Review by Shezma for Black Sabbath - Paranoid (1970)
The weakest of the original Ozzy era to me. Still a great record, the "sophomore slump" album. I enjoy this record as is, and it's an unfortunate that War Pigs, Paranoid, Iron Man, have been commercialized to death to the point I never want to hear them again that I have become biased before even listening to the record in full. I am not old enough to have been there for the release or the initial impact of this record. I do listen to older music all the time and enjoy many things but there is no record that I have been hit over the head with more than this one that I feel I cannot give it an accurate rating. My personal opinion is of an average 2.5/3 out of 5 or a "C" rating. However, I also have to recognize in listening what this brought to the music scene and other artists were truly inspired by this so gets a "Good, important" ranking for me. Besides the "singles" i mentioned, the other songs just don't work for me either. The slow moody Planet Caravan, the psychedelic doom Electric Funeral, heavy blues rock in Hand of Doom, fairly repetitive yet endearing Rat Salad, and finally Fairis Wear Boots that I do still enjoy quite a bit. Every one of these songs I've heard referenced else where in other songs or even media.
As my first classic Guardians release I'm reviewing this is a tepid start, but I enjoy the hell out of other albums of this era. My preferred Ozzy Sabbath is Sabbath Bloody Sabbath which feels much different then this record. It really is hard to rate a record nearly twice my age that i've heard parts of so many times in my life. It's like watching scenes from a movie, multiple times trying to put them together and though you've felt you've seen the movie and already made an opinion have you really watch it? Sometimes, yes and for many other people those best songs are just an appetizer for this album. For me though, I have already outplayed it's welcome and the other songs unfortunately don't bring enough to the table for personal relistens.