It is the same album. Although I was first introduced to Sabbath in '74 with "Paranoid" and "War Pigs" on a compilation set, my entry was "Technical Ecstacy". Before departing Crete in '76, my family lived in a rooftop studio in Chani for a month.I had got the TE cassette for my birthday and rigged up an old push and play cassette player/recorder with a set of two mono earplugs wired ti simulate syereo and listened to that album for weeks looking out over the ancient city on the Med on one side and the central mountains on the other.
Apart from the production i never understood the dislike for this album. Classic killer songs. Junior's Eyes and Airdance were always favorite Sabbath tunes.
This album sounded like a precursor to Ozzy's solo career. Very pop but still dark and somewhat heavy. Great record all around. Everyone played superbly.
Great review, Phil, and really appreciate your reveal to the revelation that NSD is a really good record. And the notion of the “entry point” rings true for so many bands and artists I enjoy: Yes, Black Sabbath, King Crimson, BöC, Renaissance, etc. I think much of my direction was shaped by finding FM radio in 1979 when I was 10-11. With respect to Black Sabbath, I knew some of the singles from the first two records off the radio, and I bought and loved those albums. Imagine my surprise when the first contemporary release from Sabbath for me was Live Evil! I had no idea Dio and Vinnie were in and Ozzy and Bill were out. Wholly new sound for me. And my first Black Sabbath show was the Born Again tour, but by then I knew Ian Gillan had recorded with the band. I think Born Again is my favorite Sabbath record, among so many greats from them.
I just have 2 words to say why I have always loved this album: Air Dance. Sheer bliss...... Always considered the first 10 Albums they did as superb. I never rated Technical Ecstasy or Never Say Die! any less than the others. They are just examples of a band expanding & progressing their musical palate.
Yeah love that multi-track gtr intro. along with the great piano playing. Sadly people say negative things about "T.E. and "N.S.D." ..People complain if a band does the same style and if they experiment with different ideas, they get a lot of negativity in both situations...."the curse of longevity".
It took me about 25 years. As a teenager, I didn’t get it because all I wanted was “More Vol. 4” basically. But as an adult, on a hot summer day about 4 or 5 years ago, it just hit me. “Over to You” in particular. But there’s a lot to enjoy. I think Tony’s solo on “Junior’s Eyes” is a monster.
This album is fantastic. Never understood why it wasn’t liked. So it isn’t like the earlier albums. That’s a good thing. Those were their own thing. It’s better they didn’t follow formula. Shockwave is a fantastic song. Many fantastic songs here.
Never Say Die was a slight improvement over the bummer of the summer of 1976, Technical Ecstasy. ( 1979 was a disaster, In Through The Out Door and The Wall were even more disappointing). Black Sabbath still had a good live show when I saw them in December of 1976, but the late 70's brought change to the music scene and you could sense the power drain from the heavy bands of the earlier 70's and soon we were awash in disco, punk, no wave and regay. You are correct Phil, the entry point for you're musical experience is how you relate to a band or musical genre. For me it was hearing The Guess Who's (still Chad Allen and the Expressions) version of Shakin All Over in early 1965 that turned me into a rock n roll fan. Whole Lotta Love on the A.M. radio in 1969 as my introduction to L.Z. and listening to Sabbath's Paranoid in 1971 at high school with the new term "heavy metal" being heard.. Cheers.
At the time to me this album reflected the post punk. New Wave vibe that was around. It’s Sabbaths indie album. Spot on about the harmonies on Hard Road & the title track + Juniors Eyes are standouts.
A genuinely moving tribute to this band's completion of the Big Six original albums. Hi Phil, your new Sabbath friend from the states, I have told you part of my story in my personal relationship with the band starting with meeting Ozzy in his hotel room in July of 1975 until the passing of their tour manager, my long time friend, in 1992. I was 15 in 1970 when I heard the first album, saw them in 1972 for Master of Realty tour (they have one of my photos of that night on their website in the "history" section, saw the Bloody Sabbath tour and then after forming a connection with some of them by getting in a car accident in front of their hotel, the "touring as a guest" saga began. I believe your description of Never Say Die is spot on, but, my own preferences of the first six are: Sabotage a "10", Bloody Sabbath a "9.5" Volume 4 "9.2", Master of Reality "9", the first two tied at "8.5", Technical Ecstasy "8.0" and Never Say Die "7.5". just a general ranking based on an in your face first time reaction. I was on the Never Say Die tour, and yes, Van Halen blew them off the stage, Sabbath knew it, especially Ozzy would wanted to be like Diamond Dave but knew it was best to stay in the lane he had formed for himself. One moment during a Van Halen soundcheck I approached Eddie and boldly asked him what his views were on Blackmore, he said, and I quote "He has always been an influence, but should play with his band more instead of blasting out a solo then retracting back into his own world". Interesting, Ritchie is still the king though. I love parts of Never Say Die, I really like Air Dance. Mark Forster sent me a 45 of Hard Road that was not available in the states. I will sum up by saying, Sabbath's music (like Van Halen's first album) changed the world at that time. Your reflections bring so much back to light and vivid recollection, I truly appreciate your channel so much. thank you, Pat Renau
Good on you, Phil. It´s all Black Sabbath, whether fronted by Ozzy, Dio, Gillan, Tony Martin or whoever. Great episode, and I may even be tempted to give Never Say Die a spin, having sworn off that album decades ago.
Your painting-a-picture method of telling a story is a very similar technique my deceased friend had (a huge Sabbath fan too). I had the advantage of not having a preconceived idea of what Sabbath should sound like. At the time I had heard other Sabbath songs but I had not bought any albums until NSD! I like every track, but I always felt Breakout would have made a great theme tune for a typical late 70s detective film or TV show.
You just said the 2 words that prevent many a listener from actually enjoying a good album. "pre-conceived notions" or as I call it "pre conceived expectations" prevent people from hearing an album with a fair and open mind. You were able to hear the album with an open mind and therefore recognized the strengths of the album.Pre-conceived expectations.....put a bands music in a box that they can't go outside of. That closed minded psychology can completely stop an individual from hearing an album with any real objectivity and prevent the listener from enjoying what is actually a very enjoyable album. I've seen people do this a thousand times. I my self have been guilty of this until I became aware of the psychology that is causing it and how it was affecting my judgement.
Air Dance proves how brilliant these guys truly were. I was already a Sabbath fan for a year or so when this album came out. I bought it at release and have loved it since day one. Depending on the day I cite either Vol. 4 or Master of Reality as my favorite Sabbath album but NSD always ranks at #3.
I was 20 when it was released. Loved it! More experimentation, as with the previous album, that works. Glad you are now onboard! And, I'm jealous of your Hard Road purple single.
