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    The Phantom Tollbooth 1999/ApologetiX
    ApologetiX — Jesus Christ Morningstar cover

    ApologetiX

    Jesus Christ Morningstar

    (1998)

    Reviewed by Aaron Bell

    DiscogsYouTube
    Label ParodudesThe Phantom Tollbooth1999
    classic rockcomedyhard rock

    ApologetiX are known as "That Christian parody band" and have put out 3 albums of parodies of popular rock songs from the sixties through the nineties. Their latest release Jesus Christ Morningstar is a "rock opera" of sorts that chronicles the life of Christ using parodies of songs by the Eagles, Don McLean, The Beatles, Aerosmith, The Beach Boys and many more. With 18 tracks and just over 70 minutes of music this album is chock full of music.

    The music is really well done and the vocals on some of the songs are really close. The true mark of this band is the creativeness of J. John Jackson who writes all the lyrics. He has a real talent at making the lyrics fit perfectly with the original version of the songs, almost like he is writing an original tune without having to fit it in to someone else's music. For an independent release, the production values are really high and the quality is great. The only negative to this band is that they have a limited chance of making a larger impact because the band is too often dismissed as a comedy or novelty act when the lyrics are rarely meant to be funny, but rather talk about biblical truths and Christian teachings. Overall, ApologetiX make great use of their talents, and make a great album. It's too bad the novelty is hard to get past.

    2.5 tocks

    Other coverage for this album

    HM Magazine #76Reviewed by Doug Van PeltThe princes of parody songs are back. Look out, Weird Al, you've got some heavy competition here! This time the guys take on 18 classic rock tunes, like The Eagles' "Hotel California" ("Hotel Can't Afford Ya," as in Joseph & Mary's story); Free's "All Right Now" ("Go Right Now"); and the Kiss classic "Rock & Roll All Nite" ("Love & Kisses"). Some really good laughs. The musicianship isn't bad. As…

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