Jeff Wayne's Musical version of The War of the Worlds (part 2) REACTION (Patreon request) 

Phil Lynott, the parson. Lead singer of Thin Lizzy, one of rocks greatest vocalists. His singing in WOTW is some of his best. The desperation, passion and emotion is just present there.

The female singer was Julie Covington, the woman who sang the original version of Don't cry for me Argentina.

My daughter (now 53) sent me the 'Live' DVD of this musical production for a Christmas present 3 years ago - she remembered listening to the cassette tape version in the car going up to the Troodos mountains in Cyprus when she was a young teenager. Apparently she never forgot the impact it had on her! Memories.

I was 14 years old when I heard the record. Bought it and ran it daily. I still know the record word for word. Nice to see you hear it for the first time. Enjoyed you guys.

It makes me so giddy to see fresh ears react to this synth prog rock masterpiece of a concept album. With everyone doing album reactions, it was about time that we got one for TWOTW.

The red weed is written and played in two different keys at once. Brilliant.

I was raised on this awesome musical. My Daddy brought the double LP vinyl home in 1979, with the gorgeous insert full of beautiful artwork of scenes from the story. I can't tell you how many times I would sit on our sofa with that album cover perched open on my lap and my Daddy's huge Pioneer headphones swallowing my nine year old ears while I was lost in the music and story told and sung by some of the most ironic voices of my childhood! And I wanted to share it with ANYONE who would listen! Sadly, I traumatized my baby sister with Horsell Common and the Heat Ray, which she remembers to this day (over forty years later) as 'the Martian's heartbeat.' **Sad, because I ruined a most incredible musical for her forever 😔 It was such a joy to watch you guys listen to this original recording with fresh ears, and as a lifelong fan of this most spectacular piece of art, see your reactions and know were enjoying the journey 💚 Uuuuuuu-LLLLAAAAAAAHHH!!! 🛸👾😱

25:40 - yep, the music paints a movie in the mind's eye. That's why it's highly regarded as a masterpiece. Imagination is everything!

I remember listening to this when I was about 9 as my parents had the double LP with all the amazing artwork in the pages inside it. I thought it was amazing at the time and so it has a lot of good memories for me so I really enjoyed it as well! I have the DVD of the live show but no way of getting it onto youtube for you guys sorry :( It was so cool to see it done live. Very much like seeing Aryeon's Electric Castle show live!!

In june 1978, when this brilliant piece was released, I was 14 years old. I'd already proven myself as someone that adapted foreign languages pretty well. My first edition of this work was a cassette, recorded by a family member and it wasn't accompanied by any sleeves/lyrics. So, after the first two or three times I listened to it, I took it upon me to write down the complete lyrics in English. Talking about that with my English teacher at school, he suggested I could translate it into Dutch instead of having to read any chosen book in that semester. For me it was just a bit of fun :-) Much to my surprise a Dutch radio station produced a translated version (including songs sung in Dutch by some artists) only a month or two later. I remember my teacher having a ball about me having done all the work "for nothing". I disagree up until this day. It was very enjoyable to do and it really did advance my knowledge of the English language. The teacher did reward me with a 9/10 ;-)

This album was one of the first I listened to as a child in 1978/79. Listened over and over again while looking through the pages at the pictures. Dead London is so haunting. Still have the album from back then.

I find it genuinely awesome that you can picture the story in your head as you listen to it. The novel does the same thing, the story of The War of the Worlds has always been rooted in the spectacle of the drama of the alien invasion, grisly and bleak as the vision might be, but spectacular. That intro to Dead London is still one of the most melancholy yet beautiful pieces of music I’ve ever listened to. You talk of picturing the story. That intro puts me in mind of walking out the Artilleryman’s hideout, into the street on a grey morning as the dawn comes on, and glimpsing the skyline of a ruinous London through the smoky plumes of fires, and pondering how far I’ve journeyed. Beautiful stuff, man.

The Red Weed perfectly depicts travelling through a barren, haunted, alien landscape.

