actually i find this really disturbing
As do I.
I can't say for sure, but this track might have been one of those that was recorded
after he dumped Sony (or Sony dumped him, depending on whom you believe), and one of the parameters to the label/artist separation, as I recall hearing, was that he would have more control over the mixing of his recordings. This might explain why he chose to use that "sizzling" reverb; ( distracting to me anyway). Maybe he liked it... I don't know.
I would also agree, that while not a GM fan, that he does indeed have a great voice, so part of the sound is most definitely him. Having access to a multi-thousand dollar mic like a C24 or a U-47 doesn't hurt either, although as far as I'm concerned, there's so much effect on this track that it kind of negates everything else used.
If you listen to tracks like "Careless Whispers" for example, the reverb is just as present, but it's a much
different reverb than on "Jesus"... warmer, richer.. if I had to lay money down I'd say Lexicon PCM.
To answer your question, based on the time it was recorded, it could have been anything from a Lexicon to a Roland. By the mid '90's, there was an uncountable slew of reverb units available in all calibers, prices and configs. If you want to emulate this, try an upper range boost, either on the reverb output or on the FX return of around 5-8k, and allow a trail of around a second. (Which doesn't sound like much, unless you're used to working with reverb paramters, in which case it's an
eternity. And, as Rod mentioned, don't discount the possibility that they were using multiple reverb units/patches at once and employing pre delays and multiple room sizes.
Either way, IMHO, it really detracts from the voc perfomance...it's distracting.
FWIW
D.