Rating:
* * * * *
Steeped in blues, dipped in a haze of psychedelia, and heavy as hell - that's Black Sabbath's
Paranoid
. But listening to the Birmingham band's second album, a year shy of their 40th anniversary, the thing that stands out most is how trippy it is as opposed to heavy.
Yes, the brutal swagger of
War Pigs
and the soulful chug of the title track is enough to turn you into a chest-beating rebel. And yes, the band formed in 1968 by singer Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bass player Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward, were the inventors of heavy metal. But there was, and still is, more to their monstrous music than just heavy metal.
And it's all here to be relived on this three-disc deluxe edition with a remastered copy of the original record, the 1974 quadrophonic mix on DVD, and a disc with an alternate version of the album made up of instrumentals (a whole different trip, man) and
Paranoid
with, er, other lyrics (best stick with the final version).
Maybe it's old age, but in 2009
Paranoid
is all about the subtleties, like the eerie sirens of
War Pigs
; the nuanced yet hellish hammering of Butler and Ward's bottom end on
Hand of Doom
; and the wistful trip Iommi takes you on during
Planet Caravan
.
Where these qualities come together best is on the hallucinatory tale
Fairies Wear Boots
, not so much heavy metal, more brutal blues. It also has Ozzy's great line about going to the doctor. Says doc: "Son, you've gone too far, 'cause smokin and trippin is all that you do".
The only slight glitch is
Iron Man
where the guitar line mimics the vocals and sounds a little cheesy and dated. But what's heavy metal without a little bit of cheese, even if, way back then, Sabbath were more concerned with creating a soundtrack to a world at war and the dark side of life. Still a classic any way you listen to it.
Scott Kara
The host has been spotted across the Atlantic post-election.