinion is mine - The movie is poor compared to the live version. Was very disappointed in it. Neely (and the cast) didn't translate to the screen, and I felt it rather blandly scripted for the big screen and felt stiff to me. I had the great pleasure of being in audience during a ... either 20th or 25 anniv tour and Neely's live performance had me shook. I new the songs beforehand, but the live was just like any other live music that hits you, the soundwaves are felt not just heard. His desperate pain was palpable and heavy and struck hard. The common vid of Neely circulating is even after the tour I saw, I believe... his voice was more measured and I don't think as strong as his younger self. No surprise there. Even this performance with Ian... I'm sure would be better not in a studio but on a stage. Parts seemed a little too casual and not frightened for the inescapable pending torture and demise.
@@McLeod2022 I also saw Neely's performance on stage during that 25-year tour - I saw it in Baltimore. He's still got that voice, for sure. But I must have listened the movie soundtrack (on vinyl) a hundred times when it came out, it was brilliant. I may not be as enthralled to hear it again - I've matured a bit - but I was totally engrossed by all three leads back then and thought it was an amazing experience that captured a lot of my religious confusion at the time.
I bought the double album when it came out - yes, I'm that old - and fell in love with Ian Gillan's voice immediately. Also, fell in love with the sepia line drawing of Gillan included with the other participants, including Weber & Rice, that are inside the libretto. I went to see the show a year later and was very disappointed that he wasn't there, but the show was great, anyway, with Ted Neely. It was, literally, years before I saw so much as a still picture of Gillan (it took me a while to find Deep Purple - I was more into folk than rock). I still listen to Superstar. Murray Head was great, too, by the way, as Judas, as was most of the cast. Oh, Yvonne Elliman was in the live production I saw. She may have been the only one of the original performers from the album to be in that show. One interesting thing about the performance I saw was that the performers all stood on risers at the side of the stage, and were dressed in hippie-ish Street clothes - jeans and such - and, as best as I recall, the performers involved in each song came down to center stage and sort of acted out their parts as they sang. There's the drawing!!!! Thanks for showing it! Wow! Great show. I've been waiting for one of you kids to get to this. Thanks
I've been waiting and waiting for Elizabeth to react/analyze Ian Gillan singing JCS. It was SO worth it! His performance, and her appreciation of it, are extraordinary. Gillan is a generational talent and the insights Elizabeth shares (and her reaction is so visceral!) added a whole new dimension for me -- and Ive been listening to this since my folks bought the album back in 1971! Thank you Ms Zharoff!
![fellow fellow - พรุ่งนี้ไม่มีใครรู้ feat. INK WARUNTORN [OFFICIAL MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/QP6JyjYx_W0/mqdefault.jpg)
![⭐️( ลอยกระทง 2024 ) Ver. แดนซ์ Remix BY [ ดีเจกิต รีมิกซ์ ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/rMWOLhgXUHc/mqdefault.jpg)
It was upon hearing Ian singing Child In Time that Lloyd Webber and Rice knew they had their Jesus. Amazing to think that the entire album, with all those singers and instrumentalists, was recorded in around two weeks. They wanted Ian him to do the stage show and three years later the film, but Ian explained that it would mean Deep Purple would have to be put on hold, losing them hundreds of thousands of pounds. His fee alone for the months of filming the film was less than he could make from one Purple gig. Ian set the template for the role of Jesus, everyone that followed him had to attempt his screams. Some did better than others, but no one had that great tone he had when he screamed, which always makes the hairs on my neck stand on end. Overall, we forget that Ian wasn't a trained singer or actor and did an incredible job.
Very true and it would not be surprising if they had also heard Deep Purple’s Hallelujah th-cam.com/video/Rk6VYN31v2U/w-d-xo.html along with Child in Time these 2 songs feel like the parents of Gethsemane - Take care
I respectfully disagree. He did do a great job of the song but nobody will ever match (let alone surpass) Ted Neeley's version from the motion picture. The way he hits the high notes is absolutely incredible and his entire performance of the song is unforgettable!
Ted Neeley is equally as good. They are just different people different singers. I love both performances. Neeley has the added ability to act it out as the vocal track is played and the impact is phenomenal.
@@sidnac6545 .
@@gaborelek5256 were you trying to say something to me?
I recorded and mixed JCSS the original studio album with Tim and Andrew ... Ian only did >> perhaps three takes . I so loved his singing that a 120 piece symphony orchestra just happened to support his brilliant singing ... I was an opinionated 22 year old 50 years ago >> Ian = you are amazing
Oh it's amazing!
Exceptional engineering Sir!
I once thanked Mr Ian in Portugal for singing this . now I thank you Sir , for doing this and putting it on tape
Wow. I suspect when you went into work the morning you were told the contract went through, you had no idea you would be a part of history... 😛
(We never do, when we're doing it, do we??)
@@MrJest2 Well I was passionately involved in the production, and wanted it to be really super... I was just a staff music engineer... ( who already had an American #1 album to my credit).
I had met Ian years previously when he was in Episode Six, and he arrived looking the part, and said ' hello mate'.
We made history that day .
And he was 24 years old here. My god. The maturity in musicality and voice.
And Andrew Lloyd Weber was 23. How...?
And I was 13 going on 14 years and was completely addicted to Ian's voice . 🔹👁️👁️🎑
Ian Gillian's Jesus is one for the ages. Always glad to see it acknowledged.
Just to be completely clear. This performance is an absolute masterpiece.
Yes.
