| 12/10/68 |
JETHRO TULL (with Tony Iommi) - 'Rock And Roll Circus' - Intertel Studios |
Wembley |
A Song For Jeffrey [album version - NO Iommi] |
PRO |
In late 1968, Tony Iommi briefly left Earth to pursue an opportunity to play guitar for Jethro Tull. Tull were invited to record an appearance for a planned TV special called ‘The Rolling Stones Rock 'N' Roll Circus. The taping took place on December 11th and 12th, 1968 at Wembley Arena in London. Tony's playing cannot actually be heard on any of these bootlegs, since the audio track was later replaced by the album version of the song! Nevertheless, Tony can be "seen" playing with Tull in the aforementioned video.
Official Videos:
ROLLING STONES-ROCK AND ROLL CIRCUS [released 10/15/96]: After nearly 30 years, this planned Christmas ’68 BBC TV special was finally given an official release. Bootleg black & white copies have circulated for many years, but the final color print is even better to see! Along with such headline acts as The Who and John Lennon, ROCK AND ROLL CIRCUS unwittingly captured the only public appearance of this brief lineup of Jethro Tull, featuring Tony Iommi on guitar! Although it is not Tony we hear playing in the audio track, the clip is still an entertaining time capsule!
Official CD’s:
ROLLING STONES-ROCK AND ROLL CIRCUS [released 10/15/96]: The audio version of the film includes the album version of “A Song For Jeffrey” from THIS WAS (1968). It is Mick Abrahams playing on this track, NOT Tony Iommi.
CD Bootlegs:
ARCHANGEL RIDES AGAIN (Backdoor Possibilities ARF1): Bootleg compilation that includes the album version of Jethro Tull’s “A Song For Jeffrey”.
Vinyl Bootlegs:
ARCHANGEL RIDES AGAIN (Backdoor Possibilities ARF1): Bootleg compilation that includes the album version of Jethro Tull’s “A Song For Jeffrey”.
CD-R’s:
MORE SABBATH STUFF!!: Bootleg compilation that includes the album version of Jethro Tull’s “A Song For Jeffrey”. |
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| 12/11/68 |
JETHRO TULL (with Tony Iommi) - 'Rock And Roll Circus' - Intertel Studios |
Wembley |
A Song For Jeffrey [album version - NO Iommi] |
PRO |
See 12/10/68. The taping for this planned BBC Christmas special extended over the course of two days. |
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| 1969 |
Fake EARTH Demos |
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Instrumental Jam #1, Instrumental Jam #2, Instrumental Jam #3 |
AUD |
Let's get something straight right now - there are NO real demos of EARTH currently in circulation. The only known studio demo done on the EARTH moniker was the single containing "The Rebel" and "A Song For Jim", which is in the possession of original manager Jim Simpson. There could very well be some jam tapes or rehearsals from this era, but no one yet has leaked any.
As for these recordings of an alleged EARTH jam section, they are completely fake. I don't think you have to be a hardcore Black Sabbath fan to discern this, but maybe I'm wrong. Some may fall for the ruse due to the lack of vocals and a passing similarity to the Sabbath vibe. But the guitarist on these tracks sounds nothing like Tony whatsoever. In fact, he sounds a bit more like a Jimmy Page wanna-be! My question is “who is the garage band who recorded these tracks?” A complete waste of everyone's time. Next!
CD BOOTLEGS:
ACCIDENTAL OVERDOSE (Home Entertainment Network HEN 063-1/2): Straight copy of the HEAVEN AND EARTH bootleg, packaged in a deluxe digipack format. European release from 2003. Running time is 43 minutes. [Thanks to Alexander Rack for the info!]
HEAVEN AND EARTH (Bondage Music BON269/270): Japanese bootleg from 2002. 3 tracks from an alleged Earth jam session from 1969 appear at the end of this Japanese bootleg of the Asbury Park 8/5/75 soundboard. |
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| 1969 |
"Song For Jim" |
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Song For Jim |
PRO |
This unreleased demo is the earliest known studio recording of the band then known as Earth. "Song For Jim" (a.k.a. “For Jim”) was written as a tribute to their manager’s love of jazz. Early on, Jim Simpson did his best to expose the band to jazz and blues artists, in hopes of inspiring them creatively. When Chris Welch interviewed Simpson for the book ‘BLACK SABBATH’ [1982, now out of print], Simpson mentioned that he still had his treasured copy of this demo, along with one for “Blue Suede Shoes”. Photos of this demo record have appeared in the BLACK SABBATH APPRECIATION SOCIETY and KILLING YOURSELF TO DIE fanzines. The record definitely bills the artist as 'EARTH'.
While this first demo may not have done much for the band, it did introduce the band to the man whom would produce its first three albums. The record itself remains unreleased and in the possession of original manager Jim Simpson. Very short snippets from these songs were sampled for us at the beginning of the BLACK SABBATH STORY – VOLUME 1 video, but have never been circulated in their complete form. People have been begging the band for years to release this stuff, but I’ve gotten the impression that they may be a bit embarrassed by it! In one interview with the band, Ozzy joked that the band had planted landmines around Jim Simpson's house, just in case he tries to release it!
I'm still not 100% clear on when this demo was recorded, but it appears to have been before the session for "The Rebel" took place in August '69.
Official Videos: THE BLACK SABBATH STORY - VOLUME 1 [Just a short sample] |
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| 8/22/69 |
"The Rebel" & "Song For Jim" recording session |
London |
The Rebel, Song For Jim |
PRO |
One of the most sought after early recordings by the band is this still unreleased demo. Recorded in their final days as EARTH, although the actual record clearly bears their new name - 'Black Sabbath'. On the day following this session, the band played one final gig as Earth in Kirkcaldy, Scotland.
One of EARTH’s first recording sessions took place at Trident Studios in St. Anne’s Court in Soho, which was an 8-track facility at the time. Overseeing the session was Gus Dudgeon, who had also worked with Locomotive and would later produce albums for Elton John and David Bowie. The band was less than impressed with Gus, who kept using Locomotive as the benchmark for anything they did. It was than that engineer Rodger Bain was offered his first chance to produce a record…and the rest is history.
The band had just returned from a German tour to begin rehearsing for this recording session. Manager Jim Simpson suggested that they record "The Rebel", which was written by his Locomotive band mate and keyboardist, Norman Haines. Haines also took part in this session, playing organ and piano. Shortly thereafter, the band recorded yet another Haines composition "When I Come Down", which was retitled "When I Came Down" for the Sabbath version. The band chose not to release either recording, although these demos were probably used by Jim Simpson to shop the band around to different record labels.
For more information about “The Rebel”, click the MORE link to read my complete article.
Official Videos: THE BLACK SABBATH STORY - VOLUME 1 |
MORE |
