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| | Technical Ecstasy | | | Music Artist : | | Black Sabbath | | Music Style : | | General | | Record Label : | | Warner Bros / Wea | | Release Date : | | 1990-10-25 | | Store Price : | | $7.98 | | Artistopia's Price: $6.99 | | Usually ships in 24 hours | | |
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CD Tracks/Songs
Disc 11. Back Street Kids
2. You Won't Change Me
3. It's Alright
4. Gypsy
5. All Moving Parts (Stand Still)
6. Rock 'N' Roll Doctor
7. She's Gone
8. Dirty Women
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Other Artist Albums
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Customer Reviews of This Album/CD |
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 "Feel good" hard rock, riffy, bluesy solos. 70+/100
Submitted on: 2009-10-12 |
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Even though I generally haven't found Black Sabbath to be the kind of band which delivers 'killer' songs (they did on "Paranoid" though), their albums have always been interesting enough to warrant further exploration, especially since "Paranoid" onwards. This album is a bit of a departure from the vibe of their earlier albums. It's bassy, riffy, "feel good" hard rock, with heavy metal riffs and bluesy lead guitar solos. I'm giving this album around 7/10 purely as an album experience...it's not really an album for songs that make a big impression on your memory, like many of the songs on "Paranoid", or "Sweet leaf" off of their "Master of reality" follow up album.
Best song:
You won't change me - in my notes I put a tick next to songs I rate very highly, and dots for songs that aren't bad. It took around 3 listens, but 3rd time around I gave this song a dot. It starts off with an air-raid siren. It has a doom laden gothic rock riff. The vocals sound strained and electronic sounding. The lead guitar is bluesy and the solos are expressive and quite good. Track features a good chruch organ sounding melody too.
The next best song:
She's gone - features violin/strings. Has a nice, delicate, sharp sounding steel string accoustic guitar (sound puts in mind bands like Boston and Midnight Oil). Lyrics are mournful. Can perhaps be seen as a companion song to "Changes" off of "Vol.4".
The rest:
Back street kids - a modern sounding heavy metal song, with a pulsing riff and a slower, melodic solo bit (and vocal). Track has a nice change in vibe when the synth comes in.
It's alright - a light pop/rock kind of track. It's a positive sounding song...you could imagine it as being the theme to a sitcom or something! Piano and accoustic guitar feature, and there is vaguely "Carry that weight" vibe to proceedings. Short drum solo, Ozzy not on vocals here, I don't think.
Gypsy - has a Latin sounding intro, perhaps and funky drum beats. The riffing then makes the song upbeat. Lyrics aren't the best in this song...it sometimes has a Broadway musical kind of vibe to it. Has a bluesy, expressive guitar solo to it.
All moving parts (stand still) - has a groovy, dirty sounding riff to it. Bluesy lead guitar and a catchy vocal melody. Bassy, with power drumming.
Rock'n'roll doctor - sort of sounds mono at the start of the song. One of those "good time" kind of songs I alluded to before...a hard rock song with a party riff. Honky tonk piano and power drumming. Might even be cowbell percussion in this song too. Ozzy has phlegmy vocals on this track.
Dirty women - Ozzy caricatures his singing style on this song...screechy and throaty sounds come out of his mouth. Track has a weird synth sound, and there are long, extended, hypnotic elements to it. The outro has a guitar solo which I like...gets into a good groove.
Recommendations:
If you are new to Black Sabbath, I think that their first three albums are the most important...none of them really sound like eachother. Their debut has a certain folk rock vibe to it. "Paranoid" is the band producing 'hits' and it's their best album, I think. "Master of reality" is their third album and really set the template for the proto-typical Black Sabbath album. If you like that, keep going on up til "Sabotage", which is my second favourite album, behind "Paranoid". If you like "Technical ecstasy", you might like "Mob rules", which is Black Sabbath with Dio on vocals...their second album together...similar spirit to this album, I think. |
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Technical Ecstasy
Submitted on: 2009-09-29 |
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| An awesome classic hard rock album, typical of the Black Sabbath structure with a touch funck rock in Rock & Roll Doctor. A classic album for the fans |
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 Classic Sabbath, No Matter What People Say
Submitted on: 2009-07-22 |
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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 first three albums, 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 catalogue, like Back Steet Kids, You Won't Change Me, Gypsy, and Dirty Women. Back Street Kids especially, which gets knocked for its lyrics, which aren't even that bad, but boasts a great main riff with a guitar sound similar to Paranoid. Ozzy's vocals and Iommi's lead playing 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, All Moving Parts Stand Still is some awesome Sabbath, with some guitar parts that again sound similar to Paranoid. Rock N' Roll Doctor also 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 seven Sabbath albums with the classic line-up, all of which are unique and genius in their own way. Give credit where credit is due. |
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Underrated to Say the Least
Submitted on: 2009-06-10 |
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It's easy to review the first five Sabbath albums. They're all great. I put Sabotage in the category with the first four classics. I know that many don't. It's not that Sabbath lost their talent for making great music, they simply wanted to make some changes and try new things. You can track that desire back to Tony Iommi.
By the time TE came out, Ozzy had one foot out the door. This was an opportunity to move away from songs about drugs, war, and darkness to a more metaphorical use of lyrics. This album came out in 1976. Think of where hard rock was at the time. Disco ruled and bands like Sabbath, Aerosmith, and Purple were trying to tread water, while bands like Kiss had great success because of their theatrics.
The songs on TE are much better than what was around at the time, and still have meaning and relevancy today. Songs like "All Moving Parts" really hit home even today. Let's not forget that one of Iommi's greatest riffs is used on "Dirty Women;" a song still played anytime the original Sabs get together. If you've never bothered to listen to TE because of "what you've heard" do yourself a favor and pick it up. While you're at it get "Never Say Die!" too. |
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 The weakest Ozzy-era album.
Submitted on: 2009-05-22 |
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| Still has quite a few good tracks, though. It shows you how awesome Sabbath was with Ozzy. This is their absolute worst album, and it's still good. |
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