Six Wives of Henry VIII

Rick Wakeman | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: 1973
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Fontana a&M
• ASIN: B000002GBJ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,144 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #89 in Music > New Age

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

What is the exact connection with Henry VIII and his wives? Hard to say. Why does the track dedicated to Anne of Cleves resemble the Hollies' "Bus Stop?" Who knows. It sounds to me like Italian horror film soundtrack music. Here is Wakeman's solo debut in 1972 in all its glory: state-of-the-art keyboard technology running free in the dandelion-strewn meadow of the classical-rock pastiche. Did Wakeman directly or indirectly influence Spinal Tap's Viv Savage--listen and decide. Next stops: Journey to the Center of the Earth and The Myths and Legends of King Arthur. --David Wolf

Product Description

Japanese only SHM paper sleeve pressing. The SHM-CD [Super High Material CD] format features enhanced audio quality through the use of a special polycarbonate plastic. Using a process developed by JVC and Universal Music Japan discovered through the joint companies' research into LCD display manufacturing SHM-CDs feature improved transparency on the data side of the disc allowing for more accurate reading of CD data by the CD player laser head. SHM-CD format CDs are fully compatible with standard CD players. 2009. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wakeman's Best - Aged? No. Exemplifying the 1970's - Yes., November 29, 2003

By 

Mark D Burgh "Music, Writing, Art, Film, Hist... (Fort Smith, AR United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Six Wives of Henry VIII (Audio CD)

Rick Wakeman has produced a lot of music in the last 35 years, but this second solo album of his still is his is among his best, if not his best. Based on the BBC television life of Henry VIII's caprious attempts to further both his family's hold on power and England's revolution against the Papacy, Wakeman's music really has little to do with the history, real or imagined. Still, this Album does capture some history - that of early analog synths and samplers, and of an era of musical freedom.

Conceptual failure notwithstanding, Wakeman produces six long tracks that have a cohesion that does hold up. Trained for a time at the RCM, Wakeman absored lessons on structure along with a lot of beer. The focus of each song is based on thematic material that Wakeman explores as any classical composer might do, but with the instrumentation and rythym of jazzish rock.

Take Jane Seymour (not Dr. Quinn) for example. The piece starts out with a church organ playing a Bachish modal theme. A harpischord answers the organ in counterpoint, and them finally a Minimoog enters, doubling the organ's new thematic material, now in an ominous minor theme. Occasional drums add tension to the piece, but the organ keeps returning to the main theme and its variations.

My favorite is the jazzy "Anne Boleyn," which comes closest to portraying the alluring and doomed second wife of Henry. Wakeman again establishes a flowing theme, works it out on the piano, then contrasts with a new theme on rock instrumentations. A quiet interlude with acoustic guitars, basses, and background vocals accompany's Wakemans' restatement. The piece builds back to the the rockish part, then moves into a minor key movement, introducing a newer faster theme and electronic instruments.

This simply good composing, arraging and playing, and to me it hasn't aged as fast or as badly as people claim. Not as bad as I have aged, anyway.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Definitive Wakeman Album, November 30, 2000

By 

Ken Willis - See all my reviews

This review is from: Six Wives of Henry VIII (Audio CD)

Put simply, this album is THE album from Mr Wakeman. I love virtually everything he has ever done, but his first three albums are still his best three albums, and "6 Wives" is the best of them all. It has not aged in nearly 30 years and can still be listened to almost as if for the first time. When it was first released it broke barriers of inventiveness and originality, both in terms of genre and of sound. Rick's playing sounds good on any keyboard, but with this album you are taken through the best of all the keyboards available back in 1973 (and, frankly, they are still the best). A masterpiece.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gets better with age not worse, December 28, 2003

By 

Amanda Bartels (Eltham, Victoria Australia) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Six Wives of Henry VIII (Audio CD)

To some people Rick Wakeman is flashy and self-indulgent. Well, that's why I love him. He's unique and nobody else sounds anything like him, which is partly why he will be remembered. The other part is that he wrote some damm good stuff, especially his first solo outing here.

There are six tracks which are supposed to interpret Henry 8's six wives. If you want them to, Rick. I don't go for this idea much, but it is brilliant music whosever musical portraits you want to put upon it, and it was certainly fantastic marketing in the early 70s - classically-influenced synthesizers with some old English history chucked in by a long-haired precocious prog rocker. Nice mix.

The six tracks are more than just keyboards for their own sakes - they are strong and complex compositions, well arranged with interesting timbral choices between the different instruments - lots of theme and variation, different moods such as jazzy pieces like Anne Boleyn and traditional organ arrangements like Jane Seymour (which is a little too Bach Toccata-like for me, but this was early in Rick's career when he was busting with classical influences.)

My favourite pieces are the three Catherines - the opening, Catherine of Aragon is mostly piano with some interesting rhythm changes (try keeping time to it). Catherine Howard is the one most people will know if they've ever been to a Wakeman or a Yes concert but this original version is very different from the one he plays these days with the Celtic jig added. I think his later versions are actually better, but it's still a good solid piece of music.

Anne of Cleves is the most unusual track - it almost sounds out of place amongst the more conventional compositions. It's the track that sounds most like a synthesizer exercise, but it's worth a listen (apart from the prominent split note near the beginning!) for the unusual time signatures (again) and the fantastic Hammond organ work and Bill Bruford's drumming together. Yes musicians abound on this album and it does have a slight Yes feel but it's definitely NOT a Yes album and definitely classic Wakeman.

I don't think time has worn this one out. If anything I enjoy listening to it more than I did in the past. I love listening to the old analogue sounds. I know nobody would be without digital keyboards these days but there is something about analogue sounds which can't be reproduced - they're more individual, less tinny and less predictable. I guess they were also a nightmare with going out of tune or not working but somehow that added to their individuality - you never knew what you were going to get, which did make for interesting live experiences.

Elton John said this album is in his top twenty of all time. Won't argue with him on that.