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Rick Wakeman - Excerpts From The Six Wives Of Henry VIIIAdded by Heraclitos «Keyboard Master.»
Rick Wakeman Keyboard SoloAdded by inCognito710
Rick Wakeman-The Prisioner-1976Added by Cesar Inca «A 1976 live rendition of 'The Prisoner', a highlight from Rick Wakeman's album No Earthly Connection.»
![]() | The Six Wives Of Henry VIII: Live At Hampton Court Palace Live Eagle Records (Fontana) (Audio CD 2009) | $10.28 $9.45 (used) |
![]() | Journey to the Centre of the Earth Live Fontana a&M (Audio CD 1990) | $5.46 $3.90 (used) |
![]() | The Six Wives of Henry VIII Fontana a&M (Audio CD 1990) | $6.26 $4.87 (used) |
![]() | Myths & Legends Of King Arthur & The Knights Of The Round Table Fontana a&M (Audio CD 1990) | $6.90 $3.13 (used) |
![]() | The Ultimate Rick Wakeman Experience Box set Cleopatra (Audio CD 2005) | $4.99 $7.97 (used) |
![]() | Criminal Record Hip-O Select (Audio CD 2006) | $14.54 $12.00 (used) |
![]() | Return to the Centre of the Earth EMI Classics (Audio CD 1999) | $9.98 $4.07 (used) |
![]() | Country Airs Import President Records (Audio CD 1998) | $17.40 $8.75 (used) |
![]() | Recollections: The Very Best of Rick Wakeman (1973-1979) Original recording remastered Fontana a&M (Audio CD 2000) | $9.67 $4.89 (used) |
![]() | Out There AAO MUSIC (Audio CD 2007) | $9.56 $7.11 (used) |
![]() 2.14 | 9 ratings Piano Vibrations 1971 |
![]() 4.15 | 137 ratings The Six Wives Of Henry VIII 1973 |
![]() 3.45 | 87 ratings The Myths And Legends Of King Arthur And The Knights Of The Round Table 1975 |
![]() 2.21 | 14 ratings Lisztomania 1975 |
![]() 3.71 | 35 ratings No Earthly Connection 1976 |
![]() 3.04 | 17 ratings White Rock 1977 |
![]() 3.73 | 37 ratings Criminal Record 1977 |
![]() 2.22 | 28 ratings Rhapsodies 1979 |
![]() 3.30 | 24 ratings 1984 1981 |
![]() 2.54 | 6 ratings The Burning (Film Soundtrack) 1981 |
![]() 1.11 | 10 ratings Rock n'roll Prophet 1982 |
![]() 2.57 | 6 ratings G'olé O.S.T. 1983 |
![]() 2.54 | 8 ratings Cost of Living 1983 |
![]() 2.36 | 10 ratings Silent Nights 1985 |
![]() 2.87 | 5 ratings Beyond The Planets 1985 |
![]() 3.07 | 8 ratings Country Airs - Piano Solos 1986 |
![]() 2.58 | 4 ratings Crimes of Passion O.S.T. 1986 |
![]() 2.71 | 6 ratings The Gospels 1987 |
![]() 1.50 | 4 ratings The Family Album 1987 |
![]() 2.54 | 6 ratings A Suite of Gods 1988 |
![]() 2.42 | 5 ratings Zodiaque 1988 |
![]() 2.19 | 8 ratings Time Machine 1988 |
![]() 2.00 | 1 ratings Custer's Last Stand / Ocean City 1988 |
not rated
20th Anniversary Limited Edition 1989 |
![]() 4.75 | 3 ratings Sea Airs 1989 |
![]() 2.48 | 5 ratings Black Knights at the Court of Ferdinand IV 1989 |
![]() 3.79 | 5 ratings Night Airs 1990 |
![]() 1.95 | 3 ratings In the Beginning 1990 |
![]() 2.05 | 4 ratings Phantom Power 1990 |
![]() 2.65 | 5 ratings Aspirant Sunrise 1991 |
![]() 2.09 | 6 ratings Aspirant Sunset 1991 |
![]() 3.67 | 3 ratings Aspirant Sunshadows 1991 |
![]() 2.97 | 6 ratings Softsword 1991 |
![]() 1.84 | 7 ratings 2000 A.D. into the Future 1991 |
![]() 1.98 | 7 ratings African Bach 1991 |
![]() 3.75 | 3 ratings The Classical Connection 1991 |
![]() 2.50 | 2 ratings A World of Wisdom 1991 |
![]() 2.68 | 6 ratings The Classical Connection 2 1992 |
![]() 3.63 | 4 ratings Country Airs 1992 |
![]() 3.00 | 5 ratings Wakeman with Wakeman 1993 |
![]() 2.24 | 4 ratings No Expense Spared 1993 |
![]() 3.14 | 6 ratings Heritage Suite 1993 |
![]() 3.50 | 2 ratings Prayers 1993 |
![]() 2.91 | 2 ratings Lure of the Wild 1994 |
![]() 3.12 | 4 ratings Romance of the Victorian Age 1995 |
![]() 2.83 | 8 ratings The Seven Wonders of the World 1995 |
![]() 2.17 | 3 ratings Visions 1995 |
![]() 3.88 | 4 ratings Cirque Surreal 1995 |
![]() 2.94 | 3 ratings The New Gospels 1996 |
![]() 2.81 | 5 ratings Fields of Green 1996 |
![]() 1.00 | 3 ratings The Word and Music 1996 |
![]() 2.43 | 3 ratings Orisons 1996 |
![]() 3.50 | 2 ratings Can You Hear Me? 1996 |
![]() 2.00 | 2 ratings Vignettes 1996 |
![]() 2.00 | 2 ratings Tapestries 1996 |
not rated
Simply Acoustic - The Music 1997 |
![]() 2.72 | 5 ratings Tribute 1997 |
![]() 2.50 | 2 ratings Themes 1998 |
![]() 3.43 | 25 ratings Return to the Centre of the Earth 1999 |
![]() 3.32 | 7 ratings Stella Bianca alla corte de Re Ferdinando 1999 |
![]() 3.00 | 2 ratings Art in Music Trilogy 1999 |
![]() 3.00 | 2 ratings The Natural World Trilogy 1999 |
![]() 2.39 | 5 ratings White Rock II 1999 |
![]() 3.88 | 3 ratings Preludes To A Century 2000 |
![]() 2.00 | 1 ratings Chronicles of Man 2000 |
![]() 2.94 | 3 ratings Christmas Variations 2000 |
![]() 3.00 | 3 ratings Morning Has Broken 2000 |
![]() 3.00 | 1 ratings Classical Variations 2001 |
![]() 4.52 | 5 ratings Two Sides of Yes 2001 |
![]() 3.00 | 3 ratings Tales Of Future And Past 2001 |
![]() 3.82 | 4 ratings The Wizard And The Forest Of All Dreams 2002 |
![]() 2.95 | 3 ratings Treasure Chest Volume 1 - The Real Lizstomania 2002 |
![]() 3.00 | 2 ratings Treasure Chest Volume 4 - Almost Classical 2002 |
![]() 2.00 | 2 ratings Treasure Chest Volume 5 - The Mixture 2002 |
![]() 3.00 | 2 ratings Treasure Chest Volume 6 - Medium Rare 2002 |
![]() 3.00 | 1 ratings Treasure Chest Volume 7 - Journey to the Centre of the Earth + 2002 |
![]() 2.00 | 2 ratings Treasure Chest Volume 8 - Stories 2002 |
![]() 3.00 | 1 ratings Two Sides of Yes - Volume 2 2002 |
![]() 2.50 | 7 ratings Wakeman & Cousins - Hummingbird 2002 |
![]() 2.71 | 9 ratings Songs Of Middle Earth 2002 |
![]() 3.99 | 19 ratings Out There 2003 |
![]() 1.86 | 3 ratings Revisited 2004 |
![]() 3.05 | 16 ratings Retro 2006 |
![]() 3.05 | 4 ratings Retro 2 2007 |
![]() 4.00 | 1 ratings Simply Acoustic (VHS) 1996 |
![]() 3.00 | 1 ratings Rick Wakeman Live 1998 |
![]() 3.50 | 2 ratings Live in Concert 2000 (aka An Evening With Rick Wakeman) 2000 |
![]() 3.98 | 5 ratings Rick Wakeman And The English Rock Ensemble: Live in Buenos Aires (DVD) 2001 |
![]() 3.29 | 6 ratings Journey To The Centre Of The Earth (DVD) 2002 |
![]() 3.23 | 4 ratings Out There 2004 |
![]() 3.76 | 4 ratings Made In Cuba (DVD) 2005 |
![]() 3.00 | 2 ratings Amazing Grace 2007 |
not rated
The Otherside of Rick Wakeman 2007 |
![]() 4.33 | 2 ratings Swedish Television Special 1980 2008 |
![]() 4.00 | 1 ratings The Six Wives Of Henry VIII - Live at Hampton Court Palace 2009 |
![]() 2.00 | 1 ratings Best Works Collection 1992 |
![]() 1.00 | 1 ratings Chronicles - The Very Best Of Rick Wakeman 1992 |
not rated
The Best of the 01/W 1992 |
![]() 3.06 | 4 ratings The Classic Tracks 1993 |
![]() 2.02 | 9 ratings Rick Wakeman's Greatest Hits 1994 |
not rated
The Stage Collection 1994 |
![]() 3.00 | 2 ratings The Private Collection 1995 |
![]() 4.32 | 4 ratings Voyage: the Very Best of Rick Wakeman 1996 |
![]() 3.00 | 2 ratings Master Series 1998 |
![]() 2.00 | 1 ratings The Masters 1999 |
![]() 3.75 | 4 ratings Recollections: The Very Best Of Rick Wakeman 2000 |
not rated
The Caped Collection 2000 |
![]() 3.00 | 1 ratings My Inspiration 2001 |
![]() 2.50 | 2 ratings Frost In Space 2001 |
![]() 4.00 | 1 ratings Journey To The Center Of The Earth (2CD compilation) 2005 |
![]() 1.12 | 4 ratings I'm So Straight I'm A Weirdo 1980 |
not rated
Don't Fly Away/After Prayers 1991 |
not rated
Special Sampler 1991 |
![]() 2.00 | 1 ratings Light Up The Sky 1994 |
not rated
Welcome a Star 1996 |
Review by mscbox
No expensense spared is an interresting, amusing and entertaining album. The Wakemans
again show that keyboards can be used to make rocking music. You do not need a guitar for it!
This is a more entertaining album than its predecessor. Of course, the Wakeman style of
playing and composing songs is recognizable. But for someone enjoying the Wakeman style, I
can recommend this album.I tend to rate this album as a four, but regarding the rating definition, 3 stars fit better. Even after a few years, No expense Spared is not starting to bore. And that indicates the quality of the music.
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Review by
Easy Livin
Admin Group Site Admin & Moderator
Henry's Wives get a makeover In May 2009, Rick Wakeman resurrected his de facto début album for a one off performance in the grounds of Hampton Court Palace near London UK. The setting was significant as Henry VIII was responsible for the transformation of the site into the magnificent building which now stands there. (It also meant that Rick would not need to venture too far north, something he appears to have an aversion to these days!).
This album captures the resultant performance, presumably selecting the best recordings from the two nights. As the DVD runs to over 2 hours, we can safely assume though that a significant part of the gig (and all the narration) has been omitted from the CD release which contains the six tracks from the album plus three others. The set is bookended by "Tudorture 1485" and "Tudorock", a couple of pieces which appear to have been written especially for the concert. They are decent enough pieces which draw in themes from the six key pieces, but simply serve to whet the appetite for the main course.
With a full orchestra and choir present, Rick takes the opportunity to flesh out most of the Wives mainly by adding new sections rather than simply repeating existing ones. Both "Kathryn Howard" and "Katherine Parr" thus become 12 minute plus pieces, and Anne Boleyn" runs to over 10 minutes. On the other hand, tracks such as "Jane Seymour" remain largely faithful to their 36 year old ancestors.
For much of the time, the orchestra and choir are, to these ears, too far in the mix. While I appreciate that it is the talents of Mr Wakeman are what we are here to appreciate, the synth and organ often overwhelm those supporting him.
The third additional piece is entitled "Defender of the faith", a reference to the title first bestowed on by King Henry VIII by Pope Leo X (and then revoked and subsequently restored by parliament). Once again, this is a typical Wakeman synth number, but here enhanced through the support of the English rock Ensemble, the choir and the orchestra.
In summary, a fine document of what must have been a magical evening. Clearly, the DVD version will serve to recreate the event far more satisfactorily, but as an audio experience, this is a very good album.
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Review by rdtprog
Rick Wakeman has realised his long time dream by playing the complete six wives of Henry VIII album
36 years after his release. He his accompanied by the English Rock Ensemble, the Orchestra Europa
and the Englisg Chamber Choir. Naturally the music is classical oriented with many keyboards sounds
plays by this excellent musician. The stage settings and the light show are impressive and add to
the value of this Blu-Ray. The picture quality is stunning and the DTS sound excellent by capturing
the sound of the choir and orchestra. In 1973, some songs of that album had to bet cut to fit a 40
minutes album, but here we have the complete songs. One of the highlights of the show is when Rick
plays his organ elevated in the air. But most of all, the quality of the music is so good that you
can enjoy the show without all the theatrical effects. The only problem that i had was getting
throught the necessary narration between songs, but you can skip those with your remote control. The
extras are short with a 20 minutes making of that show where Rick present with good humour the
musicians. Highly recommended!
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Review by
Gatot
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator
I'd rather say it as a masterpiece concept album...As the world now moves into simplicity, I had a project to transfer all of my prog CDs into MP3 format so that I can carry the music easily wherever I go and I can be consistent with the spirit of "Keep on proggin' ...!". It's not an easy job actually with approximately 2000 CDs at my shelf. But I have to keep it going anyway, before it's too late. Surprisingly I found some CDs which I have never reviewed in progarchives including some albums of Cast (Mexico), Camel, and Rick Wakeman. How can I forget the phenomenal album like '1984'? When it was released in 1981 I was so curious on what Mr Wakeman would say about the year 1984. By that time actually I was not aware that this album was inspired by the work of George Orwell. Sorry .. I was too busy with prog music developments so that I did not pay enough attention on novel.
The first record that I listened to this album was in the format of cassette. I was really amazed with Wakeman's bold ideas hiring Chaka Khan from R & B fame in this seminal work. The first time I hooked to this album was when I heard the opening track 'Overture' which really blew me away at first listen. At first, I was not quite impressed with the opening orchestra. But when the music enters especially the transition piece to the third movement 'War Games' of this overture. WOW! What a great combination of powerful female vocal and symphonic music. Fabulous! And .. too my knowledge, this is the first time I heard that an overture has a long duration (10 minutes) before the other tracks come up. Brilliant idea!
The beauty of this album lies in brilliant ideas on combining nice melody with orchestra and talented singers like Chaka Khan and Jon ANderson. All songs in this album have excellent melodies. Combined with excellent arrangements it then creates music with excellent harmonies. Not only that, the frequent changes of style are all performed with smooth transition allowing Mr Wakeman's melodi keyboard solo. Even though this album does not seem so complex but it still has a good degree of progressive elements. In fact in 'Robot Man' you can hear how Wakeman has creatively created a great composition where he explores the R&B music - taking advantage of Chaka Khan area of expertise - while maintaining inventive keyboard work.
I highly recommend you to have this phenomenal album. It's not in the vein of 'Six Wives' or 'Journey' or 'King Arthur' but it sets the new standard of Wakeman's music. AS for my case, I have been replaying this album more than five times and I don't feel getting bored with it. It's so interesting. In this album Rick collaborate with lyricist Time Rice who used to work with Andrew Lloyd Weber. Keep on proggin' ..!
Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW
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Review by Hercules
I spent much of my early years in prog listening to The Six Wives Of Henry VIII and loved it,
despite it being a bit over the top in parts. So I looked forward to the follow ups with pleasure.
Journey was pretty mediocre but surely he'd sort it out next time out.Nope, he didn't. Myths is probably the most pompous, pretentious album ever. The composition is amateurish, the orchestration poor, the lyrics laughable and the vocals........well, if ever there were 2 vocalists who simply can't sing in tune, Ashley Holt and Gary Pickford-Hopkins are they. I'd rather listen to a cat being neutered. Rick plays a few worthwhile solos, but the only track worth listening to is Merlin, despite the excruciating banjo-driven section in the middle.
This is one that's getting the lowest grade. Avoid like the plague.
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Review by EMLonergan
Prog at 100 miles an hour, with twisting, swirling magical melodies by Rick Wakeman. Very well
structured and developed, but sometimes seems to go overboard with this speedy, keyboard oriented
prog. This leaves a bit to desire, since it is a constant flurry of incessant musical information,
being a little to much to keep up with at times, and gives us the impression that all of the other
musicians are struggling to keep up with Wakemans superhuman speed. This matter aside, it is full of
beautiful Yes-inspired harmonics and is a clear demonstration of all of Wakemans bombastic talent
and imagination that we've all seen throughout his years in Yes. It incorporates a wide spectrum of
sounds, especially with all the keyboards, going from church organ to Mellotron, covering as many
instruments as he possibly can. This gives the music a very heterogeneous sound, concerning all of
the different tones that are used throughout the album. So it sounds like a classical piano piece
during one moment, church music during another, and progressive rock on cocaine in the next.
Recomended for Yes fans who are looking for something new and exciting.
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Review by
Bonnek
Prog Reviewer
Right, Wakeman goes musical. As I have an avid revulsion of the hollow theatricality of musicals
(please feel free to convince me there is at least one worth hearing), I can't find anything
enjoyable about this release. The songs are badly written, the singing is horrible and, as usual
with rock music embracing an orchestra, the instrumentation is even worse. Complete kitsch and cheap
sentimentalism. By the way, isn't that Richard Kleiderman on the piano in Merlin the Magician? (which is one of the few songs that has a few interesting bars by the way). And oh dear! What are those annoying mosquito sounds? "That would be a moog mr. Bonnek, the sacred synth of holy prog! Shame on you!" No thanks, if I want moog I'll put on a Klaus Schulze platter. Now you come to mention it, I'll put on "Dark Side of the Moog VII" right away. I need something to shake off this frightening experience.
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Review by terryl
This review is a reworked version of my original review written for ebay last year. The cassette
version of this record introduces me to Rick Wakeman, and the far more brilliant music of Yes more
than ten years ago. Back to this album, I loved it so much that i bought it twice as the first one was wrecked in car stereo years ago. Then came the age of CD, I easily found this down in ebay. There are at least 3 versions of this cd with different artwork, but 2 upgraded version has an extra song. In the end, i chose this 3 song version.
According to Rick himself in his offcial website, he hated this album so much since it was finished without his consent, and the label didn't really remunerate him as they are supposed to. He also disliked the vocals and the arrangements on this (which I guess was done without his approval).
However, inspite of whatever Mr Wakeman has to say, in this record we audience can enjoy a rather new perspective/approach to his music as it is obvious that RW himself has little to do with the arrangement. It is not without flaws, but it is refreshing. I would say it's a good job for whoever that had done the arrangement. Also in comparison to his favorite choice of yore Ashley Holt on the original Journey to the Centre of the Earth concert in the 70s, I do prefer this voice and the rock-oriented arrangement. The guitar works and the drumming here are nothing but average. The bass is surprisingly good, although not Chris Squire good. Merlin the Magician finally has words to it. His keyboard works are as brilliant as ever.
