Customer Reviews

The Six Wives Of Henry VIII DVD

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4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I too was drawn to London for the very first time to experience this once in a lifetime production of Rick's "Six Wives of Henry the VIIIth". With Hampton Court as the spectacular setting for this event, with Choir and Orchestra, it was 2 evenings of music to be remembered. In addtion to the expanded versions of the original 6 Wives pieces, there were 3 new pieces composed especially for this event which are included in this presentation.
The DVD is a compilation of the 2 nights. Some of the solo sections were different each night (most notable in the extended Anne Boleyn synth solo, for example), but it has been edited pretty seamlessly. The narrator, Brain Blessed, improvised profusely each night. In this DVD production, these sections were edited down. You can hear the full versions on the CD's that are available for each night, but for this release I think they did a very good (but not quite seamless) job of editing. It was a real challenge, that.

One thing that is not apparent from the video is the temperature. It still gets really cold in London once the sun goes down in May, and I have to hand it to the orchestral players and choir for being in tune and on time.
The 6 Wives suite had never been performed in it's entirety before, and will never be presented like this again.
Musically it is very satisfying, remaining true to the original compositions. Rick and company hit it out of the park with this one.

I've seen Rick perform over the years as a solo artist, with Yes and with his son Adam, but never were any of those performances staged with all the musicians required to really represent his early work. So it was with great excitement that I noticed a small advertisement for the special engagements at Hampton Court in celebration of King Henry the 8ths 500th anniversary, where Rick presented "Six Wives" in it's entirely to small audiences of 5,000 patrons on May 1st and 2nd, 2009. This was to be my first and possibly last chance to finally see Rick with full orchestra and choir, and though I have never traveled overseas specifically to attend a concert, this seemed like the right time to do it, and the show was absolutely a dream come true.

This DVD very effectively captures the performance, with every track and bit of narration included, and the quality is stunning- get the Blue-Ray if you have the player. Either way, this disc will give you a very accurate impression of the actual show, particularly if you turn up the volume! My only quibble is that there was no camera placed above Rick's head to give you frequent shots of his hands at work. So you don't get the first full view of his playing until 27 min. into the concert. Making up for this is the sheer scope of what there is to see here, including 5 piece band, orchestra, choir, narrator, and the castle itself, which is really a key part of the experience. Highly recommended... Doug

Six wives is a classic album by one of progressive rock's most important keyboard players ever, Rick Wakeman (Yes). It was his first solo effort, with contributions by some of progs greatest at that time. A couple of decades later, he performs the entire album (plus a few extras that are related to the theme) in the one place where he wanted to perform it when he originally wrote and released it.

It is a fantastic performance of really amazing songs, aided by the English Rock Ensamble, plus an orchestra and choir, and it is all really impressive. My one complain is that drummer Tony Fernandez (who I admire a lot) uses an electronic drumset with acoustic cymbals. Being great in dynamics, it was a surprise to see him using an electronic set, that takes away from his natural, dynamic type of playing. Other than that, this dvd is great. Buy it!

The music is fantastic, thanks goodness Rick does not have that 80's and 90's cheesy sound on the keyboards anymore. The renditions of the versions are very very good.

The Good:
1.- Excellent musicians.
2.- Wonderful version of every piece.
3.- Great setup, good direction, no tacky effects or post-production bullsh*it.
4.- Probably the best Rick Wakeman DVD you can find.

The Bad:
1.- The drummer is using a Roland V-Drums. The TD-20KX which is the best electronic drumset ever made so far. But is electronic and sounds fake. Mr. Fernandez did not use the wonderful capabilities of the Roland TD-20KX (check King Crimson's Eyes Wide Open DVD), because they wanted it to sound as an ACOUSTIC drumset. It could have been worst, he could have used electronic cymbals.
2.- Is a shame that the orchestra is lost in the mix. I know that Rick and his keyboards are the important thing, but the orchestral arrangements are fantastic, check the small bits on the 'behind the scenes'. The orchestra DOES NOT sound powerful, you don't get the thrill of having a proper orchestra with horns and all on the music; it's a real shame.
3.- I like Brian Blessed, but he was a little bit too lousy on his presenter role. When he said "I'm a stupid woman, teach me about religion" was the worst.

Like a few others have mentioned, the only thing that could have made this any better is if they had used a better camera angle for his hands. That is nitpicking cause overall, this was an extraordinary DVD. I enjoyed everything else about it - his son and the other musicians, the choir, the narrator and the setting. It is so nice that a dream was realized for him...nothing better than that! My brother will turn 50 on his next birthday and since I was the one who turned him on to Rick Wakeman I think it is only fitting that he gets this DVD as a gift from me :-).

In true Wakeman style, this concert was over the top in every way imaginable with no expense spared -- costumes, musicians, lights, etc... I flew all the way from Phoenix, AZ to attend the May 2nd concert and it was worth every penny!! The Hampton Court setting was unbelievable, and this DVD captures the atmosphere and the music very well. It was very chilly that night -- kudos to the musicians for performing so well considering the conditions. I also have the CD that was released immediately following the concert, and the edits done to the DVD enhance the sound and mix very well without taking away from the live performance. My only complaint, as others have mentioned, is that there aren't more overhead camera shots of Wakeman's hands, especially during some key solo parts. This has been a problem with many other Wakeman & Yes concert DVDs and it drives me crazy that they can't figure it out. Nonetheless, overall this DVD is a must own for any fan of Six Wives as the music is outstanding.

