Press release 6 September 2024 Images/downloads: www.jazzsabbath.net/press.php JAZZ SABBATH – THE 1968 TAPES
Some would say The 1968 Tapes is Jazz Sabbath’s third album on which the trio, helmed by longtime Black Sabbath/Ozzy Osbourne keys and guitar player Adam Wakeman, present 7 new exploratory jazz arrangements based on Black Sabbath tracks from the period 1970-1973.
You can also choose to believe the album’s liner notes:
Although never released until recently, Jazz Sabbath’s music has been finding its way to millions for over 50 years. Through a vicious cycle of personal tragedy and plagiarism the songs intended to change the jazz world ended up giving birth to a much darker sound. Now a third recording from the Sixties has resurfaced, perhaps their most important one.
In 1968 Jazz Sabbath were an instant hit on the UK jazz scene. It wasn’t long until they were offered a record deal. This first recording was rejected by the label; the label manager said it was too experimental and had no hit potential. However, just like the tracks from albums that followed, these tracks were also shamelessly presented as ‘original songs’ by that band from Birmingham a few years later. Their lasting popularity, even in the crude way they were covered, only proves just how monumental these songs were and how record labels are often wrong.
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.
Video link:
The 1968 Tapes will be released November 29th via Blacklake Records on Vinyl, CD, Cassette and all streaming/download platforms. The track Supernaut is streaming on all digital platforms now.
Track Listing 1 Into The Void 2 Spiral Architect 3 Warning 4 The Wizard 5 Electric Funeral 6 Supernaut 7 War Pigs
The 1968 Tapes is the follow-up to 2022’s Vol. 2 which received praise from both the jazz and the rock media and peaked at #6 on the Billboard Jazz Albums Chart. The trio will embark on an extensive UK/IE tour in 2025, followed by shows throughout Europe and beyond.
Jazz Sabbath will present this album in an all-new live show in 2025.
Dates in the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and Greece have already been announced.
Get tickets here or click on the venue name for tickets and info.
Cult Swedish progressive rockers Beardfish began playing their first live shows together this year since breaking up in 2016, and now they are very pleased to announce the release of a brand new studio album titled ‘Songs For Beating Hearts’ on November 1st, 2024. Coinciding with this announcement is the launch of a brand new single titled ‘In The Autumn’, a piece of music that some may recognise from their recent live dates. This song is a duet between Rikard Sjöblom & guest vocalist Amanda Örtenhag.
Watch the video now here:
“I think the reunion became an idea in 2021, a few years ago,” explains Rikard Sjöblom. “We started talking about doing something. People had made amends, and I guess everyone started missing being in a band together, and missing each other! We all kept in touch, and things ended up on the right foot in many aspects, and then we started talking about maybe meeting up and trying to play something. I had a couple of new songs written, and they really sounded like Beardfish, and I had some instrumental doodles that I was working on. So we met up and tried to play. The first thing we played was Without Saying Anything from Mammoth, and we started jamming and it felt like home, even after many years. I felt like, ‘These are my brothers!’
With strong echoes of past glories but a whole new vibe of wistful wonderment, Songs For Beating Hearts is a glowing testament to the magic that happens when these four musicians join forces. From the dreamy melancholy of the opening Ecotone and the intricate opulence of five-part sprawl Out In The Open, to the prog-friendly pastoralism of bittersweet 11-minute epic Beating Hearts, and the sobering prog-noir of the closing Torrential Downpour, Beardfish have not just made their strongest work to date, but also their most emotionally resonant. Loosely held together by thoughts of love, loss, friendship and finality, Songs For Beating Hearts is the sound of four kindred spirits laying their hearts bare.
‘Songs For Beating Hearts’ will be available as a Limited CD Digipak (including one bonus track), Gatefold LP & as Digital Album, all featuring artwork from longtime collaborator Spencer Keala Bowden, and can be pre-ordered now here: https://beardfish.lnk.to/SongsForBeatingHearts
The full track-listing is as follows: 1.Ecotone 04:30 2.Out in the Open 20:33 3.Beating Hearts 11:01 4.In The Autumn 05:58 5.Ecotone (Reprise) 00:43 6.Torrential Downpour 08:29 7.Ecotone – Norrsken 1982 edition (Bonus Track) 06:13
Beardfish originally formed back in 2001, and today are made up of Rikard Sjöblom, David Zackrisson, Magnus Östgren and Robert Hansen. They released eight studios albums up until their disbandment in 2016 The band are confirmed for 2025’s edition of Cruise To The Edge.