Big cons for this album. things seem quite solid, but it suffers to a certain extent from a copy and paste approach to computer-music production, i.e. a few identical repeats in a song. Horrible idea to extend the album length.
In summary, this album is as non-Rick Wakeman as can be, so not a good starting point if you want to appreciate Wakeman's solo albums. For that and the horrible copy-paste approach in music plus ugly artwork, I should say a one-star rating. But as I said above, there are some brilliant moments and I feel compelled to promote this up. 3 stars. not more.
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Review by
Ivan_Melgar_M
Special Collaborator Symphonic Prog Specialist
Terrible movie, decent music and good performancesProgressive Rock fans are hard to understand, RICK WAKEMAN is an icon of the genre and one of the men who has done more for the music "we love", I rarely find a Proghead that didn't enjoyed "Close to the Edge" and at least two or three WAKEMAN albums, in every poll he's considered among the best and most popular keyboardists in history.
With 10% of this merits, any POP artist is considered an untouchable legend, but many of us who talk hours about our love for Prog, are the same ones who blame good old Rick as direct guilty of the first debacle of Symphonic Prog.
We shout "close minded" when anybody dares to admit he doesn't like "Thriller" or "Never Mind the Bollocks" but we say that "Lisztomania is crap and most nod in approval. Now, I admit this soundtrack is not a masterpiece in the level of "Six Wives of Henry the VIII", "Criminal Record" or "Myths & Legends", but it's a good chance to listen one of the best keyboardists in Rock history giving excellent performances on arrangements of Wagner and Liszt music.
If this wasn't enough, Roger Daltrey (A living Rock legend), the competent Paul Nicholas (Cousin Kevin in Tommy), The National Philharmonic Orchestra and The English Rock Ensemble are part of this album.
I agree that the movie is ridiculous, because it's like watching "Tommy" in the role of FRANZ LISZT facing WAKEMAN as the Nordic God Thor, but we are here because of the music, not the movie...and I believe that the music is not bad.
Apart from the usual clean piano performance, Rick plays a killer Moog in songs like "Master Race" or "Rape, Pillage & Clap" plus the memorable "Free Song" in which gives a lesson in the use of Synthesizers.
If this was one of his boring 80's New Age albums, I would be the first one to rate it low, but this is RICK WAKEMAN in 1975 at the peak of his career and the performances are above the average. The least "The Cape Crusader" deserves is respect and no less than 3 stars on this release.
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Review by AtomicCrimsonRush
I am in a negative mood so its time to review this stinker. A detestable album that rarely
troubles my CD player. I played it a grand total of 1 and a half times. Its good study music
because it is so forgettable. I love Yes and think Rick Wakeman is a genius but this is tripe. I
could play this in front of my parents during dinner and they would not flinch. Dinner music is
bad prog. In fact, what prog? It was just piano wankery, and badly compiled snippets of
orchestrated lush. It sounds like a classical concerto at times and Wakeman blends in the
background. It is nothing like his classics 'Henry 8th...' or 'Journey to Centre of Earth'. It is
unrecognizable as far as Yes goes - it is as far removed from Yes as you can get.The best thing on it is "Catherine Howard (live)", but I already had that track on other Wakeman albums. 'Eleonor Rigby' is usually a great track but I can't remember this version at all.
The best thing about the CD is it is cheap. I picked this up for about $5 at budget Australian Store Chickenfeed. If anything it was simply the thing to do as there were no other copies in the store and it was a cheapie. However, the music is flat and really dreary. I wish I could like it but I can't even force myself to play it now. I would rather play ELP's Love Beach - at least its hilarious entertainment.
Some CDs are cheap for a reason - nobody wants to buy them and they are no flamin' good. I guess some diehard completists will get a kick out of this, but count me out!
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