Never Say Die! - Song by Song

[Zzzptm]

Time for NSD!

So... what do you think of that title track?

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

As a pre-amble I think me and Charger will have vastly differing views of this album. For me it is the 3rd best Ozzy album after SBS and Sabotage, I know Charger hates it! It will be interesting to see if he likes anything on here!

[Zzzptm]

Playing the title track now... NSD is a proper opening basher, plenty of energy, even if it sounds a little tinny. Not much doom at all in the title, lyrics, key, or general tune.

And, from looking at this Top of the Pops footage, Ozzy was on something pretty potent to sing the entire song without blinking!

The album is a bit of hit and miss for me, last I checked, but more hits than misses, relative to Technical Ecstasy. This one's one of the hits.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

We start with one of the weaker tracks on Never Say Die, namely the title track. I used to hate this one but my opinion has mellowed over the years. I feel they were looking for an uptempo way to start the album and just didn't put much effort into it, the song is very generic. As I say I like it better now than I used to but it's only Break Out which flatters it here.

[Charger]

Had to come to this one....

Well...

Okay.

Never Say Die is the best track on this horrid album. It's actually not a half bad song. It's a nice fast rocker but it still sounds very little like the Black Sabbath we all know and love.
The riff is decent enough but it lacks all punch. It's like Tony just forgot how to play heavy guitar.

The late 70s was the starting point for proper heavy metal with bands like Judas Priest starting to get faster and heavier and what does Black Sabbath do? They go soft like an old man's...you know what.

Geezer isn't helping here either..granted his bass is mixed pretty low anyways but he used to play almost like rythm guitar adding some deep grunt but here there nothing like it.

That all being said this is a catchy tune though...sounding absolutely nothing like Black Sabbath but it is a catchy rocker and as such it has some value.

[Zzzptm]

It's definitely more radio-friendly in its production - and I think you nailed it with this being quite distant from NWOBHM bands like Judas Priest. Comparing this album with Heaven and Hell, we've got two totally different worlds, and H&H is definitely closer to NWOBHM than NSD!.

[Typhon]

  I think the real problem with people who complain about this album is, they can't accept the fact that Sabbath took a step away from an extreme doom sound.  A bit more of an open mind might help. 
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Never Say Die is a great opening number for this album.  Slams right out there from the very first note and doesn't let up.  Good pace, good energy, good start.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Johnny Blade - I like it, well, once you get past the overblown keyboard intro which does nothing for the song, you find a really nice rocker where the less prominent keyboards actually help the sound. The lyrics are silly but again I quite like them.

[Typhon]

Johnny Blade proves how you can have some good hard rock & roll without the doom sounds.  Good pace, nice use of keyboards, all around a great tune.  I believe Geezer said that the lyrics described a relative of his who was always mad at the world.

[Charger]

Johnny Blade is a an okay tune, the underline riff is pretty good but it's just buried underneath all in the mix and the over use of keyboard is annoying as hell.

The lyrics are silly and overall the song lacks all kinds of punch. Again it's like Tony forgot to connect his guitar to an amp...and Geezer went out to the pub to have a drink instead of recording some bass.

Ozzy also sounds very tired and he doesn't even bother much with the vocal melody..the whole Johnnyyyyyyyy Blaaaaaaaaadeeeeee thing is just bad..bad.

This is one of the three barely listenable songs on the album...but again it sounds nothing like Black Sabbath...

[Zzzptm]

Opening riff and ending of Johnny Blade are great. The middle part has always left me with a big "huh?" as it just dissipates the energy from the opening. I wish it didn't sound so tinny, as well. But back to that middle part, I never liked it as a kid and my tolerance for it has declined over the years. I might just one day take the MP3 of it and use Audacity to just cut the middle and have the opening and ending kept as they are.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Juniors Eyes is probably my favourite track on the album and a top 10 one to boot. Nice emotional lyrics about loss, relying on bass and drum for the verses with minimalistic guitar until the rockier choruses. Ozzy sings with great emotion, and there's a nice solo... all told it's a great all round effort.

[Zzzptm]

I agree, KDC. I didn't like it at first, but it's grown on me over time. The choruses are really heartfelt things, and I forgive the tinny production with Iommi's monster solo in it. I typically like to just skip directly from Never Say Die to Junior's Eyes (PROTIP: Typhon checks for spelling! ) and pass over Johnny Blade. After re-listening to Johnny Blade, I'd still do that move, because this song's energy keeps a focus and builds things up properly. It honestly feels very much like it splits the difference between SBS and Sabotage in terms of mood and feel.

[Typhon]

Junior's Eyes is the most creative song on this album.  It is a tune that required the specialized skills of all 4 band members.  Just another example of the innovative talent which puts Black Sabbath above any other band.

[Charger]

Junior's Eyes finishes the listenable songs section of the album.

This is again decent enough soft rocker of a song...but again sounds nothing like Black Sabbath but atleast there is some creativity going on in the song unlike most of the other tracks on the album.

Lyrics are probably the best one's on the album. Still a far cry from Geezer's finest stuff but good enough.

The production again is god awful but that is the case on the entire album...