BLACK SABBATH - Paranoid 1970 (Full Album) HD

Paranoid is the second studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released on 18 September 1970 through Vertigo Records in the United Kingdom and Warner Bros. Records in the United States on 7 January 1971. The album contains several of the band's signature songs, including "Iron Man", "War Pigs" and the title track, which was the band's only Top 20 hit, reaching number 4 on the UK charts.

Paranoid is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential heavy metal albums of all time, often cited as a key influence for the development of the genre as well as one of its earliest albums.[4][5][6] Paranoid was ranked number one on Rolling Stone‘s list of the "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time" in 2017 and number 139 on its “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time” list in 2020. Paranoid was the band's only album to top the UK Albums Chart until the release of 13 in 2013.

Recording
In an effort to capitalise on the recent UK chart success of their eponymous debut album, Black Sabbath returned to the studio with producer Rodger Bain in June 1970, just four months after the album was released. Paranoid was recorded at Regent Sound Studios and Island Studios in London, England.[7]

The album's title track was written as an afterthought. As drummer Bill Ward explains: "We didn't have enough songs for the album, and Tony [Iommi] just played the guitar lick and that was it. It took twenty, twenty-five minutes from top to bottom."[8] In the liner notes to the 1998 live album Reunion, bassist Geezer Butler recounts to Phil Alexander that they wrote the song "in five minutes, then I sat down and wrote the lyrics as quickly as I could. It was all done in about two hours." According to Alexander, "Paranoid" "crystallized the band's writing process, with Iommi initiating the ideas with his charred riffs, Ozzy [Osbourne] working on a melody, Geezer providing drive and the majority of the lyrics, and Bill Ward locking into a set of often pounding rhythms beneath Butler's bass rumble." The single was released in August 1970 and reached number four on the UK charts, remaining Black Sabbath's only top ten hit.[9]

Most of the songs on Paranoid evolved during onstage improvisational jams. In the Classic Albums documentary on the making of Paranoid, guitarist Tony Iommi recalls that "War Pigs" came from "one of the clubs" with Butler adding, "During the song "Warning" we used to jam that out and that particular night when we were jamming it out Tony just went da-dum!" In the same documentary, Iommi demonstrates his approach to the guitar solo in the song, explaining that "I always tried to keep the bottom string ringing so it fills it out nicely." On "Planet Caravan", Osbourne sings through a Leslie speaker, with the singer telling Mojo in 2010, "Then Rodger Bain used an oscillator on it – whatever that is. It looks like a fridge with a knob on."

Accolades
In 1989, Kerrang! magazine listed the album at No. 39 among the "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time".[35]
In 1994, Paranoid was ranked number three in Colin Larkin's Top 50 Heavy Metal Albums. According to Larkin, "Pretenders have often grasped at their crown, but Paranoid shows that Black Sabbath remain the quintessential metal band."[36]
In 1999, Q magazine (12/99, p. 170) included it in their list of The Best Gothic Albums of All Time, writing that, "[Black Sabbath] stamped their bombastic and doom-laden imprint on British rock forever."
In 1999, Vibe (12/99, p. 162) included it on their list of 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century.
In 2003, the album was ranked number 130 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time,[37] 131 in a 2012 revised list,[38] and 139 in a 2020 revised list.[39]
In 2006, the album was ranked number 6 on Guitar World magazine's list of The Greatest 100 Guitar Albums of All Time.[citation needed]
In 2010, Paranoid was covered as part of the Classic Albums documentary series, which examines albums "considered the best or most distinctive of a well known band or musician or that exemplify a stage in the history of music".
In 2017, Rolling Stone considered it the greatest metal album ever.[40]
Track listing
All songs written by Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward, and Ozzy Osbourne.

Side 1
No. Title Length
1. "War Pigs" 7:57
2. "Paranoid" 2:48
3. "Planet Caravan" 4:32
4. "Iron Man" 5:56
Total length: 21:13
Side 2
No. Title Length
1. "Electric Funeral" 4:53
2. "Hand of Doom" 7:08
3. "Rat Salad" (instrumental) 2:30
4. "Fairies Wear Boots" 6:15
Total length: 20:38