The Parson played by Phil Lynot of Thin Lizzy! A great bass player, song and strory teller himself. A sad miss and taken too soon. You guys should check out some Thin Lizzy!!

49:55 Might have been the best reading of the word 'doomed' in all human History 😂

Julie Covington was the original Evita on The Original Concept Album 'Evita'

Tim Robbins in the movie actually kinda played an amalgamation, a combined character featuring aspects of the Parson Nathaniel and the Artilleryman, in a way that didn’t mash at all. On one hand, the deluded loud shouting behaviour as he’s digging is the Parson, minus the digging part and the mention of “sneak attacks at night” which is the Artilleryman speaking. And then Tom Cruise murders him. Now in the novel, they’re trapped in an enclosed ruined house for something like 2 weeks, 2 weeks of the Journalist putting up with the Parson’s lamentation’s of doom and judgment that through a lack of decent sustenance and nourishment, he begins to get violent and threaten to shout louder and bring the Martians upon them for the aliens are within earshot. So as his Book of Revelation ravings increase in volume and threatening their continued security of the ruined house as a place to hide, the Journalist is forced to knock him out with the butt of a meat chopper/cleaver. He doesn’t murder him, but the Martians have overheard the shouting, and the Journalist abandons him to be dragged away, unconscious and unaware of his impending grisly death. So Tom Cruise beating him to a pulp, for being a tad nuts, comes across to me as a bit out of place.

Glad you’re quickly back with part 2 - enjoy and keep the interest going in the story. Search out the illustrations from the original album cover - they are stunning. Helps you visualise it all as well.

In the current live version (which I saw at the end of 2018) they liven up the slightly quieter second half by having a reprise of Forever Autumn, with (if I remember correctly) Jeff Wayne's daughter singing the part of the Journalist's fiancée, Carrie. Thanks for doing these reviews. It's a great album and a great show, and yours was a great reaction. Ulla!

Thanks for doing this album. There's never been anything quite like it. It was an album I could play while in my teens living at home because my Mom liked the songs and she absolutely loved Richard Burton's voice. I really enjoyed this two-part review.

Actually the man himself Jeff Wayne answered that very question about how the ULLA’s were made on a forum some years ago now! Here’s the whole thing: Quote: “The ULLA was performed by Jo Partridge, one of the two guitarists from TWOTW recordings. The ULLAs were notated with accompanying chords from my original composition which JP then played through a tube inserted into his mouth. The notes are 'mouthed' into the tube (more commonly known as a voice box) and connected and played on his electric guitar at the same time. The 'sound' of the ULLA's was a combination of this device and JP's performance, coupled with the tuning on the guitar itself and the processing of that sound by the engineer in the control room both at the time of the recording, and final 'tweaking' when we mixed the track. Separate from my role as composer, I was the producer and the performance part was guided by me from the control room until we achieved what became the end result. There were essentially 2 types of ULLA's. One at the point of 'triumph or most powerful' by the Martians in the earlier part of the recordings (because of the story itself telling the listener how the Martians were at that point terrorizing the Earth), or, again from the story POV, when the Maritans are dying in Dead London. The difference between the two ULLAs is in 'triumph/power' mode there were more notes performed in overdub mode to create a wider and fatter sound as well as the fact that the ULLA's in the composition (the lead line) are accompanying are much faster tempo/rhythm. The ULLA's in Dead London are playing less notes in the chords to give a more open and haunting quality and it is a much slower 'hypnotic' tempo and composition to give the deathlike mood of the story. The chords to the composition are also different which adds to the change of atmosphere these ULLA's give.”

Since you mentioned David Essex you might want to check out his song Rock On.

I grew up with this ( Thanks dad, love you so much for raising me as your own and introducing me to this masterpiece) No Nathaniel no, words to live by in 2022........

I know you folks recorded this video over a year ago, but you did a great job. Great choice! keep up the good work.

I was 11 when that album was out and still listening to it since than. I know every note of that album and still keeping the original LPs I bought back than. I was very excited to watch you guys listening to it with epriciation for that masterpiece. This album is my favourite of all. Thanks.

