When Lima-born musical polymath Peter Elizalde witnessed the majesty of Jesus Christ Superstar, his life changed, and did so profoundly. Yes, this moment of divine intervention influenced his early musical career – landing him in bands inspired by eclectic rock luminaries like Jethro Tull and Grand Funk Railroad – but the urge to both honor and continue the legacy of JCS remained steadfast. So, ten years later, after many musical projects and a forged partnership-turned-collaborative-friendship with producer/engineer Eric Tunison, Peter’s envisioned JCS sequel, The Resurrection of Jesus Christ Superstar, manifested fully a spiritually conceived rock opera for mortal ears.
Ready for a continuation of the musical, the film, that inspires generations to create epic, operatic, biblically riveting rock? Let’s listen, and hit the highlights.
Wait. Who does what?
Meet the cast, and the immaculately selected players (but only some, since stone tablets require brevity and our chisels remain frustratingly dull).
The Singers:
PETER ELIZALDE – Songwriter – Arranger – Producer – Lead Vocalist and main role: “Jesus Christ Superstar.” Minor roles, as “Pilate” in *Hello My Name is Joseph* – and as “The Guards” in *The Guards’ Reports.”
SUSAN SHEWBRIDGE – Lead Vocals: “Angel #2” in *Two Angels*; “A Stranger on the Road to Emmaus.” Lead Vocals & co-Lyrics: “Suzanne” in *Joanne & Suzanne” Backup Vocal Arrangements: Various Tracks on the Album.
BRITTANY SHEWBRIDGE – Lead Vocals: Mary Magdalene in “Mary at the Tomb” and “I Believe.” Backing Vocals: “Hello, My Name is Joseph,” “Mary at the Tomb,” “Light of the World,” “The Ascension,” and “He is Risen.”
PRESTON SHEWBRIDGE – Lead Vocals: Joseph and Nicodemus in “Hello, My Name is Joseph”; Judas in “Judas’ Last Twist”; Fisherman in “Miracle at the Galilee Sea”; Witness-Apostle in “He is Risen!” – Backing Vocals: “The Benediction – Old Deluder Satan.” – Bass: “Mary at the Tomb”; “Light of the World.”
CHRIS KELLY – Lead Vocals: Doubting Thomas in “The Other Side of the Mountain” – Satan in “The Benediction – Old Deluder Satan” – Fisherman in “Miracle at the Sea of Galilee” – Witness/Apostle2 in “He is Risen!” – Backup Vocals: “Judas’ Last Twist”, “The Other Side of The Mountain,” “He is Risen!”
The Musicians:
PETER ELIZALDE – All guitars, and piano/keyboards on every keyboard-song except “Joanne and Suzanne” and “He is Risen.”
SUSAN SHEWBRIDGE – Piano: “Joanne & Suzanne.”
JOE REDA – Bass Guitar: All tracks except “Mary at the Tomb” and “Light of the World.”
PRESTON SHEWBRIDGE – Bass: “Mary at the Tomb”; “Light of the World.”
GEORGE SANDLER – Drums: All tracks except “Mary at the Tomb” and “Light of the World.”
ASHER MCKINNEY – Keyboards: “The Overture,” “Let It Be Me,” “A Stranger on the Road to Emmaus,” “Joanne & Suzanne,” “The Other Side of the Mountain,” “I Believe,” “50 Thousand,” “The Ascension,” “The Light of Pentecost,” and “He Is Risen!”
DAVID LESCALLEET – Cello: “The Restoration of Peter,” “Great Commission at Olive Mt.,” and “The Ascension.”
ANAN VYAS – Sitar: “The Overture,” “Two Angels,” “I Believe,” and “Miracle at the Sea of Galilee.”
BOB LEWIS – Horns: “He Is Risen!”
DANIEL SHEWBRIDGE – Drums: “Mary at the Tomb” and “Light of the World.”
And now, finally, the stone moves and an Angel gives a reassuring wink….
Listening, and talking about it (i.e., hitting the highlights).
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ Superstar begins with “Overture – Eli Lama Sabachtani.” It’s subtle strings and an organ chord progression reminding me of Joe Cocker’s swaying, decompressed rendition of “With a Little Help from My Friends.” More dramatic electric guitar follows with ominous chanting, leading to a choral, string-lifted melody. A powerful opener, “Overture – Eli Lama Sabachtani” proves this is a competent, compelling, heavily studied successor to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s religion-modernizing masterpiece.
“Hello My Name Is Joseph (feat. Preston Shewbridge)” is an ominous, piano-pushed perspective from the presumably imperiled Joseph. It rears in moments of rock-edged ferocity balanced by elegant, choral, and classically arranged musical storytelling. Another great track,
“Hello My Name Is Joseph (feat. Preston Shewbridge)” fades with a melodic repetition of Joseph’s timid introduction.
“Two Angels (feat. Claire Mott & Susan Shewbridge)” begins with phasing electric guitar before an angelic female vocal, later joined by another, testifies above a grooving 4×4 drum beat. And then, a rather magisterial break – a choral collective from on high, anointed with heavy, holy reverb, floats and reflects throughout inconceivably high cathedral walls. It’s as if these scouting angels rejoin their regiment, advancing the plot and plight through weaving, cloud-distributed song.
“Judas’ Last Twist (feat. Preston Shewbridge)” is a solemn piece – Judas’ recent, inglorious act certainly doesn’t sit well. The music reflects his conscience, and the moody chords and ominous piano plinking convey his guilt-stricken awareness.
As our musical thought-play nears its epiphanic catharsis, I’m drawn to “Miracle at the Sea of Galilee (feat. Preston Shewbridge & Chris Kelly).” It’s upbeat. It’s music for the tenacious, for the flocking citizen followers of Jesus – their faith, once a struggle to accept, is now fully alive and gushing (thanks to the personal witnessing of an actual, now verifiable, miracle).
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ Superstar closes with “He Is Risen! (feat. Preston Shewbridge, Chris Kelly & Susan Shewbridge),” and it reflects the dismantling of doubt. The utter refusal of fear. The epiphanal stronghold of hope. With horns, electric guitar, driving drums, and grand choral responses, “He Is Risen” is often repeated and carried aloft in waves of layered voices. And at the end of our play, of our apocryphal but spiritually immutable musical, those three powerful, introductory, “With a Little Help from My Friends”-ish chords return, embathed in glorious, voice-exalted, and eternally sung musical fanfare. WHEW!
But is it good?
Oh, yes. And it’s not only “good,” it’s absolutely on par with the very work it seeks to honor and continue. The score is ably written, the music immaculately arranged, and the melodies reflective of Jesus Christ Superstars‘ successful musical blend – a mixture of contemporary (now considered “classic?”) rock, soul-grabbing gospel, and melodic character catharsis. It’s the perfect soundtrack for a film that needs to manifest, and the promise of more high-level homages to come. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ Superstar isn’t just one story, but a weaving of several: the story of a boy and his unblinking tenacity to continue that which so moved him; the formerly untold story following one of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s finest musical/theatrical works; and the story to seek, or reintroduce, a fountainhead of goodness to a rather torn, disaffected, and emotionally tepid world. So, as an impassioned fan of the original, will you connect with the sequel? Oh, yes. And its many blessings will nourish insatiate spirits for generations to come. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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BELOW: Listen to Peter Elizalde’s The Resurrection of Jesus Christ Superstar and check him out on Spotify. Please support Peter Elizalde by visiting him online and playing, downloading, and/or purchasing his music. And, as always, thank you for supporting real music.
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