The chances of a better version of The War of the Worlds is a million to one.

jeff wayne's the war of the worlds review

No one would have believed in the early years of the 1980s that young me would have been listening to this prog-rock concept musical adaptation of “The War Of The Worlds”, H G Wells’ tale of the timeless worlds of space.

No one could have dreamed I would scrutinize the album’s artwork as someone with a microscope studies creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water.

I was completely captivated by the possibility of life on other planets and so, across the gulf of space, a child’s mind, immeasurably impressionable compared to ours, regarded this tale with astonished eyes as slowly and surely it seeped into his consciousness forever.

jeff wayne's the war of the worlds review

Celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year, I can’t really remember when I first listened to “Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds” but then I also can’t really remember ever not knowing of it. It fascinated and frightened me in equal measure, from Wayne’s rock opera songs with their clever and frequent use of leitmotifs to the spectacular artwork by Peter Goodfellow, Geoff Taylor and Michael Trim, I can still remember the giddy – and slightly terrifying– thrill of placing that shiny black disc on the turntable and gently placing the needle onto the spinning vinyl only to hear the rich, velvety tones of Richard Burton as he begins the narration.

While the songs, and the music, stand on their own merits and the rest of the cast – including Justin Hayward, Phil Lynott and David Essex – are superb, it’s Burton who gives the whole tale a sense of gravitas and authority which the other, more showy roles are able to play off. It’s through his voice that we experience the amazement and curiosity of the first landings, the terror of the initial invasion, the panic and crushed hope of escape and finally the despair and renewal of the Martian’s ultimate defeat. It’s a profoundly impressive and absorbing performance, giving everything he reports an air of authenticity, heightening the emotional impact of the music and lyrics and deepening the dread and foreboding of the world under Martian rule.

Jeff Wayne's The War Of The Worlds

As creepy and unnerving as I always found the story – for me a horror story as much as a sci-fi yarn, the album’s end always scared me the most with a coda set during man’s first landing on Mars hinting that the whole nightmare is about to start again. But whenever I think of the album, though, it’s Burton’s opening lines that spring immediately and vividly to life. The richness of his voice is both a nostalgic comfort and a gripping introduction to the tale, augmented by the occasional pop or crackle from the vinyl. Oh sure, you can listen to “Jeff Wayne’s War Of The Worlds” on CD and cassette and it’s on Spotify if it takes your fancy (although the version Spotify has is one of the later remix/ remastered versions which, because the original is so indelibly seared into my psyche that I can’t fully enjoy it because the sound mix, arrangement and tempo are all screwed up) but the best way to enjoy one of Burton’s finest performances – and the spectacular artwork – is on vinyl, the older the better. I do like Ben Liebrand’s ever-so-nineties remix of “Eve Of The War”, though.

jeff wayne's the war of the worlds review

Jeff Wayne’s musical has long been my favourite adaptation of Wells’ novel and none of the filmed versions have yet come close. It’s also, I think, responsible for me yearning for a proper period-set filmed version of the book, something neither George Pal or Steven Spielberg delivered. Perhaps one day we’ll get a filmed version of this musical version – it would be quite something to see those illustrations spring to terrifying life on the big screen.

the war of the worlds review
Score 10/10


Hi there! If you enjoyed this post, why not sign up to get new posts sent straight to your inbox?

Sign up to receive a weekly digest of The Craggus' latest posts.

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

logo

Related posts

The Accountant 2 (2025) Review

The Accountant 2 (2025) Review

Action [Rain] Man Returns. It's said that nothing is certain but death and taxes, and by happy coincidence both those things happen to be the stock in trade of shadowy underworld figure The Accountant, a case of nominative hiding-in-plain-sight so on point it makes you wonder if Pete...

Astro Kid (2019) Review

Astro Kid (2019) Review

French animated sci-fi Astro Kid has family-friendly Gallic charm to spare. It may come across as CBeebies does “No Man’s Sky” or, perhaps, Nick Jr’s “Avatar” but there’s actually a lot to enjoy in delightfully vibrant French animation “Astro Kid”. When their survey ship is destroyed...

Premium Rush (2012) Review

Premium Rush (2012) Review

Premium Rush is an action thriller about bicycle couriers that really delivers It’s a bit of a tough sell: a thriller about a bicycle courier being chased through New York by guys in cars with guns but “Premium Rush” manages to pull it off thanks to a winning, high energy lead...

The Raid 2 (2014) Review

The Raid 2 (2014) Review

I feel battered, bruised and brilliant after seeing Gareth Evans’ masterpiece The Raid 2 Picking up story-wise a mere two hours after the end of the first film, “The Raid 2” immediately plunges our hero Rama (Iko Uwais) into a desperate undercover mission at the behest of Bunawar...

6 Underground (2019) Review

6 Underground (2019) Review

4/10  [youtube=https://youtu.be/XcIuFTrLS6g] When a movie's title tells you how deep it dug to hit rock bottom, pay attention. While most of us are content to shut out the tragedies of the world by shutting off the TV, there are others who refuse to block out...

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021) Review

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021) Review

The truth is out there in surprisingly procedural threequel The Devil Made Me Do It Having come to THE CONJURING universe quite late, and taken a rather haphazard approach to watching them (I think ANNABELLE COMES HOME might have been my very first), it’s taken me a while to...

Star Trek: Lower Decks S1E03 – Temporal Edict Review

Star Trek: Lower Decks S1E03 - Temporal Edict Review

TEMPORAL EDICT sees LOWER DECKS confront one of the franchise’s most absurd tendencies – its refusal to acknowledge music from any time after the early 20th century. Tendi and Mariner bring heavy metal to light entertainment as they rock out during Boimler’s staid violin recital and...

Last Action Hero (1993) Review

Last Action Hero (1993) Review

People ignored this film when it was first released. Big mistake! Perennially underrated, often unfairly maligned (even by Schwarzenegger himself) as his first real failure, ironic action movie masterpiece “Last Action Hero” is twenty-five years old this year and way, way overdue for a...