Yeah, I was 13, my brother gave me this - and after a douzen listens, MOST importantly, I READ THE BOOK!!!! And that opened up an entire Universe of adult Sci FI which I think is the magic of this album. You SEE it in your head as a kid and you have to read it. And we all know that is possibly the most important thing we can ever do in life. Apart from listen to rock music, of course.

I know i’m a bit late to this video but this was one of the most enjoyable reactions I’ve seen (and I’ve see hundreds). I was 19 when this album came out and I played it regularly for probably a couple of years. Watching you two having fun with it was a real blast especially since its been years since I heard it, many thanks from the UK, subbed.

From a Fan, I always wanted to find out how the Ullas were done, and its credited to guitarist Jo Partridge. Its done by tuning all strings to the same note, and Ulla-ing through a Talkbox to get the initial effect, think of records like Livin on a Prayer. Peter Frampton's talking guitar etc... and then its hit through a harmonizer... it sounds pretty good doesnt it?

I love the whole album but The Red Weed Part One holds a very special place for me. It’s such a great piece of music that disturbs and unsettles you, but it’s also so damn beautiful.

I was 10 when this came out and my older brother bought it. I played it constantly for the next few years and it was a huge influence in the formation of my musical tastes. When my son was 11 or 12 I bought the album again and played it for him and it gave him nightmares 😂 He did grow to love it and is now an accomplished musician himself with a huge range of influences, including long form prog rock.

Awesome going back so many years. I bought this album when I was adolescent on the strength of the cover art ... lol. I loved it and I think I wore the LP out. I also felt like the only person on the planet who knew it .... none of my friends had it .. it wasn't on the radio and there was nothing like the internet in those days. Thanks for the memories :-)

I loved this. On my birthday 1981 my parents gifted that album to me and a fwew month later our English teacher played this for our class in language lab and we translated the lyrics and texts. Our regional radio station made a German version of this with a famous radio host as narrator. I heard both version many times.

There is a live concert recording of this opus. It has a full orchestra and special efffects including a Martian Machine that towers over the stage. I know it's been two years since you recorded this but I didn't know ifyou were aware of that. It's a Universal Picture - Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds - The New Generation (2012). Liam Neeson plays the narrator/journalist. And he appears by HOLOGRAM. that's right HOLOGRAM.

You can see a visual performance of the show itself by jeff Wayne He has turned the album faithfully recreating the entire concept Well worth a watch guys I think this album is as much progressive as it gets in a musical setting

This version followed the original H. G. Wells story and is a brilliant piece of work.

Julie Covington was the original singer as Evita in the the Andrew Lloyd Webber composed Don't cry for me Argentina

The magic of this is that it was wrote without visuals and when I first saw this in concert it added so much more to the mystery that is WOTW.. When the Martians fire their heat rays, pods flying from Mars and the aliens communicating OMG

I really enjoyed watching you guys hear this album for the first time. It was huge here in the UK, where it was recorded, less so in the States. I first heard it in school when the teacher played it to the class in a few instalments when I was 10 and I've loved it ever since. It's the quality of the music and performances that's allowed it to endure beyond mere novelty. And it definitely holds up to repeated listens.

Thank you so much for doing this reaction. This album was a super formative one and it's so great to see other people dig it! I love it so much I named my own band after the 'Bows and arrows against the lightning' line.

This and Bat Out Of Hell are the only two pieces that I've bought three times: Vinyl, tape cassette and CD.

The devil take the spirit of man…I love the way the music immediately echoes Beth’s chiding of his negativity.

Yeah he did always intend to put visuals to the music. In the live concert shows, behind the musicians with their guitars and synthesisers, there’s a long wall onto which is projected a CGI animated movie of the story. Before the live shows began in 2006 that CGI animation was going to be a full blown animated film set to the music and released, I assume, in cinemas/movie theaters. But the live shows have been so time consuming for Jeff Wayne that he hasn’t had time to get round to doing it. But he hopes to eventually complete it some day.

I rented the vinyl when I was ten from the library, the artwork sits perfectly with the album. It definitely paints the scenes in your mind. Just an amazing album that gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it even after 40 years!

