Black Sabbath - Never Say Die! (78)

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1 Never Say Die
2 Johnny Blade
3 Junior's Eyes
4 Hard Road
5 Shock Wave
6 Air Dance
7 Over to You
8 Break Out
9 Swinging the Chain

After quitting briefly following the band's previous tour, singer Ozzy Osbourne returned to Black Sabbath for 1978's Never Say Die! — an album whose unfocused songs perfectly reflected the band's tense personnel problems and drug abuse.

The title track kicks things off with a promising bang, but repeated listens quickly reveal its barely disguised lack of enthusiasm (also terribly evident on "Shock Wave" and "Over to You").

The saxophone-led (?!) "Breakout" goes absolutely nowhere, and many songs on the record sound strangely disjointed, especially "Junior's Eyes" and the synthesizer-heavy "Johnny Blade."

A pleasant surprise arrives in the very original and experimental "Air Dance," featuring tasteful piano flourishes from leading session keyboardist Don Airey.

Still, only Sabbath completists will find any redeeming value in this recording.