Paranoid - Song By Song

[Zzzptm]

This is one that always stays fresh for me. The lyrics could easily fit into a traditional blues number by Howlin' Wolf or Lightning Hopkins, perfect for their catalogues of outsider tunes.

What makes this song for me is the grit in Iommi's guitar and the ascending loo-doo-loo-doo in the bass line. That little bass hook is something I always listen for because it's so much fun when it comes up.

[Charger]

Talk about a song that has suffered a serious inflation due to over playing...granted even as a song Paranoid is hardly perfect, far from it.

But it is a nice little short rocker but you can clearly see from everything that it was done in about 30 minutes.

Easily the worst song on the album no doubt. But at the same time it is very understandable why it became their biggest hit. It IS short, it IS catchy, it IS simple, it IS Sabbath's only really radio friendly track.

I think if Tony would have had bit more time to perfect the solo section that would have possibly saved the song. Now as it is even the solo is bit overly simplistic.

Think about Smoke On The Water, the main body of the song, the riff and the verses are very simple but the solo section is where the song comes alive in Paranoid that doesn't happen but the simplistic approach carries through that as well.

Honestly I have to say my world would not shatter all too much even if I never ever heard Paranoid again.

[Zzzptm]

I dunno... can't get a whole lot of solo into a song with a radio single time on it. And if you *did*, it would be cut for the (Radio Edit) version, so keeping it minimal works for Paranoid. And given Sabbath's penchant for roaming and wandering in their jams onstage, they need a nice exclamation point of a song to wrap things up and let everyone know it's time to start coming down from their highs.

[Charger]

Wasn't really talking about the length of the solo but more of the quality of the solo. As it is now it is missing that "something" special. Like said, overly simplistic...like the rest of the song.

[Typhon]

^^^^^^
Agreed.

Honestly I have to say my world would not shatter all too much even if I never ever heard Paranoid again.

  Careful, this is approaching blasphemy.

[Jack the Stripper]

Up next has Sabbath heading into psychedelia with Planet Caravan

Ozzy’s dreamy vocals accompanied by Tony’s laidback jazz like guitar, Geezer’s simple but effective underpinning bass line and Bill’s gentle bongo’s make this one of the most uniquely brilliant and beautiful Sabbath songs in their catalogue.

Have always had a soft spot for this song.

[Charger]

Planet Caravan was a real step outside the box for Sabbath. I think they took the basic idea of Sleeping Village and went a whole lot further with this one.

I'm not a big fan of slow ballady type of songs but I have to say Sabbath hit it out of the park with this one and Solitude...This isn't you typical ballad anyways...

The atmosphere (again..that's a word you use quite often when it comes to Sabbath songs now don't ya? ) in the song is great...or maybe in this case ambiance would be a better word.

Ozzy's vocal preformance is among his finest here (as well as on Solitude but we'll get to that one soon enough I think..) showing that he can do more than just that simpler more monotonic deliverance people are accustomed to hear. Too bad he didn't use this style after Solitude ever again...

The one thing that kind of feels bit out of place are those bongos...they add a kind of nice touch but their sound isn't quite right for the rest of the song. Something with bit softer sound would have potentially been a better choice...but overall that's actually a minor gripe.

Honestly I have to say my world would not shatter all too much even if I never ever heard Paranoid again.

  Careful, this is approaching blasphemy.

Yeah I know...but honestly I am pretty damn sick of that song.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Planet Caravan is one of those songs which sets Sabbath apart from other rock bands. You never know what you're going to get on a Sabbath album as it's not all heavy, heavy, heavy!

I like Planet Caravan, the otherworldly-ness of it is so calming and atmospheric. I won't lie there are better songs on the album, and if I'm honest I think the thematically similar Zeitgeist does it better... but the album wouldn't be as good without it.

[Zzzptm]

How about 5 hours of Planet Caravan? 

I'm not holding this up as anything groundbreaking. It's the heavy stuff where Sabbath pushed the edges, not when they did stints as The Tony Iommi Jazz Trio. If I was including the songs from Paranoid on a mixtape playlist, this is one that would land on the cutting-room floor. It's not bad, it's just that it's not a standout. For a chill track between three icons of rock, I'd rather go with Led Zeppelin's "Battle of Evermore" from their fourth album.