My man! You've finally reached appreciation of this album. I've always had a soft spot for this album, it was recorded in my hometown of Toronto, Canada. I love the songs on here, especially Shock Wave, Air Dance and Swinging the Chain. I know it's a departure from their old sound but I think they could have gone forward with this direction. Also, Bill Ward's vocals on Swinging the Chain are very good, would have been interesting to see if they had gone forward as a 3 piece with Ward handling vocals, ala Genesis with Phil Collins. Anyway, glad to hear you like this album now
I have always absolutely loved everything on side one - side two has always seemed weak to me, but im gonna listen to it today. I saw the never say die tour when i was 17 years old, and it brightened my teenage heart
I always liked NSD, I can understand why some absolutely detested it at first but on my first listen I liked it. Never Say Die and Shockwave are my favorite songs on the album.
a vastly underrated album that just didn't land as well as it should have in the year it was released. In 1978 modern heavy metal was becoming extremely popular and metal fans wanted their metal albums to be "metal" albums! I think if the Sabbath camp was more aware of this they could have adjusted some in the writing and completion of this album which is in my opinion 90% great! I believe what really hurts the album the most is the mix and mastering. No album I can think of needs a remix more than NSD. I'm glad that NSD is now being looked at in a much better and fairer light, and a lot of Sabbath fans that wrote if off back in '78 are now hearing it with "fresh ears" and realizing that it's a very strong collection of songs with a few tracks being outright Sabbath classics. Phil I love the honesty in your story and review! And one other thing.....Tony Iommi was ahead of his time and didn't fall into that rigid formula that many metal bands adhered to in FEAR of doing anything bold and unconventional. We need to give Tony credit for being bold, being creative and creating songs that weren't just copies of earlier heavy metal riffs. NSD takes chances and those chances lead to original and fascinating creativity.
@@NowSpinningMagazine I just listened to side one again, and Junior's Eyes always gets me: lyrically touching and musically so different. Like Purple, Sabbath are fearless, not bound by audience expectations, and it's that that brings their audience with them.
My first two Sabbath albums were Heaven and Hell and Never Say Die (both in '83 at age 11) and I just assumed they were Sabbath classics.......so imagine my surprise years later when I discover that in the press only one gets all the love. What?! It is not only my favourite Sabbath album but it is one of my favourite albums by anyone, period. It has a musical maturity and a real sense of melancholy about it. It's like somewhere deep down those 4 guys new they were never going to do this again and they didn't (I include 13). It has hidden depths only matched for me, by Sabotage but whereas that album is defined by a kind of manic rage, Never Say Die has both a sense of wonder and like I say, a deep melancholy. And in 'real life' I have never spoken to any Sabbath fan who doesn't like it. Respect to Don Airey also for his wonderful playing. His magical runs in the pre-chorus of Over to You paired with Ozzy's great yearning vocal melody really breaks my heart. Pure magic. I'm so glad you got there Phil!
@@NowSpinningMagazine Not so with On Parole! Heaviest band in the world?? How confusing was that! But yes, your theory usually holds true....(actually it is pretty good).
I loved the story of this Phil. My story is similar . Like yourself I bought the 2 singles off the album. I also went to see Sabbath on the same tour.I went to Aberdeen gig. Yes Van Halen were amazing. I hadn't heard of them before that gig. I ended up buying the album.Still got it. However only thing is I never returned to the Never Say Die album. maybe its time I did Thanks
This is one I came around too as well. I love what came after, but I do think that Never Say Die! is the last time that Sabbath really experimented, and it's awesome
I only ever listened to Sabotage and Heaven & Hell this is my third Sabbath album I am listening to via the 20 album cd box set which I recently invested in. A great video thank you for sharing.
I rediscovered it not long ago, my sister had the vinyl when I was a kid. I loved it right away, really just side 1 but it's great stuff, especially Johnny Blade and Juniors Eyes. Bill Wards drumming is off the charts and it stands out beautifully in the mix. It's kind of a bridge to ozzy's later work IMO, though I'm not totally sure how involved Ozzy was except for the Junior's Eyes lyrics obviously.
Thanks Phil What a story it is. Thank you very much. Same for me in those days I bought also the single in Amsterdam only months before the album came out! Never say day blow me away.. The album for me also was different at that time The site A was good Site B was different but i always love what Sabbath was doing. Now you know what Sabbath still is at the moment. The Anno Domini boxset are selling out in the USA in one week 7200 sets are bought by diehard Sabbath fans. And still there are many many of them in the whole world. By the way TYR when it came out only in Germany 100.000 albums were sold. See you next time Sabbath sound the best sound around! Dick
A great album. I never considered it more commercial simply because it's more melodic. It's still within the metal framework which insured it would get very little press and radio play anyway. 🎸
Great video. I have always loved this album. I do know how you feel, though. I dismissed the whole Martin era of Sabbath. I never heard one song until I bought the new box set. I am pleasantly surprised. I now have a bunch of new Sabbath to enjoy.
You are correct, Phil. Entry point is very important. My entry point to Sabbath was The Mob Rules. Not the album. But, the song on the Heavy Metal soundtrack. I saw the movie opening weekend in ‘81. Keep in mind, I was on the cusp of turning 11 years old. During the Tarna scene, when The Mob Rules kicks in, I had never heard anything that brutal up to that point in my life! I bought the soundtrack shortly after and then the full Sabbath record when it came out. I knew who Ozzy was. But, I had no idea he was in Sabbath. I probably didn’t find out for another year or two. So, like you said with entry point being so important. I tend to lean with the Dio era. But, love all of the other albums for different reasons. Great video Phil!
I am the same way, Phil. I LOVE Black Sabbath's Ozzy years but Technical Ecstasy and Never Say Die were not very good when they came out, or at least I thought. In the last few years I have grown to LOVE both albums and in fact "A Hard Road" is one of my all time favorite Sabbath songs. Maybe some day we can do a live chat on my channel about the album and Technical Ecstasy, as I think a lot of Sabbath fans bash both albums and they are wrong.
My BS -as you called it- "starting point" was back in 1970 - so I bought all coming albums in chronological order and of course "blind". I purchased "Never say die" in the week they did their german tour. I had no idea about their support Van Halen and was more than surprised how the audience enjoyed them instead waiting for the BS set that evening..... Best memory for me personally was, that in thoose days it was possible after the show to wait for the band to come out for the waiting limousines. Tony gave me 5 minutes as a very private interview whie Ozzy and Geezer were waiting for him. So the Never say die aera still is special for me before realizing that it was the Swan song of my early heroes.
You mention entry point. For me, 1980 14 years old, im at a friends place and his older brother puts on SOSfRnR, and I was blown away. The next day, I buy a Black Sabbath album, Heaven and Hell is on the rack as a new release, I didn't know any better. It was Dio and I was hooked. I has the old Columbia house deal where you got 10 albums for a penny 😅. Anyway I ordered every Sabbath albulm available. Now I'm obsessed as I was in 1980. Thank you for sharing your Sabbath journey with us.
I saw Black Sabbath for the first time on this tour. I think part of the reason fans didn’t dig this album may have been because the fans, not just the band, may have felt stale at this point. I remember some of the audience were complaining before the show even started. Just an observation. Thanks for the great video Phil, cheers.🙏🏻🎧
Never Say Die! for me was one of those albums that was a game of two halves (first heard on a cassette in the 90s while I was collecting Sabbath's back catalogue) - something I found in common with Brian Johnson era AC/DC albums from Flick Of The Switch onwards - a much stronger first side over a weaker second one. Still like a fair bit of this album, especially tracks like Junior's Eyes, Hard Road and Air Dance, but I also hate Breakout, Over To You and Swinging the Chain - they never clicked with me, and much like Technical Ecstasy, are parts of Sabbath's history that I don't revisit that often.
Hi Phil yeah it’s a hard album to like I bought this album when it first came out and hated it and gave it away or swapped it for something else at the time but came across a decent copy some years later in a charity shop and just like you I thought I’d give it another shot still struggled with it but as time went on came to like it not the greatest Sabbath album but good enough to have back in my collection, loved your story behind this album Phil not boring at all, cheers Phil.
