Jeff Wayne's The War of The Worlds: The Musical Drama

by Jeff Wayne (Adapter), H.G. Wells, Michael Sheen (Narrator)

An Audible Original Drama

One of the world’s most recognisable sci-fi stories, H. G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds established numerous conventions for the genre, including the threat of an invasive extraterrestrial species, space travel and intergalactic conflict, inspiring directors, gamers, producers and writers alike with its sobering story of struggle and survival.

Marrying the suspense, drama and urgency of Wells’ original novel with Jeff Wayne’s rousing and flamboyant score, Audible’s new and exclusive dramatisation uses action, narration, original music and evocative sound design to immerse listeners in a world that’s as thrilling as it is desolate.

Jeff Wayne’s The War of the Worlds: The Musical Drama stars Michael Sheen, Taron Egerton, Adrian Edmondson, Theo James and Anna-Marie Wayne.

Also featuring: Rachel Atkins, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Josh Bond, Nicholas Boulton, Philip Bulcock, Jessica Dennis, Stephen Fletcher, Pete Gold, David Holt, Roger May, Harry Myers, Richard Reed, Mark Straker, Ben Whitehead and Sarah Whitehouse.

Genres: Audiobook, Science Fiction, Classics, Fiction, Fantasy, Aliens, Music

6 pages, Audible Audio

First published June 9, 1978

Reviews

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Goodreads works the way it’s supposed to be and you don’t receive a spam message by Sarah Jessica Parker. Instead something like this happens.

I recommend Orson Welles‘ WAR OF THE WORLDS to Trish.

Trish (being a good girl for once) interrupts her reading schedule to listen to it.

She loves it, naturally, and writes a review.

I’m very happy and comment on her review (Though the very happy comments are on her status update and in personal messages. I had used up all my highly enthusiastic very happy comments at that point).

Veronique sees Trish’s review and is reminded of Jeff Wayne‘s musical interpretation of the same story, which she hasn’t listened to for years.

She mentions it in another comment to Trish’s review.

I see this, decide to give it a try and end up loving it.

I’m trying to hug Vero, because of the immense joy I’m feeling in that moment.

Trish (now her usual self again) tries to stab me, because of my attempted hugging.

Fortunately, I (thanks to my well honed avoid fighting skills) am able to survive this (this part gets important in a second).

A day later, Vero buys the gorgeous vinyl of it.



So un-stabbed me is able to see Vero’s review of this adaptation. And therefore realizes it has a book page here on goodreads. Which makes kind of sense, because it is an audiobook, after all.

And ta-da, you have another review of it.


This was great fun. But it won’t be for everyone. Because, music.
A musical interpretation of H.G. Wells‘ 1898 novel The War of the Worlds.

Like Orson Welles‘ 1938 radio broadcast this is not an exact retelling, but a re-interpretation. Due to time constraints both leave out some things and, because of apparent creative talent at work, they add some other things and subsequently enhance the experience. At least for me personally, who’s not the biggest fan of the novel, but loves both of the aforementioned adaptations.

Here we have a combination of music, sound effects, spoken narration and also vocals. The overall experience is hard to describe, because I know nothing like it. But soundwise it reminded me of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon. I also caught some glimpses reminiscent of Tarantino’s Kill Bill soundtrack (Luis Bacalov’s The Grand Duel and Nancy Sinatra’s Bang Bang come to mind) and also a little of John Miles famous track Music. I could probably think of some more. But it’s been a few stressful days since then and memory is a bitch right now.

It is (part orchestral) rock with psychedelic sound-effects. Very seventies. This was released in 1978, after all. So yes, it won’t be for all of you booklovers out there. But all the parts (music, sound-effects, narration, vocals) are very well done in my opinion. And the story of Martians invading earth never gets old. Right?!

I think it’s best you try for yourself. Maybe you are the next one loving it. And on it goes. Spread the love!

If you're a TIDAL user (like me), it is available there.

Happy listening! :)

Oh, and don’t forget to give Orson Welles‘ adaptation a try as well. I highly recommend both of them and rate them 4.5 stars respectively.




