The Ultimate Black Sabbath Package 50th Anniversary 5LP Paranoid Super Deluxe Edition

The first thing to notice about ‘The Ultimate Black Sabbath Package 50th Anniversary 5LP Paranoid Super Deluxe Edition’ is that it weighs a freaking ton. Everything about this release oozes quality, starting with the box itself which opens with a smooth whoosh as the air slowly escapes along the close fitting sides.

The list of contents of this 5LP box set is as impressive as it is long.

• The Original album re-mastered
• The 1974 Quadradisc mix folded to Stereo, on LP for the first time
• ‘Live in Europe’ A 3LP collection featuring two concerts never before available on vinyl: Live In Montreux 1970 & Live In Brussels 1970
• A reproduction of the 28 date US 1971 Spring Tour Programme
• A 40 page book
• Colour Poster

All the printing is of the highest quality and the 40 page book is a work of art, documenting the recording of the album and the formation and early years of the band. The pages are liberally festooned with gig adverts, media commentaries, reviews, newspaper clipping and photographs faithfully recreating the vibe of the early 1970s. Credit is due to Kory Grow of Rolling Stone Magazine for compiling and writing and to Hugh Gilmour, he of Pig Iron fame, for the layout and artwork – all of which are exemplary.

The discs themselves follow with the same high quality and attention to detail. The original re-mastered Paranoid and the folded down Quad mix are separately packaged in heavyweight cardboard sleeves, while the 3 live albums come in a triple gatefold pack with more press clippings and dedicated artwork. The weight of the vinyl isn’t specified anywhere but I can tell you that like everything else in this box, it is heavy!

All that can possibly be said about the music of Paranoid has already been said a thousand times and more so I’ll just say that for me probably more than any other album Paranoid set the template for heavy metal.

The 3 Live LPs offer a great opportunity to hear the energy and drive of Black Sabbath setting out their stall in the days of the dawn of Heavy Metal.

The only slight question mark for me about this otherwise flawless box set is the inclusion of the folded down Quad mix. The whole point of quad was to listen on 4 speakers and all the methods of encoding that down to two channels and decoding back to 4 by the listener were ultimately unsuccessful commercially. I’m a huge fan of surround sound but folding Quad down to stereo is at best going to give you something like the original stereo or at worst a slightly phasey and altered version of the original. So it’s one for the technophiles in my book.

Inspite of that rather minor quibble this box set is an absolute essential buy for every fan… not just every Sabbath fan but every fan of the music that is Heavy F***ing Metal \m/

Pre-order the ‘Paranoid: Super Deluxe Edition’ HERE:

Track Listings:

LP 1: Original Album

Side A

“War Pigs / Luke’s Wall”
“Paranoid”
“Planet Caravan”
“Iron Man”

Side B

“Electric Funeral”
“Hand Of Doom”
“Rat Salad”
“Jack The Stripper / Fairies Wear Boots”

LP 2: Quadradisc Mix in Stereo (WS4 1887) 1974

Side C

“War Pigs / Luke’s Wall”
“Paranoid”
“Planet Caravan”
“Iron Man”

Side D

“Electric Funeral”
“Hand Of Doom”
“Rat Salad”
“Jack The Stripper / Fairies Wear Boots”

LP 3: Live in Montreux 1970 (Part One)

Side E

“Intro”
“Paranoid”
“N.I.B.”
“Behind The Wall Of Sleep”

Side F

“Iron Man”
“War Pigs”

LP 4: Live in Montreux 1970 (Part Two)/Live in Brussels 1970 (Part One)

Side G

“Fairies Wear Boots”
“Hand Of Doom”

Side H

“Paranoid”
“Hand Of Doom”
“Rat Salad”
“Iron Man”

LP 5: Live in Brussels 1970 (Part Two)

Side J

“Black Sabbath”
“N.I.B.”

Side K

“Behind The Wall Of Sleep”
“War Pigs”
“Fairies Wear Boots”