A musical for "The War of the Worlds?" Is it even possible? Yes! Jeff Wayne totally did it, and I loved every moment of it!
Most of the music is instrumental, but some of them, mostly towards the second half, have full lyrics. The way it works is that there is a narrator who is reading passages from the book, and then there is music to accompany the mood. This is splendidly accomplished, by the way.
The main theme basically signifies the incredible occurrence that Earth is facing as the Martians are invading. There are also pieces that deal with the great battles with the tripods, the separation from his wife, and even a very creepy piece about the red weeds.
There was also a very interesting song about the curate and how he is losing his mind about the whole thing. It's got some really interesting lyrics about the spirit of man and fighting demons. Good stuff.
There are differences between the story of the musical when compared to the book, but a lot of these differences are actually improvements. They combine the main character with his brother, which honestly should have happened in the book. I always thought it was weird how the book jumped away to a completely different person right in the middle of the story. The destruction of the Thunder Child was actually used as a way to save the main character's wife. That is a great edit! In many ways, I enjoyed this version of the story more than the book itself.
Also a movie for this musical was planned (and would have been awesome), though it never actually happened. There is, however, a live stage show that I have not yet seen. I will see it though! I have it on my short list of movies I want to see. The DVD is out of print so I am having to look for it in other places. I may review that separately when I see it. It sounds pretty awesome.
Not only do I recommend "Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds," but I honestly think you should look it up and spend the two hours listening to it. The music in it honestly kicks ass. A lot of the instruments were electric combined with synthetics. I think there might have been an electric banjo somewhere in there too, but I am not sure about that. There was some weird noises in some of those songs.
Either way, look it up! It is a fantastic and exciting way to experience "The War of the Worlds!"
This blog was written on October 20, 2023.
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That's neat that Jeff Wayne turned "The War of the Worlds" into a musical. It's an idea that on the surface doesn't seem like it would work, but I'm glad it did. I'll have to check it out.
ReplyDeleteYou really should. It just about tells the story better than the book did and fixes a lot of the problems as well.
DeleteOf course the 1970s would turn such a novel into a musical! Interesting that the endeavor was taken seriously. The intensity of the music is probably because Jeff Wayne was in love with the source material.
ReplyDeleteReally good stuff. I think everyone who is a fan of the franchise should listen to it.
DeleteThe addition of background music can increase the drama of an audio performance. While the spoken word has power, music tends to readily convey emotion. Having both together could enrich the listener's experience.
ReplyDeleteIt was a pretty solid story telling.
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