Rick Wakeman – The Six Wives Of Henry VIII: Live At
Hampton Court Palace (2009/Eagle
Blu-ray)
Picture:
B- Sound: B Extras: C+ Concert: B
Though
all the members of Yes have had interesting solo careers and become part of
many other interesting projects, Wakeman may be their Paul McCartney having the
longest and most formidable solo career as one of the all-time kings of the
Keyboard. Chief among his greatest
accomplishments is his epic album The
Six Wives Of Henry VIII (1973) that remains among his most popular. 36 years later in Spring 2009, he decided to
record a major concert version in HD on Henry’s 500th Anniversary
and the result is the very entertaining Live
At Hampton Court Palace concert.
With a
great choir, great band of musicians and enough keyboards at Wakeman’s disposal
to practically cause a nuclear detonation, he plays the album and all of its
intricacies (you can see him play with his eyes closed often and never miss a
note) in this grand concert that is one of the best on Blu-ray to date from
anyone. Topping it all off, the great
character actor Brian Blessed (the 1980 Flash
Gordon, original Avengers, Black Adder, Disney’s Tarzan, Odin in the upcoming Thor film) recites all the narration
live in front of the audience as no one else can.
It is
also the chance to see Wakeman, one of the greatest musicians of all time at
the continued height of his powers. He
was a genius when he started and is now a master (fans would say the master) of his realm of music. That is hard to disagree with and this work
is so complex (deceptively simple indeed) that it is worthy of comparison to a
major elongated classical or jazz composition.
I hope this gives him more respect and admiration, plus inspires
musicians worldwide. For home theater and
serious music fans, this Blu-ray is a must.
The 1080i
1.78 X 1 image is colorful and has its moments, but can be soft more than
expected for a new production, but the editing and directing are a big plus. The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) lossless 5.1 mix
is the best choice here for the sound and it sounds good, if not always
consistently so. Blessed’s narration is
clean and clear, but the soundfield is not always 100% all the time, but is
fine more often than not. We also get Dolby
Digital 5.1 and PCM 16/48 2.0 Stereo tracks, but they are not as good as the
DTS. Extras include a booklet inside the
case with extensive essays and info on the concert, while the Blu-ray itself
has an on-camera interview with Wakeman at the top of his game, as usual.
For more
Wakeman solo and in other projects, try this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5858/The+Other+Side+Of+Rick+Wakeman/A
For
Wakeman in High Definition and with Yes, try this link to the 2003 Montreux concert on Blu-ray:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5731/Yes+%E2%80%93+Live+At+Montreux
- Nicholas Sheffo