Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of TWotW: The New Generation: Alive from the 02 (2013)
Dir. Nick Morris | London 02 Arena, ?? December, 2012
As before, it's a live performance of Wayne's musical adaptation of H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds novel featuring The Black Smoke Band and the ULLAdubULLA Strings orchestra, with a large cinema screen behind them onto which is projected a mix of pre-recorded footage and CGI animation. But there are a few differences:
The CGI is better; the towering tripod ship now shoots fire; and it was recast to appeal specifically to a 'younger audience'; that last part put my 'older audience' mind on the alert. [1]
'Wayne wouldn't extend that train of thought to the music, would he?' I pondered. 'For the love of all that stands on three legs, he wouldn't mess with a classic formula just for 'younger audience' recognition, right?' But he did. Damn, he did.
It could be worse — it isn't like Daft Punk got a hold of it and added tedious dance beats to every soaring movement — but it's a different beast to the version of the album that made Wayne a household name amongst Prog Rock and sci-fi fans of the 1970s. Instead, it sounds like a 70s era musician trying to appeal to a modern era crowd by whoring out his most famous work. In fact, if I hadn't known Wayne was involved, I'd have thought it was a bunch of cover versions.
(Wayne is present, conducting from a podium that looks like a small planet Saturn, for some reason; he arm-waves and dad-dances in a manner that resembles a waist-coated Bez.)
The OG version had repetition in many places, there's no denying that, but the new one layers on more, and no amount of increased stage theatrics can hide the fact that the newly added drum beats don't always gel with the original's more refined instrumentation. Of course there'll be a percentage of listeners who are hearing it for the first time, and they may like it as it is, but does that mean they wouldn't have liked it as it was before? Will they even care? The album as written in 1978 has stood the test of time; will the TNG one manage the same in 40-50 years? I don't have the answer to any of those questions, but I'm willing to bet 'no' on the third one. I believe it'll be remembered as a curiosity, mentioned as an aside when discussing the OG version.
Replacing Richard Burton (as narrator) is a tall order for any actor, but Liam Neeson does much better than I expected. He lacks the gravitas and dramatic presence of Burton, but he's fine and I'd be perfectly happy to listen to him read the original novel in audiobook format. GJ, Liam.
The remainder of the recasting is a mixed bag, ranging from abysmal to outstanding. At the lowest end of the scale is Marti Pellow, who I'll equate to a TV talent show contestant who's getting the early bus back home; he completely butchers Forever Autumn. Will Stapleton and Ricky Wilson, as The Voice of Humanity and The Artilleryman, respectively, do okay and both can stay for after show drinks. Kerry Ellis was great as Beth, admirably holding her own against the highlight of the entire show: Jason Donovan as the Parson. I shit you not, he was top-class!
I ended my review of the previous filmed stage version by saying that I didn't see much reason to ever reach for the DVD again, over the Studio album. That same feeling applies tenfold to TNG. The only part of it that'd I'd willingly watch again is the scene between the Parson and his wife.
The Cast are as Follows:
The Journalist / Narrator: Holographic Liam Neeson
The Sung Thoughts of the Journalist: Marti Pellow
The Voice of Humanity: Will Stapleton
The Artilleryman: Ricky Wilson
The Parson (Nathaniel): Jason Donovan
The Parson's wife (Beth): Kerry Ellis
William Rowland: Michael Falzon
Vera May: Lily Osborne
[1] The fire seems to be the stage version's 'visible way' of representing the 'invisible ray' of heat that H.G. Wells wrote about in his 1898 novel. It's incongruous, sure, but it's better than lasers.
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