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ROCK AND ROLL! => Black Sabbath => The Ozzy Years => Topic started by: Scott on September 13, 2025, 12:03:19 AM

Title: Earth - The Legendary Lost Tapes (released by Jim Simpson) available digitally
Post by: Scott on September 13, 2025, 12:03:19 AM
Physical to follow. CD next week and vinyl apparently pushed back to November.

https://www.qobuz.com/au-en/album/the-legendary-lost-tapes-earth/gk050lp0kh3sa

1. Blue Suede Shoes (Carl Perkins cover)
2. Evenin' (Jimmy Rushing cover)
3. Wee Wee Baby [Early One Monday Morning (Wee Baby Blues)] (Joe Turner cover)
4. Untitled
5. Free Man
6. Song for Jim (guitar version)
7. Song for Jim (flute version)
8. Wicked [Wicked World] (Demo)
9. Warning (The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation cover)

Some interesting notes:
'Free Man' has elements of 'Over and Over' and 'I'.
'Wicked (Demo)' is essentially a mono version of the single/album take of 'Wicked World' with the third verse that was performed live.

Enough spoilers from me.

Jim Simpson owns the copyright for these recordings so the release is official even if not band approved.

Enjoy.
Title: Re: Earth - The Legendary Lost Tapes (released by Jim Simpson) available digitally
Post by: Charger on September 13, 2025, 04:28:25 AM
I also saw an add for this...

But I did not search about it more as I just thought it would be yet another bootleg...But now I am somewhat interested.

Thanks Scott!
Title: Re: Earth - The Legendary Lost Tapes (released by Jim Simpson) available digitally
Post by: Scott on September 13, 2025, 05:00:03 AM
You're welcome Charger!

With the exception of 'Blue Suede Shoes' (though this one has a spoken intro and outro not on the Beat Club recordings) and Wicked World (though it's an unedited version) these are 'new' recordings.

Really cool to hear. Hopefully without any legal hurdles later on.
Title: Re: Earth - The Legendary Lost Tapes (released by Jim Simpson) available digitally
Post by: Zzzptm on September 13, 2025, 12:27:26 PM
Legal hurdles? With Black Sabbath-related material? Impossible! :smug:
Title: Re: Earth - The Legendary Lost Tapes (released by Jim Simpson) available digitally
Post by: Scott on September 13, 2025, 06:58:14 PM
Good point Zzz! But it's made it out digitally so that is something.
Title: Re: Earth - The Legendary Lost Tapes (released by Jim Simpson) available digitally
Post by: Zzzptm on September 14, 2025, 12:52:20 PM
... for now!

And, honestly, I hope it stays let out and nobody gives a care that they're available.
Title: Re: Earth - The Legendary Lost Tapes (released by Jim Simpson) available digitally
Post by: Vyn on September 14, 2025, 10:09:50 PM
Thanks for posting this Scott - it's great to not only be able to snag this material, but also great that it is coming from Jim himself.
Title: Re: Earth - The Legendary Lost Tapes (released by Jim Simpson) available digitally
Post by: Scott on September 15, 2025, 03:30:03 AM
Agreed Zzz and Vyn!

And even if/when legal communications arise, the material will stay out there. So it at least won't be lost.

Makes me think that Jim may not have any rights to The Rebel or When I Came Down as those are Sabbath recordings, not Earth.
Title: Re: Earth - The Legendary Lost Tapes (released by Jim Simpson) available digitally
Post by: Zzzptm on September 15, 2025, 07:59:31 AM
And, honestly, with the rest of Black Sabbath in their successful seventies, there's not much point in litigating what's essentially archival material of significant historical interest. If this was a money grab while they were in the middle of a tour supporting Vol 4 or something, then, yeah, knives out and head to court. Or during the year before Sabotage, with all kinds of legal mess going on with managers and criminals, absolutely. But this is decades later, when there's a matter of history as opposed to a money grab.
Title: Re: Earth - The Legendary Lost Tapes (released by Jim Simpson) available digitally
Post by: Scott on September 16, 2025, 03:15:18 AM
Agreed. And consider the history involved for Jim Simpson himself. He paid for the sessions and possibly wants to see them available and preserved while he has the chance to do so.
Title: Re: Earth - The Legendary Lost Tapes (released by Jim Simpson) available digitally
Post by: Charger on September 16, 2025, 05:08:20 AM
I just bought these...at first the price looked rather ridiculous but after registering it was just 12€ so well worth it.
Title: Re: Earth - The Legendary Lost Tapes (released by Jim Simpson) available digitally
Post by: Scott on September 17, 2025, 02:41:10 AM
Hope you enjoy, Charger!
Title: Re: Earth - The Legendary Lost Tapes (released by Jim Simpson) available digitally
Post by: Scott on November 11, 2025, 02:08:29 AM
For what it's worth, the physical releases kept getting pushed back and now look to have been cancelled.
Title: Re: Earth - The Legendary Lost Tapes (released by Jim Simpson) available digitally
Post by: Charger on November 15, 2025, 11:25:28 AM
Well that's good old $haron at it again...going after Simpson hard.

