Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version Of The War Of The Worlds – The New Generation

It seems after all these years Jeff Wayne has finally conceded he is Mr. War of the Worlds and it's in that context you have to listen to this album. Mr. Wayne has remained doggedly faithful to his original work, some musical styles and instruments have changed, but this is as vivid an reinterpretation of that original work as you can get. There are some profound differences - Richard Burton passed away nearly 30 years ago and Liam Neeson brings his own gravitas to the role. They are very different voices and actors and I don't think it's fair to compare the two. There's no doubt that Burton's original version is utterly iconic but Neeson I think is just as sincere. With a new voice Wayne has been able to expand on some of the Journalist's spoken parts; no massive additions but small extra pieces of exposition which I think adds to the drama. The 1978 version had some era-defining voices, Burton/Essex/Heyward/Thompson/Lynott/Covington and it probably is true the voices on this album, as good as they are, will not be as influential. However they are all superb and it does them an injustice not to regard them so. There are no weak performances at all and they are a fresh take on the original 30+ year old originals. Similarly the musicianship is beyond rerproach; that and the production is probably better than the original. It has had more than 30 years of technological development and its probably true the technology has caught up with the ambition of the original. There are some tonal and instrument changes but the are mostly subtle and welcome. A worth companion to the original but needs to be listened to with an open mind. Bravo!

When the release of this was first announced i was excited and at the same time cautious. whilst the original will remain a timeless classic there were elements about it that bugged me or just sounded dated or out of place even. Then came the day of the first previews (sorry for the pun). Hearing "The eve of the war" on Radio 2 being previewed approx a month ago really got me worked up for it. A cleaner sounding song with more punch added where it was needed, i was worried it may get too dancey like the ulla dub ulla albums (which coming from a fan/former DJ of dance music is saying something), but it got the balance bang on, and Liam Neeson added some much needed drama to the narration (Richard Burton as talented as he was always read the script in a monotone manner which really drew away from the drama of events as they occurred). All that left me wanting more and eagerly awaiting the arrival of this album. Finally the wait was over and i could pop the disc into the player and press play. From the get go i was impressed and as the album went on and then finished i was left feeling something isn't right. Then i realised i was comparing it to the original which i have to say is a big NO NO. The best thing i can advise is listen to it for what it is and not compare it to the original. i have played it through a further 2 times now with that approach and the more i listen the more i hear things i missed first time over and enjoy what is going on. As stated before Liam Neeson really adds drama where Richard Burton was seemingly unable to deliver. My only criticism for the casting is Maverick Sabre as the Parson Nathaniel. While vocally he is similar to Phil Lynott his speech sounds distinctly out of place for what should be Victorian England/London. For those of you reading this and wondering should i buy it i would say yes don't listen to everyone who says "the original was better" "this is crap" and "OMG who does Jeff Wayne think he is George Lucas" please do yourself a favour and ignore them. Yes the original is good. Yes it will hold a distinct place in any fans heart. BUT this is a fresh take on a classic that works and in some ways, in my opinion, does it better than the original but that is my opinion, judge for yourself and remember don't compare it to the original. Enjoy it for what it is, another retelling, or rendition even, of a timeless classic. (Just a quick note IMO this version works well with the volume up high and the bass cranked up too)

