• AllMyVinyl #84
• Band: Jazz Sabbath
• Album Title: The 1968 Tapes
• Release Date: 29 Nov 2024
• Date purchased: N/A
• Location purchased: Record label
• Color of vinyl: translucent blue
• Number of discs: 1
• Links: [ Wikipedia | Discogs | Band Website | Complete album on Youtube ]

This is a really cool and really odd album at the same time.  This is the third studio album by “Jazz Sabbath” – an outfit spearheaded by Black Sabbath & Ozzy (and other places – hello Snakecharmer!) keyboardist Adam Wakeman.  It’s basically Adam Wakeman and the boys doing Black Sabbath covers but as jazz songs.  What’s interesting here is that it’s kind of like Spinal Tap in that when playing, they play “in character” as the band “Jazz Sabbath”  Their shtick is that they had recorded all these songs, and then had the four lads from Birmingham (Black Sabbath) steal the tracks and relegate “Jazz Sabbath” to a footnote in history.  It’s a funny bit and if you watch some of the promo videos for the albums with Adam Wakeman in character as Milton Keynes, it’s quite enjoyable. If you get a chance, check them out.  The credits on the album made me laugh.  It says this..  “Ongoing legal matters force us to credit the ‘original’ songwriters: Iommi, Butler, Osbourne, & Ward”.  haha.

This I believe is the first album that came out NEW new since I started my vinyl project. It was released on 29 Nov 2024, and I got my copies in the post on 3 Dec.  I say copies, because the label sent me the vinyl, the CD, as well as the cassette tape (see photos below).  Yeah, tapes are apparently making a comeback for some reason, and Blacklake (the label) sent me one of each.  As a bonus, the vinyl they sent me was the limited edition translucent blue version that was available for direct sale.  That’s since sold out and it’s just black vinyl now, but the translucent blue looks sweet – pictures below.  Heck, even the cassette tape looks sweet, I like the art design on this a lot – it fits the story/shtick behind the band and being originally from the 60’s.

This album is their third studio album.  Like the first two, this album is more covers of Mk I Black Sabbath songs.  If you’ve heard the first two already, then you know what to expect here.  It’s more of the same, and that’s a good thing, since the first two were quite enjoyable records.  I think the easiest way to understand this is to listen to it.  If you’re seeing this on my blog, go to the bottom and look at one of the embedded Youtube links.  If you’re seeing it on socials, I’ll have a link back to my blog to check them out.  It might help to “get this”.  Here’s a track listing of the songs on this one (which I personally call Jazz Sabbath III).

• Into the Void
• Spiral Architect
• Warning
• The Wizard
• Electric Funeral
• Supernaut
• War Pigs

In some ways it’s kind of hard to write about the individual songs.  First off we all know the Black Sabbath versions, and these contain that music in them – but they’re slow Jazz pieces for the most part, so even though you hear bits you remember, it sounds different.  This isn’t like another metal band covering Sabbath, it would be like Dave Brubeck, Cannonball Adderley, or if we wanted to get some guitar riffing in there like Joe Pass covering Sabbath.  But this doesn’t sound like any of that – Jazz Sabbath covers are a sound that are definitely jazz, but have their own vibe. I hear some all of the things I mentioned above in here – this is why I mentioned you need to listen to it to get it above.

Some examples….  The Wizard here doesn’t have the harmonica that is in the original.  That part is covered by another instrument.  The parts that are vocals are covered by light piano notes.  It sounds like it won’t work, but most assuredly does.  Same thing with Into the Void.  The big fat guitar tradeoff between Tony & Geezer on the original is replaced here with a different musical sound that definitely works. Electric Funeral has the main guitar riff replicated on a slow piano groove – and dammit – Adam nails this.   Supernaut has a much faster bass run going through this which mirrors the original.  Bill Ward’s original drum parts are fairly mirrored here in War Pigs as they were fairly jazzy to begin with, so that’s a nice sound. That’s the cool thing about the songs on this album (and its two predecessors).  They just WORK.  You just have to listen to it to hear it.  I really wish Bill Ward was still doing his Rock 50 radio show, he’d probably love this stuff.  These songs are definitely recognizable as the originals, but deviate a lot to become their own thing.  Normally I don’t like that kind of thing – I prefer covers to maintain close resemblance to the original.  But in this since we’re so far off the rails being a jazz cover anyway, the differences in the songs works really well.

This one isn’t one that I’ll write 3,000 words about like some because I’d end up saying the same thing for all the songs.  You really do need to experience this album to enjoy it.  If you listen to it, you’ll get it.  Unless of course you don’t like jazz in the first place in which case you won’t, but please.  Try this.  I think you’ll love it.  I did.  I just wish they’d play live here where I am in Texas – I’d love to see them live in person.

A final note for Adam..  If y’all do a fourth one of these, you HAVE to call it “Snowblind”. The humor of using the album title that Sabbath wanted to use on their fourth album but was prohibited from doing so would be too delicious not to use IMO. ;)