💯❗️ I saw the film in 1973, so Ted Neeley’s was the first version I heard. But I bought the studio soundtrack shortly after (still have it, in fact), and after hearing Ian’s performance, I felt like Ted Neeley (while good in its own right) just couldn’t hold a candle to Ian Gillan’s rendition.
well, if you want a jesus that is bored about dying, then ian's version is the one to go. if you (like me) prefer a jesus that get's really angry about his upcoming death, then you should stick with ted neeley.
@@montanus777I would offer that Ian sang it as a rock concept album, not a musical. That was how he was produced by ALW. It only went to Broadway and then film after the album was a hit. He could have easily sang it more like dialog (Ted Neely) if that was the producer’s intent.
@@liontone fair enough, but at the end of the day that doesn't really matter to me. i don't really care about who _could_ have done the better version, but who _did_ the better version.
I worked for DP in the mid 90's. Gillan is a genuine, beautiful person, and him keeping the bar open for us until 4AM in NYC is an all time favorite memory
You are a lucky man 😎
@@thetruthhurts6652😭🫳🕶️
Lucky you. I've met him three times, and he was so lovely, spent ages chatting and signing autographs for all the waiting fans and didn't leave until he'd seen everyone. Such a gent. Love him.
YES!! YES!! I have been waiting for this since your channel started!!! It's one of my all-time vocal performances by any singer ever! Nothing touches this original version. He has unlimited creativity, control, sensitivity, range and power. This has given me goosebumps ever since I "borrowed" this recording from my older sister in 1970. Every performance on the original recording is THE seminal version and will always be to my ears.
This performance and his performances of "Child in Time" are all the evident required to put Ian Gillan into the very, VERY rare group of the best singers ever. Simply amazing!!
THANK YOU for visiting this!!!
Seems like a pattern here. My dad gave this original LP set to me and my older sister "borrowed" it from me, like 20 or so years ago. She still has it. :D
Ah yes child in time that vocal tour de force
Every once in a while something comes along that just set a bar no one will ever reach. This is one of those times. The feelings, the emotions, the angst, the doubt, and finally the acceptance. A true masterpiece that will never be replicated. Others have come after Ian, but no one will ever touch this performance. How Andrew Lloyd Webber came to choose Ian, is unknown to me, but this is how greatness happens. I remember when my parents bought this album when it was first released and it still brings me to tears. I encourage everyone to hear the genius that Ian put into being Jesus.
Absolutely 100% - perfection.
Your comment is fantastic.
have you heard Camilo Sesto´s version, Getsemaní?
@@TxùflösGilkèsov Camilo was very good but when he sings the upper register part he falls flat.
@@chrissimonian3409 I am thrilled to have been the man who chose the valve microphone, pressed the record button, and mixed this epic, still a wonder for Ian and us all, onwards …history.
That iconic note that everyone tries to hit it was not on the score, it was put there by Ian, and now it is like the go to if you wanna show yourself as a singer.
Yes, facts.
I did the lead in April 2022. Five shows with a matinee. Hit all the big notes chop-for-chop. Did it at 66.
To think Ian did his singing for the entire album in three hours! Three hours. Just jaw-dropping.
And sang with Deep Purple the same night
Superb at all he has done
He took a taxi across town from his day job, walked in and dropped this, and then went on to do a Deep Purple gig the same night. I'm not religious, but his singing of this song makes me understand why some people are. Just astonishing.
Wtf.
Legend has it that he did the tracks in just one or two takes.
That's one of the most beautiful and moving melodies ever. Ian made it his own and sang it incredibly well.
I was 7 when this album came out. My uncle had it and was playing it when we visited. He let me take it to my room and play it on a portable record player. That was all I did for our entire visit. I memorized it in it's entirety. I got the album for Christmas that year. Fast forward 30 years and I'm in the car with my boyfriend, he is playing Deep Purple. As I'm listening to the song, my brain was scrambling to figure out why the singers voice was so familiar to me, why it was raising different emotions in me than the song called for and why it felt like I was listening through a child's mind. After a few minutes, I found the mental file that held Jesus Christ Super Star. I screamed, 'It's Jesus!' My boyfriend looked at me like I had 4 heads and asked if I'd lost my mind. I explained that that was the voice from the album, he was quite annoyed that I would suggest that one of his idols would stoop to play Jesus, lol. The second we got home, I pulled out my CD and found Ian Gillan in the credits. I then asked my boyfriend who was singing in the Deep Purple song...Ian Gillan...shocking, lol. Take that, HA! I think he still hasn't forgiven Ian, lol. I on the other hand have nothing but praise for his amazing vocals and for those who had the insight to recognize that only Ian could bring the depth and passion required to give humanity to part he played. All other renditions, whilst brilliant in their own right, cannot compare to Ian Gillan.
NO performer does Jesus as magnificently as Ian Gillian... nor ever will again. Absolute perfection. Total.
Totally agree, the whole album is an absolute masterpiece
my favorite is camilo sesto
Ted neely tho?
coz you've not heared Camilo Sesto
@mostrodelretail Give it a rest.
WHAT JUST HAPPENED?! My world was just blown. I've listened to Steve Balsamo (who is phenomenal) but had no idea Ian Gillan recorded the original album. Ian slays this. So grateful to know about this recording!
I think you just caught up. This is the original - The best - The one all after have followed.
Ian Gillan has changed the game, he set a new level of voice for the generations to come. There is a way of singing before Ian Gillan and a way of singing after Ian Gillan. Thank to Webber, Thank to Rice and thank to Gillan for it. This musical will live forever!
