Joined
·
2,223 Posts
And still they come."
Was digging around my CD collection and came across "Jeff Wayne's Musical War Of The Worlds". It has been a long time since I listened to it and thought, "What the hey, why not?"
First time I heard it was probably when it came out back in 1978. I was working in the kitchen of a restaurant -- a busy restaurant -- and we had the radio tuned to an FM station that would often play whole albums. So, there I am, sweating over a hot oven, when I hear the above lyrics. And, naturally, I thought, "What rubbish. That doesn't make sense." I had no idea what was being played at the time. But I started listening and really enjoyed it.
A few months later I came across the 2LP set and bought it. Beautiful drawings in the accompanying booklet -- and with LPs, they weren't post-card sized, like you get with CDs. Much later, I bought the CD set.
Listening to it again brought back memories. Richard Burton's narration was spot on. I love Justin Hayward's 'Forever Autumn', and always get a shiver running down my back when the steam whistle blows. 'Thunder Child' gets to me, as I've always had an affinity for things naval, and Julie Covington's voice in 'Spirit of Man' . . .
I'm a little in awe of the album. Unlike the movies or radio play versions, Jeff Wayne faithfully followed the events of the book, without figuring that moving them up to the present time would make it better. I appreciate that.
Funny how music acts as a trigger to the memory. Certain songs put me in a place and time now past. They can recreate the emotions of the moment. Not all songs, but enough that music has become a big part of my memories.
Anyway, here's to Jeff Wayne and his vision.
Was digging around my CD collection and came across "Jeff Wayne's Musical War Of The Worlds". It has been a long time since I listened to it and thought, "What the hey, why not?"
First time I heard it was probably when it came out back in 1978. I was working in the kitchen of a restaurant -- a busy restaurant -- and we had the radio tuned to an FM station that would often play whole albums. So, there I am, sweating over a hot oven, when I hear the above lyrics. And, naturally, I thought, "What rubbish. That doesn't make sense." I had no idea what was being played at the time. But I started listening and really enjoyed it.
A few months later I came across the 2LP set and bought it. Beautiful drawings in the accompanying booklet -- and with LPs, they weren't post-card sized, like you get with CDs. Much later, I bought the CD set.
Listening to it again brought back memories. Richard Burton's narration was spot on. I love Justin Hayward's 'Forever Autumn', and always get a shiver running down my back when the steam whistle blows. 'Thunder Child' gets to me, as I've always had an affinity for things naval, and Julie Covington's voice in 'Spirit of Man' . . .
I'm a little in awe of the album. Unlike the movies or radio play versions, Jeff Wayne faithfully followed the events of the book, without figuring that moving them up to the present time would make it better. I appreciate that.
Funny how music acts as a trigger to the memory. Certain songs put me in a place and time now past. They can recreate the emotions of the moment. Not all songs, but enough that music has become a big part of my memories.
Anyway, here's to Jeff Wayne and his vision.
