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| |  | CDs | Home » » Paranoid | | | | | | | Product Promotions: | | | | | Description: | | Their classic 1970 release reissued on 180gm vinyl! If their debut album threw down the iron-studded gauntlet for all would-be early '70s Hard Rock acts daring to follow-suit, then album #2 would raise the bar higher still by becoming one of, if not the, greatest Heavy Metal album of all-time. Released on the same day that Jimi Hendrix passed away, Paranoid would become an unstoppable tour-de-force of Rock classics led from the front by the Top 5 pre-release single that is the iconic title track. Bolstered by further Sabbath classics in the making (War Pigs, Fairies Wear Boots and especially Iron Man), Paranoid cemented the Birmingham four-piece as a genuine U.K. musical phenomenon and is seen by many as THE Black Sabbath album. | | | Product Details: | | | Audio CD Release Date:
| October 25, 1990 | | Studio:
| Warner Bros / Wea | | Number Of Discs:
| 1 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 449 reviews |
| | | Track Listing: | | | 1. | War Pigs/Luke's Wall | | 2. | Paranoid | | 3. | Planet Caravan | | 4. | Iron Man | | 5. | Electric Funeral | | 6. | Hand Of Doom | | 7. | Rat Salad | | 8. | Jack The Stripper/Fairies Wear Boots | |
| | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 449 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
63 of 68 found the following review helpful:
 The BEST CD edition of this classicApr 07, 2009
By M. Filipovic
"Justified Ancient"
Rejoice, people - this is truly the exception from the "rule" that new remasters are worse than the older CD editions! This is probably THE BEST sounding "Paranoid" CD.
It's definitly better than 1996 Castle CD and 2004 Black Box release (don't believe what J. Siegler says). There are some other CD editions which I have never (or a long time ago) listened to, but I don't think they are better.
And there's edition which I own for some time, 2001 Sanctuary "mini vinyl replicas" 8-disc box-set.
This new 2009 edition is released on the same label - Sanctuary. I must say that guys there know their job. So - congratulations and respect to Sanctuary!
After detailed analysis it seems to me that they used the same source as in 2001, but remastered it in a different way. Both 2001 and 2009 editions have loudness boosting just very slightly over the edge, basically unnoticeable, which makes them incomparably better than most of today's releases with ridiculously boosted loudness. So there's almost NO trace of small dynamic range, distortion and compression.
When I compared 2001 and 2009 edition:
2001 has LESS NOISE and MORE BASS; 2001 sounds muddy, with prominent low range, while 2009 sounds more natural, with prominent mid-range.
They both sound good, and eventually it's up to the listener to decide which sound he/she prefers. I'm not 100% sure which one sounds closer to the original 1970 vinyl (I could know that only if I put that LP in mint condition on a high-end turnatable and make comparison - but that will never happen)... but my final conclusion is: I think that this 2009 CD is the closest thing to the original record.
This new remaster also came out as a double LP - if someone is interested in that. That vinyl edition should sound even better, if you have the right equipment in your home.
All this being said, for me the most important value of this new edition is not remastered sound of the original album (disc 1), but bonus tracks.
Disc 2 is NOT CD, but DVD, which contains 1974 QUADROPHONIC MIX of "Paranoid". I'm not really interested in that, but I know there are some who are. DVD has menu, where you can choose the songs and audio options (stereo or 5.1), and after the playback starts, you have video too! Nothing important, but nice - different pictures (artwork from all Sabbath releases related to "Paranoid") move on screen in the tempo of current song.
I didn't know and didn't believe that disc 1 will have such a superior sound, so the reason why I ordered this was disc 3. It contains those 8 album tracks, but in a way that no-one has ever heard before! Because they are in fact studio out-takes: 5 of them are instrumentals and 3 are alternative versions! All unreleased for 38 years and 9 months! Maybe some will not be thrilled with that, but I am. It was fantastic experience to listen those songs, which are full of interesting surprises; gives you completely new listening experience of that classic.
Also, there's beautiful 24-page booklet, with tons of linear notes (haven't read them, but some say they are not too great) and related pictures, even from the original Paranoid tour programme.
And one more thing...
From what I heard, it was a long, hard battle... between Tony Iommi camp and record company... maybe even for a couple of years. This release was several times announced and then stopped at the last moment. But I guess now that Mr. Iommi definitely lost legal battles. There are already announcements of releasing the other Sabbath classics as expanded deluxe editions. I feel that we won't have to wait much to get "Master of reality" unreleased out-takes...
