Excitement and Anticipation for Six Wives

Most people who know me also know that I have unique (some would say strange) musical tastes for my age. It is true that I have many times wished that I were born a Brit and passed my adolescence in the late 60's and 70's, because in my opinion, the greatest bands and musicians in rock & roll have come from Britain (The Who, Yes, Zep, Floyd, Tull, Cream, Beatles, ELP, Crimson, Genesis, and I could go on and on). The fact that I wasn't there doesn't prevent me from going to see old rockers in concert who are the same age as my parents. This weekend marks probably the most anticipated concert event of my life -- not only will we be seeing my favorite musician of all time, but we will be seeing him in London (thanks to Breena and my mom & dad).


We are going to the Hampton Court Palace to see Rick Wakeman perform his 1972 album The Six Wives of Henry VIII in a special celebration of 500 years since old Henry took the throne. The album has never been performed live in its entirety and it only will be this weekend in front 5,000 people this Friday and Saturday. He will be accompanied by the English Chamber Choir, 72-piece orchestra, dancers, a narrator, the whole shabang. We have 13th row seats, center stage!!

Every time I tell somebody who Rick Wakeman is, that he is a "keyboard player," people seem unimpressed and disappointed. For some reason, they think that being a keyboard player somehow makes you less talented because the sounds are mostly electronically generated. Well, take a look at this solo excerpt from a Yes (ABWH) concert in 1989 (the mullet alone is worth a look):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDsvZGM1vD8

If I have your attention now, you can see that not all keyboard players are created equal. Wakeman is a classically-trained concert pianist who left the Royal College of Music in London in the late 60's to pursue a career in rock. Rivaled only by Keith Emerson (of Emerson, Lake, & Palmer), he is a virtuoso that has pioneered and influenced the use and development of keyboards for more than 40 years. He invented the concept of stacking mulitiple keyboards (organs, moogs, mellotrons, & pianos) on top of one another and on all sides so as to have access to them at all times. Though most known for his solo work and keyboard playing for Yes, he is also a comedian and talk show host, and has lived a fascinating life, releasing dozens of albums and selling tens of millions of records worldwide. Six Wives alone has sold 15 million.

If you are interested in hearing some of Six Wives, here is Catherine Parr and Catherine Howard performed in Buenos Aires in 2001 with his band The New English Rock Ensemble.

Rest assured there will be a full report following the concert!!