Review of The Six Wives of Henry VIII submitted on 22nd September 2011

I had the good fortune to go to a Rick wakeman concert in Birmingham not so long back and briefly met him and got his autograph. I think it's about time I reviewed this excellent album as I will never forget the first time I heard it on cassette as it is one of the reasons why I play keyboards today. I was amazed at the diversity and complexity of the album and I was also amazed at how Rick uses a huge variety of keyboard instruments to great effect including piano, church organ, hammond organ, harpsichord and a variety of synthesizers. What also impressed me was the fact that the keyboard instruments are played with dazzling and exciting virtuosity but Rick combines this with the ability to write memorable melodies. There are many changes in tempo all the way through the album but the changes never sound jarring or out of place. In fact they sound very natural and add to the excitement of the album. In my opinion this is truly an outstanding album and one that should and will be remembered for a very long time.