June 7, 2017 · 21:22
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Musical Notes

Tooling back through some tasty 70’s tunes tonight (some nights it’s the only thing that helps) and two observations strike me:

First, listening to the opening of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” I’m still constantly just STUNNED to realize that Judas was sung in the Original Broadway Cast recording by Murray Head – who also did “One Night In Bangkok” from “Chess.”

I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned this in the past (I’m pretty sure Jemima had comments about “Chess” which told me some things I hadn’t heard of before) but it still just leaves me gobsmacked.

Secondly, I had started with a little bit of “Chicago,” in particular the “Chicago 3” album. At the beginning of what was then Side Four is the spoken piece “When All The Laughter Dies In Sorrow.” To this day I remember thinking that it was incredibly sad, deep, and profound. Especially the final couple of lines –

Do you think a greater thinking thing
Will give a damn that man was here?
I’m here to tell you, forty-six years of life, marriage, parenting, jobs, colleges, joys, sorrow, passion, and cynicism have not left that poem quite so deep or profound. But since the current political climate, both nationally and internationally, has taken us right back to that feeling that Armageddon might be just around the corner, it’s still sad.
It’s just that then we thought that we would whip that problem (and the world) into shape in no time flat and Fix All The Problems ™ !!! Now the smart money is on there being a long, muddy, cold, miserable, and unpleasant road ahead of us.
Okay, so that might be a part of that album to forgo for a while. Not to self – next time listen to The Travel Suite twice instead.

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One response to “Musical Notes”

  1. Jemima Pett
    June 8, 2017 at 01:21

    All life is in musicals. Don’t go near Stephen Sondheim’s Passion if you value your shell defending your heart.
    There is only one thing better in JCS than the opener. And that is being Stage Manager and watching the fabulous musical score rip along as they play it – it’s so visually beautiful!

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