The War Of The World (Remixed & Remastered Double Album)

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-10-28 rating:
Not the best SACD by any means
I bought the special edition with the book, DVD, CDs with outtakes, auditions, missing pieces etc. But I also wanted to hear The War Of The Worlds in ultra high quality SACD.

Well, I feel let down. The quiet parts get cut, e.g. echoes pop in and out. It seems the recording engineer has cut all sound below a certain level from the mix tapes.

Going back to my original CD version, there is certainly more noise but there is also a hell of lot more depth to the sound. Playing them side by side, I hear a complete change in the mixes right the way through. I noticed that the vocals of the SACD are muted by comparison to the CD version.

This is not what SACD is about, this recording sounds like an early 80s digital recording, very reminiscent of those old Naxos classical CDs that sound terrible on a decent system, compressed and fading to silence abruptly in quiet passages (you should hear breathing, fumbling musicians, cars driving past outside etc. in a non-studio classical recording)

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review by: Symphonic Metal Fan date: 2008-05-27 rating:
MADE MY XMAS IN '78 - STILL A CLASSIC ROCK ALBUM IN EVERY SENSE!
An absolute essential if you appreciate Classical, Rock and/or Science Fiction!
My earliest meeting with Jeff Wayne's Musical Version Of The War Of The Worlds was as a 10 year old lad in it's original year of release - and 30 years later, I'm still in love with one of the greatest alien invasion tales ever written (Also very fond of the 1953 film, but a little bit dissapointed by 2005's Spielberg epic - great FX though!). It was great on cassette back in the day, now it's AWESOME on compact disc!!!
What really makes Jeff Wayne's musical concept perhaps the best adaptation is that it's 100% faithful to the early 20th Century England setting. The juxtaposition of Martian technology & pre-World War One weaponry being a fascinating element of the apocalyptic story.
What you have is a combination of the cream of rock musicians & orchestral players all under the supreme guidance of Jeff Wayne who has written a masterful epic of progressive/symphonic rock allied to the best work of H.G.Wells.
Added to this are a fine ensemble of then popular performers such as David Essex & Thin Lizzy's Phil Lynnott (RIP)to bring the characters & story to life. Every performance is exemplary and reasonably faithful to H.G.Wells's landmark 1898 novel.
Richard Burton dominates the narration with his incredibly rich voice. Probably my favourite actor, VOCAL wise (check out the sadly ignored Medusa Touch from 1978))His passing in 1984 is still mourned today. Burton's rich timbre is especially effective in the opening prologue which sets the scene for the Martian's plot to destroy Mankind. I understand a CGI full length feature film is in progress and I am keenly awaiting this - hopefully it will come out this year!
The musicianship of course is Gold Star; one standout performer is four string maestro Herbie Flowers, Just listen to that bass guitar on "Horsell Common and the Heat Ray"! One of the best & most mind-invasive bass lines I've ever heard!
This is just big, epic music - progressive, symphonic rock with a strong theatrical element.
Opening piece "The Eve Of The War" is just massive with its HUGE strings & futuristic synths & rock guitars!
You might well like this if you are into The Trans-Siberian Orchestra or the admittedly much heavier, S&M album by Metallica.
Special mention for the stunning artwork both on the cover & in the liner notes. Simply beautiful, classy illustrations that are never forgotten!
Any lover of the 1898 novel, science fiction, progressive/symphonic rock and indeed classical really needs to invest in this CD - along with the Live DVD if not yet acquired...

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review by: windhoek date: 2007-12-10 rating:
Probably the best 5.1 mix...ever!
The 5.1 mix on this album, is to my mind, the best yet: albeit, I have only heard three 5.1 albums. The other two being Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd and Love by The Beatles. War of the worlds is way way better than the other two.

And, when I read the liner notes, I'm sure it said there were three mixes of the album contained on the SACDs. (1) the 5.1 SACD mix, (2) the SACD stereo mix and (3) a new, but regular CD stereo mix. Fantasitic! Buy it!

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review by: misterjingo date: 2007-12-10 rating:
Perfect
I first heard Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds during a lesson at school when I was five years old; afterwards, the teacher let me take home the record to listen to again. I recall the excitement of the music, and browsing the accompanying booklet, looking at the art which depicted each track.
I'm now twenty-seven and still absolutely love this production. I'd recommend this CD to anyone. Indeed, I do recommend it to everyone!
Definitely worth five stars!


review by: date: 2007-10-09 rating:
All-time classic

I remember hearing this album when I was a child (I'm now 25) and feeling excited and terrified at the same time.

The album is so well done it brings the listener right into the middle of the story, as a previous reviewer wrote it almost makes you check outside your own windows to make sure one of those terrible tripods isn't striding around your town! (I actually live in the same general area described in HG Wells original novel) you also experience some of the fear and the terror the people felt and really get to know the rich characters within the story especially some of the lunatics the journalist meets on his quest to find his wife amid the carnage and devastation wrought by the terrible, rampaging Martians.

I highly recommend this CD to any fans of War of the Worlds.

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