Exactly. Before him nobody sang like him.
The amazing fact for me is that he's just in a studio singing. The range of emotions on display here, he's connecting with the words and you can feel it in every word he sings.
the amazing fact is that two hours later he was at the pub. and fifty years later every singer is still tryin' to top THAT line. That highest note that every single singer keeps tryin' to hit was put there by Ian himself, it was not "written" by the composers. he just set a template for the role. and then went out drinking and forgot about everything
I believe the word genius is way overused today but not in this case. What a brilliant performance.
I am brought to tears every time I listen to this section of Jesus Christ Superstar. Ian Gillan delivers a performance of a lifetime. He's amazing.
I think, what sets Ian Gillan apart from all others who have sung this, is that he isn't giving a "performance," there is no audience or expectation surrounding what he does. So it feels very internal, intimate, sincere and spontaneous. Everyone else who came afterwards is unavoidably self-conscious because they will already be aware of the song, and the significance of Jesus Christ Superstar. Ian Gillan went into the studio with no such pre-conceptions.
True enough! Ian set the standard. He is the archetype, Ian's interpretation of Christ paved the way....I don't think Ian gets enough credit for his contributions. He is really a great singer
Perhaps, but more than any of those other singers, Gillan has a unique personality. You always hear the human behind the vocal, the speaking behind the singing. I think that is a huge factor in its emotional resonance.
Also remember that he created and effectively wrote the whole part. For huge sections, the written sheet music just says "ad lib" Everything we "know" about how to sing this sing is because Ian created it
Exactly, every version that came after this were people copying Ian Gillan"s vision for the song.
I never knew Gillan wrote a lot of this song. Love Gillan!
@Philip Chilvers Deep Purple were reaching the peak of their popularity at that time, and the band was under a lot of pressure to be in the studio and on the road, so the organisation was not going to be very keen on Gillan taking a break to go off on a solo project. It's just not what you do, unless you've reached a point in your career where such whims can afford to be indulged. Records say, Deep Purple played 224 shows across 1971-72, and were on the road while the film was being shot, in addition to writing and recording. Besides which, other than the few hours he spent on the original recording, Gillan has shown no interest at all in Jesus Christ Superstar, or any wish to revisit it.
@Tessmage Tessera Made in Japan was actually recorded at the same time as Jesus Christ Superstar was being filmed, so rock history could have been very different.
@Tessmage Tessera I was gutted when I read it, he regretted it too. Give the band a month off do the film then back to Purple.
He was greedy. Shame.
His voice is capable of sharing so much pain. It's astounding.
I LOVE IAN GILLAN!!!! He is my favorite rock singer. His vocal ability is spectacular. Nobody like him!!! Thank you for this video.
Ian Gillan is a classic rock singer .
He was born to do that.
That shift Ian made, between the kind of total collapse of his own will, and the line "God, thy will is hard..." to this day sends chills up my spine. I've listened to this original recording probably well into three digits (my parents bought that "Brown Album" set, that has the graphical images displayed in the video, the year it first came out - before the official stage production was even launched) over the years. And it *still* "hits me in the feels" as it were. Probably one of the absolute highlights of Gillian's professional career, even if a lot of people who bought the initial run of records didn't quite understand that at the time.
Have the album from when I was in 5th grade. I cry every time I hear this.
I’m in tears. You’ve beautifully put into words why this has been my favorite song for over 50 years. I don’t listen to it very often because I never want to lose the awe I feel every time I hear it. Thank you.
Understandable.
This just cements Ian Gillan's place as one of the greatest rock singers of all time. and for those that have never heard it, Jesus Christ Superstar is an amazing album (and so much better than any of the musical recordings) and worth the listen. I've been playing it since it was released in '70 and it never gets old.
th-cam.com/video/NQ0tbBmAlRU/w-d-xo.html
I feel exactly the same about this. Ian's raw emotion conveys everything essential to show the real depth of this. He has been top of his game since the very beginning and on top of all that he is a really nice guy.
Isn't Easy to be Hard from Hair the musical?
Still have my vinyl, double album. May still have the eight track.. classic!
@@lynnallen935 Yes. In the musical Sheila Kellogg sang it. Three Dog Night had the radio hit.
I never tire of hearing Gillan’s version of this song, years and hundreds of listens since so bought the tape (and later CD) in college. But watching Gillan bring Elizabeth to the brink of tears now, brought me to the brink of tears also, and that’s never happened before. The emotional power of a perfect song, right there.
I wish they had filmed this cast performing the concept album, even if it was just them standing on the stage (like a dramatic reading of a play) and not moving around in character. Gillan, Murray Head and Yvonne Elliman singing together on stage would have been electric.
Gillan recorded pretty much the entire album in one sitting. He just crushed it.
3 hours
Approximately three hours … I was there xx
I am actually the singer in a Deep Purple tribute band. Your descriptions of what his voice is doing here, are total lessons!
Love what you do!
I'm a thrilled that you are analysing this song! I adore it. I only just discovered you and your channel last week and I've been so very enchanted. When I watched your vid about Ian Gillian's 'Child in Time' I was so happy and then I searched to see if you'd done Gethsemane. When I didn't find it I hoped you'd do it someday and now here we are! So excited.
Yay, thank you M.P. and welcome to the community!!!
@@TheCharismaticVoice Pronounced Gill-an, not Gill-ian :). Loved the review, Ian is one of the finest vocalists of his generation. Great work and LOVE your channel!