Recommended by Veronique

[Wee Lassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic, it's hard to go wrong with such an iconic story. Great music, really adds to the atmosphere of terror. My only issue was not a single person paused while running for their lives, to break out into song. I'm just saying, I was promised a musical 😉

[Adrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uuuulllaaaa

Well what can I say. A real trip down memory lane. I was (omg) 19 when this first came out and have loved it ever since. From The mellifluous tones of Richard Burton to the cockney of David Essex and recognisable lilt of the late Phil Lynott, all supported by the wonderful music from Jeff Wayne and a magnificent story from H G Wells.
What is there not to enjoy ???
I am just hoping that the 40th Anniversary concert next week with Liam Neeson and the fab Jason Donovan will live up to expectations

Uuuuullllaaaaa 😳😳😳🐍🐍🐍

[Veronique · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5*
This record was released the 9th June 1978 but I only discovered it in the early 90s. It isn’t exactly what H.G. Wells wrote, which I love by the way, but this adaptation is really quite something. Very dramatic, featuring progressive/symphonic rock (I call it psychedelic) and the voice of a few actors, Richard Burton being brilliant (I mean, he does have a Welsh voice after all!!). Each piece of music expesses the feelings of the various characters, and some of these do kind of stay in your head. I hadn’t listened to the album for years, and yet, many came back to memory. Be aware however that the style of music is not going to be to everyone’s taste or even something you’re going to want to listen every day either. Once every blue moon, or should I say red :0)

Now, the vinyl is a piece of art, much more than the CD. The cover and the artwork included inside (a booklet) are beautiful!

For those who want to know the differences with the novel, here it is
* "The Journalist" is an amalgam of two of Wells' characters: a writer of speculative philosophy (who narrates much of the book) and his younger brother who is a medical student (who narrates the Thunder Child section)
* The Journalist's girlfriend Carrie does not exist in the novel, where the narrator has an unnamed wife. Carrie serves two purposes: firstly, she provides a reason for the Journalist to travel to London, where he experiences the events witnessed in the novel by the narrator's brother. Secondly, she provides the focus for the Journalist's thoughts in the song "Forever Autumn".
* In the novel, the Handling machine is not as big, is used for construction and does not have a basket for collecting humans. Instead the Fighting machines collect humans for consumption.
* In the novel, the Martians have at least one flying machine and also an autonomous digging machine. Neither are mentioned in the album.
* "Parson Nathaniel" in the novel is simply called "the curate". There is no mention of a wife (as per Wikipedia)

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this rendition of HG Wells classic. I’ve listened to it many times, and enjoyed listening to it again. Wish there were more like it. Oh, and I’ve read the original, and recommend that all sci-fi fans give it a shot.

[Stephen Robert Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

After BBC 1 this week finished the worst version of the H. G's War of the Worlds it stunk this is refreshing to see it as popular as it ever was. FOREVER AUTUMN when your not here ❤️

[Yvonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not going to go into the ins and outs of the story, it is based on HG Wells and has been adapted into various films and shows.

I heard this for the first time while at primary school. One of the teachers brought in the vinyl record in and I absolutely fell in love with it. That would have been The Musical Version and I would have been 10 ish years old at the time. Since then I have listened and seen different versions of this and I have to be honest nothing has come close to the sound of Richard Burton’s voice. It just has just the right tone to it. So why I hear you ask would I listen to yet another version? Well, why not!

The memorable and chilling music is something that is so well known and adds an ominous and chilling atmosphere. The music is something that I have always loved. This version does not have the songs as it is the drama and not the musical version. There is a new feel to the music score and while a lot of the original content is there I discovered changes. It has a more modern feel while still holding the original style.

So to the narrator, I loved Richard Burton narrating the musical version and for me when I listened to it as a child, his voice seemed to fill the room. Michael Sheen has a different tone to his voice and adds something different. He seems to have more variation to his voice that was I admit a very nice change from the more monotone Burton.

I have to say that I am always going to be a fan of the first recording I heard. It filled me with awe, fear and also excitement. It opened up a world of mystery and my imagination loved it. This Drama version does do a brilliant job, it has the drama, excitement and atmosphere. While for me it will never be as good as the one I first heard, it comes in at a magnificent second. I will say that the voices and the music really did work well for this slightly more modern feeling of this re-working.

I would love to see a live show of this and it has been on my bucket list for a long time.

This is one I will listen to more than once and I would Highly Recommend.

