My favorite book, has probably just turned into my favorite musical as well...
Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of War of the Worlds by Jeff Wayne
Year: 1978
Genre: Musical/Stage Performence
Nationality: American
The Review: I am a huge fan of early science fiction novels, War of the Worlds obviously would fall under that category. I was genuinely excited to dive into this album. I was honestly expecting a lot of orchestration and narration but what I got was something much more special. The moment I started this record I could tell it was something special. The narration is well done and sounds very emotional, I mean it isn't boring or monotone. But the moment the instrumentals kick in, holy smokes it is going to be one hell of a ride. I was engaged for the whole hour and half runtime of this beast, and that is really a special thing. The story is so well told through both the narration, singing, and especially the instrumentation. With the repeating pieces for the invaders as they are introduced in each track makes the album overall feel cohesive. The actual music of this record is influenced in a lot of areas mainly progressive elements along with pop set guitars, but the majority of the tracks include less usage of orchestration than what I was expecting. But trust me when I say that is not a complaint whatsoever. The characters are well fleshed out, the Artilleryman is probably my favorite character for his portrayal in the "track" Brave New World. Also the instrumentation actually makes the aliens feel/appear/sound creepy or sinister. I really felt that the second half of the record was a little more song oriented compared to the first half. Tracks like the Spirit of Man are wonderful listens and I didn't even realize that the track was 11:38 long until I looked at the track during the fadeout. From start to finish I was engaged, invested, and fearful for the characters. Now I didn't fully enjoy Thunder Child. I honestly cannot explain why, I just felt like the song could have been something more especially after the best track on the album, Forever Autumn, from a song standpoint, blew me away prior to Thunder Child. I plan on putting this in rotation almost immediately. Overall the album provides beautiful and intense instrumentation combined with solid performances from the vocalists and narrators.
Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of the war of the Worlds receives a 9.4/10
Standout Tracks: I feel that this album deserves only to be listened in whole. Thus no tracks standout on their own.
Weaker Tracks: Thunder Child, because I find it the weakest overall.
Trollheart were has this been all my life. A match made in heaven is what I would call it and so I thank you. Congratulations as you have been officially added to the Hall of Fame along with Jeff Wayne's, wonderful, Musical Version of the War of the Worlds. This is top 100 of all time stuff right here for myself.