@@DD-wn9uy harsh judge! Surely one of the great vocalists of all time? He stopped me in my tracks when I first saw him and has continued to over the decades. First time you see Child In Time live oh man!!
@@freddiebird5199 Totally agree, of all time...been a fan for over 50 years!
@@DD-wn9uy He could sing anything, range power falsetto beauty, absolutely everything.
Child in Time was basically Ian’s audition for this part. Meaning that once Andrew Loyd Webber heard that performance he knew he wanted him cast as Jesus.
I cry uncontrollably every time I hear that performance. Grew up listening to it and loving it in a mostly classical music household, and this just has always been one of the most important performances of my life experience. I'm so happy to know you react similarly to hearing his amazing musical acting.... visually he wasn't dramatic, but vocally he was one of the best, maybe the best, of all of the amazing and skilled and dramatic and emotionally tugging of all singers that I personally am aware of.
I totally agree. I am of that age as well.
Can you do John Farnham version of the same song?
Full orchestra behind him and he completely dominates it to the point you forget it's there until towards the end.
Ian crushed this. It took almost 40 years before I heard anyone come close in a live performance.
Who was the singer that came close?
The entire concept album/original studio recording is masterful, from Ian Gillan's sublime Jesus, Murray Head's conflicted Judas, to the London Philharmonic. 50 years I've been enjoying this record. Also the whipping scene in the movie is my first memory of silently crying in a theatre. I think I was 3
heard this for 1st time ,a night from a great radio producer at a monophonic sanyo when i was a kid ,,worked so hard to get so many versions of this from then ,the whole work is epic
th-cam.com/video/NQ0tbBmAlRU/w-d-xo.html
@@bobiraki Yes, yes it is!
And it's great that JCS is a real album with actual songs in it. Also musicals and theater works dissipate and disintegrate into separate lines instead of real songs...
I can’t help but cry at the whipping section and I can help but feel each strike and also every shame that I feel
Ever thought of doing an interview of Ian to talk to him about his voice? I mean, he's still around!
YES PLEASE DO THAT!!!!
He is, but his voice isn’t. He certainly was one of the best ever. But the best version of this song is done by Steve Balsamo at a musical show I went to see in The Netherlands. It was something I had never heard before and it blew me away. The show was aired also on Dutch TV so there is a recording of it. Just look for Steve Balsamo Ghetsame Netherlands on the Tube.
@@Deauxtje but he can talk tho
I have listened to this soundtrack for over 40 years and I finally see who was singing. Amazing!!!
Thanks Elizabeth. Ian's "Gethsemane," was the first and, for me, is still the best. He came in without a frame of reference and blew the song away. Many of those who came later were very good, but they played off of this performance. I first heard it back in the 70s and it's still stirring even today.
This is ALW’s most powerful and moving song. It’s amazing how music, lyrics, and a voice can be so moving that I still tear up hearing it this many years later.
I have been a fan of the movie version of Jesus Christ Superstar since its original release, but was not aware of Ian Gillan's recording of Gesthemane. It literally moved me to tears. It is so gut-wrenching! I cried out to God asking His forgiveness for sending Jesus to the cross to die for me! I have never been so moved!
Find the JCS original studio cast album, the whole thing is amazing vocally, both Jesus and Judas are epic as well as Mary’s part (although she was one of the few original people who were in the movie), I’ve been listening to it my entire life. It’s so good, the movie pales in comparison
You want the double lp brown album.
Ian did all of Jesus on the original studio recording. It's amazing!
Funny story for you: I was about 11 yrs old, I was cranking Child in Time on my record player. My mum came into my room demanding I turn it down!. Saying the singer was horrible, can only scream, etc. I showed her the liner notes on my album: Ian gillan as singer ..she's like so what??? I went into her album collection. Pulled out her copy of Jesus christ superstar. Showed her the liner notes showing Ian Gillian singer....she never complained again lol
Lol! Stymied!
Wow!! You took me back 50 years!! two of my friends and I would sit around listening to this entire opera (yes, the original... I'm that old!) We knew every word, every breath, and every musical interlude. It's interesting that for THIS song, we often just lip-synched since none of us could sing it! So powerful!! Thanks for doing this!!
I saw it with my husband in the 70s when it first came out as a play at the Fox Theater in Atlanta. I have the Blue album as well as the brown album (both on vinyl).
Same here, AudioVile! I’m 64 and saw the film first in 1973 (Ted Neeley’s version), but I loved the soundtrack so much that I had to buy it…not even realizing the studio recording used different singers. Ian’s rendition blew me away!
I listened to that soundtrack over and over, probably hundreds of times just that decade. Age is a funny thing. I can’t remember what I had for dinner last night or where I put my glasses, but can I still remember EVERY SINGLE WORD to EVERY SINGLE SONG on that album, to this day. Even the timing, breaths, rises & falls, pauses, and inflection changes, etc.
just saw Ian with Deep Purple, still killin it at 79!!
This really shows the genius of Ian ....... he was so young here, yet he seems to be singing with a lot more experience ....... great analysis ...........
I have heard this song done by Gillan many times and it never fails to give me the chills. So much passion!!!
One of the greatest vocal performances of all time.
Camilo Sesto spanish version improves this one so so much
@@florentinosanzpastor9556because he does a more operatic version doesn’t mean it’s better.
@@florentinosanzpastor9556 Camilo was very good but when he sings the upper register part he falls flat.
