There are now a couple things that make October 9th special to me.
The first is that it’s my birthday, which I share with John Lennon, the second will be that BMG is releasing a five-LP deluxe box set (four-CD set) of Black Sabbath’s seminal heavy-metal album Paranoid to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
Sabbath junkies can rejoice at the record company also jamming in a hardbound book with rare photos, band interviews, liner notes, memorabilia, poster, as well as a replica of the Paranoid tour book sold at gigs. Included on vinyl for the first time are recordings from a pair of 1970 concerts and a quadrophonic mix of the album to boot.
The sophomore studio album by the band, Paranoid’s 42 minutes of metal revelations includes the title track, "War Pigs," "Iron Man," "Planet Caravan," "Hand of Doom" and "Fairies Wear Boots." Cited as “one of the greatest and most influential heavy metal albums of all time,” by ALLMusic, I can say without pause that not only did Paranoid make me love heavy metal in a way most other metal bands never could, it was an anthemic call to rock harder for headbanger friends at every house party I can remember from my teens. I will also forever associate “Planet Caravan” with a battered ’71 Lincoln Continental I owned, as an 8-Track of the album was still in the tape deck when I bought it.
Check with your local record store regarding availability or at BMG.
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