FEATURED CD - Rick Wakeman : The Six Wives Of Henry VIII

[Duncan Glenday]

Per a certain "Sean" on the old PE site:

Famed Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman is one prolific guy. Starting out in the early 70s and continuing to this day, Wakeman has consistently written and recorded his own music. A brief look at a list of his albums will boggle the mind, there are 40+ of them!! It would take years to review them all, and I doubt I would be the right guy for it. I do want to take a minute though to steer you towards one of his best and suggest it as a great entry point into his catalog.<BR> <BR> Wakeman's first solo outing, <i>The Six Wives of Henry VIII</i>, is a lyric free concept album that focuses, as you can guess from the title, on Henry's six wives. A different piece of music is presented here for each. Rick's classical upbringing is in full view on all the cuts. This album is like modern classical played with a variety of electronic and acoustic boards. Moog, mellotron, piano, pipe organ, harpsicord and more adorn these tracks. If you are a sucker for the 70s keyboard sounds, you will be in for a feast here!<BR> <BR> The opening cut "Catherine of Aragon" is probably the best known of all the cuts here as it is usually the opening segment of Rick's solo spot at any Yes show. Steve Howe, Bill Bruford and Chris Squire all appear on this track, though I could swear I hear them on others on the cd- though the parts are credited to other people. Rick managed to find some people to conjure up their vibe I suppose. This is a lovely track that moves from a cool syncopated opening to a very nice choral section and then into some great cascading piano work.<BR> <BR> The second cut, "Anne of Cleves", is a fast paced number with some brisk changes. The bass groove that kicks in about a minute and a half into the tune is one of my favorite bits on the whole album. Really funky. Wakeman unleashes a torrent of notes atop all this. The drummer on this cut is none other than Alan White. This track encapsulates a lot of what the best (symph) prog and fusion of the early 70s was about.<BR> <BR> Another well known bit from Rick's live Yes solo spot is from track three, "Catherine Howard". This is a reflective piano part that builds and builds. The choir is used to great effect here. One of the most melodically memorable cuts on the album. <BR> <BR> I won't describe the rest of the cuts as I want to leave a few suprises for you to discover. Suffice it to say, the remaining cuts are just as intricate and memorable, "Catherine Parr" in particular stands out. If you could have just one album from Wakeman this would be the one to have. Essential for Yes fans or prog fans in general.

[bob_32_116]

This guy would have been wasted in Bowie's band. That's not to be taken as a slight against Bowie - it's just that Bowie's music simply does not require someone with that much keyboard talent. I think Bowie would have felt he was always trying to compete with his keyboardist.

[Progatron]

It's a great album. I've never heard any of the reissue/special editions, still have my 1990 CD and love it.

The next few had their moments of greatness, but mixed with moments of pure cringe for me personally. To be honest, I much prefer some of the stuff he did much later, like the underrated Sea Airs for example, a lovely piano album.

[aplodon]

I used to think this was an OK album, back in the 70s.

I don't think I've heard it since then, but I'm pretty shure I wouldn't like it today.

[JJ88]

His best album, without a doubt. It's the one where the music comes first and without the lapses of taste and dubious lyrics which make some subsequent albums an acquired taste. It's really full to the brim with keyboard sounds (the synth sounds in particular are way better than later years) and memorable tunes.

The weaker link for me is 'Anne Of Cleves', only because it's a bit more of a 'jam' than the others. But everything else is first-rate; 'Catherine Howard' is my favourite of all his songs.

Has anyone heard the 2015 remaster? I don't want to know about the quadrophonic mix, just the remaster of the original stereo one.

This guy would have been wasted in Bowie's band. That's not to be taken as a slight against Bowie - it's just that Bowie's music simply does not require someone with that much keyboard talent. I think Bowie would have felt he was always trying to compete with his keyboardist.

Um, he was on Hunky Dory- all over it, in fact. Also on 'Absolute Beginners'.

[Man In The Mountain]

Perhaps my favorite album by anyone.

[at least 100 dead]

“Marriage counseling, Henry the Sixth speaking. How can I help you?”

Gets a free pass on the strength of “Catherine of Aragon”, which is a lost Yes song. IIRC, a version of this had originally been slated for inclusion on Fragile (provisionally titled “Handle with Care”), but contractual stipulations precluded Wakeman from contributing his own material, though the middle part of "South Side of the Sky", one of THE highlights in the Yes canon to me, was probably mostly his. Need to listen to the rest of Six Wives one of these days going by the positive comments here.

[llanwydd]

I was 15 and already a total Yeshead when I first heard this album. I had gotten to school early and a teacher was playing the beginning of side 2 in his classroom. I had heard all about Walter Carlos' "Switched On Bach" and I was certain this had to be what I was hearing. Then I saw the album cover and was a little sad to think Wakeman had left Yes, not knowing he had made the album while he was still in the band. A few days later I acquired a cassette from a friend with "Six Wives" on one side and "J2tCotE" on the other and played the hell out of it for weeks. To this day I have never heard a better Wakeman album, although "Criminal Record" comes close.

[Casey]

This and "Criminal Record" are my favorite RW.
"Journey…" & the one about King Arthur & the Round Table Knights were interesting in their time but don't hold up for me. YMMV.

[Zeuhlmate]

His best and way better than the rest of his albums !

[ProgArtist]

The weaker link for me is 'Anne Of Cleves', only because it's a bit more of a 'jam' than the others. But everything else is first-rate; 'Catherine Howard' is my favourite of all his songs.

I agree somewhat, although I still like it. You're right that it does feel like a 'jam' compared to the other tracks and I don't like the guitar on it, but it's still quite good, partially because of the great drumming.

I LOVE this album. Too bad he never made anything else this good as a solo artist. Excellent compositions and performances, with great drumming by the two Yes drummers (although I believe one track is someone else).

[progman1975]

This guy would have been wasted in Bowie's band. That's not to be taken as a slight against Bowie - it's just that Bowie's music simply does not require someone with that much keyboard talent. I think Bowie would have felt he was always trying to compete with his keyboardist.

Was Eno wasted??

[Just Eric]

Far and away his best album and one of my favorites.

[zravkapt]

This guy would have been wasted in Bowie's band.

From what I've read, the guy didn't need anyone's help getting wasted.

[mogrooves]

This album was essentially indefensible when it came out. There was no comeback for "Yeah, but what about Rick Wakeman?" Hokey, even by the often arrant standards of "Prog," imo. Nonetheless, the best--if often cringe-inducing--of those early albums.

[happytheman]

Great album.. but I still prefer the Excerpts from Yessongs better..

[Vic2012]

I have it. Been years since I've played it. I like it. I should look for it in my collection.

[Supersonic Scientist]

LOVED it back-in-the-day. However, I just recently pulled this one out and gave it a really good listen...the first thought that I had was: none of the songs really seem to evoke the personalities of the Wives....they're just a bunch of better-than-average Rock tunes. I still prefer Criminal Record.

[miamiscot]

Played it for the first time in years a couple nights ago. Great record!!!

[simon moon]

Was Eno wasted??

Eno, as much as I love him, had no real keyboard chops. He was a "sound design" kind of player. He has admitted as much, with no shame.

He was a perfect fit for Bowie.

What would Wakeman have done in any of Bowie's bands? Bowie would not have been able to incorporate Wakeman's technique within his unique vision, and Wakeman would have soon become unfulfilled not being able to use all his prodigious technical talents.

[Svetonio]

I think that No Earthly Connection is the best Mr Wakeman's album.

[Digital_Man]

Great instrumental album. A bit of trivia here(sort of): Some of the backing singers were also on Dark side of the moon(you can hear the similarities).

[ProgArtist]

LOVED it back-in-the-day. However, I just recently pulled this one out and gave it a really good listen...the first thought that I had was: none of the songs really seem to evoke the personalities of the Wives....they're just a bunch of better-than-average Rock tunes. I still prefer Criminal Record.

Got to agree that the songs seem to have little relation to the subject matter whatsoever, as much as I love the album.

[Progbear]

LOVED it back-in-the-day. However, I just recently pulled this one out and gave it a really good listen...the first thought that I had was: none of the songs really seem to evoke the personalities of the Wives....they're just a bunch of better-than-average Rock tunes.

The Anne Boleyn track sort of does evoke her personality, though it probably should have had a bit of a harsher undercurrent to reflect her more tempestuous nature. It seemed to concentrate more on her tragic end than her life. Other than that, I pretty much agree; it’s like he doled out the connection between the wives and the songs randomly.

That said, this is for sure his best album. No cheesy conceptual lyrics, no tacky Polymoog sounds, no saloon piano interludes, no Ashley Bloody Holt, just a bunch of virtuosic, yet tasteful, keyboard-fronted instrumental prog tracks. Mind you, nothing comes close to “Catherine of Aragon” or “Catherine Parr” which open and close the album, but it’s a solid listen from start to finish with no throwaways.

I still prefer Criminal Record.

I could never get into this one. Sure, it’s not as cringe-worthy as the original Ashley Holt trilogy (Journey, Arthur and NEC), except maybe the Bill “Goodies” Oddie cameo, but I could never connect with any of the songs, which aren’t anywhere near Six Wives quality. I actually prefer White Rock.

[emperorken]

I've never been a fan of Rick's solo albums. But if I had to pick one to suffer through, this would be it.