The Six Wives of Henry VIII is the first studio album by English keyboardist Rick Wakeman, released in January 1973 on A&M Records. It is an instrumental progressive rock album with its concept based on his interpretations of the musical characteristics of the wives of Henry VIII. After signing with A&M as a solo artist, Wakeman decided on the album's concept during a tour of the United States with the progressive rock band Yes. As he read a book about the subject on his travels, melodies he had written the previous year came to him and were noted down. The album was recorded throughout 1972 with musicians from Yes and The Strawbs, the group Wakeman was in prior to Yes, playing on the album.
To promote the album, Wakeman played excerpts from it on the BBC 2 television music show The Old Grey Whistle Test on 16 January 1973.[26] Show producer Colin Strong and director Mike Appleton contacted A&M who got staffer Tony Burdfield to send them a copy, and liked the album which led to Wakeman being invited on the show. Wakeman brought along Cronk and Cousins to play the additional parts. Prior to recording they got drunk in the studio bar.[3] An audience of around 10 million planned to watch a controversial film about American pop figure Andy Warhol on ITV, but was temporarily banned for screening. Wakeman recalled: "It seems most of them, rather than watch repeats, switched over to Whistle Test and saw my preview of 'Henry'...and suddenly it seemed as if the whole country had discovered my music...it was a tremendous break".[7]
1973 Yes Yessongs Rar
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Following the album's release on 23 January 1973,[26] it topped the album charts in four countries.[15] It entered the UK Albums Chart at number 12 before it climbed to its peak position of number 7 the following week on 3 March 1973, and stayed on the chart for 13 weeks during its initial run.[27] The album reappeared on the chart for seven non-consecutive weeks in 1973 alone, and twice more in 1975.[27] In February 2015, the album re-entered the UK chart for one week at number 86.[28] In the United States, the album reached a peak of number 30 on the Billboard 200 chart for the week of 30 March 1973, during a 45-week stay on the chart.[29]
By July 1973, the album had sold 300,000 copies.[8] In the following year, Wakeman was presented a platinum disc at the annual Midem Festival in Cannes for sales exceeding two million.[16] On 20 October 1975, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for 500,000 copies sold in the United States.[30] Wakeman claimed the sales figure grew to six million five years after its release.[17] Modern reports indicate the album has sold an estimated 15 million copies worldwide.[20]
The album received a mixed reaction from music critics upon release. Though the album was seen by some as one of the worst examples of the progressive rock genre,[20] the record was well received by others. Time magazine named it one of the best pop albums of 1973,[33] describing the album as "an astonishing classic-rock hybrid".[34] The San Mateo County Times printed a very positive review from Peter J. Barsocchini, who thought the album is "something just short of amazing" and "a supremely textured work which transcends most of the finest keyboard work being done in pop music today". He loosely compared the music to that of progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and mentioned Wakeman's "lyrical" and "deep, vast sound".[35] In a retrospective review, Mike DeGange of AllMusic described Wakeman's use of his synthesizers as "masterful" and "instrumentally stunning", and rated the album 4.5 out of 5.[36]
Steve Apple wrote a review for Rolling Stone in 1973, noting Wakeman had "made his bid for Keith Emerson's place as the master of keyboard electronics" but thought his playing suffered a little in technique. Apple noticed "a brilliant feel for tasteful impressionistic composition", having made "an exceptionally interesting instrumental album with superb production". He also praised the production and mixing, and picked "Catherine Howard" as the album's best track.[32][37] Henry Mendoza reviewed the album for The San Bernardino County Sun and noted that despite the album's "interesting format" and its "excellent showcase" for Wakeman's keyboard skills, Mendoza thought the music sounded too much the same and was "monotonous and boring".[38]
Excerpts from the album were performed during Wakeman's solo spots on Yes's Fragile Tour and subsequent Close to the Edge Tour, from 1971 to 1973. A recording of his solo was included on the band's first live album Yessongs (1973), titled "Excerpts from 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII'", as well as their same-titled concert film (1975). The box set Progeny: Seven Shows from Seventy-Two (2015) features additional recordings of Wakeman's solos from 1972.
