Born Again
by Ed Rivadavia
It sure looked good on paper, but when former Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan joined Black Sabbath for 1983's dreadful Born Again, the grim reality was that Gillan's bluesy style and humorous lyrics were completely incompatible with the lords of doom and gloom. Widely regarded as the band's creative nadir, Born Again also featured one of the worst covers ever (it's been voted), and the subsequent world tour was so troubled (the band's Stonehenge stage set didn't fit inside most venues) that it would serve as inspiration for the ultimate rock & roll spoof movie, This Is Spinal Tap. The equally atrocious "production" leaves one with the distinct impression that in a misguided attempt to record the heaviest album ever, Black Sabbath instead wound up with the muddiest. A decent melody can almost be heard somewhere underneath the mess that passes for the title track, but nothing can save utter flops such as "Disturbing the Priest," "Digital Bitch," and "Zero the Hero." In fact, the band only pulls it together for four brilliant minutes on the excellent "Trashed." [The CD release is remixed and the production is much clearer.]