Never Say Die! is the eighth studio album by Black Sabbath, released on September 29, 1978 trough Vertigo Records. It was the last studio album with the band’s original lineup and the last studio album to feature original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne until the 2013 album 13. It was certified Gold in the U.S. on November 7, 1997 and as of November 2011 has sold 133,000 copies in the United States since the SoundScan era.
The album received mixed reviews, with critics calling it “unbalanced” and insisting its energy was scattered in too many directions. At the time of the recording of Never Say Die! the members of Black Sabbath were all heavily involved in drug and alcohol abuse.
Prior to recording, vocalist Osbourne briefly quit the band and was temporarily replaced by former Savoy Brown and Fleetwood Mac vocalist Dave Walker.
The band wrote a handful of songs with Walker, with that short-lived line-up even performing an early version of what would become “Junior’s Eyes” on the BBC programme Look Hear. Osbourne eventually rejoined, refusing to sing any of the songs written with Walker.
Tracklist:
Side A
- Never Say Die
- Johnny Blade
- Junior’s Eyes
- A Hard Road
Side B
- Shock Wave
- Air Dance
- Over to You
- Breakout (instrumental)
- Swinging the Chain
Black Sabbath
Tony Iommi: guitar, backing vocals on “A Hard Road”
Ozzy Osbourne: lead and backing vocals
Geezer Butler: bass guitar, backing vocals on “A Hard Road”
Bill Ward: drums, lead vocals on “Swinging the Chain”, backing vocals on “A Hard Road”
Additional musicians
Don Airey: keyboards
Jon Elstar: harmonica on “Swinging the Chain”
Wil Malone: brass arrangements
