The last of the original "Ozzy" Osbourne era of Black Sabbath and what is usually considered to be a weak link in the otherwise mostly stellar Black Sabbath catalog. "Never Say Die" is really not as bad as people usually say it is; and I believe that it certainly holds up against the other Ozzy era albums. Let's take a look at this misunderstood album.....
First up is the titular "Never Say Die". The track sheds the detuned, heavy riff based tracks of early-era Sabbath for a more traditional classic rock sound. Bill Ward is stellar as always on the sticks, and Ozzy certainly does not sound as bad on this album as people would have you believe. Overall, a good song despite the stupid low-pitched vocals at the end of the track. "Johnny Blade" has a cool synth introduction that almost sounds like the solo Osbourne material that would soon follow "Never Say Die". Despite the ridiculous lyrics; the song has a classic Tony Iommi riff; albeit sightly more glossy sounding and less distorted than early records. The classic rhythm section of Ward and bassist extraordinaire "Geezer" Butler provide typically solid Black Sabbath foundations atop Iommi's guitar. The song is somewhat bloated in terms of length, as many of the group's tracks were then becoming. "Junior's Eyes", a song written about the then-recent death of Ozzy's father, is a bass-driven almost "funk" song. The bass is spectacular, and one of Geezer Butler's most intrepid creations on the four-string.
A "Hard Road" is a kind of throwaway of a song without any real substance. The song literally sounds like the band running out of steam after many hard years of touring, recording, and substance abuse. The song shows that Sabbath had really moved away from the occult and and doom and gloom at this point; instead focusing more on relationships, technology, as well as a wide manner of other topics of the day. The multi-tracked choir like vocals at the end only induce sleep further over Butler's lazy bass playing and Iommi's muffled guitar solos.
Side 2 kicks it up a notch with "Shock Wave". The song reminds one of classic Sabbath, with a heavy riff from Iommi and Butler's characteristic bass fills. I could not really ascertain what the song was about; but it does not really matter at this point in Sabbath's career. The solo is quite punchy; reflecting the rising influence of soon-to-be fellow tour mates on Iommi; Van Halen. Not a bad song at all and the closest facsimile to old Sabbath on the album. "Air Dance" is a nifty little song; with heavily multi-tracked guitars that would not sound out of place on an album by "Boston". Ozzy sings sombre lyrics over gentle pianos and Geezer's dreamy bass. Bill Ward really shows his Jazz foundations on this track; showing his versatility. The song kind of fizzles out after the amazing introduction; and never really recovers the interest of the listener. The song is very sleepy; and the gentle guitars and keyboards reflect an increased interest in Jazz at this point of the band's history. The song contains a lengthy breakdown; and shows that at this point the band had moved away from the shorter songs that had dominated early albums such as "Master of Reality" and "No. 4".
"Over To You" is a very contemporary sounding song for Black Sabbath. The song would not sound entirely out of place on an album by Chicago. The cheesy tinkling pianos and organ-sounding guitars reflect a very dated sounding Sabbath at this point. The song is a mess. Butler and Ward seem much more out of sync than previous albums here; and the previously invincible rhythm section appears to be starting to show cracks at this point. The guitar sound is very subdued for Iommi, and the very clean sound is almost ruined by the somewhat distorted but not clean guitar. Skip this one. The instrumental "Breakout" does not really add much to the album, and again sounds very dated. This slow jam reminded me of something by "Blue Oyster Cult". The horns are really out of place for Sabbath; and this is easily the worst Sabbath instrumental ever recorded. The drumming is solid; but lost in a haze of horns. Thankfully; the short experiment was not a sign of a future direction for Sabbath. "Swinging The Chain" closes out the album nicely. Bill Ward shows us his vocal talent; with a powerful baritone voice not unlike Zakk Wylde of "Black Label Society". The song contains a very nice distorted riff from Iommi, and nice harmonica playing. Great song.
"Never Say Die" is not a masterpiece, but it is not a train wreck Fans of Sabbath will find enough to like here amid the filler. Overall, get the earlier albums first, but don't overlook some of the classic material on this final (new album, 2012!) album of the original Ozzy era.
Rating-7.5/10
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