@@x00p3 joking???😂😂😂😂😂
@@florentinosanzpastor9556 I don't like it that he sings a falsetto at the high part. That's just my opinion. If you like it then good for you.
Thank you for articulating what I have adored about Ian for YEARS.
I’ve been listening to this song for about fifty years and it always hits me hard. I don’t know if you’ve looked at Yvonne Elliman’s “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” but that’s another emotional punch in the gut for me, and now that I’m thinking about it, her duet “Could We Start Again, Please” with Phillip Toubus is pretty good as well. Shoot, now I have to listen to the whole album again. Thank you!
to me as well.always a tear in the corner of my eye.
Gillan thinks the world of Yvonne.
I had a huge crush on Yvonne Elliman when I was young.
@@AlbertEinsteinSpock Her voice is angelic.
I'm so glad you chose this to analyze this track. This version of Gethsemane is for me, the finest male vocal performance in Rock history. It is emotional to point of tears. In Ian's voice I can hear the full gamut of emotions that are so vividly portrayed in the Gospels. This song and performance to me are utter perfection! Lastly, and it's a minor quibble, but Ian's last name is pronounced Gillan, not Gillian. It's an easy mistake, and one I made frequently when I first started listening to Deep Purple back in the 70's. I Love your analysis and your accompanying videos by-the-way! It's nice to hear the vocalizations broken down from a technical viewpoint. Keep up the great work!!!
Congratulation on reaching 100K views for this breathtaking performance by this legendary singer.Now lets make this reach 1 Mil!
This is one of my favorite songs on the record. So powerful. So much range. So much emotional resonance.
Purchased this record when it first came out. I have seen multiple live performances of this over the years, plus multiple versions on film, but there is one one Jesus Christ-Ian Gillan.
I listen to this music every year at Easter time, particularly this part, and “John 19:41”, the instrumental part at the end. These two selections are, for me, the most emotional parts, with “Damned for All Time” close behind.
I also purchased the sheet music book for the album, and have trouble playing John 19:41 without tears.
Hands DOWN!! Mic Drop!! This is the most convicting version. Ian sung LIFE into this song for generations and generations to come
Gillan recorded this in a matter of hours. All the other versions are based on his original performance because they HAVE TO BE. Webber & Rice allowed Gillan to create this title role in his image. Gillan had much to do with the initial huge international success of the original album. This piece of the opera might be the greatest & most influential single vocal performance in rock history.
Tell all the guys filing useless lists "best Rick singers" in the US where they consistently forget Ian (in favor of other guys that couldn't even start singing this song)... And I'm US, never understand why Ian is so underrated...
Facts.
This record is a absolut masterpiece from beginning to end. Not only Gillian but all artists are fantastik, so is the music.
In my opinion no one can beat this the original recording.
YES FINALLY!!!! The entire album is incredible because of him. I also love the Ted Neeley version, but Ian's version is just incredible.
really a great show...Not only Ian and Ted, but Ben Vareen and Carl Anderson and Yvonne Elimon, Barry Denon, Bob Bingham...so much talent, it is one of my favorite shows...Legend and Barriellis left me wanting...but I will see this show whenever it comes to my neighborhood, no matter the performers
Ted Neeley did an awesome job!
@@sueparras6028 He’s been doing for 40 + years, he should know the material. I have seen him several times, he always put on a great show. I think he finally retired.But I will see JC Super Star whenever it comes to my local theater.
Yvonne Elliman has the voice of an Angel. Murray Head killed it, too. This original album is a total masterpiece.
Agreed that Neely did a great job. But yes, Ian Gillan is unmatched. Yeah he had the voice and the range and the control and all those technical things, but DAMN he is just stunning on this track. And it’s because unlike some others, he uses all his tools to truly serve the song. He sublimates himself to it, and thereby transcends it. And yes, the parallels of that description to the subject matter of the song itself do not escape me.
I've heard some versions of this song. In my opinion, Ian Gillan was the best in showing that mix of feelings, anger outside/fear inside. And his high notes are the most brutal. Some can sing it cleaner, but that doesn't seem to me the right way to sing a song like this.
Right.
Yes, that.
I think Camilo Sesto does it better than Ian gillan, and I love Ian
@@ponytrekker8996 you just agreed with them 😉 Pretty sure they weren't using brutal in a "that sucks" kinda way but "that crushed and pierced me right in the soul" kinda way 😅
I've been regularly listening to this for almost 50 years, saw it on Broadway with ben vereen playing Judas ... for me, Ted Neeley doing this song in the movie is the best version
There is so much about this song in my life. I've been listening to it since I was born, as my parents always had a recording. My grandparents listened to it for the first time on Christmas 1971 in the USSR in the dark room in the museum-house of a Russian painter Polenov, where his grandson brought the recording from abroad. We always listen to it with my mom when we drive back from the church on Easter night, it's a tradition. And I can play it on the guitar and sing together with my uncle, who gave me a libretto of JCSS when I was six, which helped me to learn English to a large extent.
Ian's Jesus was the first one I heard many, many years ago. But even now I cry every time I listen to ‘Gethsemane’ (Prayer for the Chalice, as I call it to myself😊). He's so emotionally deep there. Because of this, unfortunately, I can not listen to any other versions 😆
That note: "whyyyyy ", slays me everytime. NOBODY does it better. Nobody. It's like a gift from God. It's stupendeous! I don't have words. And that's why, to me, no other version compares to this version. Sorry.
