Blind Guardian "The Forgotten Tales (Holland, Virgin Records, 841 627 2)"

The Forgotten Tales is a compilation album by Blind Guardian. It was published in 1996. The cover artwork was created by Andreas Marschall. "'The Forgotten Tales'" contains several cover versions of popular songs, including "Mr. Sandman", "Surfin' U.S.A.", and "Spread Your Wings" as well as alternate versions of the band's previous works. Remastered and re-released on 15 June 2007, with bonus tracks and videos.

Track listing

1. "Mr. Sandman" (The Chordettes cover) Pat Ballard 2:09
2. "Surfin' U.S.A." (The Beach Boys cover) Brian Wilson, Chuck Berry 2:23
3. "Bright Eyes" (Acoustic version) André Olbrich, Hansi Kürsch 4:20
4. "Lord of the Rings" (Orchestral version) Kürsch, Marcus Siepen 3:55
5. "The Wizard" (Uriah Heep cover) Ken Hensley, Mark Clarke 3:16
6. "Spread Your Wings" (Queen cover) John Deacon 4:14
7. "Mordred's Song" (Acoustic version) Olbrich, Kürsch 5:16
8. "Black Chamber" (Orchestral version) Kürsch 1:15
9. "The Bard's Song – In the Forest" (Live) Olbrich, Kürsch 4:11
10. "Barbara Ann/Long Tall Sally" (The Regents/Little Richard covers) Fred Fassert/Enotris Johnson, Robert Blackwell, Richard Penniman 1:43
11. "A Past and Future Secret" Olbrich, Kürsch 3:47
12. "To France" (Mike Oldfield cover) Mike Oldfield 4:40
13. "Theatre of Pain" (Orchestral version) Olbrich, Kürsch, Mathias Wiesner 4:15

Total length: 45:32

Compilation of rearranged tracks, bonus tracks and covers.

Mastered at Central Sound studio, Hamburg.

Track 9 recorded Live 22.12.1995 in Düsseldorf, Germany.

The booklet includes liner notes in German and English by Hansi Kürsch, Marcus Siepen and Michael Rensen of Rock Hard magazine.

A video was made for "Mr. Sandman".

The argentinian 2001 release by NEMS Enterprises (NEMS 270) contains a bonus track:

14. Lord of the Rings (Live 23.08.1998 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) - 3:58

Remastered at SRS Mastering in March-April 2007.

The 2007 remaster includes three bonus tracks:

14. Hallelujah (Deep Purple cover) (03:18)

15. Beyond the Realms of Death (Judas Priest cover) (07:03)

16. Don't Talk to Strangers (Dio cover) (04:47)

and also the videos for "Mr. Sandman" and "The Bard's Song".

Track 14 recorded, mixed and produced in 1994-1995 by Flemming Rasmussen at Sweet Silence studios, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Track 15 recorded and produced in January-February 1996 by Piet Sielck at the Twilight Hall studios, Krefeld and mixed at Direct studios, Hamburg.

Track 16 recorded, mixed and produced in 1999 by Charlie Bauerfeind at the Twilight Hall studios.

The 2007 remastered version was re-released in 2009 by Century Media Records, with the bonus tracks but without the videos.

Recording information:

Ralph Kessler – mastering

Andreas Marschall – cover paintings

Dirk Zumpe – photos

Flemming Rasmussen – recording (tracks 1, 5, 7, 11), mixing and engineering (tracks 1, 5, 11), producing (tracks 1, 5)

Piet Sielck – recording (tracks 2–4, 7–8, 12–13), mixing and producing (tracks 2–4, 7–9, 12–13), engineering (tracks 1–3, 6, 12)

Kalle Trapp – recording, mixing, producing and engineering (tracks 6, 10)

Henrik Vindeby – recording (tracks 4, 7, 8), engineering (tracks 2, 12), assistant engineering (tracks 1, 5, 11)

Blind Guardian – producing (tracks 3–4, 7–9, 12–13)