Whitt From Spiderbait Loves Jeff Wayne's 'The War of the Worlds'

Table of Contents

Tunes Feeds’ Love Letter To A Record series asks artists to reflect on their relationship with songs and share stories about how the music they love has influenced their life. Right here, Spiderbait guitarist, Whitt, confesses his adore for Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War Of The Worlds.

Spiderbait celebrated the 25th anniversary of their breakthrough studio album, Ivy and the Significant Apples, in 2021. The retrospective celebrations ongoing into 2022, when the trio of drummer and vocalist Kram, bass player and vocalist Janet English, and guitarist Whitt launched the compilation album, Appears in the Key of J. The band’s ‘Tour in the Key of J’ visits Sydney and Melbourne in early July.

Whitt from Spiderbait on Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War Of The Worlds

“Two luminous disc-like eyes appeared over the rim. A massive rounded bulk, more substantial than a bear, rose up slowly but surely, glistening like soaked leather. Its lipless mouth quivered and slathered, and snakelike tentacles writhed as the clumsy overall body heaved and pulsated…”

I was 11 yrs outdated in 1981 when I initial read Jeff Wayne’s musical model of H.G. Wells’ basic novel, The War Of The Worlds. Launched in 1978, the to start with aspect of the double album describes the Martians landing on Earth (England, August 1904 to be specific) in big cylinders and setting up ferocious going for walks devices in order to wipe out us and just take more than our earth.

I was listening to it by itself in our lounge area in the evening right after supper. It was dim outside and even nevertheless I could see the designs of grown ups by the double frosted glass doors that led into our living space, I felt as nevertheless I could have been gentle many years absent witnessing a little something amazing.

I’d been completely absorbed into a further dimension. These was the electric power of this outstanding piece of remarkable musical theatre. Fifteen minutes in, observe two, ‘Horsell Frequent and the Warmth Ray,’ experienced me totally gripped. That track by yourself stays maybe my favorite second on any album. The audio of the cylinder’s lid unscrewing – O.M.G.

What a fantastic bass line. And people synths what drama. In 15 minutes I was moist-eyed with terror, excitement and electric powered curiosity, absolutely shed to where ever this experience was using me. I also felt like I was in hazard. I experienced no anticipations as to what was unfolding.

Jeff Wayne, Richard Burton – ‘Horsell Typical and the Heat Ray’

Right after evening meal, my sister in-law had basically handed me a copy of the unique recording on double cassette and explained, “Here, you might enjoy this.” The Martians go on to consider more than the earth and feast on the blood of individuals by draining it and injecting it into their very own veins, all the though annihilating anything in sight with the dreaded Heat Ray. That’s the initially aspect of four…

Up right up until that place, my experience of albums experienced only been songs produced by teams. I’d never experienced an encounter such as this just from listening to a recording. It was a musical model of a typical book accompanied by primary songs done by an array of attained rock and theatre gurus, most of them English.

It is narrated by Richard Burton (Google him), whose character is a journalist who is trying to monitor down the really like of his everyday living amid all the chaos of The Martians invading Earth and wiping out humanity. The instrumentation is a great mix of drums, bass and guitars with stunning sounding analogue synthesisers being the stars. It was recorded on 48-keep track of analogue tape with all the glory of late 1970s tremendous output.

The solid includes Philip Lynott (Slender Lizzy), who performs Parson Nathaniel. David Essex plays The Artilleryman. Julie Covington (who experienced a strike with ‘Don’t Cry For Me Argentina’) plays Beth. New Zealander Chris Thompson (Manfred Mann’s Earth Band) plays the ‘Thunder Child’ synth. Justin Hayward (Moody Blues) sings and plays some guitar. Jeff Wayne, who curated and produced this masterpiece, also does The Epilogue voice at the conclusion.

Jeff Wayne, Richard Burton, Phil Lynott, Julie Covington – ‘The Spirit of Man’

The beauty of this version of War Of The Worlds for me lay in the structure. It was not a reserve, it was not a perform, it was not a musical or a movie. In some way it seemed to be all of all those things but none of them at the exact time. It was thoroughly special. Having said that, equivalent to a e book, in the absence of any visual stimulus, my creativeness was supplied totally free rein to participate in out all the drama so vividly. What a joy. What a ride.

I despatched away for the accompanying illustrated booklet which arrived about two months afterwards by snail mail from the British isles. The paintings contained therein by Geoff Taylor are wonderful, but nothing could examine to the orchestra of images and colour that played out in my brain on that evening of the 1st listening.

All three of us in Spiderbait adore it, each individual of us getting experienced our personal expertise exploring it as youngsters. Not long ago we ended up at Canberra airport ready for Fiona, our fantastic manager, to select up the retain the services of vehicle and Janet made a decision to perform the opening keep track of on her Apple iphone while we were being waiting. We all collected all around to sing/narrate/gesture alongside to that monumentally theatrical opening of the story, dripping in all the recommendation of the impending doom that is to come.

Pondering back to that night time in the lounge space of our outdated household, I can even now feel that environmentally friendly carpet beneath my toes, the amber light from the triple bulb light fitting (with just a single or two of them performing) hanging from the ceiling and the warm odor of timber and plastic from the stereo… and the sonic fragrance of a beautifully ominous Martian cry ringing out: “ULAAAHH!!!”