I'm sorry if all this happened against the will of Iommi & Sabbath, I do respect them and their wishes, but only up to a point - because as much I love Sabbath, even more I love myself. :) And I really WANT Sabbath unreleased stuff... me and thousands of other Sabbath fans. And I feel that we are true fans, even if we'll give money for something that Iommi didn't want to see the light of the day. And these 2001 and 2009 Sanctuary releases, although without blessing from the band, are infinitely better products than 2004 Black Box which had all the blessings.
42 of 45 found the following review helpful:
Black Sabbath Matures On Their 2nd Outing Into Greatness!Apr 14, 2007
By Mr. Sinister
The span between their debut album and Paranoid was not very long (a little less than a year) but the difference was huge. All the grinding, powerful riffs from their 1st album had been refined and tightened and the legend that was Blak Sabbath became solidified here on their classic sophomore effort. Paranoid has so many truly great Sabbath classics that even the lesser tunes here are overshadowed by their greatness, erasing the few spots of mediocrity. Originally to be titled War Pigs (hence the pink guy on the cover wth the sword and shield)this is the epoch of hard, dark, killer rock. Moving forward from here Sabbath would never fully capture the greatness of Paranoid. If there ever was a must-have heavy metal album, this is it! I grew up listening to this as a kid in the early 70s and I gotta tel ya, these songs are imprinted in my soul!
War Pigs/Luke's Wall - Orginally titled Walpurgis(The Witches Sabbath) with completely different lyrics (hear the original on Ozzy's The Ozzman Cometh) Sabbath felt the whole Satanic thing was getting too out of hand. New lyrics and new title. This is one of the greatest heavy metal songs of all time! Absolutely perfect. I can never get tired of hearing it. Tight, cohesive, astounding! A true classic!
Paranoid - This is Black Sabbath's signature song. Straight-forward rocker. Actually only made it on the album because they needed another song to round out the playing time. Ended up being the title of the album, even though the cover is geared to War Pigs, which was going to be the original title. Wow. A filler tune that became great. Who would have guessed? Ozzy to this day stil ends his shows with this Sabbath clssic.
Planet Caravan - This weird little tune actually grows on you to the point where you wind up liking it. Stange effects on Ozzy's voice make him unrecongnizable. Eerie. Haunting. Not their best, but cool enough to garner a Pantera cover years later. Iommi's playing here is mature and melodic. Experimental Sabbath.
Iron Man - Another Sabbath classic! There are so many here! This became a car comercial jingle last year. Pounding. Metal. In-your-face riff. Another truly great tune. I AM IRON MAN!
Electric Funeral - Often overlooked, Electric Funeral is a great song. The riff makes your head swim and the lyrics are kinda cheesy, but this song rocks. Dark, politically-angry, sci-fi metal goodness!
Hand Of Doom - Starts off mellow and moves along into a rocker. About addiction and anti-Vietnam sentiments and, well.... Death & Destruction! One of my personal favorites and another often overlooked song.
Rat Salad - If Paranoid were said to have a weak point, Rat Salad would be it. Nothing more than an instrumental to showcase Sabbath's jamming skills and Bill Ward's drumming prowess. But...it still "Rocks out loud!" as my younger daughter would say. And it showed us something as well: that Bill Ward was a highly-underrated drummer. At a time were everyone was hailing John Bonham and Keith Moon and such as the essential rock drummers, Ward was strangely absent from the list of greats.
Jack The Stripper/Fairies Wear Boots - Yet another Sabbath classic! The lyrics are funny! I'm sorry, but they are. Still, this is a great song where most last songs on albums weren't. 'Cause smokin' & trippin' are all that you do.... Yeah! Hilarious. Classic.
Overall, this is Sabath's most coherent, cohesive effort Their perfect album. With so many staple songs on one recording, how can one not realize that this is the Bible of heavy Metal Albums! Ozzy, Tony, Geezer & Bill became the Godfathers of Metal with Paranoid. And rightly so!
DIG IT!
19 of 19 found the following review helpful:
Bar none, the best CD remaster!Jun 20, 2009
By J. Bongiorno
1. Some are reporting that the Quad mix is muddy and are giving this release low points because of it. First of all, the quad mix is not just the album put in 4.0. This was an entirely new mix done in 1974 (using alternate guitar, bass and drum parts) when the album was given a more psychedelic sound by the original engineers. The only change made to it was to put it from 4.0 to 5.1 adding subwoofer and center channel to the mix, and it's amazing to hear! While it's a softer sound than the original album, it does not sound muddy on my equipment at all (I'm playing it on a Denon DVD-2910 and Denon AVR 1909 -- so nothing crazy high-end in terms of the equipment), in fact it sounds wild! (Make sure you choose 5.1 from the screen menu b/c there's a standard 2.0 mix for those who don't have a home-theater set-up).
