Introduction:
To fully appreciate the ambition and sheer audaciousness of The Osmonds – “The Last Days”, one must first take a step back from the prevailing pop-culture narrative that has long defined the group. For many, The Osmonds remain perpetually frozen in time as purveyors of sun-drenched, bubblegum-soul hits—a clean-cut, family-friendly counterpoint to the era’s grittier rock acts. This image, while not entirely inaccurate for their early successes, obscures a fascinating period of their career, one where the band actively, and quite bravely, attempted to redefine their musical identity and artistic purpose. This transformation culminated in the 1973 concept album, The Plan, an LP of profound personal and spiritual importance to the brothers, and a pivotal release within the band’s entire catalogue. “The Last Days” is perhaps one of the most compelling tracks from this ambitious project, a song that throws the listener headlong into a world of apocalyptic warning and spiritual urgency, presented through a decidedly hard-rock lens.
The Plan was not merely a collection of songs; it was a deeply personal, theological statement, charting the spiritual journey of humanity according to the tenets of their Mormon faith—specifically, the Plan of Salvation. To take such overtly religious subject matter and package it within the format of a mainstream rock album was an unprecedented gamble. It risked alienating the millions of young fans who adored their pop hits, while simultaneously daring a skeptical music press to take them seriously as songwriters and instrumentalists. “The Last Days”, positioned late in the album’s sequence, serves as a dramatic and sonic crescendo. It is a world away from the bright, harmonic structures of their earlier chart toppers, embracing instead a heavier, riff-driven sound, harking back to the sonic aggression they explored on “Crazy Horses” a year prior, yet infused with an even darker lyrical seriousness.
The power of “The Last Days” lies in the juxtaposition of its uncompromising sound and its weighty, scriptural themes. The track’s heavy riffs and raw, gravely lead vocal—likely Merrill Osmond, who often delivered their hardest-rocking numbers—impart a sense of impending doom and turbulent intensity. It is an aural embodiment of crisis. Lyrically, the song directly addresses an impending societal and spiritual reckoning, alluding to the biblical Book of Revelations while drawing stark parallels to the moral and social decay the brothers perceived in the modern world. It is a powerful call to attention, urging the listener to consider the ultimate, eternal significance of their present actions. The track is not merely describing an apocalypse; it is using the imagery of the end times to force a conversation about personal accountability and faith in the here and now. The song is a theological rock anthem, both a warning and a testament, demonstrating a level of creative and intellectual maturity that the mainstream music criticism of the time largely failed to recognize or fully credit.
Despite the critical skepticism and the album’s modest commercial performance relative to their previous works, The Plan—and by extension, the intensity of “The Last Days”—stands as the group’s true magnum opus in the eyes of many devoted followers and musical analysts who have re-evaluated the work in the decades since its release. It was a clear, unvarnished declaration of their artistic intent and spiritual devotion. In taking this profound risk, The Osmonds – “The Last Days” transcends the ‘boy band’ label, revealing them to be not just talented performers, but serious musical craftsmen willing to put their livelihood on the line for a concept they believed in. The track is a testament to the fact that even in the most seemingly commercial corners of the music industry, artists are often driven by deep, sometimes hidden, passions and complex, serious intentions. It invites us, today, to discard old preconceptions and appreciate the rich, multifaceted nature of a family group who dared to rock out with a message of spiritual progression.