Which is absolutely ridiculous...but then again...so is she.
Title: Re: Earth - The Legendary Lost Tapes (released by Jim Simpson) available digitally
Post by: Vyn on November 17, 2025, 03:47:30 PM
I just ran across this video - interesting tit-for-tat between Sharon and Jim.













Title: Re: Earth - The Legendary Lost Tapes (released by Jim Simpson) available digitally
Post by: Scott on November 27, 2025, 02:30:32 AM
Digital versions seem to have been pulled too.
Title: Re: Earth - The Legendary Lost Tapes (released by Jim Simpson) available digitally
Post by: Charger on November 27, 2025, 05:38:52 AM
Well good thing we got them early enough.
Title: Re: Earth - The Legendary Lost Tapes (released by Jim Simpson) available digitally
Post by: Zzzptm on November 27, 2025, 09:55:10 AM
It's a matter for the tape traders, now.
Title: Re: Earth - The Legendary Lost Tapes (released by Jim Simpson) available digitally
Post by: Vyn on November 27, 2025, 10:49:36 AM
Some things never change.
Title: Re: Earth - The Legendary Lost Tapes (released by Jim Simpson) available digitally
Post by: Jack the Stripper on November 27, 2025, 01:33:51 PM
I preordered this 6 months ago and was cancelled by Amazon just the other day. Make no mistake, Tony is a big reason why this is being held up or won’t be released at all. It’s just Sharon is having to do the dirty work out front and take any heat for it.

If Tony doesn’t want these released I’m ok with it. I mean it’s his work after all.
Title: Re: Earth - The Legendary Lost Tapes (released by Jim Simpson) available digitally
Post by: Vyn on November 27, 2025, 02:53:11 PM
Is Tony concerned about the quality of the recordings?
Title: Re: Earth - The Legendary Lost Tapes (released by Jim Simpson) available digitally
Post by: Charger on November 28, 2025, 08:40:28 AM
Probably....

Tony's never been keen on releasing demos and unfinished songs. If I recall it was quite a battle to even have those few songs on those deluxe editions back when...

That's why the unfinished songs from The DIO albums never saw the light of day either...

Which is a real shame.

But ofcourse Tony would handle all this kind of stuff bit more civilized...not a public name calling war and humiliation like $haron...but she is a breed of her own.
Title: Re: Earth - The Legendary Lost Tapes (released by Jim Simpson) available digitally
Post by: Zzzptm on November 28, 2025, 09:51:07 AM
I think it's also why live material from Black Sabbath hardly ever saw daylight in the form of official releases. Lots of bands and musicians didn't like the way live recordings were captured back in the day and/or didn't like how recordings may have been set up on a bad or mid-tier performance and missed a truly awesome one. I've got live recordings from the 50s and 60s that are simply AWFUL. Small club settings were usually better for live recordings, but typically with acoustic instruments or low-volume electric ones.

Growing up with live recordings in such a state may contribute to the sour attitude towards them. Ritchie Blackmore is infamous for hating on live albums. My mom (in her 80s) absolutely hates them, as well. When I bought Made in Japan, she looked at me like it was my own funeral I was about to discover. :) I lucked out with that one, but hit those live recording reefs with the first release of Live Evil, oooooh that was bad. So I can understand artists not wanting stuff they think will not be their best work going out to fans that expect the world of them. Even if the historians and archivists listen with forgiving ears, they don't want a fanbase to start accusing them of money grabs. "Stingy Sharon" is easier to take than "Tuneless Tony".
"
Title: Re: Earth - The Legendary Lost Tapes (released by Jim Simpson) available digitally
Post by: Charger on November 29, 2025, 09:08:18 AM
You might be onto something...

And frankly as a person who LOVES live album it really does suck.
Title: Re: Earth - The Legendary Lost Tapes (released by Jim Simpson) available digitally
Post by: Scott on December 25, 2025, 10:05:59 PM
Sound quality aside (but that's a question of the period in which they were recorded), the only tracks that have issues are:

Blue Suede Shoes, needing its speed adjusted. It plays too slowly compared to the other versions of that recording that are/were available.
Free Man and a few other tracks, sounds like the azimuth was misaligned while transferring the tape. So when you listen to it with headphones there's an effect that almost sounds like noise reduction because the frequencies got a little messed up.

The former is fixable with software. Fixing the latter would require a fresh transfer from the source tape.

Even though I'm looking at this release as what's essentially archival material priceless in the context of its recording and final release, I understand Tony perhaps not wanting it out.