2. Of the original album itself this is the single best remaster job bar none. The original CDs are terribly muddy. The Rhino remasters are a joke of overcompression that completely squashed any mid-range. The Castle and Japanese remasters were decent, but this Sanctuary remaster is the only one to get it 100% RIGHT, as in how the album sounded new on vinyl (which meant the correct blend of mid, high and low-range), allowing the instruments' individual flavors to be properly represented. Absolutely brilliant!
3. The disc of extras are for real fans of the band who get excited about embryonic versions of songs. This is a treasure trove of material, with Master of Reality and the debut album containing even more exciting things, including alternate instrumentation ("Lord of this World" played on slide guitar!), never-before heard songs ("Weevil Woman '71) and uncut songs (Iommi's original version of "Warning" was 10 minutes longer!) On Paranoid, we get demo versions that include prototypes of "Paranoid" and "Planet Caravan" before proper lyrics were given them (and Ozzy singing whatever came into his head to establish the melody lines). Again, for real fans of the band, this is a serious treat!
To clarify the band's position: While Iommi has never cherished this kind of thing like fans do, the band were behind this release (as evidenced by interviews and their quotes in the sleeve -- which btw is well-written and loaded with information); the albums were held back solely due to the apportioning of royalty rights, which have thankfully been settled.
22 of 24 found the following review helpful:
A landmark in heavy metalJun 29, 2004
By John Alapick
Black Sabbath's Paranoid album is not only the band's finest hour but also one of the best heavy metal albums ever produced. Although there were many great moments on their first five albums, Paranoid is their only release that is fantastic from beginning to end. Also worth noting is that Paranoid, with the exception of AC/DC's Back In Black, is the best album ever recorded where the songs are based on heavy memorable riffs.
How great are the tracks here? Three of the greatest heavy metal songs ever, "War Pigs", "Iron Man", and the title track are all present here with the latter two being the band's only Top 100 hits. Lead singer Ozzy Osbourne still performs all of these songs regularly whether it's with his solo band or with Black Sabbath on the Ozzfest tours. "War Pigs" is arguably one of the greatest anti-war tracks recorded, which is astounding since these issues were typically touched on more by singer/songwriters like Bob Dylan and Neil Young than bands of their genre. "Iron Man" is still one of the coolest guitar riffs ever recorded and along with the title track still receives generous airplay on classic rock radio. Amazingly, the rest of the album is very strong as well. The tracks "Electric Funeral" and "Hand Of Doom" both feature slow memorable riffs in the chorus and verses and then go into killer jams during the middle of the track. The instrumental "Rat Salad" is also excellent, carried by Bill Ward's underrated energetic drumming. The heavy shuffle of "Fairies Wear Boots" and the moody "Planet Caravan" are also great tracks. This is also their most influential album as Paranoid encouraged literally thousands of teenagers to pick up a guitar and later form heavy metal bands. You can still hear this influence in many of today's heavy bands like Staind and Disturbed. An essential album for all heavy metal fans. Highly recommended.
14 of 15 found the following review helpful:
The true masterpiece of the 70'sJun 13, 2003
By Sacco
Black Sabbath are often dismissed as being unintelligent schlock music. Ignore anyone who tells you that. The simple truth is that if you only count their first 6 albums (post sabotage there are few redeeming moments) they were simply the finest band of their era. Kicking off with War Pigs, which surely must be counted as one of the top 5 opening tracks of all time, Paranoid is a tour deforce of brutal riffs, thundering drums, and dark but meaningful lyrics pefectly eschewed by Ozzy's ghostly wail. Paranoid the title track is perhaps the single most potent 2:40 ever recorded. People seem to forgett that these lads from Birmingham were from among the most poverty stricken backgrounds in England (Birmingham itself is perhaps the worst city in England, if you ever go there you'll understand where the imagery of desolation and oppression came from). These lads knew what it was like to be down, as opposed to say punks like the Clash (Strummer was the son of a British diplomat, Jones and Simonon both attended university, which no member of Sabbath could have ever hoped to do growing up). And as for claims of being overly proggish and bloat this album (and all of the first 6 clock in around the 40 minute mark) which is shorter the the supposedly revolutionary stripped down punk of the Sex Pistols. More over Sabbath demonstrated they were not simply a blues band with distorted lound guitars. Planet Caravel is one of the finest folk songs ever, ethereal, melancholy, and more over beautiful. Iron Man provides perhaps the most perfect riff of all time, while telling the thinly veiled story of Butlers experience of rejection from the establishment the created him. And just to prove their diversity Fairies Wear Boots is a dark humour song about the bands over indulgence in narcotics. Really what more could you ask for?
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