The show is spectacular. Rick to no surprise is amazing. The arrangements of the songs are superb, the band and orchestra compliment Rick outstandingly. It's everything you want to hear.

Rick Wakeman does not tour very much anymore due to health concerns. I was so hoping they would film this very special show, and yes, they did! 2 shows 5000 seats each show. And that was it.

The show is excellent, the sound is good, the dvd is so worth it. Oliver may be touring with YES minus Jon Anderson, but as long as there is a Wakeman in Yes, it's going to be good.
Rick wakeman continues to amaze the crowds in his ability to entertain.
Buy this dvd. You'll be pleased.

This record of a May 2009 concert at which Rick Wakeman performed an expanded version of his "Six Wives of Henry VIII" is the only Wakeman DVD I have, but judging from reviews of the other Wakeman DVDs available, it may well be the best.

The music is a considerably expanded version of Wakeman's first solo record, with three added numbers. "Tudorture" and "Tudorock" begin and end the concert, and each is a unique piece of quality worthy of the suite (I especially love "Tudorture," perhaps because it begins things with such a burst of energy and 1970s synth authenticity); "Defender of the Faith" is a centerpiece that was, we're told, recorded for the original CD in the 1970s but cut because of time limitations.

I don't know whether the six "Wives" pieces were originally much longer, as many of them are here, or whether Wakeman expanded them for this concert, but in either case, the expanded versions are seamless and vibrant, sounding like more complete and complex compositions rather than random noodling to make them last longer. It's as if we've been listening to edited versions these past 35+ years and didn't know it, and here we finally have the full versions, as they always should have been.

The concert is generally entertaining to watch, although I agree with other reviewers that there are far too few shots of Wakeman's hands on the keyboards. It's certainly satisfying to watch Wakeman in his element, enjoying recreating something he conjured up so many decades before, and to have glimpses of his son Adam assisting on his own bank of keyboards. And the ever-entertaining Ray Cooper is a hoot on percussion.

Brian Blessed's narration is underrehearsed--he could have learned his lines, one would think--and he seems to have no talent for improvisation (nor, on occasion, for reading competently). B,ut it's good to have the narration at all (it's not on the CD version of this concert) to introduce the pieces and tie them to their historical inspirations.

I doubt this will convert any younger listeners to Wakeman fans, but it's a joy for us old folks who bought Wakeman's best-selling solo CDs during the brief period when they were both refreshingly new and enormously popular (basically 1973-75, since "No Earthy Connection" in 1976 was something of a dub from which Wakeman's solo career never recovered, despite the dozens of CDs that have followed, often at a rate of several a year).

I give it 4 stars with that audience in mind. It would have received 5 stars if it had been better directed, with more attention to Wakeman's hands and to the various other musicians who have a few fleeting and sometimes dramatic solos that the cameras generally miss. Lots of attention to the handsome young musicians, female and male, in the orchestra. And the setting is quite impressive. Overall, for it's intended audience, a lot of fun, if not quite perfect.

I agree with almost all of the other reviewer's points of view on this DVD. Having been a die hard Yes and Wakeman fan from the very first Hammond note he struck on Roundabout/Fragile when I was about 14 years old, I would love nothing more than to give the DVD a solid 5 stars. And in most respects, it is! I mean, what more could you ask for - Rick in all his glory, the band, the orchestra, the choir, all coming together to perform what is still considered to be one of the finest Prog Rock albums of all time - All of the elements for what should be Rick's crowning achievement! The overall sound and picture quality are excellent. The musicians and their performances are, of course, second to none. My only quibbles that prevent me from making this DVD a solid 5 star?

1) The audio mix - orchestral arrangements are almost totally lost in the mix throughout many of the performances. I do realize that Rick and his playing are intended to be the "center of attention" for the show, but there are even some points where I'd go as far as saying his keys were TO LOUD! There was plenty of "headroom" there in the mix to have the orchestra's parts better balanced with Rick's playing.

2) This only a personal opinion, but for this show especially, I would have loved to have seen Rick bring back his old standard analog set up. A REAL Hammond, his 2 Mellotrons, 2 Mini Moogs, his old Clavicord and Electric Piano, and especially, his Grand Piano. There is one point in the show where he gets up and does play a short interlude on an actual grand piano; and the sound is absolutely heavenly. Being a keyboard player myself, I don't care if you spend $30,000 on all of the new top of the line "Digital" keyboards - NONE of them can EVER hold a candle to the original sounds of the Hammond, Mellotron, and Piano. There's just no warmth or character to those digital sounds. I do realize that in this day and age that moving what is equivalent to an entire house worth of furniture (a Hammond and Leslie cabinet are about 300 lbs alone, not to mention a grand piano and 2 Mellotrons) is very costly and labor intensive (plus there is the technical aspects of keeping all of those old keyboards in working order), but for this show in particular- a once in a lifetime event that he himself waited over 30 years to be able to perform - I would have thought that Rick would have taken on the extra expense and manpower.