Ozzy Osbourne’s Hall of Fame triumph: Ranking his Black Sabbath albums
Ozzy Osbourne is to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his contributions to the music industry as a solo artist. Before he went solo, though, Osbourne was part of a legendary rock band, Black Sabbath.
This marks Osbourne’s second induction into the Hall of Fame following Black Sabbath’s entry in 2005, the band which he formed alongside Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, and Bill Ward in Birmingham in 1968.
In honor of Osbourne’s induction, we will revisit his tenure in Black Sabbath by ranking the nine albums he appeared on.
Ranking all of Ozzy Osbourne's Black Sabbath albums
No. 9- Technical Ecstasy (1976)
A departure from their classic sound, Black Sabbath went away from the darkness and doom of their past and experimented with keyboards, synthesizers, and song structure complexity with Technical Ecstasy and the result was exactly what you would expect: a subpar record. The songs feel a bit forced, and it almost seems that the band was trying to fit into the current rock scene at the time, with bands such as Foreigner, Journey, and ELO on the rise.
While the collection of songs is not horrible by any means, they are unremarkable and forgettable with the exceptions of “Dirty Women,” which has become a concert staple, and “It’s Alright,” a fan-favorite ballad that features drummer Bill Ward delivering an impressive vocal performance.
No. 8 - Never Say Die (1978)
Similar to Technical Ecstasy, Black Sabbath experimented with different styles on Never Say Die, and the result was a mixed bag. The first half of the album is strong, with the title track, “Johnny’s Blade," "A Hard Road,” and the ballad “Junior’s Eyes” leading the way, however, the rest of the album is uneven, and none of the side b tracks stand out or have aged well in the band’s discography.
The album was recorded during a time of internal turmoil within the band as Osbourne left the band briefly during the recording sessions, and the members were heavily involved with drugs and alcohol, which all ultimately contributed to the eventual demise of the original lineup as we knew it.
All in all, Never Say Die contains some solid tracks but it pales in comparison to their early works that made them one of the biggest metal bands of all time.