Highlights from Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds

Last updated
Highlights from Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds
TWOTWHighlights.jpg
Compilation album by
Released16 October 1981 [1]
RecordedMay 1976–July 1977
Length47:42
Label Columbia Records
Producer Jeff Wayne
Jeff Wayne chronology
Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds
(1978)
Highlights from Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds
(1981)
Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of Spartacus
(1992)
Alternative Cover
TWOTW Highlights 2007.jpg
2007 Album Cover

Highlights from Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds is a 1981 compilation album by Jeff Wayne, highlights of the 1978 concept album, retelling the story of the 1898 novel The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells. It was released by Columbia Records.

Contents

About the album

In order to cater to casual consumers who liked the music of Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds but did not want to sit through all the dialogue, Columbia Records issued a single-disc abridged version. It focused on the album's songs, but did not shy away from the longer musical passages. The album scrambles the original track list, reducing the plot's coherence.

When the record was re-issued in October 2000, two bonus tracks were added: the 1989 Ben Liebrand remix of the single version of "The Eve of the War" and the 1996 remix of "Forever Autumn".

The record was re-issued on 4 June 2007 [2] with a revised cover, new stereo mixes of the original nine tracks and the bonus track "The Spirit Of Man (2007 Mix)".

Track listing

All tracks written by Jeff Wayne except as noted.

Original compilation

  1. "The Eve of the War" – 5:13
  2. "Horsell Common and the Heat Ray" – 4:45
  3. "Forever Autumn" (Wayne, Vigrass, Osborne) – 4:31
  4. "The Fighting Machine" – 4:25
  5. "Thunderchild" (Wayne, Osborne) – 5:09
  6. "The Red Weed" – 6:06
  7. "The Spirit of Man" (Wayne, Osborne) – 6:44
  8. "Dead London" – 5:25
  9. "Brave New World" (Wayne, Osborne) – 5:23

2000 re-issue bonus tracks

2007 re-issue bonus track

People involved

Additional musicians

Charts

Chart (1981)Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [3] 72
Chart (1996)Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC) [4] 99
UK Albums (OCC) [5] 64
Chart (2007)Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC) [6] 86

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [7]
2007 release
Gold100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Related Research Articles

<i>Jeff Waynes Musical Version of The War of the Worlds</i> 1978 studio album by Jeff Wayne

Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds is a studio double album by American-born British musician, composer, and record producer Jeff Wayne, released on 9 June 1978 by CBS Records. It is an album musical adapted from the science-fiction novel The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells in a rock opera style with a rock band, orchestra, narrator, and leitmotifs to carry the story and lyrics that express the feelings of the various characters. The album features guest artists David Essex, Justin Hayward, Phil Lynott, Chris Thompson, and Julie Covington, with actor Richard Burton as the narrator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Wayne</span> American-British composer (born 1943)

Jeffry Wayne is an American-British composer, musician and lyricist. In 1978, he released Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds, his musical adaptation of H. G. Wells' science-fiction novel The War of the Worlds. Wayne wrote approximately 3,000 advertising jingles in the 1970s which appeared on television in the United Kingdom, including a Gordon's Gin commercial which was covered by the Human League. Wayne also composed numerous television themes, including Good Morning Britain (TV-am), ITV's The Big Match and World of Sport, and the BBC's Sixty Minutes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Hayward</span> British musician, lead singer and guitarist of the Moody Blues

David Justin Hayward is an English musician. He was the guitarist and frontman of the rock band the Moody Blues from 1966 until that group's dissolution in 2018. He became the group's principal vocalist and its most prolific songwriter over the 1967–1974 period, and composed several international hit singles for the band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T.N.T. for the Brain</span> 1997 single by Enigma

"T.N.T. for the Brain" is a song by German musical project Enigma, released as the second and last from their third album, Le Roi est mort, vive le Roi! (1996). It peaked at number 60 in the UK.

<i>Night Flight</i> (Justin Hayward album) 1980 studio album by Justin Hayward

Night Flight is a studio album by Moody Blues frontman Justin Hayward, released on Decca Records in 1980. It was reissued on CD in September 1989.

<i>Classic Blue</i> 1989 studio album by Justin Hayward

Classic Blue is the fourth solo studio album by The Moody Blues member Justin Hayward. Classic Blue was released in 1989 by Trax Music, and features Mike Batt, who also produced the album, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The album includes cover versions of many hit songs, such as The Beatles' "Blackbird", and Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven." It also includes a re-recorded version of "Forever Autumn," a song from Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds, in which Hayward originally sang lead vocals.

Gary Osborne is an English singer and songwriter. He chaired The Songwriters Executive of the British Academy Of Songwriters Composers and Authors for 12 years during which time he was also chairman of The Ivor Novello Awards.

<i>Love and the Russian Winter</i> 1999 studio album by Simply Red

Love and the Russian Winter is the seventh studio album by British pop and soul group Simply Red, released on 1 November 1999. It marks a distinct change from the band's preceding albums, featuring a more computer-generated sound. The album was released mainly due to pressure from their record label to fulfil their contract. It features a cover version of "Ain't That a Lot of Love", written by Willia Dean Parker and Homer Banks.