My wife and I went to see it live on stage in LOndon in 2018 fantastic exactly like the album.

I think he went in with the mindset of it being like a film score, rather than wanting to actually make it into a full production. There's a documentary about it in RU-vid, I think it's called "A deconstruction of Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of the War of the Worlds.". There is also a full live version up on RU-vid now, I think it's from the 2006 tour.

Should be noted that in the Tom Cruise movie, the “Red Weed” is kinda odd and unexplained as a carry over from the source material. Because in the novel, the red weed as the journalist exposits is (in classic Victorian thinking) the vegetation which gives Mars its red appearance, although in the novel he explains its more like a nuisance invasive plant that grows out of control, and that very likely the Martians bring it with them accidentally, the plant pollen or seeds may have drifted or been blown into the cylinders before they were launched from the Red Planet. And then by circumstance it takes root and covers everything. I think this was Wells again, having a say at conquering nations that bring over or introduce new foreign plants into a non-native setting and messing up the ecosystem. You know the Kudzu plant, introduced into the American South by mistake by the Japanese in the 1870s, that then as the nickname goes “ate the South”? Think that but Martian.

I always thought this being set to an animated movie...exactly to the soundtrack. Not sure if live action would work.

Ps the guy at bottom of screen feels it so much... YES

War of the worlds is set in 1898

I absolutely love the Steven Speilberg version but I do complain that it’s not set at the right time.

ULLA is the Martian War Cry

this reaction is something special

This was set in Victorian times, not in the 1930's lol.

24:50 There's a niggle in the digitised version of this. The Artilleryman Returns originally went on until 28:46 before Brave New World took over. 55:38 I was listening to this when I was 8 or 9 years old.

THE BASS ON THIS ENTIRE ALBUM IS PERFECTION HERIBE FLOWERS

This was never intended to be a "Musical", nor a soundtrack for a movie. It was, as the title says, the musical version of the book called "The War of the Worlds" by H.G. Wells. Look at this: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-3p55e_SJf_4.html

if you read wotw its so close to this and a mile off the film

With just a handful of men… Well, you’re going to need some women too, mate. 😂😂

The Martians Are Giant Brained Octopus Vampires 🧠🐙🩸

Each of the original artists in this album, Phil Linott from Thin Lizzie, the one that plays the Parson's wife, she did Evita I think, David Essex as the soldier, etc, it's a real shame you have nothing about the Martian politics, that led to the invasion.

You should listen and react to Richard Burton's narration of 'Under Milk Wood' by his Welsh compatriot, the Swansea poet Dylan Thomas.

I love that you’re doing concept albums it’s really cool. I would love you to do Tales of mystery and imagination by Edgar Allan Poe it’s Alan Parsons Project first album. If you do decide to do it please do the remastered version because you’ll be able to hear all the beautiful orchestration clearly! Thanks 😊

Just wish someone would remake the film set in the time of the original book

Live Version is ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-l6BH1jd4xfg.html

Minds immeasurably superior to our own ... unaware of germ theory. never made any real sense to me. But, I'll allow it, cause guitar.

Pretty Cool

Later on Jeff Wayne did "Spartacus" with Anthony Hopkins as narrator. Not as good as WOTW in my opinion, but stil really worth listening with some great songs as well.

I dont know why but the red weed kinda makes me paranoid...it really gets to ya. Spirit of man and Brave new world both hit hard. The ending always confuses me...like are the martians sending more forces?

I think Jeff Wayne took this from the 1953 film version.

Checkout within temptation,watch underworld temptation fan edit.

The live show from 2013, with Jason Donovan, Ricky Wilon etc is pretty good. I like their versions of the songs better than some of the other performances. The album version you have here is of course awesome. I listened so much to this in the 90s. Forever Autumn and the Spirit of Man are on my Spotify lists.

cost is 200 quid for 2 tickets to see the show but a took a bad turn and couldnt make it. shit

hello greetings from south america please react to south american rock to the song DÍA CERO by the group LA LEY please