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised to stumble across this Jeff Wayne album listed here on Goodreads. I have always thought of it as a rock album, never as an audio book, but after some thought and re-listening I've decided that it's both, and an excellent example of both categories. My wife bought me a coffee mug many, -many- years ago with the album cover printed on the side (that I still use!) because she knew I liked the Wells novel, which led to my purchase of the album. It takes a slightly different slant and focus than the Wells original but tells the gist of the same story, very smartly written by Doreen Wayne. It's primarily narrated by the resonant golden voice of Richard Burton, for goodness' sake, and you'd be hard pressed to find anyone doing a better job of reading anything. It's also excellent musically, prog rock sure to be savored by fans of Yes and Rick Wakeman and Pink Floyd and ELP and King Crimson. (I grew a bit tired of the Martians chanting "Ulla!" but we're here to discuss books, not music.) Among the musicians are Phil Lynott, David Essex, Chris Thompson, and Justin for-God's-sake Hayward. The CD box comes with a booklet with all of the lyrics and narrative and several lovely period illustrative paintings by Geoff Taylor and others. Soon on my agenda will be to re-read Wells with Wayne playing in the background while drinking coffee from my cherished mug. As David Essex, the Artilleryman, would say: Rock On!

[S.J. Hollis · Rating 5 out of 5]

FANTASTIC!!! Obviously nothing will ever shadow the original which will forever remain a work of perfection. But this new Audible version is just wonderful. It's balanced more towards being a play than a musical and has done away with all the singing. The music is still there however and has been adapted beautifully. The acting is spot on and I love the little nods to the original work such as Nathaniel's echoing "No" which made me want to break into a verse of Beth's "No, Nathaniel. Oh no, Nathanial no."

Sublime.

[Kerran Olson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first dramatisation I've listened to on audible, and I think it was a good one, as the music and sound effects added to the tension and drama in the story, and made it more of an experience. I will probably still read the original H.G. Wells book as well, but I do like how this production combines Wells story with Wayne's musical, and I did enjoy it

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I assumed I would enjoy this, but it was even better than I expected. Listened to an audio version read by David Tennant, who did an excellent job. (It was not the "Musical Drama" shown in the graphic.)

[Lewis Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

5

As perfect an adaptation as you’ll ever get. The thrills, fears and themes of the book are perfectly transposed here, and it’s so much fun to hear how the music from the album is used to accompany the story rather than the other way around.

[Aric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice. It's too bad I can not give this an additional half of a star.
It is nearly a tradition for me to listen to the original Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds every autumn. I was aware that it had been recently remade with contemporary performers (i.e. Liam Neeson and Joss Stone) and that's what I thought I was going to listen to.
It wasn't. It's yet another edition. It has the same music but it is lacking the actual songs of the original musical. However, it makes up for that with additional prose.
I have not read the original "War of the Worlds" by H.G. Wells in decades. I think I might have to give it a read to refresh my memory and compare it to Jeff Wayne's rendition.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The music is great and the entire production gives the story a theatrical feel as if you were watching it on stage. This one won't disappoint!

[Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this it is a cracking mix of the musical version (though it features none of the actual songs) and the more detailed story of the book. It's hard you think of anything that I didn't like. I did like the fact that Carrie was given some chapters to narrate giving her story a voice rather than just being assumed!
Overall is your have loved the Jeff Wayne version as I have and enjoy the original book then this version is well worth a listen.

[Elina Bergqvist · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my God!
This is a fantastic book. This is my favorite book of the year, and at least top 5 of my all-time favorite book.
I didn't thought that I would like it, but I loved it.
The story was exciting. The voice actors was fantastic. The music and all around sound really made the story more intense.

[Janna Wong · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars. I admit to never having read the actual novel by H.G. Wells, so experiencing the novel was new for me...and, man, was it wild! The story is well-known (even to me, who had never read the book or listened to the radio play) and it is extremely well-told by the excellent cast, led by Michael Sheen, Taron Egerton, and Theo James. These great actor voices, along with many others in supporting roles, enriched the story and the listening experience immensely.

The score by Jeff Wayne can be a tad overwhelming but it works for the adaptation.

I enjoyed the listening experience very much.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The War of the Worlds had been on my TBR for ages but I’ve just never picked it up. I decided to listen to the musical drama when I saw audible had a new version out with two of my favourite actors. Let’s just say I’m pretty glad that I listened to this. I just loved the music, it gave the story some extra urgency and some parts it freaked me out, especially as I was listening to it on the dark mornings and nights on the way to and from work! The story was also really different. The only experience of ware of the world I have is the Tom Cruise movie and this is soooo different. I think in the future I will give the book a go but atm I’m classing this as reading the book.

