4/5 Better than the original
  by B. Steele (Los Angeles, Calif.)
This record of a May 2009 concert at which Rick Wakeman performed an expanded version of his "Six Wives of Henry VIII" is the only Wakeman DVD I have, but judging from reviews of the other Wakeman DVDs available, it may well be the best.

The music is a considerably expanded version of Wakeman's first solo record, with three added numbers. "Tudorture" and "Tudorock" begin and end the concert, and each is a unique piece of quality worthy of the suite (I especially love "Tudorture," perhaps because it begins things with such a burst of energy and 1970s synth authenticity); "Defender of the Faith" is a centerpiece that was, we're told, recorded for the original CD in the 1970s but cut because of time limitations.

I don't know whether the six "Wives" pieces were originally much longer, as many of them are here, or whether Wakeman expanded them for this concert, but in either case, the expanded versions are seamless and vibrant, sounding like more complete and complex compositions rather than random noodling to make them last longer. It's as if we've been listening to edited versions these past 35+ years and didn't know it, and here we finally have the full versions, as they always should have been.

The concert is generally entertaining to watch, although I agree with other reviewers that there are far too few shots of Wakeman's hands on the keyboards. It's certainly satisfying to watch Wakeman in his element, enjoying recreating something he conjured up so many decades before, and to have glimpses of his son Adam assisting on his own bank of keyboards. And the ever-entertaining Ray Cooper is a hoot on percussion.

Brian Blessed's narration is underrehearsed--he could have learned his lines, one would think--and he seems to have no talent for improvisation (nor, on occasion, for reading competently). B,ut it's good to have the narration at all (it's not on the CD version of this concert) to introduce the pieces and tie them to their historical inspirations.

I doubt this will convert any younger listeners to Wakeman fans, but it's a joy for us old folks who bought Wakeman's best-selling solo CDs during the brief period when they were both refreshingly new and enormously popular (basically 1973-75, since "No Earthy Connection" in 1976 was something of a dub from which Wakeman's solo career never recovered, despite the dozens of CDs that have followed, often at a rate of several a year).

I give it 4 stars with that audience in mind. It would have received 5 stars if it had been better directed, with more attention to Wakeman's hands and to the various other musicians who have a few fleeting and sometimes dramatic solos that the cameras generally miss. Lots of attention to the handsome young musicians, female and male, in the orchestra. And the setting is quite impressive. Overall, for it's intended audience, a lot of fun, if not quite perfect.

4/5 A Crowning Achievment
  by Faith No MOre (Washington, DC United States)
I too was drawn to London for the very first time to experience this once in a lifetime production of Rick's "Six Wives of Henry the VIIIth". With Hampton Court as the spectacular setting for this event, with Choir and Orchestra, it was 2 evenings of music to be remembered. In addtion to the expanded versions of the original 6 Wives pieces, there were 3 new pieces composed especially for this event which are included in this presentation.
The DVD is a compilation of the 2 nights. Some of the solo sections were different each night (most notable in the extended Anne Boleyn synth solo, for example), but it has been edited pretty seamlessly. The narrator, Brain Blessed, improvised profusely each night. In this DVD production, these sections were edited down. You can hear the full versions on the CD's that are available for each night, but for this release I think they did a very good (but not quite seamless) job of editing. It was a real challenge, that.

One thing that is not apparent from the video is the temperature. It still gets really cold in London once the sun goes down in May, and I have to hand it to the orchestral players and choir for being in tune and on time.
The 6 Wives suite had never been performed in it's entirety before, and will never be presented like this again.
Musically it is very satisfying, remaining true to the original compositions. Rick and company hit it out of the park with this one.


5/5 Six Wives Live, Live
  by Douglas Harr (San Francisco, CA United States)
I've seen Rick perform over the years as a solo artist, with Yes and with his son Adam, but never were any of those performances staged with all the musicians required to really represent his early work. So it was with great excitement that I noticed a small advertisement for the special engagements at Hampton Court in celebration of King Henry the 8ths 500th anniversary, where Rick presented "Six Wives" in it's entirely to small audiences of 5,000 patrons on May 1st and 2nd, 2009. This was to be my first and possibly last chance to finally see Rick with full orchestra and choir, and though I have never traveled overseas specifically to attend a concert, this seemed like the right time to do it, and the show was absolutely a dream come true.

This DVD very effectively captures the performance, with every track and bit of narration included, and the quality is stunning- get the Blue-Ray if you have the player. Either way, this disc will give you a very accurate impression of the actual show, particularly if you turn up the volume! My only quibble is that there was no camera placed above Rick's head to give you frequent shots of his hands at work. So you don't get the first full view of his playing until 27 min. into the concert. Making up for this is the sheer scope of what there is to see here, including 5 piece band, orchestra, choir, narrator, and the castle itself, which is really a key part of the experience. Highly recommended... Doug

5/5 Amazing -
  by Watcher (United States)
- one of the most exciting things to happen in Progressive Rock for a long, long time. Amazing colour photography, splendid. Powerful music.