I enjoyed your analysis. From a fellow enthusiast, you are right on target! You recognize greatness in theathre and the greatness and genius in the voice of Ian Gillian. I always come back to this song as a masterpeice of theathre. The right time and the right place. Andrew Lloyd Weber is someone whom I would love to invite out to dinner and sit down and have some serious chats with!
The musical , It's so beyond the writers and the singer. And I can't even imagine the process that brouoght this isnger into the voice of Jesus. It's a gift to us all and I am so thankful that I live in a day and time that God has granted to us. To see so many great things that others have not thought of in ages, in all their wildest dreams, in terms of art and voice. I truly am appreciative to God.
You should listen the spanish version by Camilo Sesto.
Not only does he hit that note, the quality of the scream, and the fact that he actually runs down off it into his head voice, it's simply amazing. Amazing technically, sure, but it's more than that. It's a dramatic technique that others have tried to to, but none have been able to do it quite like him.
Thank you so much, ms Voice. My brother had this album and I played this track over and over, many times bringing me to tears in harmony with the emotion being expressed by the vocalist.
Your narration has added so much to my love of this amazing track. You’ve made one of my favourite tracks…one of my favourite tracks. Still gives me shivers. I have so much respect for your knowledge of the vocal aspect of music. His last name has only one ‘I’ though. ‘Gillan is killin’ it’
Third world problem, lol
.
Ian Gillans mum was my primary school teacher...she took us to see him perform this inspired roll in a cinema in Londons West end.
Wow. Awesome
It must be pleasing to look back and remember that special time.
Gillan was not in the movie. Ted Neeley played Christ in the movie.
This is a wonderful crafted reaction to a iconic vocalist Ian Gillan,along side your reaction to child in time.His vocal and expression range and delivery is second to none.I did read that from a early age Ian always wanted to be a singer since the age of 8years old he was in a church choir as a soprano. His writing ability is amazing and this can be seen from Deep purple concerto for group and orchestra 1969 at the Royal Albert hall the second movement,He sings like a Angel fallen from the sky.
I'm glad you like Ian Gillian!!!he has such a haunting voice in his head range and his voice has a certain quality in his delivery ,he's quite memorable
Got to sing with Ian after winning the national Vocal contest to be with him in Vegas in 2006. My hero as a singer growing up and an even better human being when we got to hang. This was my favorite song of his. He still rips it out on stage.
He's lovely, isn't he? I met him twice and he was brilliant with all the fans.
I am so looking forward to this. I played Jesus in JCS in high school. I patterned myself after Ian Gillian.
Your director must have had some hella confidence in you! I actually do this weird thing where I do all the voices in a puppet performance of JCS, and I can even do Caiaphas and mostly Judas…but Ian Gillian as Jesus I have to modify.
If you like Ian Gillan's voice, you should maybe give Deep Purple's live album "Made in Japan" a listen. It's really their definitive release; it captured the band at the absolute peak of their powers in 1972, including Ian Gillan. The version of Child in Time on it is hands down the best rendition he ever sung.
Rolling Stone magazine said, "There are moments on this (Made in Japan) album that have never been surpassed in the history of rock." I agree.
Made In Japan is a gold standard for live albums. This version of Smoke On the Water puts the studio version to shame...
@@edzoller8220 In fact, it puts all the studio versions to shame (and they were already suterb).
@@ronnienose8608 I preferred the studio verson of Lazy on the Machine Head album, as far as the basic part of the song. But I will say, the extra material and effects on the Made In Japan double-live LP version is phenomenal.
Absolutely! For me it’s perfection of a band playing live
I loved the whole experience which slowly, when we overdubbed the voices, became tangible... It was my head trip to make the album the best congruent connected mix down it could possibly be for that day and time of my life. It worked, and spanned the world.. Andrew & Tim were young, assured and ebullient even then.
I cannot begin to express my gratitude for all of this! If I was to name my #1 album of my life, it'd have to come down to this. I was born in '63 and wore this album's grooves down during a very influential part of my life. There is no equal. Amazing to see your input here!
My parents had this album in our living room and I fell in love with it in, like, 2nd grade, lol! It MAY be one of the first "rock" experiences for me. "Gethsemane" was my very favorite song on it. Later, in Jr. High or High School,. when I *ACTUALLY* became a rock fan, it blew my mind learning that the vocalist for my beloved Deep Purple was the same singer I'd been "worshipping" (the pun must be forgiven) all those previous years. I still thrill to this and other songs from this masterpiece.
You can see also by his expressions how much he's feeling this piece
The raw talent for him to be played the songs, then go directly into the studio, lay down the vocal tracks for the whole album in three hours. Ian said he was told they wanted him to sing it the way he felt and improvise like he does in Deep Purple. He said it was easy because everything was so well written it was very intuitive for him.
Ian Gillan's vocals on this album are the best performances he's ever done... Even with Deep Purple.
Others that have performed this song just don't seem to match his intensity and preciseness.
Truly a masterpiece. Thanks for the reaction/analysis.
As Ian himself said, DP is an "instrumental band", but this song is just for him so he can shine even more than in DP.
I always loved Tim Rice's lyrics. They're so relatable and colloquial in a modern style.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this . I am a huge fan of Deep Purple and young Ian Gillan. I was blown away by Gillian's performance of Jesus Christ Superstar. The emotion he was able to exhibit in this performance. An interesting side note the rest of the Band played with the orchestra for the studio album. Again thank you so much. ❤️
Ian is a very accomplished singer in a wide variety of genres.
Thank you for covering this song! I grew up in the '70s hearing the music my older siblings played, and they had a copy of the studio album. This song in particular has such powerful emotions. A half century later it still gives me chills.
