Never Say Die (Dig) [Import, Original recording remastered]

Black Sabbath | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 17, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import, Original recording remastered
• Label: Sanctuary UK
• ASIN: B002JIEYKS
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,120 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Digitally remastered edition of this 1978 album from the veteran Heavy Metal maniacs. Towards the end of 1977, Black Sabbath were in a state of turmoil. Problems of all description were having an adverse effect on the band's ability to function and finally Ozzy Osbourne could take no more and would quit at the end of the Technical Ecstasy World Tour. Ozzy eventually returned to resume lead vocal duty and a re-location to Toronto, Canada for recording sessions and the resultant Never Say Die! album. This re-mastered and sumptuous gatefold digipak edition of the album boasts comprehensive story of the album sleeve-notes by renowned Rock critic Jerry Ewing and a plethora of rare and previously unseen photographs and items of memorabilia. Sanctuary.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All Time Favorite!!!, December 6, 2011

By 

J. Robert (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Never Say Die (Dig) (Audio CD)

I just finished reading Tony Iommi's bio, so I know all the circumstances that surrounded the writing and recording of this album. I first bought "Never Say Die" on 8-track, then vinyl, then finally CD... so you have some idea of how long I've lived with it... I know that Tony was very disappointed in the album- In that it lacked continuity, mostly. Not knowing any of the band history back in the late 70's, I picked this one up randomly... Unaware of the band's previous work, line-up changes, drug abuse, and band politics... & I couldn't stop playing it!!! From the commercially viable title track to the sentimental "Junior's Eyes" to the dark, heavy "Shock Wave" and even the oddball ballad "Air Dance", I thought this album was a work of art! I just don't get how this album gets dismissed by so many people... including the band themselves...? Stepping back and looking this as a collection of songs, rather than what this band was "supposed to sound like" at this particular point in time, yields a brilliance never seen in the Ozzy-era... with perhaps "Sabotage" as an exception. Those people who think that only the first 4-5 Sabbath albums are worth your time... aren't worth your time. Think of this as what it is: Tony Iommi taking over the band's sound (because otherwise the band would have collapsed) and taking Sabbath in a new direction. That direction?... "Heaven & Hell"- One of the greatest albums of all time... What he needed was a good singer/song writer to work with. (R.I.P. Ronnie) TONY! Cut yourself some slack. This was a great one! ~ If you don't think "Iron Man" was the best song ever written, pick this one up. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Impossible Circumstances Somehow Produces Gem, April 5, 2010

By 

Jeff Downing "The Madmonk" (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Never Say Die (Dig) (Audio CD)

In 1978 Sabbath had much publicized internal personality and drug/lifestyle problems. To compound things they got little label support (it was all about post punk,and arena rock like KISS, Queen, Aerosmith etc...) and a bad decision to record in Toronto where they rehearsed and fought in frigid temperatures. I am a Sabbath fanatic (really....I was obsessed with them most my adolescence and collect all their stuff), and NSD is one of my absolute favorites. And as time goes on even more so. The songs are much more innovative and varied than on the previous Technical Ecstacy album. Johnny Blade, Juniors Eyes and Swinging The Chain may be the most fully realized tracks they ever recorded to my mind. Some jazzy diversions in tracks like Airdance and Breakout only show them going back to what they used to be- a jazz-influenced rock and blues band. You can hear Brian May's influence on Iommi's tones and layered guitars. The only thing I would change is the production. It is rather boxy and midrangy and hollow sounding at times. Sometimes it works to great effect, other times I wish I could get my hands on the mixer and EQ and really fill it out. Great material though. A crime to overlook. Go go go and buy it I say!

3.0 out of 5 stars (3.5) A More Experimental Sabbath Album, January 30, 2011

By 

Tommy Morais (The Great White North) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Never Say Die (Dig) (Audio CD)

When you look back at the Black Sabbath recordings there are some albums that are looked at as being better than others and some that seem a little odd and out of place. Never Say Die fits into that second category, with its mixture of hard-rock and jazz it has a unique and interesting sound but not one that is Black Sabbath. Released two years after 1976's Technical Ecstasy (which was a bit of a departure for the band), Never Say Die was probably not the sound the fans expected to hear in 1978. NSD is often upon as being one of the worst Sabbath albums and one that is not worth hearing. I'm not saying that it is one of Black Sabbath's best albums, there are much better Ozzy and no Ozzy-eras albums, but it is a different one that I think is worth a listen. I never expected fans to like this one, in fact I was skeptical about the album myself when I first bought it. I'll admit the overall sound of the album can sound experimental to fans and it probably is because it has different musical elements thrown in that are not typical Sabbath. In fact, it's probably why so many fans didn't like it in the first place. I guess the problem is that it sounds so different from other Black Sabbath albums, it simply doesn't have that classic Black Sabbath sound fans love (myself included). Even the album cover art is far from your typical Sabbath cover; it's rather odd but cool at the same time. Interestingly enough, Ozzy's voice on NSD sounds closer to his solo beginnings than it sounded on previous Sabbath albums which is not a bad thing.

The title track is an undeniable classic, it has a sound that works well with earlier Sabbath and is quite edgy. Johnny Blade" is one of the few songs that fans seem to like from this album, good track. "Junior's Eyes" is to me the highlight of Never Say Die, the lyrics and chorus are amazing to me very clever and despite the Jazzy drums it's a rock' n 'roll song, Ozzy shows a lot of emotion with his voice here. I actually like "Hard Road", yes it sound perhaps too happy -go-lucky for Black Sabbath but it has a cool vibe and it's a underrated song. "Shock Wave" is not one of the best songs here but it works and it's a good song with a cool chorus. "Air Dance" is just about the farthest you can go from the classic Ozzy-era Sabbath sound and it's probably why I like it so much, because it's that different and brilliant. Air Dance has quite the Jazz sound and the piano work is incredible, clever lyrics, Ozzy's voice is terrific here. Unlike many fans I like "Over To You", nothing special about the song in particular as nothing stands out but it's a good track. "Breakout" is just this crazy swing big band instrumental thing that is far out, perhaps a bit too much to digest for the average Sabbath fan. I'm not really into that one and it is the weakest song here. "Swinging The Chain" is sung by Bill Ward, not awful by any means but its pretty much "just there", nothing special about this one at all I'm afraid.

Never Say Die is not your typical Sabbath album as I mentioned before, but if you give it a chance and accept that it's a "different" album you might like it. I don't think it's an exceptional album but I find plenty to like. I think Never Say Die is often judged without being heard because it has this reputation of being a bad album and the late 70's was not an especially great era for Black Sabbath. Yes it's different, that' why it's interesting and why I like it so much, the band experimented and had this cool trippy drugged and jazzy vibe that you either love or hate. Some songs obviously worked better than others but overall it's a great experiment that any Sabbath fan with an open mind should give a listen. Personally I enjoyed this one more than Technical Ecstasy. 3.5 /5.