Tuesday, September 19, 2017

47 YEARS OF PARANOIA



Black Sabbath's second album, Paranoid, was released 47 years ago this week. Sessions lasted a whole two weeks, which was pure luxury in comparison to the two days allotted for taping their eponymously titled first disc. It had only been seven months since "Black Sabbath" had been issued to the masses, yet the sonic progression made by the group since that point was astounding. Their busy gig calendar was partly responsible for keeping the band razor sharp in terms of ensemble playing, though the decision to focus on their own brand of expression in song structure would put them in the vanguard of a wholly new genre of music. The label makers would soon be clamoring to affix a descriptor that the kids could relate to in the rock mags of that era. What would it be? Heavy Metal, Heavy, Doom or Stoner Rock were all applied at various points. Suffice to say that this quartet of hirsute, young lads from Birmingham changed the game, inspiring many future acts. Their blueprint would never be successfully duplicated.

During the sixties, pop became rock. There was also a huge shift in the way live music was presented with the advent of signal phase distortion. Polite, two guitar-bass-drums-vocals type aggregations gave way to bands like The Who, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck and Led Zeppelin who discarded the rhythm guitarist role, upped the decibel levels considerably and extended performances with solos for all. Typically, the guitarist took on more of the heavy lifting in that respect. Paranoid (the LP) arrived in stores on the very date that Jimi Hendrix passed away. His contemporaries were moving on, as well. Cream had long since broken up as had the Jeff Beck Group. The Who and Led Zeppelin were on the ascendant, yet were miles away from each other in their approach. Sabbath were a different animal altogether. They had honed their skills playing blues-based material but dropped covering this side of the musical spectrum to do their own thing. The genesis of their compositions had always been the monster riffs that Tony Iommi seemed to effortlessly coax from his left-handed SG. Terry Butler, a guitarist who switched to bass, would often double up on these creations, deftly supported by the jazz-inflected rhythms of Bill Ward. With Butler handling the lyrics, it would be left to Ozzy to come up with the best way to deliver those words. There would be some exceptions to this method of working on originals as they went on, with varying contributions coming from all four members.

THE BIG FOUR

"War Pigs", "Paranoid", "Iron Man" and "Fairies Wear Boots" are unquestionable classics, remaining as constants in the set list throughout years of fighting, lineup changes and eventual reunions. All boast instantly recognizable, signature guitar figures. Even a casual fan would have little trouble picking these selections out of a police lineup. You know'em, love'em and no additional amount of editorializing is necessary. Curiously, "Iron Man" takes a page from the book of "21st Century Schizoid Man" from King Crimson's debut a year earlier.
"Paranoid" was 45'd, duly becoming a top five hit in the UK. The idea of the Sabs appearing on Top of the Pops surrounded by dancing teenagers losing their minds may seem incongruous, yet video evidence is available for your viewing pleasure. They would not return to that program again for nearly eight years.



Embracing the ponderous nature of their sound coupled with a conscious effort by Geezer to take up lyrical themes that eschewed romantic love, hippy-dippy philosophies and the usual pop banalities gave them an identity that struck a nerve with a surprisingly wide audience. Iommi's inventive, multi-part face-melters helped to draw in listeners because they were as melodic as they were powerful. Osbourne found his distinctive voice with these recordings, sounding much more confident as he moved to a slightly upper register.

THE REST

My vote for the sleeper tune in the pack is "Hand of Doom". Presented as a cautionary tale about excessive drug use, the arrangement goes from a quiet, rotating riff supported by rim shots to full on, five alarm blaze, punctuated by Ward's scattershot fills. Once this subsides, another completely different segment is introduced which burns with intensity and breaks back to the intro after an almost East Indian flavored solo. Remarkable stuff. "Electric Funeral" mixes nuclear holocaust with distorted Bebop, while "Rat Salad" is nothing more than a showcase for Ward in the manner of "Toad" and "Moby Dick". The difference is in the brevity of his drum solo, during which he acquits himself quite well without testing your patience. The guitar break is jazz with a capital J. The only real clunker on the disc is "Planet Caravan", which has a vocal that is drowned in bong water (Leslie speaker) and plods along far longer than it should have. They would take this basic idea (humans embarking on interstellar space travel) and spin it into gold in the form of "Into the Void" on Master of Reality.

Overall, this is the monster that made them superstars. Little wonder as the material retains its freshness and power nearly 50 years on. You have my permission to play it really LOUD.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

This was a huge favorite in my high school days, and I admit that I have not listened to much Sabbath in recent years. I'll put it on tonight and transport myself back to those great days. Thanks for the reminder, Sean!