The first in an on-going series of 3 box sets focusing on the live collection of John Wetton. Out on November 15th, 2024
Spirit of Unicorn Music are pleased to announce the forthcoming release of Concentus: TheJohn Wetton Live Collection, Volume I : the first in an ongoing series of 3 box sets celebrating the life and times of this incredible musician, focusing on his live canon.
The Concentus: Volume I box set features 10 CDs, the first selection of John’s live albums, all of which have been newly mastered by Andy Pearce. Also included is a selection of bonus material, including rare and hard-to-find cuts. The collection is presented in a compact box and comes with new and extensive sleeve notes from Prog Magazine editor, Jerry Ewing.
The collection has been specially curated by Rick Nelson, Wetton archivist and John’s close friend. Packaging and artwork has been designed by John’s long-time collaborator Michael Inns. The entire project releases with the blessing of John’s wife, Lisa and son, Dylan and has the full support of the Wetton Estate.
Wetton’s dear friend, song-writing partner and co-member of supergroup Asia, Geoff Downes commented “These songs and recordings will live forever and continue to bring joy to those who listen to them. John has left us all a gift and it is a very precious one.”
With a career spanning more than four decades, John Wetton’s rich baritone voice and accomplished bass playing has adorned many recordings. Concentus: Volume I is the second release by Spirit of Unicorn Music which pays tribute to this fine musician and fulfills the Wetton Estate’s commitment to uphold John’s musical legacy. Last year saw the release of AnExtraordinary Life, an 8-CD box set which featured Wetton’s solo studio albums.
John Wetton has a unique place in British music history. In a glittering career that spans more than forty years, Wetton was a member of several influential and much-loved bands, including Family, King Crimson, Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash, Roxy Music, UK, Asia and Icon. He also appeared on a host of albums as a guest or session player, including for Bryan Ferry, Steve Hackett, Brian Eno, Renaissance, and Galahad.
Watch the trailer for Concentus: The John Wetton Live Collection, Volume I here:
Track Listing:
DISC ONE: Chasing The Dragon Heat Of the Moment Don’t Cry Rendezvous 6:02 Crime Of Passion Caught In the Crossfire Easy Money In The Dead of Night Thirty Years Only Time Will Tell Hold Me Now Starless Book Of Saturday Battle Lines Open Your Eyes The Smile Has Left Your Eyes
DISC TWO: Akustika Live in Amerika Voice Of America Hold Me Now Rendezvous 6:02 Christina Thirty Years Only Time Will Tell Book Of Saturday Don’t Cry Battle Lines The Smile Has Left Your Eyes Heat Of the Moment You’re Not the Only One
DISC THREE: Live in Argentina In The Dead of Night Sole Survivor Only Time Will Tell Voice Of America Book Of Saturday The Smile Has Left Your Eyes Thirty Years Hold Me Now Quilmes Rendezvous 6:02
DISC FOUR: Live in Argentina Thomas Lang’s Drum Solo Caught In the Crossfire Easy Money Battle Lines Heat Of the Moment Starless Don’t Cry
DISC FIVE: Hazy Monet The Circle of St. Giles Heat Of the Moment Book Of Saturday Sole Survivor The Smile Has Left Your Eyes Thirty Years Hold Me Now Rendezvous 6:02 Quilmes The Night Watch Arkangel Battle Lines Starless Easy Money
DISC SIX: Live in Osaka Intro The Last Thing on My Mind Sole Survivor I Can’t Lie Anymore Battle Lines John Young’s Keyboard Solo Arkangel Emma The Smile Has Left Your Eyes The Night Watch Thirty Years Hold Me Now Only Time Will Tell
DISC SEVEN: Live in Osaka Rendezvous 6:02 Thomas Lang’s Drum Solo Easy Money In The Dead of Night After All Heat Of the Moment Starless Don’t Cry