<i>Live in San Juan Capistrano</i> 1998 live album by Justin Hayward

Live in San Juan Capistrano is a live album by Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues, recorded in San Juan Capistrano, California in April 1998 and released that same year. The live set featured Gordon Marshall, Mickey Féat and Paul Bliss.

<i>Jeff Waynes Musical Version of Spartacus</i> 1992 studio album by Jeff Wayne

Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of Spartacus is a 1992 concept album produced and composed by Jeff Wayne with Lyrics by Gary Osborne, telling the story of Roman gladiator, Spartacus.

<i>Eve of the War</i> 1998 EP by Alchemist

Eve of the War is a six-track extended play from the Australian progressive metal band Alchemist. The EP was released by Shock Records through its subsidiary label Thrust in 1998/1999. The title track, "Eve of the War" is a cover version of the opening piece from the British 1978 album, Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds. The EP has two live songs: "Yoni Kunda" first released on Lunasphere, and "Chinese Whispers" from Spiritech. The other tracks are a remix of "Yoni Kunda", and two re-mastered tracks from Jar of Kingdom. A music video of the title track was provided.

<i>Time Traveller</i> (The Moody Blues album) 1994 box set by The Moody Blues

Time Traveller is a box set by British rock band The Moody Blues, released in 1994.

<i>Hybrid</i> (Gary Numan album) 2003 remix album by Gary Numan

Hybrid is a remix/cover album, consisting of songs by Gary Numan remixed by other artists, covers of Numan's early songs from his first three albums, plus three new tracks created specifically for the album. Hybrid was recorded in autumn of 2002 and released in March 2003 with a collaboration from various industrial rock/heavy rock musicians such as Rico, Sulpher and Alan Moulder. The album includes tracks originally found on the albums Tubeway Army, Replicas, The Pleasure Principle, Telekon, Sacrifice, Exile and Pure.

<i>Rock On</i> (David Essex album) 1973 studio album by David Essex

Rock On is the debut album of singer/songwriter David Essex. Its lead single and title track, "Rock On", is still Essex's best known song in the United States. "Lamplight" was also a hit, and the album contains three covers.

<i>Anthology</i> (The Moody Blues album) 1998 compilation album by The Moody Blues

Anthology is a compilation album by the progressive rock band the Moody Blues. It was released in the US on 20 October 1998. It was not released in the UK until 2001 under the title The Collection with different artwork but with the same tracks as the US release.

<i>Lovely to See You: Live</i> 2005 live album by The Moody Blues

Lovely to See You: Live is a two-disc live album by The Moody Blues. Released on 15 November 2005, Lovely to See You: Live was recorded at a performance at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, California. The album is named after The Moody Blues song "Lovely to See You", from their 1969 album On the Threshold of a Dream. Unlike the Moody Blues' two previous live albums A Night at Red Rocks with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and Hall of Fame, Lovely to See You: Live does not feature a live orchestra. It is also their first live album since Ray Thomas retired due to health issues.

"Forever Autumn" is a song written by Jeff Wayne, Gary Osborne and Paul Vigrass, and sung by Justin Hayward. The original melody was written by Wayne in 1969 as a jingle for a Lego commercial. Vigrass and Osborne, the performers of the original jingle, added lyrics to the song and recorded it for inclusion on their 1972 album Queues. Their interpretation was also released as a single and gained moderate commercial success in Japan, selling more than 100,000 copies and becoming a top-20 hit on the country's record chart.

<i>Justin Hayward and Friends Sing the Moody Blues Classic Hits</i> 1994 studio album by Justin Hayward

Justin Hayward and Friends Sing the Moody Blues Classic Hits is an album by Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues with the Frankfurt Rock Orchestra and Michael Sadler of Saga and Shaun Williamson as guest-singers. It's an album of tracks taken from the Moody Blues discography, played with orchestral arrangements with lead vocal duties being taken in turn by Hayward, Sadler, and Williamson.

<i>David Essex</i> (album) 1974 studio album by David Essex

David Essex is the second studio album by British singer David Essex. It was released at the end of September 1974 and was produced, arranged and conducted by Jeff Wayne. It peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart and was the Christmas number two album that year.

<i>Jeff Waynes Musical Version of The War of the Worlds – The New Generation</i> 2012 studio album by Jeff Wayne

Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds – The New Generation is a 2012 concept album by Jeff Wayne and is a re-working of his 1978 concept album, retelling the story of the 1898 novel The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells. As previously, the music format is predominantly progressive rock and string orchestra, but with synthesizers playing a more prominent role. The music is intermixed with re-voiced narration and leitmotifs to carry the story forward via rhyming melodic lyrics that express the feelings of the various characters. Due to the consistent popularity of the original album, Wayne decided to return to his score and re-create it for a new generation of audiences, as well as re-launch a live tour throughout the United Kingdom and Europe.

References

  1. "Music Week" (PDF). p. 55.
  2. "hmv.co.uk" . Retrieved 11 June 2007.
  3. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 19. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  4. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  5. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  6. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  7. "British album certifications – Jeff Wayne – Highlights From The War Of The Worlds". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 4 February 2021.