In 1973, Wakeman sought permission to perform the album live at Hampton Court Palace. His request was denied, and "got the impression that what [he] had asked was tantamount to treason".[20] A full performance of the album was never held until 36 years later, when he was asked to perform it as part of the celebrations to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Henry's accession to the throne. A stage was constructed outside the main palace entrance to seat 5,000 people.[39] Wakeman performed with a six-piece arrangement of his band The English Rock Ensemble, the English Chamber Choir, and the Orchestra Europa, on 1 and 2 May 2009.[20] The setlist included "Defender of the Faith", the track Wakeman wrote about Henry that was omitted from the album due to unavailable space on the vinyl, plus additional material written specifically for the concerts.[25] The arrangement of the former was not exactly what Wakeman originally wrote, but its two main themes are the same.[4] A live album, DVD, and Blu-ray titled The Six Wives of Henry VIII Live at Hampton Court Palace was released in 2009.
After a well deserved rest, Yes headed out on the Japanese leg of the 1972-1973 Close To The Edge Tour. It consisted of just six dates. The first three concerts were due to take place in Tokyo between the 8th and 10th of March 1973, with Yes taking to the stage at three different venues. So between the 8th and 10th of March 1973, Tokyo became a home away from home for Yes.
By the 14th of March 1973, the Japanese leg of the 1972-1973 Close To The Edge Tour was over. Next stop was Oceanic leg of the tour. Yes would play five concerts in Australia between the 17th and 26th of March 1973. After that, Yes returned to North America for the third time, on what was the seventh leg of the tour.
Yes were booked to play eighteen dates in North America between the 4th and 22nd April 1973. It was during that leg of the tour that Jon Anderson approached songwriter and arranger Steve Howe about a four part album based on the four shastras. Straight away, he was interested in the idea.
Things changed when Yes arrived in Savannah, Georgia on 20th April 1973. Yes played what was the sixteenth of eighteen concerts in the North American leg of the tour. It was the seventh and final leg of what had been an epic and successful tour. After the show in Savannah, Jon Anderson and Steve Howe retired to a hotel room for another songwriting session at 1am. This time, everything fell into place.
The other members of Yes were going to take some convincing about the merits of the double concept album. Still though, Jon Anderson and Steve Howe were elated by what had been a truly magical night. Neither man had enjoyed such a fruitful songwriting session, and for the next few days felt ten feet tall. By then, Yes had completed their 1972-1973 Close To The Edge Tour.
Meanwhile, work began on the album cover. Roger Dean who had designed and illustrated previous Yes album covers was brought onboard. He surpassed his previous efforts with a classic and iconic album cover. The inspiration for the cover came from a conversation Jon Anderson and Roger Dean during a flight from London to Tokyo via Anchorage in 1973. Jon Anderson had told Roger Dean about a book he had reading which featured pictures of landscapes. With this conversation in mind, Roger Dean designed one of the greatest album covers of his career. Tales From Topographic Oceans was almost ready for release.
It detailed the four bodies of Hindu texts, which collectively, were known as shastras. They were compressive treatises that dealt with all aspect of religious and social life, plus subjects like law, medicine, architecture and art. Each of the four shastras inspired one of the lengthy suites on Tales From Topographic Oceans. This was very different album from the majority of the music that critics had heard during 1973.
Tales From Topographic Oceans was due to be released on 7th December 1973. As the released day drew nearer, record burrs pre-ordered copies of Tales From Topographic Oceans on both sides of the Atlantic. So many copies were pre-ordered in the UK, that Tales From Topographic Oceans was certified gold before its release. When Tales From Topographic Oceans was released, it reached number one in the UK for two weeks. In America, the Tales From Topographic Oceans reached number six and was certified gold. Elsewhere, the album reached number four in Canada; nine in Japan and eight in Holland, Sweden and Norway. Against the odds, Tales From Topographic Oceans had been a commercial success. Alas, it came at a cost.
I consider this record a great and enjoyable sit-down listen, if you will to have a slice of keyboard wizardry, or just get that retro 70s feel, when the instrumental prog rock album was a thing, and people loved it - but 'The Red Planet' could not and does not bring much to the table. Rick Wakeman is doing what he does best in creating explosive and mind-blowing pieces on his keys, but we have all heard that in full bloom four decades ago (and he has not stopped doing it ever since!) Some do consider this a masterpiece, and I also consider it a must-listen for prog rock and especially Rick Wakeman fans, but this is not universally compelling, or a genre-bending masterpiece, it is simply a very good instrumental album that is fun, well-written and perfectly well-performed. social review comments Review PermalinkPosted Monday, September 12, 2022 Review this album Report (Review #2819738) 2ff7e9595c
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