To start, I need to immediately point out that “Red Castle” is not the actual title of this release. In fact, it doesn’t appear to have a title. I decided to call it that for the sake of clarity, and because I needed to call it something. The cover just says, “Black Sabbath”, and that’s it. Obviously, this is problematic for a few reasons. In general, no title makes it kind of difficult for people who want to track down a copy to add to their collection. In this specific case, this is further complicated by the fact that Black Sabbath is also the title of Black Sabbath’s self-titled, debut album. This is not that album, although it does contain a few bits from it. Understand?
So anyway, I saw some collectors in Italy talking about this, and I immediately knew I had to have a copy. I’m not sure where the artwork comes from, but I have seen it used on other releases before. I imagine that it was simply “borrowed” from somewhere and the label wrote “Black Sabbath” on it, but who really knows? In any case, the castle with the red background makes for a really stunning cover, and I was super excited to get this one in the post. I am trying to get a few more orders in before the incoming US tariffs, as I imagine they are going to make this stuff drastically more expensive to buy. Nearly everything I write about on here is an import record, but I’ll still try my best to continue getting some interesting titles to talk about here.
If you are a Black Sabbath fan, you should definitely find this to be a very interesting record. Several Sabbath “rarities and demos” albums have surfaced over the years, and I am planning on talking about at least two other ones in the immediate future. Almost all of them involve way more elaborate packaging than the one we are looking at today and can cost two or three times the price. Obviously, collectors who have been around for a while will immediately recognize the label name Trademark of Quality. At this point, it’s pretty much common knowledge that the label as it exists today is not the “original” label, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t putting out some solid stuff.
Aside from the awesome cover, this is a pretty no-frills type of release. The LP comes housed in a standard jacket with a normal paper inner sleeve. The jacket itself is heavy and well made, and comes in a resealable, plastic outer sleeve with a cool TMOQ pig hype sticker on it. The sticker indicates that this is a limited edition on colored vinyl, but it doesn’t give any indication of how many copies have been pressed. The back cover has a nice period photo of the band and the track listing. There are also some fairly extensive notes on the back cover, provided in lieu of any liner notes that you might have been hoping for. These notes cover every track and are actually quite thorough and informative.
This single LP is pressed on blue wax and has the standard and generic TMOQ label. In other words, there are no tracks listed or anything like that, but at least each side is clearly labeled. The vinyl itself is a decent medium weight, and high quality. My copy came in a really cheap mailer and was beaten up by the postal service pretty badly, but it survived the journey without any damage. The record was flat but had one or two light surface marks. Thankfully, there was nothing feelable or anything that affected playback. After a good cleaning, I decided to immediately give it a spin. As I have mentioned before, I usually let records pile up for a while before they get played. I was pretty excited to hear this one though, so it was on the turntable within minutes.
I always try to temper my expectations with unofficial records, but I was really pleasantly surprised with how this one sounded. Aside from just a touch of surface noise, this pressing sounds great. Some of the tracks have a bit of sibilance in them, but I imagine that has to be due to the source material. Honestly, we aren’t talking about anything really distracting here or anything like that. More of just a little bit of added warmth, really. “Castle” really does contain some rare and cool stuff. I imagine some Sabbath fans won’t be familiar with these tracks, so I’ll stray a bit from my normal review format and tell you a bit about each one.
Black Sabbath (Red Castle) by TMOQ
1-1 The Rebel
1-2 When I Came Down
1-3 Black Sabbath
1-4 The Wizard
1-5 Evil Woman
2-1 Early One Morning
2-2 Behind The Wall Of Sleep
2-3 N.I.B.
2-4 Wicked World
“The Rebel” – This is a legendary Black Sabbath “lost” track, and worth the already reasonable cost of the record if you don’t have a copy of it. It was recorded right about the same time that the band changed its name from “Earth” to “Black Sabbath”. “The Rebel” is a cover song that was written by a guy called Norman Haines. Jim Simpson, Sabbath’s manager, insisted they record it, but it was never used for anything. It’s a really bluesy sounding tune, and Ozzy has some really great vocal work on it.
“When I Came Down” – This is another Norman Haines song, and I imagine it was recorded for the same reasons. Like “The Rebel”, it was never used for anything but is still a cool blues heavy tune. It’s also got a bit of a psychedelic flavor to it, which was a clear reflection of the time it was recorded in. Both of the Haines tracks are good sounding recordings, but this one cuts off really quickly. As an added bonus, we get to hear the band talking to the engineers in the studio. Ozzy’s voice is easiest to pick out.
