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Rick Wakeman: The Six Wives of Henry VIII - Extended Play Lounge (Episode 19) (Patreon)

Published:
2022-05-05 14:37:44
Imported:
2023-05

Content

I'm pleased to present our latest Extended Play Lounge, featuring the 1973 solo album from Rick Wakeman (most notably of Yes) called The Six Wives of Henry VIII. This one comes from our recommendations portal, brought to you by your upvotes. I was completely unaware of this recording, and this was a true first reaction for me. And, I LOVED the album. Rick's music is smart, sophisticated, and well-performed! I hope you enjoy.

Unlisted Vimeo Link: https://vimeo.com/706394986/609d7d6334

Files

Rick Wakeman: The Six Wives of Henry VIII - Extended Play Lounge (Episode 19)

This is "Rick Wakeman: The Six Wives of Henry VIII - Extended Play Lounge (Episode 19)" by Doug Helvering on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and...

Comments

Adie

Hugely Enjoyable Episode, thanks. I've always thought of this album as heavily programatic beyond just portaying the wives, and that you have to know the history in depth to get the references (and I don't know enough of that history to really 'get it'). e.g.: 1. One little reference at the end of the album (which I note but don't really understand) is the quotation from the folk tune Johnny is My Darling. Seems like this is a jokey reference, but to what? Is it to evoke the 'Charlie is My Darling' (the original version) combination of romance and politics, as being the theme running through the whole of the history of Henry's marriages? Or is it to Catherine Parr's approach to her marriage to Henry (pragmatic for her, sentimental for him)? 2. The end of Catherine Howard, which Doug commented on. The tune that fades to the end is simple and innocent, which I think references the naive Catherine, and it comes just after the harmony goes darker - the sudden change of her world when her 'indiscretions' are revealed to Henry and his infatuation bubble is burst. I hear the ceasation of harmonic backing as her sudden death. 3. The huge portamento in Jane Seymour - is this a reference to the birth of his longed for son and heir? Is the use of church organ referring to the marriage to Jane Seymour being approved by God, so that he could have his son? Doug references the religeous politics of the time, and since the politics was a major factor in some of the marriages, that has to be right to include for context. Other factors are the personalities of the wives, the motivations for the marriages, and the personal motivations of Henry. I think these illuminate the pieces too. RW himself said that the pieces represent the characters of the wives, but I think that the characters, the circumstances and the events all blur together in the pieces, as per the examples above. I know I can be accused of reading in too deeply - but it is openly programmatic, and I guess invites this kind of speculation. Doug pointed that the pieces are not in the order of the marriages. I can't decrypt the order, but I note that in the correct historical order, the first side would be 15 mins and the second side would be 21 mins, while the sides are roughly the same length using the chosen order. Enough of me spouting! Once again, an episode of BTS got be re-enthused about a much loved album. Hence my little essay!! 🙂

Les Mable

Loved this, thanks Doug. Now, Journey to the Centre of the Earth? Myths and Legends...? Criminal Record...? (please! organ included) The Red Planet? To many to choose from I guess. Rick is a great raconteur - it would be great if you can get an interview with him on the channel sometime.

Geoff Budd

OK - briefest summary of Henry VII's wives I can find is from the IMDB page on the 1972 BBC Drama - but seems to work! - "On his deathbed Tudor-king Henry VIII remembers his long reign and especially the crucial part his six marriages played in it, without producing the male heir he desired most to prevent civil wars for the succession as England suffered before his father's ascent. His first queen, Spanish princess Kathryn of Aragon, had one fatal flaw: her children died, except daughter Mary, so he pressed Rome for an annulment, and when that failed out went cardinal Wolsey as chief minister and Henry made himself head of the Church of England instead of the papacy and married Anne Boleyn. When she too failed to produce a male heir [and amid allegations of infidelity], just princess Elisabeth, he had her head roll for 'infidelity'. The third queen, gentle Jane Seymour, died giving birth to sickly prince Edward. For diplomatic reasons Henry married minor princess Anne of Cleves, whose utter lack of female charms causes another annulment and the fall of Thomas Cromwell, who recommended her. Fifth is the lovely Catherine Howard, cousin of Anne Boleyn, but again childless and found to have been carnal with servants before and after her royal marriage, so also decapitated. Finally Catherine Parr, a young widow, stands at his deathbed.

