THE SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII

At the risk of sounding like a fanboy, this album rawks! Seriously, this disc is an excellent slab of keyboard-dominated, instrumental prog rock. With a total of five Yes members playing on the disc, you'd think it would be practically a lost Yes album. But there's more of a "jam" feel to some of the tracks here, with the musicians blowing along like they're trying to impress each other as much as they're trying to impress the listener. And Wakeman himself does some of the best playing he's ever done, on everything from piano to pipe organ to all manner of electronic keyboards. There are also tracks that are more tightly composed, and those are also some of Rick's best work. What, did he blow all his good ideas on this one album? As with just about every Wakeman disc, this is a concept album. Each of the six tracks were supposedly inspired by one of Henry VIII's six wives. The liner notes describe the six women, so if you want to really get into that aspect of things, you can. But it's just as easy to enjoy the music without giving the overall concept any thought at all.