Black Sabbath - Paranoid [180g, Gatefold] (LP) Vinyl

Paranoid is the second studio album by the British heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released on 18 September 1970 in the United Kingdom by Vertigo Records and on 7 January 1971 in the United States by Warner Bros. Records. It carries several of the band's signature songs, among them "War Pigs", "Iron Man" and the title track, and is routinely cited as one of the earliest and most influential heavy metal albums ever made.

The Album

The record was made quickly, recorded in June 1970 at Regent Sound and Island Studios in London with Rodger Bain producing and Tom Allom and Brian Humphries engineering. The band line-up is Ozzy Osbourne on vocals, Tony Iommi on lead guitar, Geezer Butler on bass and Bill Ward on drums, with all compositions credited to the four of them. The album was originally to be titled War Pigs after its opening track, but the label changed it once "Paranoid", written at the last minute to fill out the running time, reached number four on the UK Singles Chart. The sleeve had already been produced and was left unaltered, which is why the artwork shows a sword-wielding figure with no obvious connection to the eventual title. Bill Ward remembered the title track taking "twenty, twenty-five minutes from top to bottom". Most of the other material grew out of onstage improvisation, including "War Pigs", which was originally intended to be called "Walpurgis". The cover was designed and photographed by Keith McMillan, credited as Keef, in Black Park, Buckinghamshire, with his assistant Roger Brown as the model.

Reception

Paranoid reached number one on the UK Albums Chart in October 1970 and number 12 on the US Billboard 200 in March 1971, the latter with virtually no radio airplay. It has been certified Gold in the United Kingdom by the BPI, with the 2008 reissue certified Platinum, and 4x Platinum in the United States by the RIAA. In a retrospective review AllMusic's Steve Huey wrote that the album "defined the sound and style of heavy metal more than any other record in rock history". Rolling Stone placed it at number 130 in its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003, number 131 in the 2012 revision and number 139 in the 2020 edition, and in 2017 named it the greatest metal album of all time. As of 2014 it was Black Sabbath's best-selling album.

This Pressing

This is the Sanctuary Records reissue for BMG, catalogue number BMGRM054LP. It is a single LP pressed on 180 gram vinyl and presented in a gatefold sleeve that reproduces the original Vertigo packaging, with the black and white photograph of the band across the inside spread and the Vertigo swirl on the side one record label. Use of the Vertigo logos and trademarks is by kind permission of the Universal Music Group.

Tracklist

Side A

1. War Pigs (7:57)
2. Paranoid (2:48)
3. Planet Caravan (4:32)
4. Iron Man (5:56)

Side B

1. Electric Funeral (4:53)
2. Hand of Doom (7:08)
3. Rat Salad (2:30)
4. Fairies Wear Boots (6:15)