Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds from 1978 delivers plenty of 70s cheesiness, but also some catchy tunes and a decent adaption of a classic sci fi tale.
What Is It?
In 1978, musician Jeff Wayne put together an ambitious project to produce a musical version of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds. This recording, which spanned two LPs, combined an orchestra with rock musicians and adapted Wells’ tale using narration, dialogue, and music. Actor Richard Burton voiced the role of the central character from the novel and musicians David Essex, Phil Lynott, and Julie Covington played additional characters and provided vocals for the songs. Moody Blues lead singer Justin Hayward also contributed, providing the vocals for the song “Forever Autumn” which became a worldwide hit single. The album itself was a huge hit upon release and has since sold into the millions and ranks as the 40th best-selling album in the UK.
Performances: Richard Burton (The Journalist), Justin Hayward (Vocals), David Essex (Vocals and The Artilleryman), Phil Lynott (Vocals and Parson Nathaniel), Julie Covington (Vocals and Beth)
Original Release: 1978
Legacy:
While this is very much a product of the late 70s with all of the pretensions of the aging prog/art rockers of that time, it is still full of catchy tunes and delivers a good bit of sci fi music as well as a decent adaptation of on an all-time genre classic.
A Closer Look:
At a time when science fiction was experiencing a renaissance in a large part because of the Star Wars phenomena, Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds allowed the genre to briefly take over the world of music and to revive interest in the classic tale by H.G. Wells. Up to that point, Wayne was known mostly for composing jingles for advertising and television. But he had bigger aspirations and those came to fruition with this orchestral rock suite that brought together several well-known musicians and actors.
Revisiting it today, modern-day listeners may wince from its overbearing 70s pretensions and cheesiness. This came out during the waning days of the first progressive rock movement and the album gleefully incorporated all of the bombast and pomposity that we saw from the prog/art rock bands in that decade. But it also has a definite charm as well as an addictive quality. You may cringe at times on the first listen (or re-listen for returning fans), but pretty quickly you will find the album’s catchy, poppy tunes buzzing through your head, and you will soon find yourself going back for more. It does do a decent enough job of adapting the original story even if it takes some liberties and adds some new characters tailor-made to the guest appearances. And the voice actors all do a good job with their parts, especially Richard Burton and David Essex. And while the 70s cheese is apparent from start to finish, it never sinks under its own weight as it delivers a sci fi and rock music guilty pleasure. Just call it H.G. Wells-lite wrapped up with radio-friendly pop tunes.
The Story Continues:
In 2012, Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds – The New Generation was released which was a reworking of the original album. It has new characters, new songs, additional dialogue, and revised versions of the original songs. Basically, it is an expanded and updated version of the 1978 album. Wayne then expanded his adaptation further in 2018 into a five-hour audiobook production with music that delivers much more of the original story (that version is exclusive to Audible). There were plans in 2004 for an animated CGI film version of the original album, but apparently that project was abandoned.
Interesting Facts:
Two video games were released in 1998 based on the album. The version for the PC was a real-time strategy game that allowed the player to take the role of either the defending humans or the attacking Martians. The version for Playstation was a third-person shooter game from the perspective of a human fighting the Martians.
The album received its premiere at a launch party at the London Planetarium on 1 June 1978 which included a laser/light show.
Where Can You Listen To It?
The album had a CD re-issue in 2005 which included a 7-disc box set special edition. That set has since gone out of print, but the original album is available on CD, MP3, and LP. The New Generation version is also available on CD and MP3.
