The Six Wives Of Henry VIII - RICK WAKEMAN***

Catherine Of Aragon/Anne Of Cleves/Catherine Howard/Jane Seymour/Anne Boleyn/Catherine Parr

Debut solo album from Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman. Whilst the concept is certainly original, only one of the individual tracks representing each of Henry’s wives stands out as particularly distinctive. (US:30 UK:7)

“The album does show some serious cracks in its polished image. Although it does include some nice melodic themes, the keyboard arrangements and especially the extravagant effort to include as many different keyboard effects and sound layers sounds pretty naïve today, if not ridiculous at the most excessive moments. Rhythmically the whole album is very straightforward and holds no surprises or innovation. The whole affair could be describes as baroque or simply pompous, to be honest.”

“The Six Wives Of Henry VIII is the first solo album by Yes keyboard player Rick Wakeman. It is all instrumental and it's a highly keyboard/synthesiser/organ driven symphonic progressive rock disc. These six songs are all very good and enjoyable. If you are into prog with lots of keyboard this album is a must-have as Wakeman is one of the best keyboardists in the history of popular music and he does a wonderful job on this record.”

“An instrumental concept album of sorts, The Six Wives Of Henry VIII aims to describe each of the monarch’s wives through different keyboard sounds and musical arrangements. It's an interesting idea that hadn't really been attempted before, and although one can easily dismiss it as pretentious, I think Wakeman's attempt to bring this story to music is fascinating. It also doesn't hurt that the compositions here are among the keyboard maestro's finest, and the end result is an album that still sounds fresh today.”

“Made at a time when he considered that his own creative contributions were being sidelined in Yes, this album gave Rick an outlet for his own compositions which he couldn't provide in his band work at the time. It's pleasant enough listening, though to be honest I don't think it's the amazing masterpiece it's often proclaimed to be.”

“The concept is interesting enough: sound portraits of Henry VIII's six wives brought together in a marriage of classical and rock. However, it takes more than a talent on the keyboards to create a cohesive and interesting composition, and far too often Wakeman noodles rather than creates.”