CLASSIC ALBUMS: BLACK SABBATH - PARANOID - Blu-ray review

Before he was a burnout on a reality show ("The Osbournes") with his wife/manager Sharon and two children, Kelly and Jack, Ozzy Osbourne was a solo act who became known as the Godfather of Heavy Metal. And before that he was the vocalist for Black Sabbath, a heavy metal and "doom metal" band that was the prototype for scores of nihilistic heavy metal bands to follow. In an industry dominated by flower power and acid rock, it was a new and darker direction.

Osbourne was born in Birmingham, England, where was recruited by guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward to join them and bassist Geezer Butler in a group that would eventually be called Black Sabbath. And one thing that comes through loud and crystal-clear on this behind-the-album Blu-ray is that the guys were winging it almost as much as Ozzy was on that MTV reality show. In fact, the title track on the album "Paranoid" was "written" right there in the studio, when it became apparent that the guys didn't have enough material for their follow-up album to "Black Sabbath" (1970).

Call it a case of good conscience AND good timing. One of the songs on the "Paranoid" album that would become a signature piece was "War Pigs," and the anti-war movement was in full flourish in late 1970. That's a big reason why, although "Paranoid" never made it any higher than #23 on the Billboard charts, it stayed on the charts for a full year and sold four million copies in the U.S. alone. The other reason is the raw heavy metal sound that annoyed critics but somehow appealed to the early head-banger set. So it's an album worthy of the "Classic Albums" TV series, which was produced by Isis Productions, shown primarily on BBC and VH1, and now distributed by Eagle Rock Entertainment.

It's among the first shows to go Blu in a series that included The Band ("The Band"), Cream ("Disraeli Gears"), Deep Purple ("Machine Head"), The Doors ("The Doors"), Duran Duran ("Rio"), Elton John ("Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"), Fleetwood Mac (Rumours"), The Jimi Hendrix Experience ("Electric Ladyland"), Nirvana ("Nevermind"), Elvis Presley ("Elvis Presley"), Paul Simon ("Graceland"), Pink Floyd ("The Dark Side of the Moon"), Sex Pistols ("Never Mind the Bollocks"), Steely Dan ("Asa"), U2 ("The Joshua Tree"), and The Who ("Who's Next"). And some questionable inclusions, like "The Plastic Ono Band" by John Lennon, which I recall flinging from my dorm room like a Frisbee, it was so screechingly bad.

But "Paranoid" is a good album, and a great one for heavy metal fans who want to appreciate the early years when a band's sound was defined in large part by their guitarist's riffs. You didn't really have to hear the guys talk about how everything started with a Tony Iommi riff. You could hear it. But seeing Iommi on-camera now in HD as he replicates some of the classic riffs from classic songs on this classic album is a treat.

The format for this series is an imperfect one, though. Producers assume that everyone already has the CD for this classic album, so the whole program functions as one large bonus feature--a kind of deconstructionist behind-the-scenes look at how an album was put together, and the circumstances surrounding each song and the band's private dramas. In this series, rough concert footage is augmented by current interviews with surviving members of the bands, some of which handle their instruments, as Iommi does here. We move from song to song, cutting back and forth between that rough concert or vintage rehearsal footage and sharp, HD current interviews, when at some point you get so hooked on the music where you'd just like to hear a complete song. That doesn't happen, nor are the complete songs--"War Pigs," "Paranoid," "Planet Caravan," "Iron Man," "Electric Funeral," "Hand of Doom," "Rat Salad," and "Fairies Wear Boots"--available anywhere on the disc. You have to own the album or buy it separately.

But that format was chosen deliberately, and the TV series has been consistently rated by fans somewhere in the 7 or 8 out of 10 range. That's where this one falls, too, and for the very reasons I've outlined. The album's engineer, Tom Allom, also appears on camera, so we get the viewpoint of someone close to the project but also a slight outsider. Not all of the comments on-camera are profound or even anecdotally interesting. Some ramble a bit or get a little too zoned in on "feelings." Diehard fans may find that more fascinating than I did. But I have to say, overall, that as interesting as this behind-the-scenes look at a classic rock album is, the sound and vintage images aren't really HD-worthy. A DVD would do just fine, especially with the upscaling capabilities of today's Blu-ray players-at least as far as the vintage footage on this disc is concerned. Maybe Eagle Rock's next Blu-ray installment in this Classic Albums series--Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: "Damn the Torpedoes"--will be different. "Classic Albums: Black Sabbath: Paranoid" is 97 minutes long, not counting bonus features.

Video:
The archival material is pretty rough, with all sorts of deterioration and flaws a part of most clips. They're grainy, slightly out of focus, and stretched to fit the widescreen format, which makes them look even more inferior. But the current interviews look extremely nice in 1080p Hi Def, with great color saturation, great detail, a nice sense of 3-dimensionality, and a plasticine look that nonetheless doesn't look processed or scrubbed. Classic Albums: Black Sabbath: Paranoid" is presented in 1.78:1 widescreen.

Audio:
The audio is an LPCM Stereo 2.0 with subtitles in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, and Chinese. As with the video, the sound is most pristine in the contemporary sections. Even the dialogue is so noticeably crisp by comparison that it's stunning.

Extras:
The bonus features are all outtakes from this documentary. The 42 minutes worth of segments are titled, and they pretty much tell you what the subject matter is: Musical Influences, 1st U.S. Tour (quite interesting), No Returns, Play in a Day the Iommi Way, Did Give Up the Day Job, Paranoid, Geezer's Bargain Bassment (cute pun), Rat Salad, Bill's Traps, Planet Caravan, and The Backing Track Tapes.

Bottom Line:
Eagle Rock is releasing this disc just in time for the "Paranoid" album's 40th anniversary, and fans should find it worthwhile. Just be warned that this series focuses on the stories behind the production of an album, and it may pique your interest in the group to where you get the CD. I sold my "Paranoid" album with all my records long ago to help pay for college, but some of these tracks made me wish I'd have kept it. "Paranoid" was rated #130 on Rolling Stone's controversial Top 500 Albums of all time. Here's the story behind the album.