[Typhon]

Planet Caravan is my second favorite BFTO tune from the Sabbath catalogue.  When I first heard it, many years ago, I didn't think Ozzy was doing the vocals.  Was pleasantly surprised when I confirmed that he was.  Songs like this are just another reason why Black Sabbath stands head and shoulders above all others, for me.   

[Jack the Stripper]

Alright moving onto Iron Man there’s times I listen to it and actually think it’s straight up Sabbath’s greatest ever song and one of the best songs ever written. The opening kick drum stomps, Tony bending the E string above the nut with a robotic Ozzy announcing “I Am Iron Man” that leads into that classic memorable riff. Then all the the different movements of the song which are tied to the lyrics and story of the song for me make it one of the most ingenius and audacious pieces of rock music for its time. I’ve always been amazed how a band could write such a composition for 1970. There wouldn’t have been anything remotely like it....Just think about that.

[Typhon]

Alright moving onto Iron Man there’s times I listen to it and actually think it’s straight up Sabbath’s greatest ever song and one of the best songs ever written. The opening kick drum stomps, Tony bending the E string above the nut with a robotic Ozzy announcing “I Am Iron Man” that leads into that classic memorable riff. Then all the the different movements of the song which are tied to the lyrics and story of the song for me make it one of the most ingenius and audacious pieces of rock music for its time. I’ve always been amazed how a band could write such a composition for 1970. There wouldn’t have been anything remotely like it....Just think about that.

All true.  It's almost like they could see into the future.  There are a number of Sabbath's songs that you could call "groundbreaking", and I believe Iron Man is one of them.  I know others are going to say that it has been played to death.  But that should never diminish the creativity of a piece.  And as Jack touched upon, those who were not around in 1970 wound up hearing this tune for the first time after hearing many other heavy rock tunes that were released later on.  So I can't blame them for not being able to appreciate its groundbreaking status.  It is a classic.   

[Charger]

Iron Man...

That riff...that riff is what makes this song. Talk about an iconic riff.

The lyrics are bit silly as they don't really follow the Iron Man story...as far as I know anyways. But it doesn't really matter you can just ignore the fact that it's supposed to be based on the character and just enjoy it as it is. I doubt Geezer was much of a comic guy anyways...

The vocal melody is the same as the riff but it doesn't matter...Ozzy did that a bit anyways...it was his style and it worked.

And yes this song completes the overplayed trilogy of this album. This song I believe has been played on every SINGLE tour by every SINGLE line up just like Paranoid...and as if that wasn't enough Ozzy played it with his solo band as well virtually on every single tour.

Ofcourse it doesn't take anything away from the original composition but it does dilute the song...

That being said as a song this is much stronger than Paranoid and I still don't mind hearing this...Granted if I do a Black Sabbath collection on my car this song will NOT be on it.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Iron Man is another of those songs where I feel like the Heretic. It's one I've never been particularly fond of. I would like it better if it was an instrumental, as I'm not a fan of the lyrics, but the ending jam is pretty great.

[Jack the Stripper]

All these years on and fans still don’t get “Iron Man” and how the music follows the story of the song. And No, the story is not about or based in anyway on the Marvel comics character. Geezer was big into Sci Fi and the storylines a self-fulfilment prophecy mixed up with time travel.
It’s about a man who goes into the future and witnesses the apocalypse, then going back to his own time he encounters a magnetic field, which turns him into a mute, steel creature. Unable to talk, he still tries to warn people about the impending end of the world, but is only mocked for his troubles. Angry and bitter, he eventually causes the devastation he’d warned everyone about and ultimately the would-be hero becomes the villain.

Ozzy inspired the title which triggered the story as he thought the riff sounded like a big Iron bloke or Iron Man walking - Hence Geezer came up with the story and wrote the lyrics.

The whole song is quite complex and as I mentioned, the story, the music, and how both are tied together was like nothing for its time.