The Introduction: I am a happy man right now.


The Explanation: Since my elementary school years, I kid you not, I have been a fan of Jeff Wayne's 1978 musical version of The War of the Worlds. If you're not familiar with it, it's probably one of the most unique and creative achievements in all of rock music. Basically, what Wayne did was take H.G. Wells' novel and adapt it into a full-blown musical. Instead of using the theater as his venue for this, he instead chose the curious format of the progressive rock album.

The man himself, who had previously made a living writing ad jingles and things of that nature, was much more a composer than a musician. To my knowledge, he doesn't really play much of anything on the album. To do that, he -- by some bizarre stroke of luck, genius, or a combination of the two -- managed to rope in some of the most talented musicians of the day. First of all, he managed to get Richard Burton (yes, that Richard Burton) to play the lead part of the journalist and record the lengthy spoken-word narrations that push the story forward. But on top of that, for the actual music, Wayne secured positions for Justin Hayward (The Moody Blues), Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy), David Essex (that song "Rock On" that everyone's heard but doesn't know it), and several others.

The result is a sprawling, lengthy (95 minutes or so), but endlessly fascinating creature that's quite unlike anything I've ever heard. The finished product seamlessly blends Burton's narration with patches of dialogue among characters, atmospheric instrumental passages (the electronics of which were way cutting-edge in 1978) , and really friggin' awesome rock music.

As impressive as this is, though, it poses one problem: its seamlessness makes it impossible to just listen to the music. You have to listen to everything else. It's just the way the album is constructed. Tracks flow in and out of one another, songs are often interrupted by dialogue or narration, and the music itself is just impossible to isolate. This isn't a problem if you're listening from beginning to end because it's ridiculously well put-together, but there have been countless times when I've been like, "Man, I wish I could just hear this one song."

The Resolution: Imagine my surprise when, literally about a decade later, I find out that in 1982 they released a "Highlights of The War of the Worlds" compilation that basically provides exactly what I'm looking for. I go on Amazon immediately, order the CD used for a grand total of $5.50 (uh, score), and await its arrival.

Well, it showed up yesterday. I think I may have already played through the stupid thing four or five times. This is exactly what I wanted, and the music is still fantastic.

We're talking, like, a couple of my favorite songs ever on this thing.

The most famous song is actually one I've had an edited version of for a long time: the Justin Hayward-sung "Forever Autumn," despite not being a song by the band itself, is actually included on The Best of The Moody Blues (a fitting place for it, since it really can stand up with the best of the Moodies' stuff; for anyone who knows how I worship this band, that's a hefty statement). You can, and should, stream it here: "Forever Autumn." Ignore the video; listen to the music.

But my personal favorite moment on the album actually comes in its second half with "The Spirit of Man," a powerful duet between Phil Lynott and Julie Covington (with whom I am unfamiliar, but suffice it to say she has a gorgeous voice). God, I love this song. The melody and intensity are just perfect, the instrumentation manages to create this nightmarish, frightened atmosphere, and the vocal performances are spot-on. I am so, so, so happy to finally have an edited version of this. It's amazing. I've SendSpaced it in mp3 format. You really should check it out: "The Spirit of Man" (6:45 / 9.27 MB)

Also, I never really noticed it in context with the album, but "Horsell Common and the Heat Ray" is a really, really cutting-edge piece of electronica for 1978. It's in the album's typically ominous vein, sure, but it's fun and danceable and it's actually really impressive in this condensed form. In terms of innovation, it's up there with the stuff Kraftwerk was doing at the time (they released The Man-Machine, their best album, that same year). SendSpace: "Horsell Common and the Heat Ray" (4:44 / 6.5 MB)

And there are a bunch of other awesome tracks on the CD, too, but ... man. Great, great stuff. Some of the best ever. I'm ecstatic. So my ever-lingering question, of course, is this: why is this out of print? You can still get the album proper, sure, but these edited highlights ... man, they're fantastic.

In case you missed 'em:
Two of the best songs ever:
"Forever Autumn" (YouTube; ignore the video)
"The Spirit of Man" (6:45 / 9.27 MB)

An awesome, awesome electronic track:
"Horsell Common and the Heat Ray" (4:44 / 6.5 MB)