Geoff Budd

On the Jayne Seymour comments around rock/pop/church organ - have folks heard the Sky version of Bach's Tocctta in Fugue?

Anonymous

I can't say, I didn't like it, but too many notes for me. In Yes he is not in front all the time, and that's cool. But now he is always 'the person in charge', and that makes the listening experience quite irritating. Nobody can't say, that the man is brilliant musician and composer but...huhhuh!

Terence colin Shortman

His second album Journey to the Centre of the earth was recorded live including full orchestra and choir. He also did a live version of the six wives at Hampton Court (Henrys Palace) on the anniversary of his ascension to the throne with orchestra and choir and including the missing track Henry. The music is based on the wives personality not their history.

Andrew Wingham

I first saw Rick from the front row in Bristol England, staring up at his trousers and so his movement around the keyboards. I could not see Yes' drummer. Around the same period, Rick appeared on TV's Old Grey Whistle Test to find my parent's friends who saw the same programme to be genuinely shocked at his ability to switch key boards, playing his 'rig' as if it were one piano. Rick was the first person do do this, by the way. Now it is common for several keyboards to happen simultaneously. I bought this album on its first day, to listen to it on a mono type of box which my family owned. The sound was much like a radio play where there individuality of the instruments and phases of the music shrinks. Later, after a summer job I bought a proper stereo to put it in my cupboard and relay the speakers on the side of my room. Now, I listen on headphones. I have seen Rick Wakemen many times and have had the privilege of speaking with him and corresponding. For me, he is a reason why this period of music is the most profound of the last few hundred years. It is interesting that Rick was steeped in classical training whereas David Gilmour cannot read music. The above comment says there are many notes. Yes, there are. Like much prog rock, it takes a while to disseminate. Rick was a great friend of Jon Lord ( they composed and played together) and Keith Emerson. He and Keith wrote an album together which was never recorded, of which Rick still has the score. Thanks Doug for playing this.

Anonymous

Where can I find the recommendations portal?

Rick Morse

Some other golden Rick Wakeman are his BBC Watchdog clips, especially his ones on Popcorn ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwYLIUhrqrM ) or Loyalty Programs ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-CehmuK3u8 )

Anonymous

Thanks for this Doug. I saw Rick perform these (along with his Journey to the Centre of the Earth) as a teenager in Sydney in the mid 70s. He was like a Gandalf of the keyboards with his height and flowing white cape and hair. Great memories!

Rhesus Perplexus

Keeping in mind Rick was 24 years old when making this album!

Gerard Dion

Thanks for this analysis, Doug. Would you please also consider analyzing some of Keith Emerson’s solo work? He has made some great music with an excellent guitarist named Marc Bonilla. One song based on a portion of Holst’s The Planets entitled Marche Train is especially great IMO. Cheers!

Robert Pugh
>>84344098

1975? I have a DVD of Rick live in concert in "Sydney Myer Concert Bowl in Melbourne" with the Melbourne Philharmonic Orchestra. Journey plus some tracks off Six Wives and Arthur. Must have been the same tour, surely? Can't believe he went to Australia too often. I saw him in 1974 in Cardiff. He was touring with his English Rock Ensemble. Mostly did the Arthur songs in that performance.

Si
>>84344098

His Cardiff gig was April 1976 when he was touring No Earthly Connection. Some really tight drumming on that tour, thanks to the brilliant Tony Fernandez. And "Catherine Howard" has snippets of "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin which tore the houses down!

Si

I became a Patreon member to check this episode out. Many thanks, Doug! One of my favourite albums.