“Black Sabbath” – This is a such an amazing early version of this song. It’s missing the rain effects in the intro, but the bell is still there, loud and clear. I think this would be most accurately described as a demo version, but the music is almost identical to what ended up as the final product. It’s certainly a different vocal take, but you have to listen pretty closely in some parts to tell it’s different. The lyrics are mostly the final ones, but there is a bit of variation in parts, and some of the lines are out of order. The guitar is also a bit busier perhaps than in the final version. I think this is my favorite track on the disc.
“The Wizard” – Before the track, we get a little banter from the band in the studio. Interestingly, Ozzy corrects someone about the title of the song, and notes that this is “not Devil’s Island… it’s The Wizard!”. This isn’t the finished version of the song, but it’s really close. I think sometimes people have this notion about Sabbath that this first album was recorded totally haphazardly and without much rehearsal or practice. I think recordings like this are proof though, that these guys knew these songs inside and out before they went into the studio. It might not have been through intentional practice, but they played the songs so many times in clubs, that even these rough demos are close to being musically identical to the final cuts. Iommi’s lead guitar is the biggest tip off that this is not the same version of the song. The lyrics are slightly different in spots as well.
“Evil Woman” – Sabbath hated this song and wanted to exclude it from their debut album, but I have always really liked it. It certainly doesn’t fit in with any of their original material, but I think it’s cool to hear them doing something so different. This particular version is unique and worth the listen. Most noteworthy here is probably the really strong presence of the flute which is pretty dominate throughout most of the track.
While Side 1 focuses on studio outtakes and such, Side 2 is all live recording. According to the jacket, this is Sabbath’s “only documented live recorded performance”. I imagine they have to mean during this period of time, because obviously we have a ton of great stuff from later on. It also says that the original tape that this audio comes from was recorded on a Grundig reel to reel machine at 3 and ¾ IPS (inches per second). To me, it sounds like a standard, mid quality audience record. I suppose that’s because essentially, that’s exactly what it is. Overall, the quality is somewhere between “good” and “very good” (think of record grading here), but it varies between tracks. Also, this is not one continuous flowing show. The songs are cut up, which I imagine was to eliminate dead space and conserve room on the LP.
“Early One Morning” – This is a seriously bluesy piece. It’s a rougher recording than anything on Side 1, but it still sounds acceptable. It really highlights Iommi’s playing in a different way than we are used to hearing on the studio albums. There are no hard, grinding riffs here, but man can this guy play blues guitar. Ozzy sounds like a complete natural singing the blues, which reminds me of how ignorant people are when they say he’s not a good singer.
“Behind The Wall of Sleep” – Great live version of this classic Sabbath tune. Once again, you can tell how much they played these songs during their club days. It pretty much sounds like the version that wound up on the studio album.
“N.I.B.” – Once again, this is basically the same music we are used to hearing. The lyrics are a little different, but what a great version. Iommi’s guitar solo is the same as we find on the album.
“Wicked World” – This live version sounds a bit more psychedelic perhaps than the final version we are used to hearing. I would say though, that this track is a bit lower quality than the others. The lyrics seem to be the same, but they are a bit difficult to make out.
So, there you have it. If you have read this far, you should have a really good idea of what you are getting into if you decide to pick up a copy of this “Red Castle” release. Is it exhaustive? No. Amazingly, there are still some other deep cuts and rarities out there, although not nearly as many as I wish there were. Maybe more will surface one day, but for now, I’m happy to make do with what’s available. I think this release from TMOQ is a great starting point for someone who doesn’t already have these tracks or would like to have them on vinyl. If you just want to listen to them, I think all of them are available on YouTube. But as collectors, we know that’s not going to cut it, right?
As far as ratings are concerned, “Red Castle” is a solid 9/10 on pressing and packaging. I had a few light surface marks on my disc, but they didn’t cause any issues. As I said before, this is a really plain style of release, but it’s great quality and a great value, too. The audio sources vary from around 4/10 to maybe 8.5/10, but the variation is too great and the sources too many to put just one number on it. Overall, I can’t imagine that Black Sabbath fans are going to want to miss this one, so look for it now and pick it up while you still can. I bought a second copy as a backup, and it’s on the way. I don’t do that very often, so that should tell you something. Personally, I am going down a Sabbath themed “demos and rarities” rabbit hole here lately, so you can expect to read some more about similar releases soon.