Nice video! I’ve always loved this record… for me, it always made sense as a progression from what came before. Junior’s Eyes is my favorite track on the record… what a phenomenal bass riff from Geezer!
Thank you! I first heard Never Say Die on a local College radio station in Washington, DC. Being a hard core Sabbath fan, I like the album, but not all the tracks. Not a fan of the guitar sound or mix as much as early albums. Killer solo on Shock Wave. I saw them at the Baltimore Civic center on that tour. I really do not remember much. My favorite tracks are Johnny Blade, Hard Road, Junior's Eyes, Shock wave and the title track.
Nice breakdown, and interesting hearing your perspective. This album came out the year I first heard them. I had just started playing guitar after hearing Electric Funeral for the first time and picked up their whole catalogue. I really appreciated how they didn't have one particular music lane but always switched it up. I really liked a lot of the sound textures on this as well as on Sabotage and Technical Ecstacy, and interestingly enough the one I listened too the least was Sabbath Bloody Sabbath which took me a while to appreciate. Thank you Tony for opening the door to me (and many more) for becoming a musician, definitely one of the players on my personal Mount Crushmore.
It's good to hear you talk about these albums that were on a slippery slope critically when they were released. Either the zeitgeist had changed or critics thought these bands were getting beyond their best by date, as stated by the critics. Vol 4 was my (late 70s) entry (and still my favorite) to Black Sabbath and then Never Say Die and Technical Ecstasy. So these two sounded really good to me at the time but it wasn't til much later that I realized what Sabbath were all about and TE and NSD slipped in my ranking order for awhile but they have made a serious return to my turntable over time and listening to them with a new perspective and context where they hold up despite being different from the preceding ones..
I loved this album and Technical Ecstasy, I think it would have been 83 that I got my hands on it, I was 15 years old. My first Sabbath Album was the best of album We Sold Our Souls for Rock and Roll. I was a fiend for them, loved the albums with Ronnie too especially Mob Rules, still love that album.
Love this album. Love the singing, love the sound, love the lyrics. For the life of me I don't think I'll ever understand the panning it gets from fans. So guessing you'll put me right on that Phil, looking forward😉. PS love the guitar sound particularly. If you want to know what a chainsaw vomiting sounds like, listen to the guitar on this album! Lol
It is great to hear about your "history" with this album. I received "Tech. Ecst." as a birthday present in '76, and did not like their new sound, so I sort of wrote them off and got into other types of music. I did not hear this album until '88-'89, and I thought that it was good (except for the last two tracks), many bands from that era were changing their style and exploring different sounds (for example: Yes, Gentle Giant, Genesis, Jethro Tull, David Bowie...etc.) . It is a risky thing to do, the die-hard fans seem to be negative when a band tries something different, but to my mind, it is always great to hear something new and fresh.
Another great video - gonna have to listen to this album again now as it’s the one I listen to the least - wish I’d been old enough to join that Sabbath rock club In Birmingham 😊
It's a gem, quite a melancholic album. Loved it always, from 1978 'til now. At 1st I heard it in a radio broadcasting show in '78 in the age of 4. The 2nd listening was after its buy in 1992. I feel remembered just like "I know that", it's quite familiar. Since this situation I listened to it very often. And you and your descriptions make me starting rebuy this album.
Superb video as always Phil. I notice you saw the Sabs on June 6th 1978 at the Birmingham Odeon, whereas I saw them the night before. Sabbath started the show with Symptom of The Universe, after which Ozzy shouted something like "I've got to change me trousers! They've split!" The show ground to a halt whilst he changed them, came back on and they did another two songs when (i think it was after Snowblind with the stage swathed in dry ice) a guy came on and said that the rest of the show was cancelled as the ice had made the amps malfunction! They promised a replacement gig the following week (with Tanz der Youth, not Van Halen), which went pretty well. I always liked the first side of Never Say Die, with Ozzys vocals on Juniors Eyes particularly heartfelt. Side two was always a mixed bag, but I never understood the dislike for this album in some quarters. Certainly for me the least interesting of the classic Ozzy albums, but still decent. even more surprising, John Peel liked it and played Hard Road...
Hi Phil I am similar to you bought it as soon as it came out vinyl, got lost somewhere 🥲🥲. Not heard for 40 years. Just got remastered cd wow why did I leave it so long? I love the album excellent first 4 tracks yeahh. Sometimes you have to wait lol
I've been listening to a poor quality CD of Never Say Die in my car for the last few weeks and I love this album. The first seven songs are fantastic ( I must confess, I always skip the last two tracks, though... sorry Bill). I also like the album cover and sleeve artwork. Thankfully, the blue splatter on clear viinyl LP I bought is a decent pressing and sounds crystal clear. Excited to hear your review, Phil : )
Loved both this album, and Technical Ecstasy from their initial releases. Side one is as good as any Sabbath album. So evocative Phil! A generation almost living the same life. I was 17 in 1978, so it was all UFO, VH, Styx & Sabbath. What I wouldn’t give for: - all my past editions of Sounds - my denim jacket & embroidered badges - all the programmes However, the memories trump them all thankfully! -
I got into Black Sabbath through the "Heaven and Hell" and "Mob Rules" albums and spent many years believing that the Dio version of Sabbath was the best one. Apart from those albums, I had "Paranoid" as a single and the two singles you have from "Never Say Die". It was the wife who sat me down some years ago and made me listen to "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" for the first time that I realised how "silly" I'd been - it's still my favourite Sabbath album to this day. With that said, I did always like the "Never Say Die" and "Hard Road" singles so I guess you could argue that they "opened the gate" to my eventually getting fully into Ozzy's Sabbath - and I've never had an issue with the album either, as a result.
Love how albums can open up years after first hearing them. Totally agree about people’s entry point for artists tending to be at or near the top of their album rankings.
Thank you, Phil! A wonderful review! I always liked Swinging the Chain, but I was with you in my first impressions of Breakout. It sounded like a rudderless piece of filler just thrown in completely out of place even on an experimental album. I've since warmed up to it in recent years. I look forward to the Sabbath albums ranking list.
Hi Phil, an interesting video! I must admit it’s not the strongest album of the Ozzy years, it’s not as heavy as the first four and it’s not aggressive as “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath “ & “Sabotage.” But the stand out track for me is “Juniors Eyes.” The lyrics are exceptional and as you say, Ozzy’s melodies! But the emotion he puts in, is so real! I think he’s pouring his heart in the recorded performance, due to his complicated bereavement of his father passing away from cancer. I agree, Sabbath’s “Heaven and Hell” & Ozzy’s “Diary of a Madman,” are much stronger albums , with a point to prove with the playing, composition. I think for whatever reason, there’s always an album that may not move you as others do but that’s life! I love the “Born Again” album and I know a lot of people that don’t but I love it, especially “Hot Line” & “Disturbing the Priest,” I even love the album cover. I think a lot bands do suffer burn out and in 78/79, I think it was that time for Sabbath !!! But Black Sabbath are up there with my favourite bands as well as, Iron Maiden, Motörhead, VoiVod and Celtic Frost.🤘🤘🤘
My introduction was Sabbath Bloody Sabbath which I bought new when I was 12 in73/4.I mowed a lot of lawns to get the money.Then I gradually collected all the albums.But I remember walking into the local record shop and there at the front of the new releases was Never Say Die.Got it home and dropped the needle.Hmm sounds like Thin Lizzy,that one sounds like Quo,that one a bit poppy,jazzy?,and what’s all this brass,and whose singing on the last track,has Ozzy got sore throat.But I loved the album and played it to death.No it wasn’t Master of Reality or Sabotage but I saw it as some sought of progression.Skip forward and I’m working in that record shop and Heaven and Hell drops and Dio’s in Ozzy’s out and the band reinvents itself.That album takes over and NSD goes to the back of the pile.But I still love it to this day.
Well Phil what a coincidence. I have just been considering buying the splatter version for the comic book. Kind of out of nowhere too. It took me YEARS to understand NSD too. It was during COVID that I actually sat down and gave it a chance. I thought “wow” I really do like this album. Interestingly (and mainly due to the critics). I hadn’t given TE or Sabotage a chance either, and then they suddenly came to life for me. Then so it went on and I started to love the other reincarnations of the band. Black Sabbath is the band that just keeps on giving. The greatest band of all time in my opinion. Thanks for such a great video Phil!
After buying the "Anno Domini"-Box this remains the only Sabbath-Album I do not own. I have a couple of Songs on the "Under Wheels of Confusion"-Box, but I really only remember the Title Track. Looking forward to this video.
Love your in-depth reviews, man; please keep doing them👍 I was six when this came out so I didn't listen it since a decade after it's relesse, and I loved it from the first spin. Believe it or not it's my favorite Ozzy era Sabbath album. Thanks🍺🤘!!
I really like Never Say Die. It is not as "metal" as their classic run of albums, but I find the songs are pretty good in a different way than usial. It is very interesting hearing your own story about reacting to the album in real time, and with Van Halen exploding onto the scene. Honestly, I can really now understand why the album has the reputation it does. Fascinating. I admit I do not care for Technical Ecstasy, but hearing that you are a fan makes me want to give it another chance.
I always seen the Sab4 discography. BS1 through Vol4 is thier birth and childhood, rough, unchained, raw and filled with curiosity. SBS and Sabotage is thier teen and young adulthood, cool, in your face, chance takers, confidence and world famous. TechEx and NSD as thier arrival to the mountain top, the epitome of world domination, they were the king makers (VH and Styx) full grown genre creaters and influence beyoyd even thier own understanding. Then divorce. Regrouping and giving the world another 35 years of music through Sabbath, Ozzy and Dio.
For me, Never Say Die! was an album that took time to grow on me. I tend not to enjoy most of Sabbath's more somber songs so Junior's Eyes and Air Dance don't do it for me at all though Air Dance musically is very good. For a while I sort of dismissed it as this weird, depressing album but songs like Swinging the Chain and especially Shock Wave stuck in my head. It certainly stays lower in my list of Ozzy fronted Sabbath albums but it's far from being bad. It's interesting and unique in that era and really doesn't deserve the treatment it gets from some fans and Sabbath themselves. I really enjoyed listening to your history with the album.
Great chat mate, I was the same, was easily their worst Ozzy era release was a sign the band was on it last legs, but yes recently l iistened to it again pretty much been at least 10 years or more since put it on, was around 20 when first got the album, I have the 10 Years War box set now, And yes it has in some way improved, still not great but has at least a few classcs, side 1 had the best tracks side 2 was not so good, Johnny Blade & Junior's Eyes being 2 of them & Never Say Die was ok & then being on tv believe it was Tops ? playing it was a very strange. Still my least favourite, am now 66 now but may give it another go now you have wetted my interest. The rankings of the albums wiil be a great topic be interesting to see where you put this one now 🤗😙. Keep up these great reviews and yes Never Day Die 🤟
I still have the single of Never Say Die in the picture bag, and also the purple Hard Road single. Love Johnny Blade and Junior's Eyes. I missed Van Halen; I went to the bar!
The production is flat. You can feel the chaos in the band from a mile away. And yet, I love this album; in a way , it's a brave record, full of weird gems. Air Dance is such a masterpiece.
Glad you've finally got into it Phil! It was always great to me from the off. I remember thinking at the time it was simply a more modern sounding Sabbath. Hard Road is very Quo-like but nevertheless is one of my favourites. Air Dance has elements similar to Brand X thanks to Don Airey and Iommis saturated guitar tone is glorious. Ozzy was always a master of melody and is on top form even though we now know he was out of it most of the time. I saw them on the preceding tour where the support was a band called Nutz, absolute rubbish, so at least you got Van Halen!😂Keep up the great content. Cheers
Brilliant review Phil, I've always like NSD, yeah the production is tinny, but tracks like NSD, Johnny Blade, Juniors Eyes and Hard Road are classics, funnily enough I've never had much time for Technical Ecstasy, seen some rave reviews of the box set which is quite tempting, keep up the great work.
Johnny Blade surely one of Iommi's best riffs and this album is one of Sabbath's most musically adventurous maybe due to Iommi being in the hot seat. I can understand many thinking the album was a hotchpotch of ideas, inconsistent and a little 'hollow' sounding but Phil re-appraisal sheds light on the fact that this album is worth reinvestigation.
Technical Ecstasy is indeed a really good record! Never Say Die! sounds very lacklustre in comparison, sorry, Phil. But loved hearing about your background to the album, amazing how you can remember all the details, I feel like I'm there in 1978 with you 😎
Following on from Vol 4 and Masters of reality, Sabotage and Technical Ecstasy you can hear the band maturing. Stunning album that never gets old. I was so excited to see them on TOTP as a young teenager, I love all their albums but they seem to peak right there. Ozzy leaves, a string of singers follow, then Ozzy comes back, apparently he hates the album and Never say die is dead and forgotten. Their best album by far imho. Although, TE isn’t far behind!
It is the same album. Although I was first introduced to Sabbath in '74 with "Paranoid" and "War Pigs" on a compilation set, my entry was "Technical Ecstacy". Before departing Crete in '76, my family lived in a rooftop studio in Chani for a month.I had got the TE cassette for my birthday and rigged up an old push and play cassette player/recorder with a set of two mono earplugs wired ti simulate syereo and listened to that album for weeks looking out over the ancient city on the Med on one side and the central mountains on the other.
Apart from the production i never understood the dislike for this album. Classic killer songs. Junior's Eyes and Airdance were always favorite Sabbath tunes.
Never say die is a masterpiece. Loved it since it came out. I was 15.
I've been a huge fan of this album since 1978 !
45 years, are you kidding..? This album is fantastic. You are forgiven
This album sounded like a precursor to Ozzy's solo career. Very pop but still dark and somewhat heavy. Great record all around. Everyone played superbly.
Great album One of the best Hard Road Juniors Eye Love it
Great review, Phil, and really appreciate your reveal to the revelation that NSD is a really good record. And the notion of the “entry point” rings true for so many bands and artists I enjoy: Yes, Black Sabbath, King Crimson, BöC, Renaissance, etc. I think much of my direction was shaped by finding FM radio in 1979 when I was 10-11.
With respect to Black Sabbath, I knew some of the singles from the first two records off the radio, and I bought and loved those albums. Imagine my surprise when the first contemporary release from Sabbath for me was Live Evil! I had no idea Dio and Vinnie were in and Ozzy and Bill were out. Wholly new sound for me. And my first Black Sabbath show was the Born Again tour, but by then I knew Ian Gillan had recorded with the band. I think Born Again is my favorite Sabbath record, among so many greats from them.
I just have 2 words to say why I have always loved this album: Air Dance. Sheer bliss...... Always considered the first 10 Albums they did as superb. I never rated Technical Ecstasy or Never Say Die! any less than the others. They are just examples of a band expanding & progressing their musical palate.
Yeah love that multi-track gtr intro. along with the great piano playing. Sadly people say negative things about "T.E. and "N.S.D." ..People complain if a band does the same style and if they experiment with different ideas, they get a lot of negativity in both situations...."the curse of longevity".
Air dance is an overlooked prog classic
It took me about 25 years. As a teenager, I didn’t get it because all I wanted was “More Vol. 4” basically. But as an adult, on a hot summer day about 4 or 5 years ago, it just hit me. “Over to You” in particular. But there’s a lot to enjoy. I think Tony’s solo on “Junior’s Eyes” is a monster.
Hoping they do the re-issue/remix treatment to this like Technical Ecstasy. LOVE this album. Junior's Eyes is as good a song as they ever did.
This album is fantastic. Never understood why it wasn’t liked. So it isn’t like the earlier albums. That’s a good thing. Those were their own thing. It’s better they didn’t follow formula. Shockwave is a fantastic song. Many fantastic songs here.
Loved that Phil. Very much mirrors my own history with this album, though whilst I appreciate it, I still struggle with it at times.
Never Say Die was a slight improvement over the bummer of the summer of 1976, Technical Ecstasy. ( 1979 was a disaster, In Through The Out Door and The Wall were even more disappointing). Black Sabbath still had a good live show when I saw them in December of 1976, but the late 70's brought change to the music scene and you could sense the power drain from the heavy bands of the earlier 70's and soon we were awash in disco, punk, no wave and regay. You are correct Phil, the entry point for you're musical experience is how you relate to a band or musical genre. For me it was hearing The Guess Who's (still Chad Allen and the Expressions) version of Shakin All Over in early 1965 that turned me into a rock n roll fan. Whole Lotta Love on the A.M. radio in 1969 as my introduction to L.Z. and listening to Sabbath's Paranoid in 1971 at high school with the new term "heavy metal" being heard.. Cheers.
At the time to me this album reflected the post punk. New Wave vibe that was around. It’s Sabbaths indie album. Spot on about the harmonies on Hard Road & the title track + Juniors Eyes are standouts.
A genuinely moving tribute to this band's completion of the Big Six original albums. Hi Phil, your new Sabbath friend from the states, I have told you part of my story in my personal relationship with the band starting with meeting Ozzy in his hotel room in July of 1975 until the passing of their tour manager, my long time friend, in 1992. I was 15 in 1970 when I heard the first album, saw them in 1972 for Master of Realty tour (they have one of my photos of that night on their website in the "history" section, saw the Bloody Sabbath tour and then after forming a connection with some of them by getting in a car accident in front of their hotel, the "touring as a guest" saga began. I believe your description of Never Say Die is spot on, but, my own preferences of the first six are: Sabotage a "10", Bloody Sabbath a "9.5" Volume 4 "9.2", Master of Reality "9", the first two tied at "8.5", Technical Ecstasy "8.0" and Never Say Die "7.5". just a general ranking based on an in your face first time reaction. I was on the Never Say Die tour, and yes, Van Halen blew them off the stage, Sabbath knew it, especially Ozzy would wanted to be like Diamond Dave but knew it was best to stay in the lane he had formed for himself. One moment during a Van Halen soundcheck I approached Eddie and boldly asked him what his views were on Blackmore, he said, and I quote "He has always been an influence, but should play with his band more instead of blasting out a solo then retracting back into his own world". Interesting, Ritchie is still the king though. I love parts of Never Say Die, I really like Air Dance. Mark Forster sent me a 45 of Hard Road that was not available in the states. I will sum up by saying, Sabbath's music (like Van Halen's first album) changed the world at that time. Your reflections bring so much back to light and vivid recollection, I truly appreciate your channel so much. thank you, Pat Renau
Good on you, Phil. It´s all Black Sabbath, whether fronted by Ozzy, Dio, Gillan, Tony Martin or whoever. Great episode, and I may even be tempted to give Never Say Die a spin, having sworn off that album decades ago.
Your painting-a-picture method of telling a story is a very similar technique my deceased friend had (a huge Sabbath fan too). I had the advantage of not having a preconceived idea of what Sabbath should sound like. At the time I had heard other Sabbath songs but I had not bought any albums until NSD! I like every track, but I always felt Breakout would have made a great theme tune for a typical late 70s detective film or TV show.
You just said the 2 words that prevent many a listener from actually enjoying a good album.
"pre-conceived notions" or as I call it "pre conceived expectations" prevent people from hearing an album with a fair and open mind. You were able to hear the album with an open mind and therefore recognized the strengths of the album.Pre-conceived expectations.....put a bands music in a box that they can't go outside of. That closed minded psychology can completely stop an individual from hearing an album with any real objectivity and prevent the listener from enjoying what is actually a very enjoyable album.
I've seen people do this a thousand times. I my self have been guilty of this until I became aware of the psychology that is causing it and how it was affecting my judgement.
This is the album I first heard from Black Sabbath and I loved it. Later I discovered the older ones but always loved this.
Air Dance proves how brilliant these guys truly were. I was already a Sabbath fan for a year or so when this album came out. I bought it at release and have loved it since day one. Depending on the day I cite either Vol. 4 or Master of Reality as my favorite Sabbath album but NSD always ranks at #3.
I was 20 when it was released. Loved it! More experimentation, as with the previous album, that works. Glad you are now onboard! And, I'm jealous of your Hard Road purple single.
My man! You've finally reached appreciation of this album. I've always had a soft spot for this album, it was recorded in my hometown of Toronto, Canada. I love the songs on here, especially Shock Wave, Air Dance and Swinging the Chain. I know it's a departure from their old sound but I think they could have gone forward with this direction. Also, Bill Ward's vocals on Swinging the Chain are very good, would have been interesting to see if they had gone forward as a 3 piece with Ward handling vocals, ala Genesis with Phil Collins. Anyway, glad to hear you like this album now
I have always absolutely loved everything on side one - side two has always seemed weak to me, but im gonna listen to it today. I saw the never say die tour when i was 17 years old, and it brightened my teenage heart
I always liked NSD, I can understand why some absolutely detested it at first but on my first listen I liked it. Never Say Die and Shockwave are my favorite songs on the album.
a vastly underrated album that just didn't land as well as it should have in the year it was released. In 1978 modern heavy metal was becoming extremely popular and metal fans wanted their metal albums to be "metal" albums!
I think if the Sabbath camp was more aware of this they could have adjusted some in the writing and completion of this album which is in my opinion 90% great! I believe what really hurts the album the most is the mix and mastering. No album I can think of needs a remix more than NSD. I'm glad that NSD is now being looked at in a much better and fairer light, and a lot of Sabbath fans that wrote if off back in '78 are now hearing it with "fresh ears" and realizing that it's a very strong collection of songs with a few tracks being outright Sabbath classics.
Phil I love the honesty in your story and review!
And one other thing.....Tony Iommi was ahead of his time and didn't fall into that rigid formula that many metal bands adhered to in FEAR of doing anything bold and unconventional. We need to give Tony credit for being bold, being creative and creating songs that weren't just copies of earlier heavy metal riffs. NSD takes chances and those chances lead to original and fascinating creativity.
Great review! This is my favorite Sabbath album for many reasons that you cite, but it's also just drenched in melancholy and grief. I love it!
As always, Phil, brilliantly told. Great that you got to appreciate it eventually.
Thank you 🙏
@@NowSpinningMagazine I just listened to side one again, and Junior's Eyes always gets me: lyrically touching and musically so different. Like Purple, Sabbath are fearless, not bound by audience expectations, and it's that that brings their audience with them.
My first two Sabbath albums were Heaven and Hell and Never Say Die (both in '83 at age 11) and I just assumed they were Sabbath classics.......so imagine my surprise years later when I discover that in the press only one gets all the love. What?! It is not only my favourite Sabbath album but it is one of my favourite albums by anyone, period. It has a musical maturity and a real sense of melancholy about it. It's like somewhere deep down those 4 guys new they were never going to do this again and they didn't (I include 13). It has hidden depths only matched for me, by Sabotage but whereas that album is defined by a kind of manic rage, Never Say Die has both a sense of wonder and like I say, a deep melancholy. And in 'real life' I have never spoken to any Sabbath fan who doesn't like it. Respect to Don Airey also for his wonderful playing. His magical runs in the pre-chorus of Over to You paired with Ozzy's great yearning vocal melody really breaks my heart. Pure magic. I'm so glad you got there Phil!
The album that becomes the doorway into a band always remains special. Thank you for sharing - Phil
@@NowSpinningMagazine Not so with On Parole! Heaviest band in the world?? How confusing was that! But yes, your theory usually holds true....(actually it is pretty good).
Thanks, Uncle Phil. As always your show is essential viewing.
I dig this album a lot. I love the experimental tracks, and my favorite track is Swinging The Chain. Just a devastating, heavy track.
I loved the story of this Phil. My story is similar . Like yourself I bought the 2 singles off the album. I also went to see Sabbath on the same tour.I went to Aberdeen gig. Yes Van Halen were amazing. I hadn't heard of them before that gig. I ended up buying the album.Still got it.
However only thing is I never returned to the Never Say Die album. maybe its time I did Thanks
This is one I came around too as well. I love what came after, but I do think that Never Say Die! is the last time that Sabbath really experimented, and it's awesome
I only ever listened to Sabotage and Heaven & Hell this is my third Sabbath album I am listening to via the 20 album cd box set which I recently invested in. A great video thank you for sharing.
Thank you 🙏
I was 12 when I first heard "JOHNNY BLADE".....It was 5 years after it's release... I was BLOWN THE F^&K AWAY MAN!!!!!!......
I rediscovered it not long ago, my sister had the vinyl when I was a kid. I loved it right away, really just side 1 but it's great stuff, especially Johnny Blade and Juniors Eyes. Bill Wards drumming is off the charts and it stands out beautifully in the mix. It's kind of a bridge to ozzy's later work IMO, though I'm not totally sure how involved Ozzy was except for the Junior's Eyes lyrics obviously.
Thanks Phil
What a story it is.
Thank you very much.
Same for me in those days
I bought also the single in Amsterdam only months before the album came out!
Never say day blow me away..
The album for me also was different at that time
The site A was good Site B was different but i always love what Sabbath was doing.
Now you know what Sabbath still is at the moment.
The Anno Domini boxset are selling out in the USA in one week 7200 sets are bought by diehard Sabbath fans.
And still there are many many of them in the whole world.
By the way TYR when it came out only in Germany 100.000 albums were sold.
See you next time
Sabbath sound the best sound around!
Dick
A great album. I never considered it more commercial simply because it's more melodic. It's still within the metal framework which insured it would get very little press and radio play anyway.
🎸
Great video. I have always loved this album. I do know how you feel, though. I dismissed the whole Martin era of Sabbath. I never heard one song until I bought the new box set. I am pleasantly surprised. I now have a bunch of new Sabbath to enjoy.
You are correct, Phil. Entry point is very important. My entry point to Sabbath was The Mob Rules. Not the album. But, the song on the Heavy Metal soundtrack. I saw the movie opening weekend in ‘81. Keep in mind, I was on the cusp of turning 11 years old. During the Tarna scene, when The Mob Rules kicks in, I had never heard anything that brutal up to that point in my life! I bought the soundtrack shortly after and then the full Sabbath record when it came out. I knew who Ozzy was. But, I had no idea he was in Sabbath. I probably didn’t find out for another year or two. So, like you said with entry point being so important. I tend to lean with the Dio era. But, love all of the other albums for different reasons. Great video Phil!
I am the same way, Phil. I LOVE Black Sabbath's Ozzy years but Technical Ecstasy and Never Say Die were not very good when they came out, or at least I thought. In the last few years I have grown to LOVE both albums and in fact "A Hard Road" is one of my all time favorite Sabbath songs. Maybe some day we can do a live chat on my channel about the album and Technical Ecstasy, as I think a lot of Sabbath fans bash both albums and they are wrong.
My BS -as you called it- "starting point" was back in 1970 - so I bought all coming albums in chronological order and of course "blind". I purchased "Never say die" in the week they did their german tour. I had no idea about their support Van Halen and was more than surprised how the audience enjoyed them instead waiting for the BS set that evening..... Best memory for me personally was, that in thoose days it was possible after the show to wait for the band to come out for the waiting limousines. Tony gave me 5 minutes as a very private interview whie Ozzy and Geezer were waiting for him. So the Never say die aera still is special for me before realizing that it was the Swan song of my early heroes.
You mention entry point.
For me, 1980 14 years old, im at a friends place and his older brother puts on SOSfRnR, and I was blown away.
The next day, I buy a Black Sabbath album,
Heaven and Hell is on the rack as a new release, I didn't know any better. It was Dio and I was hooked.
I has the old Columbia house deal where you got 10 albums for a penny 😅.
Anyway I ordered every Sabbath albulm available.
Now I'm obsessed as I was in 1980.
Thank you for sharing your Sabbath journey with us.
Thank you for this, just discovered your channel. I am going to revisit this, I went down the Van Halen, Motorhead path.
Although it wasn't what I'd been waiting for, Air Dance, Johnny Blade and Junior's Eyes even back then seemed very solid.
I saw Black Sabbath for the first time on this tour. I think part of the reason fans didn’t dig this album may have been because the fans, not just the band, may have felt stale at this point. I remember some of the audience were complaining before the show even started. Just an observation. Thanks for the great video Phil, cheers.🙏🏻🎧
Never Say Die! for me was one of those albums that was a game of two halves (first heard on a cassette in the 90s while I was collecting Sabbath's back catalogue) - something I found in common with Brian Johnson era AC/DC albums from Flick Of The Switch onwards - a much stronger first side over a weaker second one. Still like a fair bit of this album, especially tracks like Junior's Eyes, Hard Road and Air Dance, but I also hate Breakout, Over To You and Swinging the Chain - they never clicked with me, and much like Technical Ecstasy, are parts of Sabbath's history that I don't revisit that often.
Hi Phil yeah it’s a hard album to like I bought this album when it first came out and hated it and gave it away or swapped it for something else at the time but came across a decent copy some years later in a charity shop and just like you I thought I’d give it another shot still struggled with it but as time went on came to like it not the greatest Sabbath album but good enough to have back in my collection, loved your story behind this album Phil not boring at all, cheers Phil.
Excellent Phil a fantastic story & review Thank you from Houston 🇺🇸✌️😎🎼🎸🎶🎵
Nice video! I’ve always loved this record… for me, it always made sense as a progression from what came before. Junior’s Eyes is my favorite track on the record… what a phenomenal bass riff from Geezer!
Love Never Say Die and Technical Ecstasy.....
Thank you! I first heard Never Say Die on a local College radio station in Washington, DC. Being a hard core Sabbath fan, I like the album, but not all the tracks. Not a fan of the guitar sound or mix as much as early albums. Killer solo on Shock Wave. I saw them at the Baltimore Civic center on that tour. I really do not remember much.
My favorite tracks are Johnny Blade, Hard Road, Junior's Eyes, Shock wave and the title track.
Nice breakdown, and interesting hearing your perspective. This album came out the year I first heard them. I had just started playing guitar after hearing Electric Funeral for the first time and picked up their whole catalogue. I really appreciated how they didn't have one particular music lane but always switched it up. I really liked a lot of the sound textures on this as well as on Sabotage and Technical Ecstacy, and interestingly enough the one I listened too the least was Sabbath Bloody Sabbath which took me a while to appreciate. Thank you Tony for opening the door to me (and many more) for becoming a musician, definitely one of the players on my personal Mount Crushmore.
Fantastic reveiw ,and a great story thanks for this.
Johnny Blade, Air Dance are my personal favorite tracks on the album. Thank you for sharing this classic album.
I liked this album as soon as I heard it, especially Johnny B lade.
It's good to hear you talk about these albums that were on a slippery slope critically when they were released. Either the zeitgeist had changed or critics thought these bands were getting beyond their best by date, as stated by the critics. Vol 4 was my (late 70s) entry (and still my favorite) to Black Sabbath and then Never Say Die and Technical Ecstasy. So these two sounded really good to me at the time but it wasn't til much later that I realized what Sabbath were all about and TE and NSD slipped in my ranking order for awhile but they have made a serious return to my turntable over time and listening to them with a new perspective and context where they hold up despite being different from the preceding ones..
I loved this album and Technical Ecstasy, I think it would have been 83 that I got my hands on it, I was 15 years old. My first Sabbath Album was the best of album We Sold Our Souls for Rock and Roll. I was a fiend for them, loved the albums with Ronnie too especially Mob Rules, still love that album.
Love this album. Love the singing, love the sound, love the lyrics. For the life of me I don't think I'll ever understand the panning it gets from fans. So guessing you'll put me right on that Phil, looking forward😉. PS love the guitar sound particularly. If you want to know what a chainsaw vomiting sounds like, listen to the guitar on this album! Lol
It is great to hear about your "history" with this album. I received "Tech. Ecst." as a birthday present in '76, and did not like their new sound, so I sort of wrote them off and got into other types of music. I did not hear this album until '88-'89, and I thought that it was good (except for the last two tracks), many bands from that era were changing their style and exploring different sounds (for example: Yes, Gentle Giant, Genesis, Jethro Tull, David Bowie...etc.) . It is a risky thing to do, the die-hard fans seem to be negative when a band tries something different, but to my mind, it is always great to hear something new and fresh.
Great review and historical context. Always love hearing the personal stories Phil! I'm looking forward to the ranking video.
I've always liked this album. I had it on cassette in 1979 and wore it out.
Another great video - gonna have to listen to this album again now as it’s the one I listen to the least - wish I’d been old enough to join that Sabbath rock club In Birmingham 😊
It's a gem, quite a melancholic album. Loved it always, from 1978 'til now. At 1st I heard it in a radio broadcasting show in '78 in the age of 4. The 2nd listening was after its buy in 1992. I feel remembered just like "I know that", it's quite familiar. Since this situation I listened to it very often. And you and your descriptions make me starting rebuy this album.
I love Never Say Die!
Superb video as always Phil. I notice you saw the Sabs on June 6th 1978 at the Birmingham Odeon, whereas I saw them the night before. Sabbath started the show with Symptom of The Universe, after which Ozzy shouted something like "I've got to change me trousers! They've split!" The show ground to a halt whilst he changed them, came back on and they did another two songs when (i think it was after Snowblind with the stage swathed in dry ice) a guy came on and said that the rest of the show was cancelled as the ice had made the amps malfunction! They promised a replacement gig the following week (with Tanz der Youth, not Van Halen), which went pretty well. I always liked the first side of Never Say Die, with Ozzys vocals on Juniors Eyes particularly heartfelt. Side two was always a mixed bag, but I never understood the dislike for this album in some quarters. Certainly for me the least interesting of the classic Ozzy albums, but still decent. even more surprising, John Peel liked it and played Hard Road...
Loved this, thank you Phil!
Hi Phil I am similar to you bought it as soon as it came out vinyl, got lost somewhere 🥲🥲.
Not heard for 40 years.
Just got remastered cd wow why did I leave it so long?
I love the album excellent first 4 tracks yeahh.
Sometimes you have to wait lol
I've been listening to a poor quality CD of Never Say Die in my car for the last few weeks and I love this album. The first seven songs are fantastic ( I must confess, I always skip the last two tracks, though... sorry Bill). I also like the album cover and sleeve artwork. Thankfully, the blue splatter on clear viinyl LP I bought is a decent pressing and sounds crystal clear. Excited to hear your review, Phil : )
Spot on! The last two tracks are the only tracks that 's not so good. And the covers great!
Loved both this album, and Technical Ecstasy from their initial releases. Side one is as good as any Sabbath album.
So evocative Phil! A generation almost living the same life. I was 17 in 1978, so it was all UFO, VH, Styx & Sabbath. What I wouldn’t give for:
- all my past editions of Sounds
- my denim jacket & embroidered badges
- all the programmes
However, the memories trump them all thankfully!
-
I got into Black Sabbath through the "Heaven and Hell" and "Mob Rules" albums and spent many years believing that the Dio version of Sabbath was the best one. Apart from those albums, I had "Paranoid" as a single and the two singles you have from "Never Say Die".
It was the wife who sat me down some years ago and made me listen to "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" for the first time that I realised how "silly" I'd been - it's still my favourite Sabbath album to this day.
With that said, I did always like the "Never Say Die" and "Hard Road" singles so I guess you could argue that they "opened the gate" to my eventually getting fully into Ozzy's Sabbath - and I've never had an issue with the album either, as a result.
Love how albums can open up years after first hearing them. Totally agree about people’s entry point for artists tending to be at or near the top of their album rankings.
Great keyboard playing on this album !
Thank you, Phil! A wonderful review! I always liked Swinging the Chain, but I was with you in my first impressions of Breakout. It sounded like a rudderless piece of filler just thrown in completely out of place even on an experimental album. I've since warmed up to it in recent years. I look forward to the Sabbath albums ranking list.
Fantastic video and channel Phil.
Thank you 🙏
Hi Phil, an interesting video!
I must admit it’s not the strongest album of the Ozzy years, it’s not as heavy as the first four and it’s not aggressive as “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath “ & “Sabotage.”
But the stand out track for me is “Juniors Eyes.” The lyrics are exceptional and as you say, Ozzy’s melodies! But the emotion he puts in, is so real! I think he’s pouring his heart in the recorded performance, due to his complicated bereavement of his father passing away from cancer.
I agree, Sabbath’s “Heaven and Hell” & Ozzy’s “Diary of a Madman,” are much stronger albums , with a point to prove with the playing, composition.
I think for whatever reason, there’s always an album that may not move you as others do but that’s life!
I love the “Born Again” album and I know a lot of people that don’t but I love it, especially “Hot Line” & “Disturbing the Priest,” I even love the album cover.
I think a lot bands do suffer burn out and in 78/79, I think it was that time for Sabbath !!!
But Black Sabbath are up there with my favourite bands as well as, Iron Maiden, Motörhead, VoiVod and Celtic Frost.🤘🤘🤘
Great real drum sound on that album ..
My introduction was Sabbath Bloody Sabbath which I bought new when I was 12 in73/4.I mowed a lot of lawns to get the money.Then I gradually collected all the albums.But I remember walking into the local record shop and there at the front of the new releases was Never Say Die.Got it home and dropped the needle.Hmm sounds like Thin Lizzy,that one sounds like Quo,that one a bit poppy,jazzy?,and what’s all this brass,and whose singing on the last track,has Ozzy got sore throat.But I loved the album and played it to death.No it wasn’t Master of Reality or Sabotage but I saw it as some sought of progression.Skip forward and I’m working in that record shop and Heaven and Hell drops and Dio’s in Ozzy’s out and the band reinvents itself.That album takes over and NSD goes to the back of the pile.But I still love it to this day.
Hi Phil,
My splatter vinyl copy was a RSD 2023 release 🤘
Good Show it's nice to hear you talk about music like this
Well Phil what a coincidence. I have just been considering buying the splatter version for the comic book. Kind of out of nowhere too. It took me YEARS to understand NSD too. It was during COVID that I actually sat down and gave it a chance. I thought “wow” I really do like this album. Interestingly (and mainly due to the critics). I hadn’t given TE or Sabotage a chance either, and then they suddenly came to life for me. Then so it went on and I started to love the other reincarnations of the band. Black Sabbath is the band that just keeps on giving. The greatest band of all time in my opinion. Thanks for such a great video Phil!
After buying the "Anno Domini"-Box this remains the only Sabbath-Album I do not own. I have a couple of Songs on the "Under Wheels of Confusion"-Box, but I really only remember the Title Track. Looking forward to this video.
Love your in-depth reviews, man; please keep doing them👍 I was six when this came out so I didn't listen it since a decade after it's relesse, and I loved it from the first spin. Believe it or not it's my favorite Ozzy era Sabbath album. Thanks🍺🤘!!
I really like Never Say Die. It is not as "metal" as their classic run of albums, but I find the songs are pretty good in a different way than usial.
It is very interesting hearing your own story about reacting to the album in real time, and with Van Halen exploding onto the scene. Honestly, I can really now understand why the album has the reputation it does. Fascinating.
I admit I do not care for Technical Ecstasy, but hearing that you are a fan makes me want to give it another chance.
Thanks Phil for your insight and overview ! Good day from the U.S.A.
I Like this Album ....... I think it is Good.
Thanks Phil I have been listening to this Technical Ecstasy and Born Again and they are really growing on me.
I always seen the Sab4 discography.
BS1 through Vol4 is thier birth and childhood, rough, unchained, raw and filled with curiosity.
SBS and Sabotage is thier teen and young adulthood, cool, in your face, chance takers, confidence and world famous.
TechEx and NSD as thier arrival to the mountain top, the epitome of world domination, they were the king makers (VH and Styx) full grown genre creaters and influence beyoyd even thier own understanding.
Then divorce. Regrouping and giving the world another 35 years of music through Sabbath, Ozzy and Dio.
For me, Never Say Die! was an album that took time to grow on me. I tend not to enjoy most of Sabbath's more somber songs so Junior's Eyes and Air Dance don't do it for me at all though Air Dance musically is very good. For a while I sort of dismissed it as this weird, depressing album but songs like Swinging the Chain and especially Shock Wave stuck in my head. It certainly stays lower in my list of Ozzy fronted Sabbath albums but it's far from being bad. It's interesting and unique in that era and really doesn't deserve the treatment it gets from some fans and Sabbath themselves.
I really enjoyed listening to your history with the album.
Great chat mate, I was the same, was easily their worst Ozzy era release was a sign the band was on it last legs, but yes recently l iistened to it again pretty much been at least 10 years or more since put it on, was around 20 when first got the album, I have the 10 Years War box set now, And yes it has in some way improved, still not great but has at least a few classcs, side 1 had the best tracks side 2 was not so good, Johnny Blade & Junior's Eyes being 2 of them & Never Say Die was ok & then being on tv believe it was Tops ? playing it was a very strange. Still my least favourite, am now 66 now but may give it another go now you have wetted my interest. The rankings of the albums wiil be a great topic be interesting to see where you put this one now 🤗😙. Keep up these great reviews and yes Never Day Die 🤟
Ask Tony iommi to remix never say die, I think it would be awesome.
Never Say Die is a great album, i rank it as number 6 of all the Black Sabbath albums.
Great video and analysis Phil!
I still have the single of Never Say Die in the picture bag, and also the purple Hard Road single. Love Johnny Blade and Junior's Eyes. I missed Van Halen; I went to the bar!
The production is flat. You can feel the chaos in the band from a mile away. And yet, I love this album; in a way , it's a brave record, full of weird gems. Air Dance is such a masterpiece.
Glad you've finally got into it Phil! It was always great to me from the off. I remember thinking at the time it was simply a more modern sounding Sabbath. Hard Road is very Quo-like but nevertheless is one of my favourites. Air Dance has elements similar to Brand X thanks to Don Airey and Iommis saturated guitar tone is glorious. Ozzy was always a master of melody and is on top form even though we now know he was out of it most of the time. I saw them on the preceding tour where the support was a band called Nutz, absolute rubbish, so at least you got Van Halen!😂Keep up the great content. Cheers
Brilliant review Phil, I've always like NSD, yeah the production is tinny, but tracks like NSD, Johnny Blade, Juniors Eyes and Hard Road are classics, funnily enough I've never had much time for Technical Ecstasy, seen some rave reviews of the box set which is quite tempting, keep up the great work.
Thank you - Phil :)
Johnny Blade surely one of Iommi's best riffs and this album is one of Sabbath's most musically adventurous maybe due to Iommi being in the hot seat. I can understand many thinking the album was a hotchpotch of ideas, inconsistent and a little 'hollow' sounding but Phil re-appraisal sheds light on the fact that this album is worth reinvestigation.
Technical Ecstasy is indeed a really good record!
Never Say Die! sounds very lacklustre in comparison, sorry, Phil. But loved hearing about your background to the album, amazing how you can remember all the details, I feel like I'm there in 1978 with you 😎
Black Sabbath............................... Rules !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Following on from Vol 4 and Masters of reality, Sabotage and Technical Ecstasy you can hear the band maturing. Stunning album that never gets old. I was so excited to see them on TOTP as a young teenager, I love all their albums but they seem to peak right there. Ozzy leaves, a string of singers follow, then Ozzy comes back, apparently he hates the album and Never say die is dead and forgotten. Their best album by far imho. Although, TE isn’t far behind!