DISC EIGHT: ADAMA The Circle Of St. Giles In The Dead Of Night Sole Survivor Voice Of America Billy Liesegang’s Guitar Solo Battle Lines Arkangel The Night Watch The Smile Has Left Your Eyes Thirty Years Hold Me Now Only Time Will Tell Quilmes
DISC NINE: ADAMA Rendezvous 6:02 Thomas Lang’s Drum Solo Caught In the Crossfire Easy Money Starless Heat Of the Moment Don’t Cry Short Jam (soundcheck) All Along the Watchtower (soundcheck) Starless (soundcheck)
DISC TEN: AKUSTISCHA AKUSTISCHA Heat Of the Moment The Smile Has Left Your Eyes Hold Me Now Don’t Cry Open Your Eyes Battle Lines Rendezvous 6:02 Book Of Saturday (rehearsal) Lament (rehearsal) You’re Not the Only One (rehearsal) Starless (rehearsal) Thirty Years (rehearsal) PROGFEST 1997 In The Dead of Night Rendezvous 6:02 Sole Survivor Battle Lines Starless
TAKEN FROM THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED NEW ALBUM POWDER DRY (13th September)
“his voice is a tender marvel…a career peak” – 8/10 – CLASSIC ROCK
“a raw-edged revelation, a declaration of new and neoteric directions. Dynamite” – 4.5/5 – PROG MAGAZINE
“an exceptionally unified and hugely accessible body of work…a new beginning for the talented multi-instrumentalist.” – RECORD COLLECTOR
The new single from British singer, songwriter, producer and prog pioneer Tim Bowness is out today. The track, titled ‘Lost/Not Lost’, is one of the standout tracks from Tim’s new album Powder Dry, set for release on 13th September on Kscope. Speaking about the single, he said “Both musically and lyrically, Lost / Not Lost is the most direct song on Powder Dry. It’s a straight-ahead Electro-Pop piece with an optimistic lyric embracing escape and a spirit of abandon. It provides a sharp contrast to some of the bleak sentiments and troubled tales found elsewhere on the album. Like the rest of the music, it came together in a very natural and instinctive way. Clearly, I was in a rare good mood that day!”
Mixed by Bowness’s partner in no-man, Steven Wilson, the new single is accompanied by a pulsating and vivid new video produced by Blacktide Productions.
WATCH THE NEW VIDEO FOR LOST/NOT LOST BY BLACKTIDE PRODUCTIONS:
Featuring 16 pieces over its restless 40-minute duration, Tim Bowness’s eighth studio album Powder Dry represents a new beginning on a new label.
A collection of acute contrasts, the album is a vibrantly accessible and wildly experimental genre-blurring assault, embracing Industrial Rock, Electro Pop, singer-songwriter directness, haunted carnival soundscapes and more.
Entirely produced, performed and written by Bowness (a first), Powder Dry was mixed (in stereo and Surround Sound) by Bowness’s partner in no-man (and The Album Years podcast), Steven Wilson, who also acted as Bowness’s sounding board during the mixing process.
“This is the best and most creative of all of Tim’s albums.” – Steven Wilson
Powder Dry tracklist: Rock Hudson Lost / Not Lost When Summer Comes Idiots At Large A Stand-Up For The Dying Old Crawler Heartbreak Notes Ghost Of A Kiss Summer Turned You Can Always Disappear Powder Dry Films Of Our Youth This Way Now I Was There The Film Of Your Youth Built To Last
– Limited edition pink vinyl LP – exclusively available on the official Tim Bowness/Kscope store – Limited edition yellow vinyl LP – available through indie retailers (w/ signed art print available from Rough Trade UK ONLY) – Limited edition – 2-disc CD & DVD – includes DVD with 24-bit 48khz PCM stereo and 5.1 Dolby Digital mixes by Steven Wilson – CD / LP / Digital – Exclusive signed postcard included in all pre-orders from the Tim Bowness & Kscope store
TIM BOWNESS UPCOMING SHOWS:
SEP 13, 2024 Powder Dry release show To celebrate the release of his new album Powder Dry, Tim Bowness will be performing at The Camden Club in London on 13th September with his band Butterfly Mind.
