Customer Reviews

Technical Ecstasy

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(32)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I simply cannot believe the negative reviews of this album by many of my fellow Sabbath "fans"... This album was a landmark in the way of production when it came out and it also blows away "Never Say Die", which I also thought was an excellent album. "Dirty Women" was obviously the standout track...I mean just listen to the end of the song where the guys just ROCK OUT. It moves my soul. I remember going to this concert live and they played "She's Gone" over the P.A. before and

after the concert. "I've been, a long long time...a waitin' for you". Makes my skin crawl even now. What an incredibly beautiful song. Ozzy never got closer to purity than on stuff like this. "Back Street Kids" is good too, but "All Moving Parts Stand Still" is a really good and well thought out track. Definitely not Paranoid or Master of Reality material, but the well-versed Sabbath fan pays homage.

This is a transition album for Black Sabbath, between the brilliant album Sabotage and the more mainstream metal album Never Say Die (which is a great album too). Ozzy's lyrics take negativity to a personal level more so in this album, and you sense that he was having major personal issues in 1976. There are some great songs on this album, but like I said, if you are a positive thinker you won't appreciate this album. The funniest part about this album is the pairing up of two songs next to each other She's Gone, and Dirty Women. As in..."my fiancee left me, so I'm gonna get a street girl tonight". Funny!

One of the most underrated Sabbath albums as the band moves more into blues. The Guitar Solo on "You cant change me" is Tony Iommi at his best. "Its alright" shows Bill Ward at vocals and makes you wonder why they didnt use him ounce Ozzy left the band. The album is weakened though by a few week songs such as "Rock n Roll doctor" and all moving part stand still.

This album was my introduction to BLACK SABBATH and while I
don't recommend it to people as their first SABBATH album, it
did make me appreciate their earlier greater albums even more
when I heard them! This is still a very strong album, even if it
was very experimental and different for them. I really respect
albums like SABOTAGE and TECHNICAL ECSTACY more than most of the
SABBATH albums after 1980 when they decided they had to be dark
and sinister again. I think the first five songs on this are very
strong, but my favorite song here is ALL MOVING PARTS STAND
STILL. I've had this album for years and I STILL can't figure out
what this song is about. I do love the music for it, however and
I really like OZZY's vocal for it. It's a shame they had to put
so many effects on his voice, for he was a terrific singer back
in the 70's. The band still rocks out on this, especially on
GYPSY, another favorite track of mine that has a very cool drum
intro to it; and BACK STREET KIDS and ROCK-N-ROLL DOCTOR.This
last song has been knocked by alot of SABBATH fans, but I like
it a bunch! IT'S ALRIGHT is also an alright tune, featuring a
vocal from BILL WARD, who kind of sounds like BARRY MANILOW!!!
Some of this isn't that great, like DIRTY WOMEN, which is my
least favorite song here. The over-production is what dooms this
album; the synthesizers and keyboards and string arrangements
and effects are a bit too much, but this is still a powerful
album!

I don't know why "technical estacy" gets ripped apart by sabbath fans all of the time,sure,it might not be dark and heavy like "master of reality" "SBS" or "sabotage" were, but thats not the point of TE. if you can get over the fact that this album is not as famous as "paranoid",has some light songs and ignore any retard negative comment, you will discover one of rocks best hidden gems. i originally bought it to complete my sabbath collection and didn't expect much out of it, but i was blown away by it,now i listen to it more then any thing else by sabbath. it is a slicker album then most of black sabbath records but i would say its their most solid effort. "backstreet kids" "it's alright" "gypsy" "rock n roll doctor" "you wont change me" and "dirty women" are my favorites. its been awhile since i first got this (the warner bros version) and now i have found the hard to find castle version of this album and the sound blows my old warner version out the window! i would agree w/ what most people said about this before,it sounds NOTHING like traditional black sabbath and has an almost pop qaulity to it. it failed horribly in the U.S. but has become a cult classic in its own right. its definatly right up your alley if you want to listen to something different. why does everyone not like this? its got the best song writting/playing of all of the ozzy era sabbath albums.

Technical Ecstasy.

This album is the recipient of many potshots by fans of the earlier records. I think many Sabbath fans who rough this record up are unfair to it. The "big" reason as I see it is:

Its a depature and an attempt to artistically branch out. Some Sabbath fans don't like change. The lumbering doom laden chords are what many Sabbath fans want album upon album. For this record it changes. The darkness is replaced by more straight ahead classic rock attitudes (Rock N Roll Doctor, Back Street Kids). I for one, find this record probably thier best in terms of artist growth. I appreciate the older records, but this one sticks with me on some level.

I find "She's Gone" to be probably Ozzy's most brillant vocal performance of the 70s. I didn't think he could sing like that. Conveying sadness, morose and lonliness isn't Ozzy's tradmark. Its great. Again, not usual Sabbath fodder, but great nonetheless.

Other greats here Back Street Kids, Dirty Women, All Moving Parts Stand Still and You Won't Change Me.

Only the Bill Ward vocal on "It's Alright" loses steam.

The album flows superbly and for what it is its fantastic. Black Sabbath branching out, trying new things while keeping the material top notch. It would've been interesting to see this direction maintained. Sadly, Never Say Die the MK I swansong suffers from mix problems and just isn't on par with this record.

In the end, open minded Sabbath fans will find this one a departure. Not a bad departure, but a departure nonetheless. All artists have to expand and grow - This is Sabbath doing exactly that.

