This whole episode is a triumph: the way James Gandolfini is able to inhabit a different Tony is mesmerizing & you see in his performance how deep he’s able to go inside the character, how he & Chase have worked together to create this glorious, complex man. Every dream sequence in the series is eerie & spectacular, but this, Tony in his deepest sleep, is its best.
The song that ends the episode, Moby’s When It’s Cold I’d Like to Die with vocals by Mimi Goese (who sounds like Annie Lennox’s ghost) is the perfect melancholic accompaniment to the episode’s theme. The song begins with the line “Where were you when I was lonesome?” My heart breaks.
While we were watching “Music of the Night” I became so breathless & moved by Wilkinson’s performance that it overwhelmed me. I also thought to myself, “Wouldn’t it be beautiful to hear this gorgeous tenor perform Ted Neeley’s song “Gethsemane” from Jesus Christ Superstar?” After we finished listening, SB said, “Oh hey, here’s a video of Wilkinson performing Gethsemane from Jesus Christ Superstar.” WHAT? I make magic dreams come true with my musical theatre wishes!
The performance is mesmerizing. Wilkinson speaks about always wanting to sing the song, it’s clear while he performs that he loves it. He captures the same frantic, muddled, cluttered confusion of a haunted man that Ted so beautifully understands and holds the most dramatic notes so long, and they sound so clear, that my chest tightens from the beauty of it all.
After we finished listening, SB noted that she thinks I have a thing for tenors, so she listed off a few popular tenors & so many are some of my favourite vocalists: Freddie Mercury, Peter Cetera, Don Henley, Justin Timberlake, Thom Yorke, Roy Orbison.
My absolute favourite voice is Ted Neeley’s; hearing this heartbreaking cover moved me, and, as JCS always does, soothed me on a day when I especially need soothing.
LesBohemea 