Can't wait! I love Ian Gillan and Jesus Christ Super Star is a masterpiece!
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This particular song is one of my favorites since I first heard this song when I was just a kid. Ian Giliian is a music genius in this recording, which I from time to time listen to and can never get tired of.
This is so wonderful, so emotional, so touching. I haven't heard this piece of the JCSS for so many years and I definitely heard it here for the first time in headphones. I just so to say revisited and reexplored it with this video. And it gave me wider emotions than I remember upon hearing it the first time and many other times back then fifteen years ago or so. Lady Elizabeth's reaction just amplifies the overall feeling. For myself I must confess the whole opera I consider a masterpiece. But the most emotional and personal piece out of it is "Poor Jerusalem" for my liking. I don't know why is it so. Every time I hear it I get shivers and tingles more than from anything else from the original record.
Hi Elizabeth! Thanks for this selection. This is the greatest song from Jesus Christ Superstar and a tremendous Ian Gillan's interpretation. I'd like to see you posting your comments about Deep Purple's song Place in Line, from 1973's album Who do we think we are! In this song, Ian uses all his capacity from lowers to highests notes. Thanks a lot! Humberto from Brazil.
You have made me really happy with this reaction. I have been a fan of Ian Gillan/Deep Purple for decades as well as a fan of the musical JCS. Thank you so much for this!
Yes. By far the definitive performer of this song.
Jesus Christ, his voice touches my heart so deep. I love it!❤
My absolute favorite musical. I had no idea Ian Gillian was the original singer. Such an amazing performance. I would love it if you reviewed more songs from Jesus Christ superstar. The singers are all so incredible.
No one surpasses this OG, when it comes to this song. Some have better voices, but Ian nails the whole intent, emotion, etc. Will always be the best JC Superstar in my book.
I have to disagree 😅 Ted Neely IS this song. None of the tens of singers i have heard singing this come even close to his interpretation and powerful voice.
NOPE!@@rmsfq
YES Ted Neely is awesome singing this song ❤❤❤
Only Ian and Ted Neely can match the range and emotion required… both amazing performances (tears in my eyes here, phew…)
@@rmsfqTed is a good actor. But far away as a singer from Ian.
Ian Gillan is masterful. Is he unique? I don't really know but he really knows how to convey emotions to his audience and that's what matters
Emotions are much more important than technique, as long as the technique used is not causing damage.
@@TheCharismaticVoice I agree. To me music is all about the way it makes you feel.
@@leetroy3129 That's why blues exist. Buddy Guy don't give a damn about technique. He aims for your heart and your
soul. Next thing you know your laying on the floor weeping like a toddler.
He is definitely unique. No one else sings like him. His voice is instantly recognizable, yet inimitable. A big influence on the next generation of rock and heavy metal sings as well.
Thank you for doing this song. This really brought me back to HS when Deep Purple released Perfect Strangers and we discovered that he had done the vocals for Jesus on the original album. I used to listen to this all the time. I probably haven't heard this in 25 years and it still gives me chills.
Almost 5 decades, and Ian still gives me chills. This is one of the only performances (not the original, a NC Company performed in the '80s) that could make me cry every time due to how well the actor channeled Ian's performance.
Thank you for covering this, perfect video to end the day.
I look forward to future reviews of this role performed by a few other notable vocalists, like Geronimo Rauch, Drew Sarich, and if I can find the name of the Black actor who played Jesus for that NC production, who chose to emulate Ian Gillan instead of Neeley or Fenholt's vocals.... was truly one of the most impactful productions ever.
I really enjoy what you are doing.
Breaking down and analysing vocal performances.
There's a lot im learning, even though i have been a musician for over 35 years, i feel you never stop learning! And its NEVER to late to begin learning an instrument.
But above all, you are teaching and showing the younger generations what really goes into a true and genuinely felt vocal performance. Its not just singing, the breathing control, vibrato, pronunciation, delivery and nuance!
Thanks again for all that you do.
Adam B.
Elizabeth. >> coming back in March 2024... love your viewpoint .. I was there ... unknowing the significence and wonder we created ... Thank you Ian ...
I'm back too!
When he comes back in after the orchestra parts, he (Jesus) has accepted his fate to die in the name of God. So he's resigned, given up, accepted. This song is like going through all the stages of grief, except it's for oneself. He sings with such emotion.... Just the absolutely best.
Ian Gillan is one of the most unique singers of all time. Easily recognizable. Ian has a very strong identity. You always know it’s Ian Gillan singing. Nobody sing like he does. He was absolutely different in 70s and still is. It’s impossible to duplicate his voice.
This performance is above everything. A wide range of emotions that he puts in every single note is uncanny. Range, dynamics, emotions, quality, honesty - all in. It’s impossible to listen his performance without tears. Greatest performance ever! World class act.
P.S. By the way, a pronunciation is GILLAN not Gillian 😉.
It's a good performance I agree (and I really enjoy Ian Gillan and Deep Purple), but I would encourage you to listen to John Farnham sing it (the final Sydney performance) and consider revising that this is 'above everything'. Gillan certainly connects with the song however, Farnham connects much, much better with the role of Jesus. Gillan is strolling through the lines "let them hate me, hit me, hurt me, nail me to their tree", whereas Farnham pulls you in and makes you KNOW this is a sacrifice that will cause him untold pain. Farnham builds up to the "Why" cry in a far superior way that maximises the peak in a way that just kicks you in the guts, as opposed to hitting the key note well and that's pretty much it. Farnham sustains the cry from much, much earlier.
