When we talk about iconic albums from the early 70’s time frame, Black Sabbath’s ‘Paranoid’ can easily be coralled into the same paddock as Deep Purple’s ‘In Rock’, Uriah Heep’s ‘Look At Yourself’ and Led Zeppelin’s ‘IV’.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Black Sabbath
ALBUM: Paranoid
LABEL: Vertigo
SERIAL: 6360 011
YEAR: 1970
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: England
LINEUP: Ozzy Osbourne – vocals * Tony Iommi – guitars * Terry (Geezer) Butler – bass * Bill Ward – drums
TRACK LISTING: 01 War Pigs * 02 Paranoid * 03 Planet Caravan * 04 Iron Man * 05 Electric Funeral * 06 Hand Of Doom * 07 Rat Salad * 08 Fairies Wear Boots
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
It was still early days for Black Sabbath during 1970. ‘Paranoid’ was released months after their self titled debut. Two albums in the same year. They did things differently back then. In time, a handful of the tracks would become staples of the Sabbath back-catalogue as well as being live favourites wherever the band toured.
The Songs
The opening duo of ‘War Pigs’ and ‘Paranoid’ are signature Black Sabbath tunes that have stood the test of time. How many bands have covered ‘Paranoid’ over the years? Too numerous to mention. The band then turn their attention to the doom aspect of their early 70’s sound, in this we mention ‘Planet Caravan’ and the rather spooky backdrop of ‘Hand Of Doom’. The latter has been described previously as a downright creepy horror story of a song.
‘Iron Man’ is another track which makes the Sabbath Best Of collection, as iconic then as it became years later. Then there’s ‘Rat Salad’ which is the oddball track, proving to be nothing more than a drum solo. Strange but true. ‘Fairies Wear Boots’ closes out the album, less of the doom and more of the traditional metal of the era.
In Summary
When we talk about iconic albums from the early 70’s time frame, Black Sabbath’s ”Paranoid’ can easily bb coralled into the same paddock as Deep Purple‘s ‘In Rock’, Uriah Heep‘s ‘Look At Yourself’ and Led Zeppelin‘s ‘IV’. Certainly the songs assembled here are a walk down memory lane, probably more so than the next pair of ‘Master Of Reality’ and ‘Volume 4’ though diehard Black Sabbath fans will no doubt chirp in from the couch in disagreement. Lol.
Video
Paranoid
War Pigs
Iron Man