Jeff Wayne's Musical Version Of The War Of The Worlds (1978) is an excellent 95-minute concept album in which narrator, journalist George Herbert, talks us through his personal confrontation when Martians threaten to invade the planet he and his girlfriend, Carrie, call home. Since that album, various remixes have appeared, and a live tour - Alive On Stage! (which is the perfect visual companion to an excellent piece of composition) - has sprouted a DVD and CD recording. Now, thirty-five years after the cult was first recorded, a New Generation re-recording with an all-new cast of voices has been released. Firstly, let me describe what one gets in the CD version. The case is more like a CD case-sized hardback book made up of around fifty colour pages; accordingly, the case is a little thicker than most (but no taller or wider). Two cheeky flyers for the live tour are shuffled into the first pages, and there's the two CDs themselves - one at the front and one at the back in suitably thick black card, labelled 'The Coming Of The Martians' and 'The Earth Under The Martians' respectively. The booklet is bookended by OHP plastic on which the famous words from the prologue ('The Eve Of War', CD1 track 1) are printed in gold: '... And yet, across the gulf of space, minds immeasurably superior to ours, [sic] regarded this Earth with envious eyes' and '... And slowly, and surely they drew their plans against us.'. This begins one of the pervading typographical choices of the booklet: in the many pages of lyrics and transcribed spoken words are, highlighted in gold, lines new to 'The New Generation'; there's also a recurring use of four or so fonts in which certain chilling lines are picked out and enlarged. The gold highlighting is one of the good points of the re-recording: lines which it seemed natural to have in the first instance are now made obvious which helps to aide the narrative of the story. This has not been overdone; the most additions are made to the spoken diatribe in 'The Artilleryman Returns' (CD2 track 4) where one can see that what is added only supports the original text, and does not detract from it (The New Generation runs about seven minutes longer than its original). Between these pages of lyrics are new CGI pictures of certain scenes; a couple could have been arranged in better correspondence with the lyrics between which they sit, but are, nevertheless, quite a detailed visual spectacle which will surely be an appreciated addition for those who have not yet seen the live show. Another small gripe I have is that (very occasionally) the lyrics are incorrect, and, if I'm to be really picky (which I am), I'll also mention that the typographer didn't seem to notice the difference between a hyphen and a caesura (one is longer than the other). There's also the small matter on p. 34 of 'Epilogue (Part 1)' and 'Epilogue (Part 2) NASA' both being labelled "Track Eight" when in fact the latter is the ninth track of the second CD. After the lyrics comes fourteen pages of biographical information. Here again is a mistake: p. 35 states that the H. G. Wells book on from Wayne's musical is adapted (by Doreen Wayne, his late wife) "has never ceased to be out of print"; this is a paradigm example of how these few, tiny mistakes summed together and exacerbated by their obviousness are a niggle to the close reader, especially considering the effort evident in the look of the booklet. What's better is the quality of the music: it sounds phenomenal. Not only production-wise (a category in which, being thirty-five years more recent than the original recording, it was bound to win), but vocally, orchesterally and creatively. As I said about the lyrics and spoken words, the music has had hardly anything taken from it and has had a good amount added to it. There is nothing shockingly different about the 1978 version and this one, and in that respect some may be disappointed in the lack of difference (and is probably why some feel that this version is unnecessary). But I think that Wayne has struck a brilliant balance between retaining the original essence of his musical while updating and renewing it. It perhaps wasn't necessary to re-record it, but I appreciated listening to a different, newer re-realisation of the material. Wayne hasn't stuck masses of synthesisers and effects into 'The New Generation' (though has made some digital additions which I'll speak of later): there are acoustic differences - a lone cello has been added to some tracks (including 'Forever Autumn', CD1 track 4, and 'The Artilleryman And The Fighting Machine', CD1 track 3), some bass guitar notes are notable for their presence (such as in 'Thunder Child', CD1 track 5), and some vocal lines have been added (heaviest in 'The Spirit Of Man', CD2 track 2). Wayne has lent on digitalised music sounds, also, adding certain harmonies and (with restraint) some effects (it would have been easy to over-do the addition of effects, but I think that he gets it right). The best effect is on the track 'The Artilleryman And The Fighting Machine' (CD1 track 3) in which the spoken lines "I jumped into the water..." are accompanied by a tutti bass-reduction etc. implying the listener's submersion along with Neeson, who continues his lines with a lack of breath immediately after (a very nice detail lacking from Burton's delivery, which is track 3 of the original album); this track also sees some synthetic strings gaining additional notes. There's greater use of drum machines (for example, in 'The Red Weed (Part 2)', CD2 track 3) as compared to the original which may or may not be considered a good thing. Lastly, an effect of slowing down the entire orchestra into choppy on-beat punctuations then reviving the track by a single instrument reintroducing the main melodic line is a good effect, but is used once on each disc ('The Artilleryman And the Fighting Machine', CD1 track 3 at 11:13; and 'The Red Weed (Part 2)', CD2 track 3 at 1:58); in that respect, I think it is an over-used effect. Most prominent is the manipulation of voices in The New Generation; something which was not used much on the original album. A vocoder voice is used in some of the scenes (for example, 'Epilogue (Part 1)', CD 2 track 8, features a sampled voice whose notes are reminiscent of the solo cello earlier described) concentrating on humanity which acts as a nice counterpoint to the ULLA voice used to signify the Martians. However, there is one unwelcome vocal addition: the Martians are given some lines (voiced by Lewis MacLeod) which I personally find - though sparse, but nonetheless obvious - intrusive and unappealing; giving a voice to the Martians, especially one in English, gives them a human aspect which was never present in the original album, nor should it be simply for the fact that they are not humans. Other vocal manipulation includes sometimes unwelcome play with echo and pan, and a curious manipulation of Maverick Sabre (as Parson Nathaniel) in 'The Spirit Of Man' (CD2, track 2) when "Devil" and certain other words are said, lowered, echoed and panned. My penultimate noticing concerning vocal manipulation is the splicing and echoing of certain lines of the narrator (voiced by Liam Neeson), such as "... that turned the smoke into thick, black dust... [then sounding as if coming from a radio] black dust... thick, black dust". And finally, I dislike that the original album's final track ('Epilogue (Part 2) NASA', which is CD2 track 9 on this version) has been remastered and reused; it would have been nice for Justin Hayward to cameo the NASA men, though I respect why Wayne kept the track as it is: his late father, Jerry, did the voice on the original album. I think that the best performance is given by Maverick Sabre as Parson Nathaniel. His voice suits the tormented Parson and is left untouched by digital effects for the most part, as it should be (though, as mentioned, there is some echoing and panning which distracts from a voice that otherwise stands on its own). His "gritty yet soulful voice" (as p. 42 describes it) on 'The Spirit Of Man' (CD2 track 2) is let down only by its contrast with the occasionally melodramatic Joss Stone as Beth, the Parson's wife, who enunciates some vowels accompanied by an uncomely dynamic increase. However, Sabre is the one who carries off the song, and who manages to successfully retain the same character in both his sung and spoken words. Liam Neeson also does well in this respect: his lines are only ever spoken, recorded over three days ("10th - 13th April 2011", p. 47), in another country and (presumably) after the other players had recorded their voices, yet he does well to maintain a consistency of character while playing opposite voices who were not present before him. I hope that this review has both informed you of the product, and emphasised that the only gripes I personally have with the booklet and recording are so picky and minute that they are not - even when summed - enough to put one off buying it (though did justify a star dropping off an otherwise brilliant concept album). Please do buy it in CD or vinyl form - not download - as it was intended to be received, to feel the card of the booklet and the grooves of the music: Jeff Wayne's Musical Version Of The War Of The Worlds has never shirked the other senses and a lot of effort has gone into creating something that can be touched and looked at along with listened to. It's an experience few other concept albums have managed to achieve. Lock your door, turn off the lights and close your curtains, unplug your phone and dedicate a couple of hours of focus to this re-recording; give it your full attention and you'll be as terrified by the end of it, as entertained, as in awe of Wayne's awesome talent of composition as whence you first listened to it. Is it necessary? Not really, but it's not unnecessary: Wayne has created something fresh to the ears, something imbued with a modern accent for the new generation of listener (the clue is in the title!), something current for the War Of The Worlds virgin and something which, I think, a fan of the original can appreciate for its modesty in alterations, its delicacy when approaching additions and its attempt to rekindle the feel of the original album for a whole new world.

Always liked the original version, thought i would try this version by Jeff Wayne didn't think it would be as good as it is with it being a stage play. But I have to say it blew my mind. Fantastic.

Brilliant rework of this classic album,which has always been in my life. Jeff has done a great job as ever, I used to be a massive fan during the spaceship years and I met Bev in one of his DB5;s near Jasper carrot's house. Bev went in to the canal locks shop, I was outside and said bev if I bring my program in will you sign it for me please. He said bring it here to this shop and I'll do it for you,if you give me your details I'll post it on to you (gobsmacked or what) many days later my program arrived along with a postcard wil all the group on,including the electric light orchestra. Thank you Jeff for sharing your gift with all of us,we are truly in awe and humbled of your work.

Like most reviewers, I have known this piece (inside out) since my teens in the late 70s. The original album must rate as one of my most favourite pieces of music ever. I have bought the various remixes etc. that have been brought out over the years and have always been disappointed. However, this new album is in another league altogether. It is a sensitive and musically-credible re-working of the original - as was intended. There is nothing too radical here - most of the original 'sounds' remain but listen carefully and you will hear that virtually every aspect of the original has been changed in some way - whether it be the adding of a pumping bass line at the iconic opening, additional harmonies, new orchestrations etc. There has been an awful lot of thought given to everything. Of course, not everything works - it's a matter of personal taste really. I think that 'Forever Autumn' is sung brilliantly by Gary Barlow, but the accompaniment is overly-produced. There are also a number of very 'dated' synth sounds used (can you spot the Yamaha keyboard auto accompaniment style, or the truely terrible synth sound similar to the opening of Lloyd-Webbers 'Cats'?) The choice of singers is mixed. Joss Stone, for me, is the weak link. She is not a patch on Julie Covington who sang on the original album. None of the singers are particularly good actors. Ricky Wilson sings well but his spoken dialogue has little conviction (he'd be good presenting on CBeebies!). Liam Neeson has an impossible task in emulating Richard Burton, but, for me, he does a good job and who could do it better? So, overall, five stars from me (four and a half really!). Six stars for the beautifully produced book/CD cover - you can't download that!

