Spoiler alert: Black Sabbath and Paranoid on Rhino High Fidelity reel‑to‑reel have completely overturned a lifelong prejudice of mine! As a youngster I never really connected with Black Sabbath — my only childhood memory of playing my older brother Richard’s copy of Black Sabbath is of the thunderstorm intro and Ozzy’s opening line: “what is this that stands before me…”. That was enough to file Sabbath under ‘too dark’ for this 10 year-old kid. And that’s where Black Sabbath stayed for me – filed – for what, 55 years! But just as Rhino’s Fun House reel transformed my view of The Stooges, these two tapes have done exactly the same thing. Twice.
I played each tape many times before writing this, and it was obvious they were keepers. For context, I borrowed two excellent UK Vertigo “swirl” pressings from Wanted Records in Bristol — a 1970 second press of Black Sabbath and an early 1971 repress of Paranoid. Both sound superb, but original UK Sabbaths are expensive, so having them as references was invaluable.
The tapes themselves
This is the first time Rhino has released two albums from the same artist in the High Fidelity Reel‑to‑Reel series, and it feels like a statement. To me this bodes extremely well: I would love to see more Yes titles, more Jethro Tull, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison…
Unfortunately the Paranoid sold out all 500 copies in three weeks — clearly demand is rising fast – let’s hope this might prompt more releases and in bigger numbers…
Finding a baseline: vinyl originals
Having played each tape three times, it was obvious they were astonishing albums and absolute ‘keepers’ in my collection. However, for the purposes of this review I felt I should put them into better context and so I started looking around for vinyl originals to act as reference. However, as any Black Sabbath fan will know, original Sabbath LPs, particularly original UK Sabbath LPs with the optically entertaining Vertigo swirl labels are incredibly highly prized (and highly priced). So, having found a couple of likely contenders which were going to cost me well in excess of £100 each, I turned to a friend, John, who works in a superb collector’s record shop, Wanted Records, in nearby Bristol. I last visited Wanted when I was doing my ‘in search of the ultimate Made in Japan’ (Deep Purple) video, as whatever record it is you’re looking for, Wanted will likely have a decent selection from which to choose. So, a massive thanks to ‘the two Johns’ (my friend John, and the shop’s owner) at Wanted for lending me these two: a 1970 original (second pressing) of the debut album, Black Sabbath and a super early 1971 repress of the second album Paranoid. In both cases I’d say these are a very strong EX+, they play superbly with barely a ‘tick’ on them. If you’re interested in these, or any other collectable records, give Wanted a call (link at the end).
The listening – first up: ‘Black Sabbath’
Note: For anyone interested in the details of the vinyl reference, it’s a UK second pressing from 1970. The (side 1) matrix is: VO 6 1Y * 1 420 12 12. You can tell it’s not the first pressing because it doesn’t have the “A PHILLIPS RECORD PRODUCT” wording beneath the Vertigo logo, and the wording ‘Black Sabbath’ is offset slightly to the right.
So, starting with the debut, the difference between vinyl and tape is immediate. On tape, the thunderstorm and church bells feel uncaged. Compared with the already mightily impressive vinyl, the soundstage simply disappears. The rain doesn’t feel like it’s contained within the room and the thunder and church bells seem to come from way off in the distance. It’s enchanting and captivating, and then the band explodes into action.
The guitar, bass and drums all sound phenomenal. The bass is deep, guttural and much more defined than on vinyl, but it’s the guitar that really leads from the get-go: heavy, menacing, full bodied and solid. You can feel its presence, kind of see beyond and behind it. For music so heavy, what the tape does so much better is to ensure that nothing loses any focus, any weight nor any detail. Another notable improvement over the vinyl are the cymbals: the detail and explicit timing of the high-hat, the crash and subsequent shimmer of the cymbals’ decay.
Some folks have commented that this tape is bright. Yes, I’ll agree it is bright, but it’s not too bright, it’s airy and open yet massively powerful all at once.
Then we have Ozzy’s vocal with the “what is this” line which emanates from perhaps seven feet high, singing over and above the instruments. He’s clear, vividly solid, life-size and stands dead centre. The drums roll with tremendous reverb echoing across the stage. You really do hear that the band is playing this live, albeit with Ozzy in a vocal booth, but playing together, live. The energy is immense. Every note of every instrument is exquisitely detailed, textured, weighted – and on fire! Towards the end when Tony Iommi launches into his solo, it will melt your mind. I’m only one track in, and I’m frankly completely blown away.
Going back and forth between the original vinyl LP and the Rhino tape is very interesting. The LP does sound superb, but the tape is in another league. Which is no real surprise, since what we have here is a flat, unaltered studio copy of an original studio master.
Specifically, this source tape is a US master, with the song ‘Wicked World’ in place of ‘Evil Woman’, the band’s first (cover) single that appears on the UK’s and many other territories’ versions of the album.
Track two, ‘The Wizzard’, starts with Ozzy’s haunting harmonica, vivid yet natural, with stunning projection into the room. After a couple of bars, the whole band licks in, and oh boy, do they kick. Every instrument is solid, vivid, present. The groove is intoxicating and addictive, the licks are vivid, holographic yet solid, opaque and – again – on fire.
