Customer Reviews

Technical Ecstasy

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album was a byproduct of the creative tug-of-war between Ozzy and Tony Iommi, who wanted the band to experiment with more styles. If you saw the "Technical Ecstasy" tour, not a lot of these songs fit into the show--"Dirty Women" and "Gypsy" being the best. The best part of this album is its production quality, which is exceptional and certainly needed no remaster. "All Moving Parts" and "Rock & Roll Doctor" are well-executed, dispensable pop lacking the teeth that Sabbath fans crave.

When Sabbath hit this period, I strayed to bands like Judas Priest that displayed more emotion and energy (at the time). Since then, the band's drug problems and internal strife during the recording of this album have been well-documented. In retrospect, it is amazing this album is as good as it is.

Sabbath was unravelling. They made an album full of angry humor, dark images of reality -- something Sabbath had avoided since it's inception. Almost an underground kind of album for one of the biggest bands in the world; an inverted magnum opus of sorts, with the same kind of disjointed brilliance as something like The White Album. I'd love to see a two-disc set of this with demos, outtakes, rejects, maybe some tape of a drunken Ozzy and Geezer shouting at each other. This is not in the same class of influence as the 70-74 stuff (a lot of it isn't even metal), TE nonetheless deserves very high marks on a number of levels: musical experimentation, letting the drummer sing (Beatles style no less! And it charted in England! Ha ha ha), the artwork (fully restored here). With Hugh Gilmour's typically excellent liner notes and a very sharp remastering job, the Castle remaster is the Technical Ecstacy to get.

I, like certain others, feel this album got some bum reviews. To me, this really reflects the time it was written in. Gone was the apocalyptic fear of "going to Nam" and some of the racial unrest that I'm sure influenced some of Sabbath's earlier writings. And I appreciate the more up- front sound of Iommi's guitar. Where it was sludgy and heavily distorted (Paranoid or Masters...)or heavily compressed (Sabotage,) on this release it is in- your- face and rump- kickin'! And the leads are some of the most blistering laid down by Big Tony! This album, I feel, speaks more of the decadent, self- indulgent atmosphere at the time (Rock-n-Roll Doctor and Dirty Women, Backstreet Kids.) The mood may be lighter, but the music is still heavy. "You Won't Change Me" is vintage Sabbath, with slow, heavy guitar riffs and great vocals by the Ozz. Sure it may not contain the most profound lyrics, but it still rocks hard. And "Gypsy" is another headbanger. "She's Gone" has some of the most passionate vocals ever recorded by Ozzy (except maybe Mama I'm Coming Home.) Sure It could be included in a sountrack for a chick- flick, but haven't we ALL been there? And that brings me to another point: Sabbath's lyrics have always enabled the listener to become a participant in the story by using great imagery, and that includes this album as well. I enjoy every track here, even Bill Ward's stab at being Ringo on "It's Alright." Hey, the guitar in the midsection is cool! This may not be as heavy as some of Sab's earlier efforts,but it was still one of the heaviest around at the time. I'd rather listen to this than "Stayin' Alive".....

Musically probably their best creation, yet overall "Technical extasy" reveals the weaker point in Ozzy/Black Sabbath career. Perhaps, due to the fact that the band was tired of the same old-same old... or perhaps because the friction in the band got close to unbearable. Still, if the earlier works of the band are not taken into account, this album is definitely a huge success.

Very rarely you will hear Sabbath singing about positive things in life... and still, who could forget the sad sad "She's gone"?

Very rarely you will hear Sabbath singing soft music like "It's alright" or a pure 50's rock'n'roll... and still, who could forget the super heavy "Dirty women"?

I must admit that I was hesitant to give this album 5 stars. But don't get me wrong it's a great CD, and better than 95% of everything out there. It's kind of funny though. This album is extremely hard to find unless you order off the internet. Especially in Canada, where I had to get it imported from the UK. It's almost an underground album for one of the biggest heavy metal bands. Dirty Women is a classic and the best song, but the whole album is great, at it's worst parts it is still good. The whole album flows very well and has very unique entrances, like "Gypsy". If you are discouraged by the low sales rank or the fact there are only 2 reviewers (at the time of this writing) don't be. It is a great buy, and I bet your friends wont have it. If you are a Sabbath fan with an open mind, be sure to pick this one up.

Originally released in 1976, as this was Sabbath's seventh 'actual' album and their second-to-last with Ozzy Osbourne. A far cry from such classics like 'Black Sabbath', 'Paranoid' or 'Master Of Reality' - maybe not great but okay. I mean, they all can't be outstanding, now can they? Tracks I liked best here were without a doubt "Gypsy", the *ss-kicking "Rock 'N Roll Doctor", "She's Gone" and the awesome 'deep lp cut' "Dirty Women". Not a title I would keep handy in my current rotation stack but a disc I would pull out for a spin every now and then.

I admit so far I don't think this is Sabbath's best, but I really enjoy this CD. This is definitely Sabbath at a different phase that wouldn't be lived again. I'm sure most people who call themselves fans of the band wouldn't enjoy this because there's no mention of Satan or anything else in the miserable gothic area. These songs are based on topics such as sex, partying, and even love. This is almost like a Kiss albumb, and that's why it's so irresistable. I really can't understand why people don't like this, I think it's a hell lot better than Sabbath Bloody Sabbath which puts me to sleep.

I'm so tired of listening to everyone diss this record....from the reviews to the liner in the cd....(...) okay? Sabb never made a bad record in the early days this record is great.

technical ecstasy is not even close to being one of sabbath's best cd's but there's still some tracks here worth a listen to.back street kids is a great heavy rocker{just as heavy anything sabbath ever did with ozzy,it remains one of my favorite tracks}it's alright is a very good track{this is worth a listen just for the fact that drummer bill ward sings lead vocals on this song,what a job he does,this guy can really sing,for proof also check out swinging the chain on never say die which is even better than it's alright}besides the two previous tracks just mention the other good tracks on this cd are you won't change me,all moving parts stand still and dirty women.the other three tracks on this cd are rock and roll doctor which is o.k. but i find it gets boring after a couple of listens,gypsy is a hard rocker but for some reason just does'nt do it for me and the other track is the soft ballad she's gone which unlike other great ballats of sabbath like changes and solitude,she's gone is just a plainly bad song.all in all technical ecstasy isn't bad but it isn't all great either.i would only recommend this cd for really die hard sabbath or ozzy osbourne fans.

This is not the best album from Sabbath. It is their next-to lat album with Ozzy Osbourne as the singer, and it really isn't that good. They went a little light on this. It sounds more like Queen or Aerosmith then the evil, haunting sound of yore. All Moving Parts Stand Still is a cool song about a politician gone insane. Gypsy and Back Street Kids are good songs, too. There is a lot of filler, which makes it a 3-star album. Rock N Roll Doctor and She's Gone are some of these filler tracks. I'd reccomend it to Sabbath fans, but to new fans, get Black Sabbath or Sabotage instead.