It's hard to criticise Rick Wakeman as he has so much talent but this CD is not

by DRS | 10-06-2009

This was a grand,theatrical event and Wakeman rises to this with augmented arrangements,a full orchestra and choir and even six live wives. The spectacle will no doubt work on the forthcoming DVD but it is a less than perfect audio CD. Something horrible happens on Jane Seymour in particular, with Wakeman hitting a series of wrong notes during this pointlessly extended version. The overall sound is good but Wakeman himself is lost in the mix, often drowned out by the guitars. Finally, CD 1 ends with the spoken introduction to CD 2's first track Catherine Parr, which is unforgiveable. I'd love to hear the second show in comparison.

very impressed!

by mcguck | 19-05-2009

All of the wonderful memories of the night came back in this fine recording of the event. Though Brian Blessed went a little long in places the music was superb. I was especially impressed by how well the orchestra and choir were miked. This will hold me over very well until the DVD comes out this fall. Well done!

A crowning achievement!

by dean | 05-05-2009

The performances both nights were sublime, but this one is my favorite. The arrangements and execution were tight, the sound clean, and the narration, well....invigorating. The recording being made at Hampton court Palace gives it a very special dimension. English men were weeping for joy on my shoulder from the sheer breathtaking beauty of it all. This is a crowning achievement for Mr. Wakeman, the Orchestra Europa, the English Chamber Choir, the English Rock Ensemble, Guy Protheroe and the narrator, Brain Blessed. Besides the music from the original 6 Wives LP, there are 3 new songs (one featuring a keyboard duet with Rick and his son Adam). This package also includes a bonus CD of pictures from this historic concert.

Brilliant performance.

by skyryder1212 | 16-05-2009

Add an aging prog rock star with a penchant for extravagant affairs, with a 36 year old instrumental (actually multi-keyboard) album, an historical palace, an orchestra, choir, rock ensemble, array of the latest keyboards, throw in a bombastic character actor and a chilly evening in May that includes smoke and a light show, and you have a recipe for either a train wreck of epic proportions or an evening of sublime aesthetics. I am happy to report it was the latter that emerged from that evening's calculus. "The 6 Wives of Henry the VIIth" album had a tracking time of 36 minutes. Up until these shows, it had never been performed in its entirety. Both nights tracked to approx 2 hours of performance time. This time dilation was achieved through 2 things: the addition of 3 new songs (TudorOverture, Defender of the Faith, and TudorRock) ; and the addition of orchestra, choir and jam sections in several songs. So this is not your fathers "6 Wives". "Anne Boleyn", for example, has a 5 minute or so synth solo added in to the middle of it, which, quite frankly, cements Mr. Wakeman as THE reigning rock keyboardist bar none. The orchestration has added a few cliche moments (ascending chromatic scale sections, for example) but within the context of the presentation (used in a transition section as Rick changed stage positions) are minor sections of filler. Overall the musical cohesiveness is astounding. It was COLD, so the fact that the orchestra and choir stayed in tune and on time denotes the efforts the performers put in to this event. Brian Blessed changed up his narration this evening from the night before somewhat, but was lively and entertaining. (He does need to learn the proper pronunciation of "Moog" though.) The sound is straight from the soundboard. I find the mix a little rough in places, but not enough to be distracting. A professional presentation, a thoroughly enjoyable listen. And hopefully, this will not be the only performance of this suite of music.