Geezer Butler’s bass in ‘Behind the Wall of Sleep’ reminds me a little of John Entwistle, but with phenomenal weight, while also exquisitely detailed, textured and finely pitched.
‘N. I. B.’ is utterly incredible. The bass intro, hard right, is as good as any bass sound I’ve heard and it just keeps on getting better. Every element is holographic, yet solid and fully massive: the wailing guitars, the textured bass that plunges to the depths of hell, vivid guitar licks that leap out of nowhere…
‘Wicked World’ was the B side of Sabbath’s debut single, a cover of ‘Evil Woman’, and both tracks were recorded a week before the rest of the album, in London’s Trident Studios. It’s still vivid and holographic but there’s a slightly different sonic character to the recording venue, and therefore to the recording. For what it’s worth, I think the band feel more relaxed, more on fire, and freer seven days later in Regent Sounds Studios.
Which is where we return for remainder of this phenomenal album. ‘A Bit of Finger’, ‘Sleeping Village’ and ‘Warning’ kind of segue into one another but don’t let up for a second. The whole album thunders along with tremendous energy. You can hear and feel intimately into what every member of the band is doing at any one moment. Hell, you can feel their entire energy – I’m with them on every note, every chord, every moan, every wail.
Compared with the original vinyl – which really does sound superb by the way – the Rhino tape is bigger in scale and rock solid in space. I feel like I could wander around the stage, behind and between the musicians. Dynamically, it wins hands down, with its combination of massive weight with exquisite micro details and textures. I could almost spend an hour discussing just one bass note, one guitar note, or drum beat (warning to anyone who comes over… I probably will!).
Moving on to Paranoid
Once again, for those who care, the matrix details of my vinyl reference are: 6360011 1Y // 2 V 420 12 19C2. The fact that the ‘Vertigo’ wording is above the spindle hole together with the matrix numbers identifies this as an early 1971 repress. As with the self-titled debut, an excellent condition copy of this is likely to set you back around the same or more than these Rhino tape releases. Just think about that for a moment…!
Again the vinyl sounds great: smooth, dynamic, the bass it very nicely pitched, the guitar colourful and rips with real vigour, the drums are powerful and nicely weighted, and Ozzy’s voice is menacing and projected. There’s no doubt that the hype surrounding these original UK ‘swirls’ is justified.
But the tape? It’s staggering! It just annihilates the high standard set by the vinyl. But again, of course it does: you’re listening to an exact copy of the Trident Studios tape.
‘War Pigs’ is a masterclass: Geezer’s bass is growly, three‑dimensional, almost chewable; Iommi’s guitar is more biting and agile; the siren is more piercing; the drums more explosive. Ozzy’s vocal loses the slight lispiness of the vinyl and gains body and projection.
Rhino mentions a slight soundstage shift in the first few minutes of ‘War Pigs’ – which isn’t a fault of your tape, it’s on the master. Honestly, if I didn’t know, I’d never have noticed.
The drums and vocal are perhaps a degree or two to the left and the siren does seem to occupy a wider space, far back in the picture. But sonically everything is fine, well much more than fine, it’s bloody astonishing. Compared to the vinyl, even these first few minutes of the track have more weight, more momentum, more detail and solidity than the vinyl. The music literally thunders along. The massive monumental weight and precise power of the drums, together with the steamroller-like power and finely-pitched texture of Geezer’s bass create rock-solid foundation beneath the absolutely howling, screaming wail of Iommi’s guitar, the cymbals and Ozzie’s vocal pyrotechnics. ‘War Pigs’ is epic!
Paranoid’ itself is fascinating. Not wishing to alienate myself from all the Sabbath fans out there, but for my money, on vinyl it can feel overly fat — with the very heavy bass, bass guitar and kick drum kind of swamping out the guitar drums cymbals and vocal. On tape, the bass is still huge, but the midrange and treble stand proud. The guitar, snare, cymbals, and vocal cut through cleanly. It becomes a proper rocker rather than a muddy thump.
‘Planet Caravan’ is beautifully spacious and melodic — almost shockingly so if you only know Sabbath’s heavier side. ‘Iron Man’ hits with monumental weight and is perhaps most ear-worm inducing track on the album. And yet the track I kept returning to was ‘Planet Doom’ — hypnotic, heavy, alive.
Final thoughts
These are, without question, the best‑sounding versions of Black Sabbath and Paranoid I’ve ever heard. They’re open, layered, dynamic, theatrical, and heavy as hell — but never murky. For any die-hard Sabbath fan, hearing these reels must be close to a religious experience.
As for me, as someone who never cared much for the band, these tapes have been transformative. They didn’t just overturn my prejudice about these albums — they’ve made me want to explore the rest of the catalogue!
Links to find out more / buy
At the time of writing, you can still buy ‘Black Sabbath’ on Rhino Reel to Reel from: https://store.rhino.com/collections/reel-to-reel?srsltid=AU7gw4UpVcJj0yIejWLUdYqgGzfkRwdLThguaFLoRCV3VYHAkb_VtPA_
And for my vinyl references, many thanks to Wanted Records www.wantedrecords.co.uk
And here’s a bit more on video…
