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Reviews: Jeff Wayne: The War of the Worlds

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Reviews: 11

Review by PaulHoncoop June 19, 2005 (10 of 12 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:    
I've got it! and it's just great. Close the curtains and dim the lights and then put this marvelous sacd on...kickin'!! It's like the monsters from Mars are just behind you to slam you down (scary).
Yes i've got the feeling i'm in the middle of the movie without pictures, it's all so real now in surround sound. A big plus is that the surround mix is not been mixed agressive. It's all natural mixed as i said; like the movie without pictures. Just great.

The sonics are damn good. Was there in the original stereo recording some noises, in this new version there's nothing left of that. It's clear, clean and the right balance between bass and treble. Outstanding stereo and mc remastermixes for these late 70th recordings.
I prefer the mc mix for just that movie feeling.

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Review by muzikman June 22, 2005 (8 of 9 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:    
Artist: Various
Title: Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds
Genre: Soundtrack-Progressive Rock
Format: SACD
Label: Columbia/Legacy-http://www.legacyrecordings.com
Website: http://www.thewaroftheworlds.com

I can hardly wait for the premier of War of the Worlds at the end of this month. This is a movie with a lot of history behind it. Who can forget Orson Welles’ famous radiobroadcast that people actually believed. You have to hand it to Welles for being such an extraordinary actor. Today he would never get away with it but on Halloween Oct. 30, 1938 he shocked a nation. If this had transpired in the present day, he would have ended up in court with a pending jail term in front of him. I remember watching the original movie when I was a child and being in total awe. I can only imagine how good the new version will be with the special effects.

Well not only is there a new version of the movie, the 1978 classic recording Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds is available in a stunning 2 CD SACD set. The sound is spellbinding on a surround sound system.

This is a magnificent collection of music and drama. Richard Burton performs the narration very eloquently. Burton’s voice was very refined, Shakespearian if you will. While his inflection is very magnetic, it was at the same terrifying as he told the story and exchanged parts with other actors on this soundtrack. The music is superb featuring such luminaries as Justin Hayward (The Moody Blues) and Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy) including orchestration of the narratives by Rick Wakeman and David Beford. It seems Mr. Wayne got the very best for this captivating production.

Science fiction and progressive rock fans will gobble this up. I know it was not hard for me to enjoy.

© Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck-http://www.muzikreviews.com

June 22, 2005

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Review by kentucky June 22, 2005 (4 of 5 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:    
I have got the collectors edition today,and it is really great.Maybe the best SACD I have ever heard.
Also the stereomix is breathtaking.The extra's on the other cd's are great but are only in stereo,no sacd.Again,all you music fans should have this compilation or the 2 cd set.Stunning

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Review by Johnno July 12, 2005 (6 of 6 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:  
I don't have a multichannel system so these comments are based on SACD in stereo only. Having said that, I'm absolutely staggered at the change from the original RBCD I have. Not only is the sound so much cleaner than before but the increase in clarity is amazing and I've been hearing all sorts of instrumental details that I've never noticed before. There is, however, still a marvellous sense of space around the sound, whether it be natural or otherwise. Having said that, I occasionally began to wonder whether I was really hearing just the ORIGINAL version or whether perhaps some "re-composing" had occurred for this re-release. I wonder if anyone else has felt the same way?

All in all, though, I can't praise the release highly enough. It's a great album, as we all know, and now sounding better than ever.

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Review by PLS September 1, 2005 (1 of 14 found this review helpful)
This is strange world!!
A recent editon in SACD with multitrack remaster in PCM 24 Bits, 96Khz sampling, without text info!
Whats going on... a DSD multitrack transfer, remix and remaster would be more apropriate!!

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Review by HV February 12, 2007 (1 of 9 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:  
Best multichannel SACD in my collection.
Great.

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Review by burn808 February 13, 2008 (2 of 5 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:    
Excellent surround mix. This was screaming out for a reworking! As a teenager in the 80's I always thought this would sound good in surround, but never thought I would see the day where surround systems were commonplace and a multi-channel mix would be created. Worth it just to hear the lid coming off at Horsell Common...

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Review by analogue March 3, 2009 (6 of 6 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:  
Although I had heard of Jeff Wayne's War of the worlds album I had never heard it until I bought this sacd several years ago. I think it's pretty amazing and I thoroughly enjoy listening to it whenever I take it out for a listen.

The sound is deep, rich and exciting. I would highly recommend this to anyone who has some imagination and likes a sort of tele-play of the destruction of planet earth. Richard Burton's voice has excellent power. This is a very fascinating and highly entertaining sacd and the mastering 24/96 pcm is outstanding.

I am very impressed with this and am glad I bought it.


HOWEVER: I have read many, many bad reviews of this sacd for the following reason and it is a very important one: I would not know this personally but apparently there is a completely different remixing on this release than that on the original famous 70's album. So much so that people are up in arms about it. I sympathize with this as I cant stand it when classic albums are released years later and someone in the studio feels the need to change the entire feel of the original mix. I can see why people take it personally.
So with this in mind buy it at your own discretion.

Not knowing the original sound as I am a new comer to this album I highly recommend it for it's sound and entertainment value. I admire the creativity and skill behind it.

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Review by musicavenger July 14, 2009 (0 of 6 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:    
A very nice edition of a poor quality music record with some nice surround effects.

If you find it cheap is good for a collection

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Review by progboy February 26, 2011 (0 of 3 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:  
Jeff Wayne's War Of The Worlds is an excellent SACD ! The sound quality is as good as the Moody Blues SACD series with crystal clear sound shaping and a tone that I only wish all SACD's had. This is not an album that my kids will sit and listen to with me as we read the story and look at the pictures....so a family SACD moment !

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Review by Rhinojack May 1, 2014 (2 of 3 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:  
5.1 Multichannel. The only thing I have to say is, The unscrewing of the lid. Damn! Thought I was gonna jump out of my skin.
Get this album.

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