I see a lot of positive reviews, but also quite a few mixed ones for this album. This was the last Sabbath with Ozzy album that I checked out because I'd heard bad things about it for years, but when I finally got it I was very pleasantly surprised. This album fits perfectly with Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Sabotage, forming a trio similar to the way the first three albums fit together, but with more of a 70's rock influence than the earlier, Cream-inspired efforts. Seriously, the vocals, the song styles, the use of keyboards; this album belongs right alongside SBS and Sabotage in every way. It boasts a few songs that are as good as any in Sabbath's catalog, like Back Steet Kids, You Won't Change Me, Gypsy, and Dirty Women. Back Street Kids especially; this song gets knocked for its lyrics (which aren't even that bad), but it boasts a great main riff with a guitar sound similar to Paranoid. Ozzy's vocals and Iommi's lead playing on this release are easily on par with the two preceding albums, both of which for some reason get better reviews than Technical Ecstasy.

Of the other songs, I love She's Gone, a ballad that I prefer to Vol. 4's Changes. All Moving Parts Stand Still is some awesome Sabbath, with guitar parts that again sound similar to Paranoid. Rock N' Roll Doctor gets knocked as a weak song, but I love it anyway. It has a great headbanging main riff and chorus, with barely veiled lyrics about a drug dealer (reminiscent of the obvious lyrics in Sweet Leaf). That only leaves It's Alright, which sounds kinda like The Beatles, until Tony's leads in the middle, which are great. Overall, I think this album is highly undervalued. C'mon people, it's one of the eight Sabbath albums with the classic line-up, all of which are unique and genius in their own way. Give credit where credit is due.

This is one of the finest CD's ever, and definatly one of the bands most underrated albums. It gets tiring to hear people ripping on this, comparing it to earlier Sabbath albums, well, this wasn't meant to be a MASTER OF REALITY or SABBATH,BLOODY SABBATH part 2, it wasnt made to be a doom&gloom fest. Techical Ecstasy is the band moving in a new direction, testing the water experimentaly. The whole point of this album was too experiment,not repeat what had already been done, i don't think it is fair to call it a bad album just because it is differant from the rest. It has always been one of the more enjoyable CDs i had, when ever i would tire of hearing pounding,shreading heavy metal (even if you love it, it will still wear on your mind after awhile), i would throw this album on. BACKSTREET KIDS is a fast paced rocker that starts the album off to great effect, YOU WONT CHANGE ME is a slow, heavy and doomey song with lots of syth work courtesy of Jerald "Jezz" Woodruff. ITS ALRIGHT is something totaly unexpected out of sabbath, its Bill Ward singing along with a piano going, sounds something like what Paul Mcartney would do and is probably the most hated BS song of all time, but i like it. ALL MOVING PARTS and GYPSY are average songs that works well for the album. ROCK N ROLL DOCTOR is catchy, even if it does boast some insipid lyrics, while SHES GONE is a very moody and depressing piece. The album ends with the best Sabbath song ever written IMHO, DIRTY WOMEN. The main riff is effing amazing, and the song gets even better when it goes into the bridge. This is the kind of song that is often neglected, but is non the less a classic. The title is right, this is pure ecstasy, musically that is! It's got one of the weirdest covers as well, not surprising that the same copanie who made it also does Pink Floyds cover arts as well.

TE is one of thier better albums i thought, it is not the heaviest or has any of their hits, but if you enjoy it, so the "F" what? it is the FUNNEST Black Sabbath album!

After the arty Sabotage, Sabbath moved towards simple hard rock with Technical Ecstacy. Each song on the album is brilliant. "Back Street Kids" is a great hard rocking song along with "All Moving Parts (Stand Still), "Rock and Roll Doctor", and "Gypsy". "She's Gone" and "It's Alright" (sung by drummer, Bill Ward), are great ballads. Any Sabbath fan will be happy with this album. It's highly recommended.

After having reviewed Tyr (favorably), and SBS (not so favorably), I couldn't resist bringing this hidden gem in the spotlight. TE is an excellent example of the Sabbath making music just for the sake of music. There is, of course, more here than just making music: Like in 'Never Say Die', the lyrics of TE reveal personal conflict and conviction, spiritual quest, social awareness and strong emotions, and these messages come straight from the heart. Unlike SBS, this project does not seek to impress anyone and it's not pretentious. There are hardly any 'hits' here. Instead, there is a careful selection of quality compositions. This is Sabbath making art, not commercial music. True, TE is not as adventurous and thrilling as Sabotage, but Sabotage was such an extraordinary album, a singular supernova in Sabbath's history that was never truly matched by any other Sabbath release of the Osbourne era. Still, TE compensates with layers of magnificently ambient keyboards, which, for the first time in Sabbath's career, are present in virtually every song of the album. It is these keyboards together with Ozzy's emotionally charged vocals that give this highly entertaining CD its unique atmosphere. I am not downplaying, of course Tony's guitar, it is there as always, mature, poweful, making sure that, although this is a diferent album, it still sounds like Black Sabbath. A first listening reveals at least three outstanding cuts: Dirty Women, She's Gone and You Won't Change Me. It's Alright, with Ward singing (and doing fine), and Gypsy are pleasant surprises, while the remaining tracks are standard Sabbath tunes, not as memorable, but certainly not bad songs. TE has stood the test of time. IMHO, no serious and devoted Sabath fan should be without this album.