[Dustin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since this is based off of the musical, it finds a very natural home as a radio drama. Imagine the musical, but with the story fleshed out, foley sounds and instrumental music added and that is what you get. The cast performs brilliantly in telling the story with the music and sound effects. The music itself is very recognizable to fans of the musical- there are classic themes such as the Eve of the War, Forever Autumn and the Spirit of Man woven throughout. There is a slight update/difference to the music, for instance- Thunder Child's theme now includes some subtle (?!) dub-step, which actually fits very well and tastefully within the music, the Spirit of Man has a brass horn rendition that is very emotional, and many other classic themes have wonderful additions/differences, and yet still remain very recognizable.

All in all this is an excellent rendition of the story with Jeff Wayne's oversight keeping it on track. I think it would work on it's it's own without prior knowledge of the musical, as it is very fittingly told as a radio style drama, but I will be interested to see the reviews of people who have no experience with the musical.

[Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was torn when trying to score this audio book. I'll admit that I love the original musical version and have owned it on vinyl, cassette tape, CD and digital, but this re-imagining by Jeff Wayne felt very flat in comparison. Michael Sheen was very well cast and I enjoyed his performance, and Adrian Edmondson puts in a brief but fantastic appearance. The issue is that it felt like a 90 minute musical experience drawn out to fill 5 hours. I didn't mind too much that the music has been 'updated' and is much more modern; it's no longer to my taste, but then it was always supposed to be a concept album and all Jeff Wayne has done is update it for modern sensibilities. What I did mind was that you keep hearing the same short snippets again and again. There isn't any new music to help flesh out 5 hours of listening, but you do get some more story (by way of narration).

Ultimately, this was enjoyable but not thrilling - not something that can be said for the original musical version which still raises the hairs on the back of my neck to this day.

[Simon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jeff Wayne's 1978 version of The War of The Worlds remains an amazing production. Part rock opera, part concept album and part spoken word drama. He brought these discordant elements together to create a thing of wonder. 40yrs later, Jeff and Audible try to recapture lightning in a bottle by expanding the production. Sadly it's a massive disappointment. Not including or re-recording the songs is where this goes wrong. Without the songs, the music loses context in relation to the story. I understand why people who've never heard the '78 album are confused by what seems overbearing music. The performances aren't great when compared to the original which also drags this version down. I was so looking forward to this it's with a heavy heart to give this a thumbs down. A real shame.

[Mr Chuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dated for me but still enjoyed it.

No point in detailing the plot for this it's 'War of the Worlds', if you don't know the story then why are you on a book reading site?

It's been on my list of legendary books to read and I'm glad I did as it is a great story and really ahead of its time as it was written in 1897. I liked the characters and the overall threat of the Martians seem real.

However, due to it being over 100 years old parts of it are dated which just took me out of the story at moments. But, it does now have my favorite line of any book in it:

"Surely the Martians wouldn't attack...not on a Sunday" Brilliant.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such an outstanding performance of a great book that I listened to the entire thing in one sitting. This is one of the rare reviews where the audio performance did impact my star rating - as it should have. This story, while a classic, would not be half as good without the enhancements to the atmosphere and depth of feeling that the narration, sound effects, and score add. I have never listened to an audiobook that has brought the story so palpably to life. A must listen for any audibook fan.

[Charli Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jeff Wayne's dramatisation of this sci-fi classic is superb. The music adds to the suspense and drama perfectly. Michael Sheen as the narrator is captivating beside Anna-Marie Wayne, Jeff's daughter who plays Carrie along with the rest of the cast. Given I lived in London I really felt like I was there as I could picture the streets.

I remember roadtripping in our campervan through the South Island of New Zealand listening to the cassette version when I was younger and this took me right back.

[GateGypsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great dramatization. I must admit to being disappointed that they didn't SING any of the songs from Jeff Wayne's musical rendition, just played the instrumentals. Definitely an enjoyable listen, though, with nostalgia for fans.

[Alisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the Audible audiobook production that starred Michael Sheen, Taron Egerton, and Theo James. Honestly this experience composed and directed by Jeff Wayne was exceptional. The combination with the music and the incredible acting was just next level. Insane!

[EL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely incredible!!
I’ve read the book several times, always was a big favourite of mine, so when I saw the audible musical version I had to listen!

It didn’t disappoint! It was absolutely brilliant partnered with Jeff Wayne’s music. I listened to the entire thing in one day. 🛸

[Laiky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect! Just perfect. They absolutely NAILED this dramatised edition of the story.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazingly riveting musical theater of the mind.

[Steve Maxwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply brilliant.

One of THE best sci-fi books ever written!!!