The fallout from the 2008 Universal fire has continued, with the likes of Sheryl Crow and Smash Mouth discussing the loss of their music.
Earlier this month, a story emerged outlining that a 2008 fire in Universal Studios’ Hollywood location was far more devastating than the initial reports of just a few film prints being lost.
As it turned out, more than 500,000 irreplaceable master tapes from artists like Nirvana, Aretha Franklin, Chuck Berry, Captain Beefheart, Sammy Davis Jr., and Sister Rosetta Tharpe – just to name a few – had been lost.
“A master is the truest capture of a piece of recorded music,” Adam Block, the former president of Legacy Recordings, told the New York Times. “Sonically, masters can be stunning in their capturing of an event in time. Every copy thereafter is a sonic step away.”
While this news undoubtedly shocked fans, some have wondered why it was that the news of the fire’s devastating impact had been covered up for 11 years, especially considering that initial reports indicated there had been “no loss”.
After a number of the effected artists opened up about their loss, a new report was unveiled yesterday, revealing a further list of artists whose music was destroyed, including Weezer, Blink-182, Limp Bizkit, The Who, Jawbreaker, Dolly Parton, and many more.
While a list of artists planning legal action against Universal was also recently revealed, some of the artists whose names were on the new list of those affected have now spoken out about the loss.
Check out ‘If It Makes You Happy’ by Sheryl Crow:
In a statement offered up to Spin, Smash Mouth revealed just how devastated they were, counting themselves lucky compared to others who have lost more.
“Uncontrolled fire is always devastating and sometimes the loss is unsurmountable,” the group stated.
“Our loss can’t compare to the thousands of people who lost their homes, pets, memories and even loved ones over the past few years in the devastating fires in California, both in Southern California and Northern California.
“Those images are etched in our brains and it is their loss that really weighs heavily on our hearts.”
Likewise, Sheryl Crow spoke to the BBC about the incident, questioning why it was that artists weren’t told about the loss until now.
“It absolutely grieves me,” she explained. “It feels a little apocalyptic.
“I can’t understand, first and foremost, how you could store anything in a vault that didn’t have sprinklers.
“And secondly, I can’t understand how you could make safeties [back-up copies] and have them in the same vault. I mean, what’s the point?
“And thirdly, I can’t understand how it’s been 11 years. I mean, I don’t understand the cover-up.”
In a recent interview with Billboard, UMG’s senior vice president of recording studios and archive management, Patrick Kraus, claimed that the “extent of the losses was overstated”.
“Many of the masters that were highlighted as destroyed, we actually have in our archives,” Kraus explained. “The Impulse [Records]/[John] Coltrane stuff, Muddy Waters, [jazz pianist] Ahmad Jamal, [gospel label] Nashboro Records, Chess Records, to name a few.
“Those are some of the things we’ve gone through. Just in the last two days, we’ve found those examples in the archives.”
Sadly, it appears as though we won’t know the full extent of the damage for quite some time, with many artists set to remain unaware of the losses they have suffered for a long time still.
Check out ‘Walkin’ On The Sun’ by Smash Mouth:
