Customer Reviews

The War Of The Worlds (1978 Studio Cast)

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It was 1978 when I first listened to Jeff Wayne's concept album `The War of the Worlds', I thought it was great, and I had to get a copy-well on tape anyway, it was so different than anything I've ever heard of on radio before, and also I was into science fiction (I still am) which helped me appreciate the music; it was the best thing I ever owned, and later on in life I got the 2 record set-I think I still got it somewhere-I think? Well, I better check my small record collection just to be sure.

Now of course, years later, I purchased the `The War of the Worlds' "Limited Millennium Edition" on CD in 1999, I don't know how different it is to other CD versions, but this copy is like a miniature version of the vinyl record. But for now let's read on...

When it comes to classic science fiction there is one story (arguably) that comes to mind, which is a cut above the rest; no other story has come close to achieving success in its field than `The War of the Worlds' by H. G. Wells. (There is of course, `Journey to the Centre of the Earth' and `20.000 Leagues under the Sea' by Jules Verne which also comes to mind, but perhaps not as successful) H. G. Wells creation of Martians invading the earth has crossed all genres, (almost) firstly as a novel, then as the infamous radio play by Orson Welles in 1938, next, by the 1952 film (so superior than the Steven Spielberg remake-what a dud), and in 1978 Jeff Wayne himself committed the story in his own musical version to vinyl, followed by his musical stage version in 2006. `The War of the Worlds' was even done as a Video and Computer game and as far as I know an animated version is on the cards. The only form left of course would be to make `The War of the Worlds' into an Opera. (Now that would be interesting-I can just see Katherine Jenkins singing as Beth)

So the question remains why has `The War of the Worlds' been so popular? Why has it had success after success, in various forms of media? I can't really answer this accept that possibly it is because of man's fascination with space, intelligent life other than our own, or perhaps with planet Mars itself. Maybe that's it, we are a curious species, and our imaginations tend to (especially in the 19th century) go wild, even today the planet Mars still holds its secrets, and we are still searching for any form of life that existed there-no matter how small-we are obsessed. Life on other planets is a curious thing, are we alone or not?

To this end H.G. Wells created a myth-a legend-a holy grail for future scientists and astronauts to follow-to go to Mars to seek the answer. Little did he know what he let out of the Pandora's Box in the search for his own imagination to bring his ideas to light. `The War of the Worlds' has made its mark on the human psyche, it is embedded-we cannot escape the impression within our soul, we are forever caught in its mythical grasp.

And that grasp took a hold once again, and the recipient was none other than Jeff Wayne himself, and Jeff himself said in interviews, "it was the first story I read that excited me as a musician". So with that in mind Jeff decided to get the ball rolling as it were to develop `The War of the Worlds' in his own making that suited his talents as a composer. With financial backing from CBS, Jeff decided to get various artists to do the artwork for `The War of the Worlds' to bring his creation to life on a visual level, like Mike Trim who did the front cover of the album and Geoff Taylor and Peter Goodfellow who were responsible for the booklet illustrations.

As for the script, Jeff turned to Doreen, his father's second wife, an established writer in her own right; and with her, Jeff and his father began to develop ideas and areas that would ultimately become part of the album. As for the role of the narrator/Journalist of `The War of the Worlds', fate stepped in, upon receiving the script and cover letter from Jeff Wayne while in New York doing a play, Richard Burton read the script for `The War of the Worlds' and contacted Jeff Wayne two days later and signed on to do the part. Burton told Wayne "it was meant to be". Richard Burton was of course a natural, his resonate, sophisticated, deep educated voice, lent depth and power to the Journalist role, when you hear `The War of the Worlds' you really felt you were there with Richard in his journey within the story; all was set and after various engagements later, Richard Burton was free to record his part which took only one day to do, and as the actor was a perfectionist, poured his heart and soul as it were into the work, to ensure it was a first rate recording.

With Richard Burton on board Jeff Wayne hired the rest of his team to collaborate and help him complete the `The War of the Worlds' as the project progressed and chose:

Julie Covington (Beth, Parson Nathaniel's wife)
David Essex: (The Artilleryman)
Justin Hayward (vocals-singing the thoughts of the Journalist in "Forever Autumn")
Philip Lynott (Parson Nathaniel)
Gary Osborne (Lyricist and backing vocals)
Jo Partridge (The Hest Ray)
Chris Thompson (vocals-the voice of humanity in "Thunder Child")
Paul Vigrass (singer/songwriter and backing vocals)
Jerry Wayne (spoken words in "Epilogue, Part 2")

Finally the album was completed and launched in July 1978; it was a great success staying in the charts for 290 weeks in the United Kingdom Album Charts and selling well over 13 million copies, `The War of the Worlds' also was a top 10 hit in 22 countries and reached number 1 in 11 countries internationally (including Australia); the album included 2 worldwide hits singles, "The Eve of War" and "Forever Autumn", which was a top 5 in the UK, both sung by Justin Hayward from the Moody Blues (one of my favourite bands). `The War of the Worlds' also won 2 Ivor Novello Awards including "The Best Recording in Science Fiction and Fantasy'.

