Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of War of the Worlds [2005 SACD Remaster] (1978)

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Amazon.com wrote: If, like me, you became a Prog/Symphonic Rock fan after listening to "Tales Of Mystery And Imagination-Edgar Allan Poe" by the Alan Parsons Project, and "Journey To The Centre Of The Earth" by Rick Wakeman, you certainly got crazy for getting Jeff Wayne's musical version of "The War Of The Worlds" when it was issued as a double-LP album back in 1978. (Hey, if you haven't noticed it, all three above albums have been inspired on the most "raw" science-fiction literary works published in the 19th century, all of them were certainly "best sellers". But... Their musical versions recorded by Parsons, Wakeman and Wayne, certainly rival the literary heights reached by E. Allan Poe ["Tales..."], Jules Verne ["Journey To..."] and H.G. Wells' "The War Of The Worlds".) This album, is worth to remember, was also released in the middle of the "Space Fever" caused by STAR WARS the movie (so I think it's not a matter of coincidence, that some chords in this album at not doubt, will make you remind immediately on the wonderful musical score produced by John Williams for "Star Wars"). I find that this fever was even more weird, than the other 'fear fever' caused by Orson Welles and his infamous radio broadcast, of a supposed ferocious Martian invasion to the territory of the United States back in the 1930s... Jeff Wayne produced this now almost classic album of Symphonic/Prog Rock, with the help of the latest technology available for sound effects. He also got the support of talented musicians and selected voices: no one less than Sir Richard Burton himself as the storyteller, plus Justin Hayward (leader of The Moody Blues), the late Phil Lynnot (vocal master of Thin Lizzy), David Essex and even Julie Covington (who played Eva Peron in the first recorded edition of the super-famous Rock Opera "Evita"). There's not much more to say about this superb musical production. If you haven't heard it yet, DO IT RIGHT NOW! The SACD Hybrid remastered version sounds really wonderful! Of course, if you haven't read previously the wonderful story told by H.G. Wells in the original book, it is worth to do it just before you listen to this album! You can also get the book in Amazon.com at a really cheap, cheap price!

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Amazon.com also wrote: I bought this CD on a whim back in the late 80's. In my early days of buying CD's, truly unique sound projects were very scarce. Only the most popular albums were being transferred to compact disc at the time. I read a review many years earlier about a "progressive rock concept" from England. H. G. Well's classic story, "War of the Worlds" on a double LP. When I saw it on CD years later, I thought that I would go ahead and buy it. It was a brave move because a double CD of something I never heard before, was a big expense. When I brought it home, I started to play it during the dusk of the coming evening. I remember pouring a glass of wine, sitting in the "sweet spot" of my sound room. I turned on the CD, and kicked back: It opened with Sir Richard Burton (who is the journalist and the main narrator of the whole CD). His chilling, opening words to this H. G. Wells classic, truly set the stage for the impending doom and terror of my next 90 minutes. The first CD really is just fantastic! The guitar licks, and the ambient, but nerving, incidental music that played in the background as Richard Burton describes what's happening before him. He puts you right there with him. You feel as if you should get up and run because the horror is unfolding right in front of you. Although, it's all just psychological, you might actually feel the heat of the space ship in the commons. Good narration can compel terror quite well. (Just like Rod Serling with the "Twilight Zone" and Robert Stack narrating the stories of "Unsolved Mysteries". A commanding voice, and the effective use of dramatic pause, can inspire terror). For the longest time, I thought that I was the only one (in America) that has ever heard of this album. This was one of those albums that contributed to my being "proudly unhipp" for many years. Now I have friends calling me and asking me: "Is that the same "War of the Worlds" album that you told me about so many years ago?" Only now, are they interested in hearing the whole thing instead of just a few highlights. Well, I'm glad it's available again, remastered, and being heavily promoted, along side of the new movie soundtrack. I give this CD release a 4 star rating because I just don't like the paper digi-paks that they use to release this. CD's belong in jewel boxes. Always. Because, although, jewel boxes can get scratched up, the paperwork can stay new looking forever. Just replace the jewel box, and you have a new CD again. But these digi-paks suck. When these get tethered and worn, you're stuck with a packaging that's deteriorating in just a few years. Anyway, check this album out. It's one of the UK's biggest selling albums. If you like the narrator concept of music and story, check out Rick Wakeman's "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" (1974), and also, check out a double CD concept called "Closed on Account of Rabies: Poems and Tales from Edgar Allan Poe". That's a gathering of various celebrities telling Edgar Allan Poe stories. (Marianne Faithful, Christopher Walken, Dr. John, Iggy Pop, Diamanda Galas, etc.) Really cool, chilling stuff.

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Tracklisting:
Disc 1 (45:05):
1. The Eve of the War (9:07)
2. Horsell Common and the Heat Ray (11:35)
3. The Artilleryman and the Fighting Machine (10:36)
4. Forever Autumn (7:41)
5. Thunder Child (6:06)

Disc 2 (49:31):
1. The Red Weed (5:53)
2. The Spirit of Man (11:37)
3. The Red Weed (part 2) (5:24)
4. Brave New World (12:14)
5. Dead London (8:35)
6. Epilogue (Part 1) (2:31)
7. Epilogue (Part 2) (NASA) (1:50)

Total Time: 94:36

Line-Up:
- Jeff Wayne / synthesizer, keyboards, voices, director, conductor, executive producer, performer, orchestration
- David Essex / vocals, performer
- Justin Hayward / vocals, performer
- Chris Spedding / guitar
- Julie Covington / vocals, performer
- Herbie Flowers / guitar (bass)
- Billy Lawrie / vocals (background)
- Phil Lynott / vocals, performer
- Chris Thompson / vocals, performer
- Richard Burton / vocals, performer
- Ray Cooper / percussion
- George Fenton / zither, taragat, santur
- Ken Freeman / synthesizer, keyboards
- Barry Morgan / drums
- Gary Osborne / vocals (background)
- Jo Partridge / guitar, vocals, performer
- Paul Vigrass / vocals (background)
- Roy Jones / percussion
- Barry Da Souza / percussion