Having grown up with the original version, and then seen the tour a few years ago, I was looking forward very much to Jeff Wayne's New Generation Version. I realised that I needed to approach the new album without my biased opinion of the album that was a very formative part of my childhood. I was particularly looking forward to the development of the story, which Jeff Wayne had alluded to in the pre-release interviews. Hence my confusion - where is it? This is basically a re-recording of the original with new singers and actors and new musical interpretation. Albeit there is some updating of the dialogue - the story content is exactly the same. (before anyone has a go at me - yes, I know that it's based on the book!) So the good points - I think Jeff Wayne has updated the original score very sensitively with 85% of the original musical ideas present. The new additions are well placed and I particularly like the incorporation of dance music styles (even some Dub Step!). Gary Barlow's performance is particularly good - both in keeping with Justin Hayward's original, but also bringing his own unique trademarks. Liam Neeson's voice is a wise choice to replace Richard Burton and his tonal qualities work well. I can't help feeling though that his dialogue feels slightly rushed, and therefore is a bit lacking in the potential drama that I know he can deliver. And the bad points: For me, the drama is the main ingredient lacking on the New Generation version. I don't know the process of how Jeff picked the New Gen. recording artists - the singing is on the whole very good, but I'm not convinced by the acting - particularly in the dialogue between the main songs (by the characters - not Liam Neeson). Whether it is because I'm 33 years older than when I first heard the original version (now middle aged, not a child!) but this doesn't have the sinister menace that the original version had. There are some lines in the dialogue which the actors simply throw away as an after thought e.g. "giant machines that walked. They attacked us. They wiped us out." Sorry Ricky, you really should have done a re-take! So to sum up - an interesting re-work of the original album with some good instrumental and vocal performances, but not what I was expecting conceptually. I can't help feeling it falls between two stools - it isn't really the development of the original that I thought it would be and yet the original with any of its imperfections felt like it had more drama, I'm not sure that New Gen. brings enough freshness to the party. In a world of more dramatic film/entertainment experience (than in the late '70s), this feels a bit lame. I do take my hat off to Jeff and the team for what they have achieved here musically and technically - some great sounds. But I'm not quite sure it was necessary......where is the development of the story you were talking about? Sorry guys, I so wanted to really like this, but I'm a bit disappointed. If this was software, it would be version 2.0 - a new graphic interface with a more modern feel, but having lost some of the nice features of version 1.0 and not really introducing many new features.

A brilliant CD almost Brand new

i am a great fan of the original, and im hugely disappointed with this new reboot, everything that made this show great has been stripped away and been turned into a techno album. why fix something that isnt broke, the original is a timeless classic which i would go to see every time i can, yet this pile of rubbish is a waste of time, also the cast wasnt great, justin hayward and chris thompson are sorely missed, the greatest cast so far was the anniversary special. this is a waste of money.

I so thoroughly enjoyed the original version that I decided to invest in this one, and I was not disappointed. The new narrator, variations in the instrumentation and some of the tempo made for fresh enjoyment of the tale.

in den 70er Jahren schaffte es Jeff Wayne mit "Jeff Waynes Musical Version of The War of the Worlds", einen Sci-Fi Klassiker gekonnt musikalisch umzusetzen. Über 30 Jahre schaffte es dieses Hörspiel, mit immer wieder geringfügigen Anpassungen auch in Bezug auf eine Bühnenumsetzung in den Köpfen vieler Fans und deren CD- & MP3 Playern zu bleiben. Nun wurde es wohl Zeit, das alte Werk zu modernisieren. Mit Elektro- & Synthieelementen aufgepeppt kommt das Hauptthema des Hörspiels neuerdings daher. Eine neue Besetzung für die Songs und den Journalisten mussten dabei ebenfalls sein - es sollte ja immerhin "eine neue Generation" sein. Das Arrangement ist zumindest in meinen Ohren sehr gut umgesetzt worden. Melodisch hällt es sich sehr nahe an der Ursprünglichen Version mit nur leichten Änderungen - der Journalist hat weitere Textpassagen bekommen, sodass seine Erzählung jetzt näher an der Buchvorlage ist wie früher. An manchen stellen klingen die Änderungen allerdings etwas Übertrieben und wären etwas sanfter nicht verkehrt gewesen. Aber nach mehrmaligem Höhren kann man sich auch damit anfreunden. Ohne Zweifel - wenn man die Ursprüngliche Fassung gewöhnt ist, hört man diese zwangsläufig mit gewissen Erwartungen und vergleicht es automatisch mit dieser. The War of the Worlds: New Generation könnte durchaus die Lücke zur Jüngeren Generation schließen, für welche die alte Fassung vielleicht etwas "altbacken" wirkt - ob es aber schafft, ebenso Erfolgreich zu sein wie sein Vorgänger bleibt abzuwarten.