DEC 1, 2024 The Fiddler’s Elbow, Camden, London NW5 3HS Prog The Forest. Tim Bowness and Butterfly Mind will headline this year’s Prog The Forest.
Progressive alternative rockers Pure Reason Revolution return with their sixth studio album ‘Coming Up To Consciousness’, released on September 6th, 2024 via InsideOutMusic. Betrayal, deception, fear, grief, mortality, and questions of sanity: heady and primordial themes animate the latest conceptual LP from Pure Reason Revolution.
Today sees the release of the second single from the album, and you can watch the video for ‘Useless Animal’ here:
Jon Courtney comments of the track: “Very pleased to launch our next single, showing another side of ‘Coming up to Consciousness’. The song’s about how we don’t realise something’s worth until it’s gone.
Taking my dog to be put down & the emotional fallout, the unexpected impact. Grief is the price we pay for love. Written as a result of purposefully trying to avoid my usual repertoire of chords. This was the first track Guy Pratt played bass on, he did a wonderful job & his input spurred on further creativity.”
‘Coming Up To Consciousness’ is the third of its post-hiatus renaissance records that began with 2020’s ‘Eupnea’ and continued in 2022’s ‘Above Cirrus’. Like those two predecessors, the new record is intensely personal. Its eight tracks are all between four and seven minutes long – concise by PRR standards – and they grapple with darkness of various kinds.
Courtney, who lives in Berlin, shared writing duties on several tracks with US-based Greg Jong. The pair formed Pure Reason Revolution together in the early 00s at the University of Westminster, creating breakout hit ‘The Bright Ambassadors of Morning’ as their third year project. They reconnected during the creation of ‘Eupnea’ and have continued the partnership since then both in the studio and on stage. Legendary session musician Guy Pratt, who has worked with Pink Floyd among myriad iconic acts, provided bass guitar on seven of the eight tracks, resulting in more ambitious bass lines than any of Pure Reason Revolution’s previous records. Meanwhile, Ravi Kesavaram, of My Vitriol fame, returns to the drums on this record after touring with the band in 2022.
Another newcomer on this record is vocalist Annicke Shireen, known for her work with Shireen and Heilung, as well as her solo project. Shireen stepped in after original PRR member and fan favourite Chloe Alper was unavailable for recent live shows. With Alper’s schedule remaining packed for the foreseeable future, she has been unable to rejoin the lineup. She and Courtney agreed it made more sense for Shireen to sing on the record if she was going to continue appearing in shows. Both Courtney and Jong have nothing but enthusiasm for working with her:
“They’re impossible shoes to fill in a lot of ways,” Greg Jong says. “But we were just blown away with how good she is. We were really excited by the fact that vocally she does have a similar tone to Chloe, and yet she definitely holds her own.”
The band was equally thrilled to work with multiple members of prog icon The Pineapple Thief; the record was mixed by Bruce Soord, mastered by Steve Kitch, and sees Jon Sykes playing bass on one track. ‘Coming Up To Consciousness’ is also the third PRR album to feature cover art by Jill Tegan Doherty, who Courtney originally met in Berlin on a German language course.
The album will be available as a Limited CD+DVD Digipak (featuring 5.1 Surround Sound & High Resolution Stereo Mixes), Standard CD Jewelcase, as well as a Gatefold ReVinyl LP (Recycled Vinyl), and digitally in both stereo and Dolby Atmos.
The band have also confirmed their first tour dates in support of the album, playing in Europe alongside Lesoir in September & October, starting at Be Prog! My Friend Festival in Barcelona.
27th September – Be Prog! My Friend, Barcelona, Spain*
29th September – Stummsche Reithalle, Neunkirchen, Germany
30th September – Backstage By The Mill, Paris, France
1st October – Colos-Saal, Aschaffenburg, Germany
3rd October – Cpunt, Hoofddorp, Netherlands
4th October – Progpower Europe, Baarlo, Netherlands*
5th October – 013, Tilburg, Netherlands
*No Lesoir
The band will also make their first appearance on Cruise To The Edge in 2025, alongside Steve Hackett, Riverside, Haken, Big Big Train, Robert Fripp & many more.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
