Album
Black Sabbath
Paranoid Deluxe Edition
Universal (label)
14 March 2009 (released)
14 March 2009
How the bloody hell are you supposed to review a new edition of a certified, absolutely locked on, indisputable 5 star album? Can you comment about the music in isolation? Can you view it as a genre busting piece in the context of modern works that were based on it? Dare you even go towards critical observation in the light of 40 years of opinion and certainty? And when the album features the worlds favourite metal loon should you be taking out insurance in case the grandmas of the world put a contract out if you diss Ozzy?
Sometimes this reviewing lark really isn’t as easy as all that.
Luckily I haven’t really got anything to worry about. The album really is as good as memory and history provide for and this is a really good imprint with a clean and really powerful sound. The unreal ‘sizzle’ on the first CD transposition has been cleaned up and Tony Iommi’s power chords and Bill Ward’s rocksolid drums drive the music along and lay a bedrock for Ozzie’s vocals. You can actually hear Geezer Butler’s basslines and you know what? He really is one hell of a fine musician! Hoodathunkit?
‘Iron Man’ and ‘War Pig’ are glorious ‘celebrations’ of the metal art, while ‘Paranoid’ itself really does define everything that Black Sabbath are about. Incredibly though, ‘Rat Salad’ actually comes over as a bit of a prog triumph with a supremely jazzy feel to it and ‘Fairies Wear Boots’ is less of a filler than memory had it when this album was spread over two sides of vinyl.
However, what if you aren’t a newcomer to the band or the genre – what if you already have the album and the CD release and the live ‘stuff’ – why bother with it?
Well those nice people at Universal have given you the 1974 Quad (CD-4) mix (‘Paranoid’ in wraparound sound really is an experience to savour) and a disk of previously unreleased tracks that mirror the original album but manage to give a new insight into some of the playing.
So, overall? A truly great album and the best transposition I have heard yet – and the additional disks can be listened to more than once as well. The packaging is superb and for completists or anyone who doesn’t have the album this is THE one to own.
Sometimes this reviewing lark really isn’t as easy as all that.
Luckily I haven’t really got anything to worry about. The album really is as good as memory and history provide for and this is a really good imprint with a clean and really powerful sound. The unreal ‘sizzle’ on the first CD transposition has been cleaned up and Tony Iommi’s power chords and Bill Ward’s rocksolid drums drive the music along and lay a bedrock for Ozzie’s vocals. You can actually hear Geezer Butler’s basslines and you know what? He really is one hell of a fine musician! Hoodathunkit?
‘Iron Man’ and ‘War Pig’ are glorious ‘celebrations’ of the metal art, while ‘Paranoid’ itself really does define everything that Black Sabbath are about. Incredibly though, ‘Rat Salad’ actually comes over as a bit of a prog triumph with a supremely jazzy feel to it and ‘Fairies Wear Boots’ is less of a filler than memory had it when this album was spread over two sides of vinyl.
However, what if you aren’t a newcomer to the band or the genre – what if you already have the album and the CD release and the live ‘stuff’ – why bother with it?
Well those nice people at Universal have given you the 1974 Quad (CD-4) mix (‘Paranoid’ in wraparound sound really is an experience to savour) and a disk of previously unreleased tracks that mirror the original album but manage to give a new insight into some of the playing.
So, overall? A truly great album and the best transposition I have heard yet – and the additional disks can be listened to more than once as well. The packaging is superb and for completists or anyone who doesn’t have the album this is THE one to own.