Product Description

Rick Wakeman s The Six Wives Of Henry VIII is one of the landmark albums of the seventies, a critical and commercial success that has sold in excess of 15 million copies worldwide. In May 2009, Rick Wakeman finally achieved his long held dream of performing the entire album live at Hampton Court Palace. It was the first time the whole album had ever been performed in concert & included the Henry VIII track Defender Of The Faith, that had to be cut from the original album for space reasons, plus new opening and closing pieces. The two spectacular sell out concerts were a never to be repeated event and this Blu-ray shows why they will live long the memory of all those fortunate enough to attend

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5236 in DVD
• Released on: 2009-10-05
• Rating: Exempt
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 125 minutes

Synopsis
Tracklisting: 'Tudorture/Henry's Fanfare', 'Tudorture/1485', 'Catherine Of Aragon', 'Kathryn Howard', 'Jane's Prelude', 'Jane Seymour', 'Defender Of The Faith', 'Katherine Parr', 'Anne Of Cleves', 'Anne Boleyn', 'Tudorock'.

Customer Reviews

The Business
First, a word about blu-ray. I must admit to having been a bit agnostic about the advantages of this format. Could picture quality really be significantly improved? And sound quality?

Well, here was my answer. The advance in picture and sound delivery not only enhances the feeling of a live performance, it's actually more like being there than being there. You can hear the different strands of sound from orchestra, choir and band clearly enough to appreciate all the elements that went into the concert. No less impressive is the visual aspect. The colours are vivid and the images as sharp as one could wish. Rick's keyboard technique is truly amazing, and this format really does justice to it.

I was present at the concert and really enjoyed it, likewise the complete live CD which I reviewed at the time. As the film makes clear, Rick's efforts to get Six Wives performed at HC go back to the early seventies, but to be selfish for a moment, I am thankful for the delay. At the time I would have been far too young to go, and even if I were not, would have to doubt that I would have seen quite the consummate professionalism from all concerned that was on display here, nor indeed some of the spectacular lighting and scenery effects.

Brian Blessed's contribution has quite reasonably been edited down a little from the CD version, but I was delighted to see the "Gordon's Alive!" incident left in, and the spirit of his enthusiasm and humour well retained.

To be objective for a moment, not many extras on this disc, but Ricks' backstage insights are quite entertaining and interesting. And in the end, for me at least, it's all about the concert.

An unreserved five stars and a thumbs-up for blu-ray, at least as a format for live music.

great
Great picture, great sound, great music, really a "must have" for Wakeman Fans.

BUT: it's a 1080i blu-ray (NOT progressive) !

Stunning, a real masterpiece
Thank you to whoever said 'yes' to releasing this on Blu ray, it is superb, fantastic picture quality, right down to Rick's unshaven face and the clothes pegs holding his music sheets in place! Colours are so good, just turn up the sound and enjoy Rick's amazing skills. A must buy disc.