Writing in the sleeve notes of this four-disc box set, Rick Wakeman admits he initially didn’t think the concerts captured here would work: two back-to-back shows at London’s iconic Palladium, the first combining The Six Wives Of Henry VIII with The Myths And Legends Of King Arthur, and the second a spruced-up selection of Yes ‘hits’ with Journey To The Centre Of The Earth (the chart-topping pinnacle of his career to date).
It was a mammoth task involving significant work on the core material (with no orchestra involved, King Arthur and Journey had to be rearranged for his stalwart live band, the English Rock Ensemble). Not to mention the daunting prospect of rehearsing over 200 minutes of unfeasibly complex balls-out mega-prog.
