The 1968 Tapes

In 1968 Jazz Sabbath were an instant hit on the UK jazz scene. It wasn’t long until they were offered a record deal. They spent weeks in the studio recording the tracks that got the heaviest reactions at their live shows until they captured their live energy on tape. Unfortunately, the label told them the songs were too experimental and the whole album ‘just a labyrinth of noise’. The label manager said there was no way this album could be a hit and told them to record some of their ‘easier’ tracks instead.

The two albums that followed are classics in their own right, but the band were not mistaken in thinking they had recorded their best work in 1968. Like the songs on the first two albums, these tracks also found their way to the public through that Birmingham band. 

Whether they copied them from live bootlegs or got their hands on the mix, it doesn’t matter anymore. Their popularity, even in the crude 'metal' way they were covered, proves just how monumental these songs were and how record labels often fail to recognize a visionary artist.

With the truth now finally out there and that Birmingham band exposed as the musical charlatans they are, Jazz Sabbath have finally mastered the 1968 tapes to present their best work to the public.