Jesus Christ the Exorcist

Jesus Christ the Exorcist (full title: Jesus Christ the Exorcist: A Progressive Rock Musical by Neal Morse) is the tenth progressive rock studio album by American vocalist, keyboardist and guitarist Neal Morse, released on June 14, 2019.[1][3]

Jesus Christ the Exorcist
Cover art of the album
Studio album by
Neal Morse
ReleasedJune 14, 2019
GenreProgressive rock[1]
Length109:59[2]
LabelFrontiers
ProducerNeal Morse
Neal Morse chronology
Lifes & Times
(2018)		 Jesus Christ the Exorcist
(2019)		 Sola Gratia
(2020)
Neal Morse general discography chronology
The Great Adventour: Live in Brno 2019
(w/ The Neal Morse Band)
(2019)		 Jesus Christ the Exorcist
(2019)		 Sola Gratia
(2020)

It is a rock opera based on the Gospels and inspired by Jesus Christ Superstar. It features several guest performers, including Ted Leonard, Nick D'Virgilio[4] and Morse's son Wil.[1]

The album was released as a double CD version, a triple vinyl version and on streaming platforms.[3] On September 10, 2018, a promotional video with audio snippets featuring all guest vocalists was released.[4] On March 20, 2019, a video for the song "Get Behind Me Satan" featuring Leonard on vocals was released.[3]

It was debuted live in 2018.[5][6]

Background and recording

The first draft of the musical dates back to 2008, when a friend of Morse called him, said he had watched Jesus Christ Superstar and that somebody ought to do a new rock opera based on Jesus' life.[3][4] Morse spent the next months writing a first version of the opera[4] and even attempted to have it performed at Broadway, to no avail.[7]

It wasn't until 2018 that Morse's friend Michael Caplan informed him of Frontiers Music slr's interest on the project.[4] Still in 2018, while getting ready for MorseFest, Morse rewrote the opera[3][4] and presented it live during the festival.[7] As Morse released his previous album with the Neal Morse Band in January 2019, The Great Adventure, he was already preparing the studio version.[8][9]

The album's plot focuses on important moments of Jesus' life. The main events are his exorcisms,[7] the empty tomb and his resurrection, with the songs also covering other episodes such as his baptism, his temptation, his entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, his trial and his crucifixion.[5][7]

In an April 2020 interview, Morse expressed interest in transforming the album in a theatrical production to be presented in large cities such as New York City, Toronto, Chicago or his hometown Nashville.[7]

Track listing
CD 1
No.TitleLength
1."Introduction"2:31
2."Overture"3:19
3."Getaway"2:41
4."Gather the People"5:17
5."Jesus' Baptism"3:09
6."Jesus' Temptation"10:18
7."There's a Highway"4:06
8."The Woman of Seven Devils"5:42
9."Free at Last"5:05
10."The Madman of the Gadarenes"7:07
11."Love Has Called My Name"4:15
12."Better Weather"1:42
13."The Keys to the Kingdom"4:48
14."Get Behind Me Satan"3:23
Total length:63:23[2]
CD 2
No.TitleLength
1."He Must Go to the Cross"3:10
2."Jerusalem"3:56
3."Hearts Full of Holes"3:40
4."The Last Supper"3:51
5."Gethsemane"7:39
6."Jesus Before the Council and Peter's Denial"3:13
7."Judas' Death"3:35
8."Jesus Before Pilate and the Crucifixion"8:17
9."Mary at the Tomb"2:45
10."The Greatest Love of All"5:00
11."Love Has Called My Name (Reprise)"1:30
Total length:46:36[2]

Reception

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Metal Temple[10]
Dangerdog5.0/5.0[5]
Sonic Perspectives9.3/10[1]

Marcos Garcia at Metal Temple praised the album's variety of sounds and ultimately called it "an excellent album for Prog Rock and Prog Metal fans, and to all those who have a good musical taste".[10]

Dangerdog's Craig Hartranft praised Morse for writing an accurate musical about Jesus, comparing it favorably with Jesus Christ Superstar due to what he perceived as "lack of Biblical and theological accuracy" in the 1970 rock opera. In terms of music itself, he said "you will love everything about this two CD work. The compositions are expressive and exspansive, moving between heavier melodic rock to symphonic rock to larger canvases that instill both drama and transcendence" and recommended the album for both followers and non-followers of Christ.[5]

Scott Medina from Sonic Perspective remarked the blues progression of "The Woman of Seven Devils" and called the material of the album "consistently top-notch throughout" while pointing out that "not only is there no filler during the course of two hours, on the contrary there is an embarrassment of riches with more musical ideas and skilled execution than most bands can dream of."[1]

Charts
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[11] 136
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[12] 100
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[13] 64
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[14] 86
US Christian Albums (Billboard)[15] 39
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[16] 5
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[17] 94

Personnel

Vocalists[10][1]

Instrumentalists[10][1]

  • Neal Morse — keyboards, guitar
  • Paul Bielatowicz — lead guitar
  • Bill Hubauer — keyboards
  • Randy George — bass
  • Eric Gillette — drums, guitar solo on "Jesus Before Pilate and the Crucifixion"[1]

Technical personnel[6]

  • Neal Morse — producer
  • Rich Mouser — mixing

References
  1. Medina, Scott (June 4, 2019). "Neal Morse – Jesus Christ The Exorcist (Album Review)". Sonic Perspectives. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  2. "Neal Morse - Jesus Christ The Exorcist". Ultratop (in French). Belgian Entertainment Association. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  3. Munro, Scott (March 20, 2019). "Neal Morse details rock opera album Jesus Christ: The Exorcist". Prog. Future plc. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  4. Munro, Scott (September 10, 2018). "Neal Morse reveals prog rock opera project". Prog. Future plc. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  5. Hartranft, Craig (June 12, 2019). "Neal Morse: Jesus Christ - The Exorcist". Dangerdog Music Reviews. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  6. "NEAL MORSE To Release "Jesus Christ – The Exorcist" on June 14th". Prog Sphere. March 19, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  7. Stratton, Lori (April 23, 2020). "Divine Light – Neal Morse Explores Spirituality in 'Jesus Christ The Exorcist' Prog Rock Opera". The Stratton Setlist. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  8. Frazier, Preston (January 31, 2019). "Neal Morse on 'The Great Adventure,' Sequels and Cruise to the Edge: Something Else! Interview". Something Else!. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  9. Beaudoin, Jedd (March 5, 2019). "The Neal Morse Band's 'Great Adventure'". KMUW. Wichita State University. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  10. Garcia, Marcos (August 2, 2019). "Neal Morse - Jesus Christ the Exorcist". Metal Temple. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  11. "Ultratop.be – Neal Morse – Jesus Christ the Exorcist" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  12. "Dutchcharts.nl – Neal Morse – Jesus Christ the Exorcist" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  13. "Offiziellecharts.de – Neal Morse – Jesus Christ the Exorcist" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  14. "Swisscharts.com – Neal Morse – Jesus Christ the Exorcist". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  15. "Neal Morse Chart History (Christian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  16. "Neal Morse Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  17. "Neal Morse Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
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