No performer has moved me with this song as much as John Farnham. Elizabeth - PLEASE now check out Australia's "The Voice" take on this.
Whoever sings it - it's an astonishing song.
Bruce Dickinson have a similar voice (especially when singing DP songs). And if you don't know one of them then recognise who sings is very hard😐
@@grievesy83 sold. I'm going in search of this performance after I listen to the rest of Elizabeth's take. I get what you're saying about that phrase - let them hate me, hit me, hurt me.... Threw that away, a bit, did Ian. BTW, I have LOVED this performance all my life, so I'm still LOVING the fact that she's digging into it.
K. I'm back. John Farnham is an extraordinary singer. In the same realm as Michael Bolton, a strong blues/soul/rock singer with big, big pipes and great interpretive ability. I still prefer Ian's version, for the dynamics, for the authenticity, for Ian's uncanny ability to engage in a musical conversation with God, in this version, which is so much more like a prayer. Very different approaches. Glad I heard Farnham, though. He's amazing.
@@CathyKeating Good on you for giving it a go! Fair enough to prefer Gillian’s performance if it speaks to you more than others. I’m just happy when people discover and, without exception, appreciate John Farnham.
I did hear he sang these type if tunes before Deep Purple, but this is the first time I actually heard it.
What would of become of Deep Purple if he did go to Broadway?
Not the way we could ever imagine.
Thank you for bringing this to all of us.
Ian Gillan was the original "Jesus" in JCS. Although many followed, none could equal his interpretation of a troubled Jesus who is agonizing over his fate. Ian Gillan is where it all came from. And the original Jesus Christ Superstar from 1970 is by far the best version. The vocals by Ian, Murray Head, Yvonne Elliman, etc, the rock music, primarily played by Joe Cocker's Grease Band...all done by kids in their 20s at the time. To me, this is mind boggling. Try listening to "Heaven on their Minds" by the singer Murray Head as "Judas" sometime. That whole album was a masterpiece.
Ian Gillan is unmatched. Easily one of the greatest vocalists of our time.
The cries of impending doom and being in that zone throughout this piece moves one to tears and puts you inside his captured private moments. His vocal portayal is brilliant and this song is timeless.
Beautiful analysis and for taking us on this insightful journey...thank you Elizabeth!
Ha!!..Cool !! In my message I posted a few hours ago, I was also going to suggest that JCSS original album with IAN!!.. along with the Glenn Hughes suggestion. I hope you get to hear the original JCSS studio 2 disc set someday.
I love Ted Neely's version from the movie.... could you do a compare and contrast of these two???
He's good, really good. But he's no Ian Gillan
He does a cool take. It’s not Gillan, but it’s definitely worth checking out.
As much as I love Gillan, Ted Neelys movie version grabs me more. Maybe because thats the one I grew up listening to, but never the less an awesome performance
My opinion is mine - The movie is poor compared to the live version. Was very disappointed in it. Neely (and the cast) didn't translate to the screen, and I felt it rather blandly scripted for the big screen and felt stiff to me.
I had the great pleasure of being in audience during a ... either 20th or 25 anniv tour and Neely's live performance had me shook. I new the songs beforehand, but the live was just like any other live music that hits you, the soundwaves are felt not just heard. His desperate pain was palpable and heavy and struck hard. The common vid of Neely circulating is even after the tour I saw, I believe... his voice was more measured and I don't think as strong as his younger self. No surprise there.
Even this performance with Ian... I'm sure would be better not in a studio but on a stage. Parts seemed a little too casual and not frightened for the inescapable pending torture and demise.
@@McLeod2022 I also saw Neely's performance on stage during that 25-year tour - I saw it in Baltimore. He's still got that voice, for sure. But I must have listened the movie soundtrack (on vinyl) a hundred times when it came out, it was brilliant. I may not be as enthralled to hear it again - I've matured a bit - but I was totally engrossed by all three leads back then and thought it was an amazing experience that captured a lot of my religious confusion at the time.
Ever since you did Child In Time I've been waiting for this. Thank you!
I bought the double album when it came out - yes, I'm that old - and fell in love with Ian Gillan's voice immediately. Also, fell in love with the sepia line drawing of Gillan included with the other participants, including Weber & Rice, that are inside the libretto. I went to see the show a year later and was very disappointed that he wasn't there, but the show was great, anyway, with Ted Neely. It was, literally, years before I saw so much as a still picture of Gillan (it took me a while to find Deep Purple - I was more into folk than rock).
I still listen to Superstar.
Murray Head was great, too, by the way, as Judas, as was most of the cast. Oh, Yvonne Elliman was in the live production I saw. She may have been the only one of the original performers from the album to be in that show.
One interesting thing about the performance I saw was that the performers all stood on risers at the side of the stage, and were dressed in hippie-ish Street clothes - jeans and such - and, as best as I recall, the performers involved in each song came down to center stage and sort of acted out their parts as they sang.
There's the drawing!!!! Thanks for showing it! Wow!
Great show. I've been waiting for one of you kids to get to this.
Thanks
I've been waiting and waiting for Elizabeth to react/analyze Ian Gillan singing JCS. It was SO worth it! His performance, and her appreciation of it, are extraordinary. Gillan is a generational talent and the insights Elizabeth shares (and her reaction is so visceral!) added a whole new dimension for me -- and Ive been listening to this since my folks bought the album back in 1971!
Thank you Ms Zharoff!