Black Sleep Albums: Black Sabbath's Never Say Die

Megadeth mainman Dave Mustaine once said that Never Say Die was his favourite Black Sabbath album.  Dave's pretty nutty, and Never Say Die! is arguably the weakest of the seminal Black Sabbath output (with Ozzy, that is), but that's not to say this album is without merit. 

I remember hearing the title track on an Ozzy's Speak of the Devil live album.  My high school bud, Sam, had sold it to me for $5, and I just remember thinking, "this doesn't sound like Sabbath at all."  Apart from the compelling chorus, the rest of the track sounds like an upbeat Thin Lizzy song, most particularly "the Boys are Back in Town," which never did much for me.  So I bought almost all the other Sabbath albums but this, leaving my other friend, Max, to buy every single goddamn Sabbath album.  I asked him about this one, and he said it wasn't too good.  I stayed away.  Let sleeping dogs lie, right?

Fast forward to my chaotic sophomore year of college.  A friend and I went to a CD shop, and found all these old Sabbath discs going for $4.99.  I figured it was time to round out my collection.  And while it was Mob Rules that ended up in my CD player on a steady basis, and has ever since occupied the place of favourite Sabbath album, I found Never Say Die! quite fascinating.  The fact that it was the last album with Ozzy until 2013's 13 and it was originally made for a different singer makes it all the more unique.  It's a rush job, that's clear, like they didn't know what to do, just get the album out, but in the process, they put a lot of odd ingredients in the mix. 

Whereas most rock/metal bands started using synthesizers and all that jazz in the mid-80's, Sabbath gives it whirl on here in 1979.  They're not prominent at all, only jumping to the front in "Johnny Blade," where they sound like something off of Thin Lizzy's excellent Thunder and Lightning.  This song's got a driving, gritty guitar riff that powers its way through the song, though falls short of the heaviness of their heavy metal masterpiece Master of Reality. 

"Junior's Eyes" is far more rock that heavy metal, and features a swinging bass groove from Geezer Butler over a simple drum beat.  Tony Iommi throws in little bursts of psychedelic guitar flourishes during the verses.  It's a strange sort of power ballad blended with 60 psychedelic rock.  "A Hard Road" could have come off of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and sounds the most like Sabbath of the whole bunch, but perhaps a touch too upbeat.  Ozzy's vocal melodies here are catchy, and lead up to a lush chorus mixed with two other different vocal tracks at the end, which is absolute torture if you hate Ozzy Osbourne.

Next up is "Shockwave," a pretty forgettable track.  There are some interludes with electric guitars layered with acoustics, and a bridge that sounds like UFO.  It does have a searing guitar solo right in the middle which redeems the song, before spiraliing into a dual guitar melody and another solo.  The "toot-toot" vocals towards the end over a heavy riff sound really out of place, and I don't know how a diehard metal fan would react if you played this for him when he was under the influence of heavy drugs. 

"This is Sabbath...this is Sabbath on drugs!"

In "Air Dance" and we're treated to pianos, a continuation of previous ballad-esque numbers such as "Changes" and "It's All Right."  "Air Dance," in spite of being a delicate ballad with ethereal melodies, is my favourite track from the album.  I'm sure I was going through some existential crisis when I first heard this, so the contemplative lyrics about getting old struck a nerve.  Maybe the references to a "dancing queen" made me think of that blonde chick in ABBA.  Or some shit like that, I don't know...but whatever, it's a marvellous, floating song that takes you beautiful, dying place.  The quiet breakdown features some lovely guitar/piano interplay as well, before the song has a little burst of energy, and evolves into some jazzy thing.  Santana anyone?  And that outro...is that some pseudo-Asia influence popping through?

I have no idea what the deal with "Over to You" is.  It's a pretty wacky number, kind of a throwaway like "Shockwave" with keyboard fills during the chrous and goofy yacht rock moments.  I could probably eat a cucumber and butter sandwich to this and not feel the least bit out of place.  We're treated to an instrumental, "Breakout," which features a horn section.  I hear a Chicago influence...I guess this is where their horn section went when Peter Cetera found out he could just have synthesizers play their parts, and not have to pay anyone.  If Black Sabbath hosted Saturday Night Live, this would be the opening theme song. 

"Swinging the Chain" is a strange way to end a Sabbath album, with a Bill Ward fronted song.  The riffs are heavy enough, but those vocals make me think of KISS, and Peter Criss in particular.  A harmonica pops up in the second verse, a little throwback to their debut album.  

Never Say Die!'s strengths are exactly what Sabbath's normally aren't: touching melodic sections, swinging grooves, and successful experimentation.  As I've said, the guitar tone doesn't even sound Sabbathy, and not even downtuned.  But you do have a lot of the Black Sabbath's strengths that don't get the credit they normally do.  Namely, melodic riffs, layered guitars, and bluesy, almost meandering solos.  Not to mention that Geezer Butler and Bill Ward are no slouches in the rhtyhm section, really cutting loose with some 70's grooves. 

This is a weird little interlude in the Sabbath catalogue, but when you think about what came before, it's almost expected they'd put something like this out.  It sounds like other 70's favourites like Santana, UFO, Thin Lizzy, and maybe even a touch of Led Zepplin.  The focus on more bluesey influences also shows them coming back to the blues roots of their debut album, a sort of "what if" if there ever were one in the Sabbath catalogue.  There are enough quirks and turns down bizarre roads to keep your attention through its 45 minute length. 

 Nate Jacobs's "black sheep" albums are albums that significantly deviate from the standard output of a band.  Most are just weird, a lot of them suck big time, but a few of them are absolute gems.