Customer Reviews

Black Sabbath: Paranoid [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a HUGE fan of Sabbath AND the Classic Album series - I would be lying if I said this wasn't somewhat of a disappointment. Overall, it seemed more like a "VH-1 Behind the Music" segment, than an in-depth look at a "Classic Album".

The first 10 - 20 minutes ran through everything true Sabbath fans already know, such as Tony's finger tips and Geezer's vision. There was entirely too much focus on the political climate of the time, with tons of footage from Vietnam and civil unrest of the late 60's - early 70's. While the era certainly had a bearing on the band's inspiration, the amount of time devoted to it simply robbed viewers of a comprehensive look into the production of an incredible album.
Segments where the producer isolated the recordings to showcase instruments and parts seemed rushed and very short, almost as filler to break up each main segment. For instance, Rodger Bain commented on a particular track and said something to the effect of (I'm paraphrasing here) "This is my all time favorite vocal track from Ozzy. He sang this to perfection, so menacing and soulful". I just knew he would play the isolated vocal track. I mean - it seemed too obvious - but, nope - bam - right back to the VH-1 style presentation. When I found myself yelling at the TV - "Play the track!! let's hear it!!!!" I knew this was NOT what I was hoping for.

REDEMPTION (of sorts)
For those longing for more in-depth coverage of Geezer, Tony and Bill's incredible talents - rest assured - you will get your fix in the bonus segments. It's a shame the producers choose not to include this footage in the main feature. There's plenty of track isolation, demonstrations and live performances to satisfy. In fact, if it weren't for the bonus material - I would have given this review 1 star.

The Classic Album series is one of the best in the business. From artists to producers to sound engineers to famous journalists, Classic Albums dissects the music that matters most. This time around they take on one of Metal's all time great releases, Black Sabbath's Paranoid.

The documentary features new and candid interviews with all four of Sabbath's original members including vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bass player Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward. Behind the board, showing off the original master tapes is none other than the future famous producer Tom Allom (Def Leppard, Judas Priest). It is fascinating to hear all of the parts separately and then put together as the classic Paranoid was being built.

Everyone involved tells the story of what it was like to be a member of Black Sabbath touring America and become both famous and infamous at the same time. This is a legendary album by a legendary band. Hearing the sounds and the stories behind "Iron Man," "War Pigs," Paranoid," "Fairies Wear Boots" and "Electric Funeral" will keep you on the edge of your seat.

worth every penny- nice to see all 4 members talking about it- Sabbath is the best band ever

Black Sabbath & Family Footage Archives : June 29, 2010 Eagle Rock Entertainment Presents Classic Albums: Black Sabbath's Paranoid. The documentary features new and candid interviews with all four of Sabbath's original members vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bass player Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward. To me the best part of this release is getting to see Iommi play Planet Caravan on the acoustic guitar. They really give this song some much needed attention. Its great to see Iommi at home playing the main riffs from the album. Geezer also plays some riffs on bass at his home. This starts with Paranoid live at the Caljam in great quality. It goes on to include footage from the Paris 70 concert and German TVs Beat Club. They also show parts of the Never Say Die dvd. The persons closes to Sabbath that are interviewed is former manager Jim Simpson & Studio worker Thom Allen. He plays isolated parts of the songs as well as some of the demos. (Demos can be heard on the deluxe editions 2009) Then he pulls out the orginial 4 track master studio tapes with his hand writing on the front. Also Henry Rollings gives some good fan perspective on the album. Stories include Iommi and his finger accident, name change of War Pigs, how Ironman, Paranoid, Faires Wear Boots came to be. Joe Smith from Warner Bros Records comes in to talk about the record company decision on various things about the album.

I enjoyed the TV broadcast, but the additional material is a must-see. It's a chance to know the members in their relaxed environment, mastering their instruments, telling anecdotes, all while getting to know how the songs were born! Fantastic!

A DVD has plenty of space: They could have included some full videos of their live presentations back in the 70's, not just snippets.

The good thing to know: Metal will never die...

This is just an awesome documentary of one of the best and probably most ground breaking albums of all time.

This is a really enjoyable DVD, even if your not a huge fan. The stories are really funny.
And to see Iommi go thru all his riffs is priceless. Ozzy is always entertaining.
The extras are really worth seeing also.

The mostly terrific Classic Albums series serves up another musically focused documentary - this time with Heavy Metal pioneers Black Sabbath. While metal may not be your thing, there can be little debate that Black Sabbath is ground zero for the genre. The great thing about the Classic Albums series is being a fan is not a prerequisite for enjoying the hour long documentaries - many of which have become staples in constant rotation on VH-1. By now you should be familiar with "Who's Next" or "Nevermind" both excellent and played hundreds of times on the video music channel.

Paranoid is one of two new releases slated from Eagle Rock Entertainment (Kayos Productions) coming in 2010. The other being Tom Petty and Heartbreakers' Damn the Torpedoes. Looking forward to that one due in September.

For those unfamiliar, Classic Albums re-examines a "classic album" by the artists and musicians who made them along with a cadre of hit-or-miss talking head critics and fans. The gimmick of the series is returning to the studio where the album was made and replaying the master tapes with their creators isolating tracks and performances while providing often lively commentary. This is indispensable documentary material for any serious music fan. There is nothing else quite like Classic Albums. While there have a been a few duds along the way (Simply Red, Stars to name one), the most recent ones have been wonderful (Plastic Ono Band, and Zappa). Paranoid extends this winning streak for the British series.

Sabbath's influence is immense and songs like "Iron Man" and "Paranoid" have the kind of monster riffs that motivated many a teenager to stop picking their zits and start picking the guitar. It's a virtual right-of-passage for any budding electric guitarist to fumble through "Smoke on the Water," "Stairway to Heaven," and Sabbath's "Iron Man" to be cool.

There is a lot to Sabbath. Tony Iommi, (who freaking looks fantastic BTW) cut off the tips of fingers as a child and then fashioned himself with some prosthetics of his own design. The story is retold here. You know, it's great that Brian May of Queen made his own guitar, but Tony Iiommi made his own fingers! Try that sometime! Iommi is a riff master, and his humility here is refreshing.

Then there is the Blizzard of Oz, Ozzy Osborne. One of the most distinctive and unlikely charismatic singers in rock, Osbourne mumbles his way through the documentary adding frank and sometimes humorous retrospective to the album that was instantly derided by critics on its release in 1970 but has gained favor as Heavy Metal became more mainstream. Ozzy's star quality here is undeniable.

The stars of the album is the rhythm section of drummer Bill Ward and bassist Geezer Butler whose contributions (thanks to isolating their tracks) are made abundantly clear. Their tight playing borders on brilliant. Plus, who knew that Butler, not Osborne, wrote those anti-Vietnam lyrics? Just one of several revelations found on Classic Albums - Paranoid.

If you are a Sabbath fan, a must own, if you are a music fan, a must see. Available in Blu-Ray with bonus features.

But I was expecting at least one full lenth song... but it's amazing to see how they still have the talent...

Just ok.I am a HUGE Sabbath Fan and Found This a Little Bit Borning.It was Nice to Hear the Boys Talking About the Record and Hear The Tracks Broke Down and isolated but there was no new classic footage of any kind etc..............Just thought it could have been better.Rent Dont Buy.