I loved the war of the worlds album.
I'll definitely go see this show when it comes to australia.
My favorite War of the Worlds song:
was a brilliant awesome show, went to see the show in Manchester last June,the sound effects fantastic, Jeff Wayne himself, conducted the music from the 10-piece Black Smoke Band and the 46-piece ULLAdubUlla Strings orchestra.
Also appeared Moody Blues front-man Justin Hayward in the role of The Sung Thoughts of the Journalists, John Payne of prog-rockers Asia as Parson Nathaniel and Fame Academy's Sinead Quinn as Beth.
Meanwhile, Alexis James from the stage show Les Miserables is The Artilleryman and Chris Thompson of Manfred Mann played the role of The Voice of Humanity.
War of the Worlds was well-known for marrying an orchestral approach and arrangement with cutting-edge (in 1978 anyway) synthy squelches and sound effects.
So up on stage it’s orchestra on one side and guitar, drums and keyboard on the other. The reason for the gap in between becomes clear during the middle of the second song, when an enormous Martian fighting machine is lowered to the stage, and starts strafing the crowd with a spotlight ‘heat ray’.
If it all sounds a bit Spinal Tap, you’re not too far off – but no one seems to mind. Like most prog rock, it’s all good fun, and best taken with a few pinches of salt.
The narration that goes on throughout the performance is provided by a digital recreation of Richard Burton, an impressive if slightly creepy touch. The flesh-and-blood actor/singers, including Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues and former Brooksider Jennifer Ellison, run through their parts competently.
But it’s more of a spectacle than a genuine live performance. The combination of the lights, sound effects, video show and music are greater than any of the individual parts.
If the show doesn’t quite recreate an 1890s Martian invasion in full, it certainly does a good job bringing back the ‘70s prog rock spirit.
