THE SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII - LIVE AT HAMPTON COURT PALACE (DVD)

Is it decent and proper for a 59-year old to have this much fun? Turning up at Hampton Court dressed in a red cape that makes him look like Father Christmas (a cape embroidered with something that looks suspiciously like the French lily!) accompanied by six ladies in period costume who get to do nothing but glare uncomfortably into the camera, and changing into TWO very different capes in the course of his 100-minute performance?

For those of you who thought THE SIX WIVES was High Art (there may be a few such people on the loose), this 21st century live performance clearly shows the whole thing is closer in spirit to the British pantomime tradition. (An impression which is reinforced by the humorous but hammy way in which actor Brian Blessed reads out the introductions to each composition.) Seeing the cameras swoop over the symphony orchestra, the English Chamber Choir and the "English Rock Ensemble", I was also reminded of all those glamorous shows put on by André Rieu, the now internationally famous "waltz king" from Maastricht in the southern Netherlands. (The main difference being that Wakeman's musicians don't wear black tie or ball gowns. But then André Rieu doesn't wear glitter capes.)

Anyhow, whichever way you look at it, most performances here are tremendous fun. Rick and his band definitely respect the arrangements and keyboard solos from the original SIX WIVES studio album. They never put a foot wrong, and their performances pack more punch than in the past. Most of the time, the choral/orchestral arrangements are fairly subdued, but where they come to the fore, they undoubtedly lend the pieces extra force. (What you then get is THE SIX WIVES performed with some of the pomp of Wakeman's KING ARTHUR.) Best of all, Rick has extended most of his original solos, so as to make his compositions more exciting, and he's added a number of brilliant new solos which are entirely in the spirit of the original. To top it all, THE SIX WIVES now includes two splendid new extended pieces ("Defender of the Faith" and "Tudorock").

Apparently for the HAMPTON COURT CD version much of this festive music was trimmed down, so to all those proggers who still love exuberant soloing on vintage synths (as I do!) I would say: Go for it, buy the DVD, you won't regret it, as long as you don't mind those capes!

Only one thing truly disappointed me about this concert, which is that "Anne of Cleves" (my favourite piece from the original studio album) is given short shrift. In its original incarnation, "Anne of Cleves" sounds like a red-hot Hammond organ improvisation (with a few overdubs) and it happens to include the best performance I've ever heard from Alan White on drums. But here, in the new version (accompanied by full orchestra, for Chrissake), everything sounds over-rehearsed, much of the original fire is lost, and drummer Tony Fernandez just cannot hold a candle to Mr. White. For me, this is a serious drawback (why couldn't Rick let himself go this time, with just another wild Hammond organ improvisation?) so as a consequence, I find myself wavering between three and four stars.