By the time the four original members of Black Sabbath convened in 1978 in Toronto to record their eighth studio album, the writing was already on the wall. All four members were battling abuse of alcohol and/or drugs. And changes in the direction of rock-n-roll and popular music in the mid and late 70's had rendered the heavy rock pioneers rudderless. Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Bill Ward, and Geezer Butler all knew that this last effort would be the last whimper of a once-great rock band. The title of the album, "Never Say Die" was the band's inside joke that everyone seemed to be in on.

Upon release, "Never Say Die" was mostly panned by critics and Sabbath fans alike, and no tracks were released as official singles on the entire album in the U.S.

BUT, for me, time has been kind to the album. Its forays into jazz and prog-rock aren't nearly as ridiculous as they were way back when. And one track, "Air Dance" is my favorite Ozzy-era Sabbath song at the moment.

It kicks off with a bang, with Ward keeping the 4/4 beat rock steady and Butler and Iommi laying down a tasty, circular Brian May-ish multi-layered riff. Then the song breaks down into a soft, atmospheric syncopation. Ozzy comes in and does an admirable job of powering through Ward's lyrics of a dying woman reflecting on her life, her physical gifts now only a memory in her mind. Over jazzy progressions we're told, "In days of romance, she was the queen of dance. She danced the night away." In the background, one can hear Iommi sounding more like Carlos Santana than the Iron Man, with sweet latin-tinged jazz fills.

With Ozzy's last cries of "Away....away....away....away...," the tune drifts further into the stratosphere. Piano rolls cascade betwixt soft, airy fretboard ticklings from Iommi. Suddenly a few power chords begin to bring us back to territory more familiar to Sabbath traditionalists. And as quickly as those distorted chords appeared, POOF! They're gone and the final minute or so is straight late 70's instrumental prog-rock. Latin rhythms, piano stabs, and effect laden soloing from Iommi provide arguably the most musically interesting minute-plus of the entire Sabbath catalogue.

And then it fades out and i'm left satiated, and yet curious about what Black Sabbath COULD HAVE become.

Then they fired Ozzy and hired an elf.

Enjoy for yourselves. LINK