Black Sabbath

As is the case with any of the previous instalments in the Classic Albums series, Classic Albums: Paranoid is an hour-long investigation into what inspired, created and resulted from Black Sabbath's legendary 1970 sophomore opus. Breaking the album down into a track-by-track analysis and varying up a bunch of talking heads with timely live footage and other referential visual aids, Classic Albums: Paranoid discusses the modus operandi behind each song by way of how the main riffs were introduced (mainly through jamming or twisting previous sessions), initial versions, lyrics/titles and the eventual outcome, as heard, enjoyed and aped for the past 40 years. While most of this analysis is nothing new, even a diehard Sabbath fan will glean something of interest thanks to fresh conversations with guitarist Tony Iommi, vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward (with interjections by various fans, accomplices and what-not, including Henry Rollins, engineer Tom Allom and more). Most interesting is learning how the band were largely unprepared while recording Paranoid. Few songs were fully written, yet that pressure spawned an inventiveness that shines through with vitality and energy. Moreover, a plethora of archival material keeps one interested until hitting the bountiful bonus material. Flush with almost as many minutes of extras as the main feature, Classic Albums: Paranoid bits such as "Musical Influences" (which reveals how the band did like the Beatles), an account of their first U.S. tour, the lack of returned product thanks to Paranoid's success, further inspection into Iommi's inimitable style and so on are almost more interesting than the in-depth analysis of the album. While the obvious aspects have been rehashed over the years, these are as fresh and creative as the album they explore. Worthwhile but not entirely necessary, Classic Albums: Paranoid is still a fun way to geek out for a couple of hours.