The double album of `The War of the Worlds' in the beginning was hard to describe, even the media at that time didn't know how to classify it, as the media liked to put all records into some form of classification to help them decide what genre it should be under and to help them understand the work (how immature). Jeff Wayne while researching `The War of the Worlds' dissected as it were the best bits from the H. G. Wells novel to bring the Martian invasion to life. My personal feeling is that perhaps Jeff could even now extend `The War of the Worlds' as a trilogy. But at the time even a double album was ambitious and expensive considering the final cost was around £240.000. As stated above the musicians who contributed to the album were first rate, all of them are legends in the music industry, Justin Hayward from the Moody Blues, David Essex and the late Phil Lynott from Thin Lizzy just to rename three.

The best way I feel to get the full impact of `The War of the Worlds' is to listen to the recording at night when you have an evening free, and make sure there is a full moon in the sky in which you can sit back and view it through a large window or if you prefer go outside to experience the full pleasure of what you are about to perceive in atmospheric sound and effects that will transport you back to the 19th century, as your mind conjures up images and imagination of an alien invasion and how mere earthlings handle something that is beyond their primitive minds to understand.

Jeff Wayne's adaptation of the novel is a triumph, and the musical version of `The War of the Worlds' has become a classic that even today can not be surpassed-it is timeless and quite unique as a concept album. (It is the 2001: A Space Odyssey of the music world-an interesting comparison)

`The War of the Worlds' is a must to have in your collection, and read the novel as well, perhaps do that first to get you in the frame of mind so you can understand H.G. Wells better and his vision of the Martian invasion that has yet to come.

Special thanks to Wikipedia for additional information for compiling this review.

Until next time-Ulla.

Jeff Wayne's War Of The Worlds is one of those albums whose legend far surpasses it's content. This album is well known and well recieved within prog rock circles, but not well known outside of them. I remember being very taken by it upon first listen as a young man (the artwork accompanying the album is priceless). It was quite the novelty hearing a rock opera with Sir Richard Burton narrating. But beyond the novelty, there isn't much substance.

In 1978 this album had what seemed to be a stellar cast. But in hind-sight, most of these performers had passed through the apex of their popularity and rellevance. Most all the muscial performers had spoken dialog as well as singing parts, except Heyward, who does most of the vocals. And of course there is Richard Burton, whose classically trained, stacatto voice is perfect for this style of recording. His performance carries the show, which doesn't say much for a rock album. Most of the dialog using Lynott, Essex and Covington ranges from banal to over-rought (Lynott's 'parson' is played way over the top and is somewhat embarrising given how big a Thin Lizzy fan I am).

That is not to say that there isn't some fine moments here and there. Heyward's Forever Autumn and Thunder Child are the only two songs that really stand out musically speaking. Forever Autumn is a wistful lament expressing seperation and loss, and while not directly related to the story, it does serve the plot well. Thunder Child is a minor masterpiece, melding story line lyrics and Burton's impecible narration with pop/rock hooks. If most of the album resembled this work, it might actually be the classic everyone thinks it is. But the people behind the console have to take a hit here as well. A superb, etherial instrumental like The Red Weed is marred by narration instead of being a stand alone song, save for the lead-in by Burton. The mixing job as a whole is somewhat clumsy. The goofy dialog (along with the disco trappings) should have been scrapped and more attention paid to the quality of the music.

Jeff Wayne may have had the vision and the ambition, but lacked the chops and flair of a Rick Wakeman, nor did he have the composition skills of an Alan Parsons. And I'm afraid that time hasn't been kind to this release. Instead of being a period as it was intended to, it's sound is inexorably linked to the year in which it was recorded. Maybe an updated version of this story is in order-((hello Rick Wakeman...)) It was a good idea that never was realized to it's best potential.

I was introduced to, "War of the Worlds," in 1978, by my older brother who had been introduced to it through his 8th grade math teacher. This album is one i still play quite often. My kids have grown up with this musical and know every line and all the changes in the music, and i plan on sharing this album with my grandkids. Yes, to me, its a classic. What can i say, Richard Burton, if i had the awful chance of not being familar with this ablum, and i was told Richard Burton was the narrator, i would flip! Richard Burton has a way pulling our mind strings, alerting to us that every word he will say is one to cling onto. The music: I have always been a huge disco fan. The guitar wah wah sounds OUTSTANDING!!! The crys (leads) of the guitar in the background of the second song, "Horsell Common and The Heat Ray", creap me out and prepare the listener for the evil that is coming upon the earth. The chills i get with the quiet solemn sadness of, "The Red Weed", pt1 and 2., and "Dead London", how tired and fightened the journalist was and the music protrayed the uncontrolling desire for death. I feel Jeff Wayne was ahead of his time with his ideas, yet still stayed within his own era, where he can be appreciated within his own gerneration and many to come. I loved everything that was done in this album. So, for me this album has been one i grew up with and am very parcial too, but in a small part in the back of mind i dream of a modern version of this classic, but i worry of how it may come out. I would hope nothing would change at all, and the feel of the orginal would come through.

