Sheddy- he isn't specifically an officer, in the book and recording he is only ever called the Artilleryman. So he may have spoken like a nob.
Album- first side (on the original)- fantastic. Second side, too much time on the Parson which deviates totally from the book, and the Red Weed. If they had stuck to the book they could have avoided the Julie Covington sobstory and got on with the events. And no mention at all of the Flying Machine.
My family once drove to Reading to see relatives- with The War of the Worlds on the car stereo. Driving past Horsell Common, there had been a heath fire and large parts of it were charred - spooky!
Jeff Wayne admitted that the sound effect for the cylinder was a recording of his missus scraping a saucepan lid around a lavatory bowl. It spoils the effect a bit knowing that!
All the same, a very good record.