- Depending on your allegiance to Black Sabbath, there are a few aspects that will stain or peak your expectations of 13.

       The prominent reason being it’s the first Sabbath album fronted by Ozzy Osbourne in 35 years--the sentimentality creating a large part of the anticipation for us die-hard fans. Combine that with Sabbath’s burning desire to replant their roots and things get even more hopeful. The last full-length LP with Oz was on ‘78’s Never Say Die. Inter-band turmoil with Ozzy’s abrupt exit soon after.

       Perhaps 13 is an attempt to tie up some unfinished business. Is there a risk carried with that notion? Indeed--a risk of embarrassing itself on an LP this late in its career does pose a threat to Sabbath’s history, which is full off missteps and prosaic LP’s.

       The years with Ronnie James Dio on vocals brought two sensational LP’s with Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules. Independent of that, it’s been a mixed bag of a few exceptional songs and some outright disasters. The last studio effort by Sabbath, 1995’s Forbidden, was nothing short of a catastrophe. Truth being told, Ozzy and the gang had some making up to do with 13.

       It’s clear that Tony Iommi, Osbourne and Geezer Butler want to end the band’s reign on a high note; one last howl into the abyss. Sabbath, along with producer Rick Rubin at the helm, set out to achieve just that. So, with that being said, the real hurdle here was re-establishing Ozzy as the once-feared â€�"Prince of Darkness.”

       Over the years to many fans, especially the new, younger ones, he has become more of a clown prince of reality TV. After years of financial success, the band no longer carries that hunger it had in the early 70s. The business disputes and the resigning of original drummer Bill Ward from the project early on took some of the shine off 13. Rage Against the Machine drummer Brad Wilk replaced Ward on this effort, so a true ‘reunion’ might be stretching it a bit. The paramount question is, with Rubin in tow, has Sabbath been able to recapture the spirit of its ‘70 –‘76 years on 13?

       The answer to that is... in the ear of the beholder. Iommi and Butler managed to put together pieces that call to mind Sabbath’s vital years. The problem with that is a few minutes here and there isn’t what fans are looking for. Iommi’s colossal riffing and Butler’s deep bass get some elements boiling with supernatural euphoria, but those are just bits, offering only a glimpse of past greatness.

       The bluesy eight-minute opener, â€�"End of the Beginning,” start things off well enough. Osbourne’s vocals, which capture the mid-range work of his solo career, is evident on â€�"God Is Dead,” a tried and true cut that starts with a baiting riff before becoming fully predictable. â€�"Loner” is inherent filler, although Iommi does provide some great muddy soloing in there.

       It’s not all ill news here. There are two songs worth visiting. â€�"Age of Reason” is a well-enough throwback and is probably the closest we get to the actual sense of Sabbath’s early ‘70s fare. â€�"Damaged Soul” features ripping harmonica and stirring riffing from Iommi and, for a solid eight minutes, Sabbath finds its form before the stodgy â€�"Dear Father” finishes the album with thunder, rain and bells, offering a reckless bow to Sabbath year one.

       The LP is basically safe and ordinary. While a return to the band’s zenith was a worthy goal, Sabbath struggled to capture days of old and there’s a clear sense of calculated, rather than creative, energy here. For all 13’s faults, you can’t dispute that Iommi, Butler and Osbourne have, at the very least, attempted to recapture Sabbath’s original flame.

      

       JULY EVENTS:

      

       Mohegan Sun

       On July 4 recent Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Heart makes a stop at Mohegan Sun Arena. Ann Wilson and her younger sister, Nancy Wilson, first showed the world that women can rock when their band Heart stormed the charts in the ‘70s with hits like â€�"Crazy on You,” â€�"Magic Man,” â€�"Barracuda,” â€�"Straight On,” â€�"Even It Up,” â€�"Kick It Out” and many more. Across four decades and 14 studio albums, Heart has sold more than 35 million records, had 21 Top 40 hits, sold out arenas worldwide and profoundly influenced the sound and direction of American Rock music while inspiring women (and guys, too!) around the world to rock out in bands of their own.

      

       Comic / Ventriloquist Jeff Dunham brings his â€�"Disorderly Conduct Tour” to the Sun July 13. His television specials and series have been the highest rated programming in Comedy Central history, his DVD sales have reached seven million units, his videos have received a half a billion views on YouTube and his live concerts have become mega-events played in front of sold-out arenas worldwide. Dunham has, of course, plenty of help on-stage--his entourage of signature characters who are there to challenge and chastise his every sentence. There’s Walter, the grumpy retiree; the beer-swilling, NASCAR-loving and resolutely redneck Bubba J; the furry and manic Peanut; José Jalapeño, the spicy pepper from South of the border and the phenomenal bumbling skeletal Achmed the Dead Terrorist.

      

       Big Time Rush Play the Sun July 20. Kendall Schmidt, James Maslow, Carlos Pena Jr. and Logan Henderson recently released their second album, Elevate. The highly-anticipated follow-up to the group’s gold-certified debut BTR, Elevate features tracks including, â€�"Music Sounds Better With U (featuring Mann),” â€�"Show Me” and â€�"All Over Again.”

      

       Foxwoods

      

       The Fox rocks out with the legendary Aerosmith July 10. Icons and idols. These are the words used to describe those rare bands that have been adored for a lifetime and immortalized as distinct creators of rock and roll. But what these reverent words are missing is the notion of now. How do you reconcile a generation-spanning word like icon with the quick beat of the present? Aerosmith does it. The band members are legends, icons and idols, dynamic in the present, as cool and innovative now as they were 40 years ago. They are a phenomenon, a force of nature, trail-blazing, unstoppable, showing no signs of slowing down. Unique even among the select handful of rock bands who are still active after their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, Aerosmith has sold over 150 million albums.

      

       Entertainer and professional makeup artist Joby Rogers welcomes your comments and contributions online at jrchronicle@gmail.com or Twitter @jobyrogers