I am still only 15, but I heard this when I was nine, and thought it was the best thing since chocolate. It introduced me to many, many other albums and bands. I owe it all to Jeff Wayne, and also to Rick Wakeman as I soon after heard his Journey to the Centre of the Earth.
This is a very powerful album in many respects, not only for it's famous narration by Richard Burton and its even more famous DUM DUM DUMMM, DUM DUM DUMMM, you get the picture. (I hope!) I truly believe that anyone who likes any form of music from the 70's will like this. I wont pretend that todays younger generation will appreciate it as the masterpiece it is, but all the rest of us should proudly own a copy of 'JEFF WAYNES MUSICAL VERSION OF THE WAR OF THE WORLDS.' It's a true classic, up their with Mozart and Haydn, well done Jeff! H.G. Wells would be proud.

I'm not sure how I missed this album originally. As a life-long SF fan (both print and visual arts), I count both the Wells book and the Pal movie among my all-time favorites (to give you a reference, I'm the same age as the movie).

I came across references to this composition when researching a book I'm writing, which has a major chapter on "War of the Worlds." I couldn't believe that it was still available! When I discovered that it had Richard Burton as the narrator, I immediately ordered it as "research materials" (I could listen to him read the phone book and enjoy it!).

My first pass through the piece was a little cringing. The style is certianly dated today, and, as other reviewers here have pointed out, it does reflect the disco era of its origins. However, Wayne is an amazing tune-smith and I've found the entire piece completely infectious, I've now played it to the point of distraction to my family, and will probably continue to do so (my 11 year old daughter loves it!). It really is a great time capsule of the period with the classic Moog whistles and chirps as background effects in addition to the early synth music that you just can't get out of a digital keyboard. I was reminded of Dick Hyman's early Moog albums. While not particularly a rock fan (I enjoy all well crafted music) I can appreciate the gutiar work and the seamless integration of the orchestral passages.

The only reason I knocked a star off the rating is the "Spirit of Man" sequence. The first problem is that they gave the parson a name (he's just "the cleric" in the book), and second, they gave him a wife, just for the purposes of the song. I agree with some of the other reviewers that it goes on too long and is too over-the-top.

The other time capsule is the Wells story. I was impressed how much of it they managed to get into this abbreviated format. And for those reviewers who found the "Ulla!" cries of the Martians to be silly, well, sorry, that's straight from the book; although it's only their distress cry at the very end (they communicate by other musical tonalities at other times, shades of CE3K).

I may have found it late, but its become one of my favorite period pieces.

Ok, I admit, I had the album and I thought it was great, and when I saw the CDs I order them right away.

And it's still great. OK, it's alittle dated, but I love that period synth sound (sorry, samples just aren't the same as a wailing analog synth!), the disco bass (and I hated disco), and even the oolas (I'm pretty sure that's Phil Lynott singing that), and anything that gives credit for "Heat Ray" gets a plus in my book ;).

Anyway - while I don't really thing that fans of prog rock will REALLY like this, it's a pretty good album - Justin Heyword is in good voice here and Forever Autumn is a good song, and there's some really cool guitar and synth riffs so it's got good playing, good songs, and it's an interesting approach to War of the worlds.

AND - if you've read this far and you've got the spare cash, go for it, we KNOW you want it!

I am 15 and was introduced to WOTW a year ago by my best mates mum. It only needs one word to describe it. Amazing.

I was really glad to see this released,is outstanding! The whole first half is great, especially "Forever Autmn" (which was a hit for Justin Hayward), "Eve of War" and "Thunder Child". It tails off just a tiny bit on the 2nd half, "Spirit of Man" and "Brave New World", are not quite as strong. The sound effects, bridge music and background to the narration are all perfect, weaving the spell of the Martians.

"The chances of anything coming from Mars, are a million to one..... but still, they come"

For a double disc set lasting 2 hours it's a shame that there's only 2 good tracks between them. 'The Eve of the War' (and it's remix) is the track that everybody knows and loves. It's truly great music and both tracks last for quite a while, fully exercising the brilliant theme. Richard Burton's narration works wonderfully well blended into these tracks but on the rest of the tracks the story seems out of order and boring.

I got this set for dirt cheap so it wasn't such a big deal forking over the dough for it. Like I said there are only 2 good tracks and even though they are super cool paying full price for them is a little steep.

had the original vinyl recording, and i am glad to see this is out. until i heard it at my daughters play, i have forgotten how much i missed the amazing orchestration.

can't wait to receive it.