Siempre he sido un fan de este disco desde que apareció por primera vez en 1979, me compré la versión en español, y porteriormente la original en inglés, es una opera rock que narra musicalmente la novela escrita de H.G.Wells. Esta vez Jeff Wayne se rodea de un nuevo elenco de estrellas, tanto del cine, (Liam Neeson) como de la música actual (Gary Barlow) para, con sonidos y tecnología de hoy día, relanzar esta obra maestra. Impecable sonido y presentación en set de dos discos, con el libreto con los textos y letras de las canciones. Muy bien narrado por Liam Neeson que sustituye al mítico Richard Burton del 79 (en España, fue el gran Teófilo Martínez el encargado de narrar la obra). No me queda más que recomendar esta nueva versión, que aunque no supera la original, todo hay que decirlo, deja el listón muy alto. Y si podéis haceros con la versión en español, os aseguro que no os arrepentiréis, otra joyita dificil de encontrar.

Bon, alors, soyons direct: j'ai acheté "The War Of The Worlds" en 1979 en double cassette (!) alors que j'étais en "vacances linguistiques" en Angleterre. A 12 ans à peine, je suis tombé amoureux de la chose instantanément. 33 ans ont passé et c'est avec une certaine appréhension que j'ai investi dans cette nouvelle version. Il faut dire que le DVD live de 2006 m'avait tellement fait halluciner qu'il n'a pas fallu très longtemps pour me décider! Je disais donc, soyons bref. Cette nouvelle version n'a EN RIEN à rougir à coté de l'ancienne. Les vieux sons vintages des 70's restent prédominants mais prennent un tout autre relief avec la production actuelle (fabuleuse ici) Quelques clin d’œils techno ici et là ne sont pas nécessairement malvenus. Quelques titres phares: impossible d'égaler les versions originales de "Eve of the war" et "Horsell Common and the heat ray" mais le boulot effectué ici est remarquable. La nouvelle version de "Forever Autumn" est belle à pleurer. Le clou: cette version extraordinaire de "The spirit of man" qui surpasse l'originale. Des points faibles? Il y en a peu. Les synthés "en ternaire" (pour les musiciens parmi vous) de "The artilleryman and the fighting machine" ne sont pas très réussis. La 1er partie de "The red weed" qui traine un peu en longueur (comme celle de 1978) aurait pu être un peu raccourcie... Revenons aux points fort: le casting. Pas la peine de rentrer dans les détails. Jeff Wayne a réalisé un recrutement extraordinaire de A à Z. Tous les chanteurs/euse s'approprient magistralement leurs rôle (sans essayer de copier les originaux) Liam Neeson un journaliste fabuleux (passer derrière Richard Burton, fallait le faire!); Joss Stone interprétant Beth vous fait monter les larmes; seul Ricky Wilson et son artilleur manque un brin de folie mais ce n'est pas bien grave. Autre point fort: l'emballage. Le grand luxe! Pochette en carton, livret en simili papier journal de l'époque. Tout est fait pour nous faire replonger en cette année 1898 où H.G. Wells publia le roman. Je disais donc plus, pour faire bref... Mais je n'y arriverai pas! Alors, si, comme moi, vous être fans de la presque première heure de ce fabuleux album, allez y. C'est intemporel et le restera. ET JE PASSE MAINTENANT EN LETTRES CAPITALES: QUE FAUT-IL FAIRE POUR PERSUADER LES PROMOTEURS ET Mr JEFF WAYNE LUI MEME DE FAIRE ENFIN VENIR LA GUERRE DES MONDES A PARIS????????????