10/10 for me. Has been a favorite album of mine for 30 years. Love the diversity, love all 8 songs and think Iommi’s lead playing and tone is fantastic on this album.
I always liked "Technical Ecstacy" but it wasn't one of my favorites back in the day, that is until years later. When I bought the vinyl box set, I absolutely love it more than ever. I still love all of the other Ozzy Sabbath albums better, but I still love it anyways. Ironically, a lot of people don't like the ballads, but I always thought "She's Gone" was an absolutely emotional and deeply moving break up song that I absolutely loved since day one and Ozzy's vocals sound more heartbreaking than any other break up song ever written. There is so much feeling there that it absolutely holds a deep place in my heart forever . One of my first girlfriends when I was 15 broke up with me when I first got this album and that song used to literally break me down into deep tears and I would listen to it again and again and cry my eyes out, feeling like Ozzy was the only one who could understand my feelings. I loved Ozzy's voice and his emotion on that song. I still love it deeply. I don't care what anyone says. On the other hand, Bill Ward's ballad "It's Alright" is more like something you would hear on a Beatles album, but I like it. On to the heavier songs, I love "You Won't Change Me" and "Gypsy". I relate to a lot of the lyrics on this album. "Backstreet Kids" rocks too. I also love "Dirty Women". "Rock And Roll Doctor" always made me think that Sabbath were giving their nod to KISS, though they probably weren't but it sounds like they were. In actuality, it was a tribute lyrically to one of their drug dealers on the road. All in all, its an album that is fun to listen to when you are taking time out from the more classic well known stuff. It's for true Sabbath fans, a diary note of what the guys were going through at the time. If you are as deep of a fan as I am, you like to listen to certain albums and feel what the guys were going through at the time. Albums like this one "Technical Ecstacy" and "Never Say Die" aren't as great as "Master Of Reality" on a power level, but what they are is a band wearing its feelings on its sleeve. You can hear and feel the pain that they were going through, the aftermath of the manager's betrayal, divorces and break ups and never seeing their wives and children while on tour(especially Ozzy), the exhaustion from the never ending road tours, the loss of their parents. Sabbath were never so honest in their music as they were at this time and for a fan like me who really spends hours worshipping and loving these guys. reading the books of their life stories etc, listening to this album and "Never Say Die" really present those melancholy emotions on a deep and real level like nothing else they ever did before or after, and that means something. Sure I love to bang my head to the first few albums the best, but when I want to examine my heroes feelings, these two albums are revealing..I have been a deep fan since 1980 when I was eight. I have seen Sabbath 26 times live and met them twice. I actually love the original line up the best, but I also love all of the later line ups of the band too and all of their singers. I have a massive collection of albums and memorabilia of Black Sabbath, Ozzy, and all members related to them. One thing I will say is I never was crazy about this cover art on "Technical Ecstasy". The art is ok, but the music inside the record is so much more cool and serious than that album cover. But, it was a weird trippy time in the 1970's. Ha.
I generally like "Technical Ecstasy" for what it is. It's clearly lower in the ranking of the Ozzy era Sabbath albums, but there's nothing here that makes me wretch. "Dirty Women" is an absolute banger. This album is worth owning just for that song alone.
My favorite metal album of all time, since 1980. Brilliant on every level. I hadn't heard any Sabbath before then, but still today hold to my opinion. The riffs in All Moving Parts. The craziness of Gypsy, only Ozzy could pull this one off, beautifully accentuated by the frenetic guitar playing. Love the slower ones It's Alright and You Won't Change Me. This album had such an impact on me as a kid. Plus She's Gone is usually on the karaoke lists in the Far East!
Dirty Women for me is by far the best track on the album. I remember the first time I heard that riff kick in on a copy of the original vinyl and I was hooked immediately.
When I was first getting into Sabbath I never got that into thisone or Never Say Die, oddly enough it was when I heard She's Gone on shuffle and thought it must've been some Ozzy solo Ballad, was shocked to see it was Sabbath but I gave the album another listen and I cannot get enough such a classic album. Back Street Kids and Dirty Women are two of the best Ozzy performances ever. Gypsy is fucking killer and I love It's Alright. You Won't Change Me is so doomy, love it, I could take or leave Rock and Roll Doctor honestly but every other song is fuckin deadly
I bought the vinyl box set of this album a few months ago and while I always liked the album more than most, the Steven Wilson remix of the it turns a good album into a great album. Well worth your time listening to that mix.
I dig Technical Ecstasy. I give it a solid 7 out of 10. Back Street Kids, You Won't Change Me, All Moving Parts Stand Still, Rock 'N' Roll Doctor and Dirty Women are all songs I like. The Contrarian Sabbath album I have the biggest soft spot for though is Never Say Die!. I legit love that album.
I would rate it a 7/10. I would maybe reach for it ahead of the debut and Paranoid but that's because I've heard them too much. It's a decent album but they needed to do something stronger to recover lost commercial ground.
I love this album. It's my second favourite Sabbath album after Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Dirty Women is a classic and I even like She's Gone! I just pretend It's Alright is meant as a pastiche of a Ringo Starr song. Maybe sacrilege to say, but I think Sabbath always sound better with keyboards
Absolutely love the record. Iommi said they were really into rock bands that were experimenting at the time. "Queen", "Pink Floyd" and a lot of Prog bands in general. You can certainly hear it on this record and even going a bit further back to "Vol.4". Anyway, I've got to definitely upgrade my Sabbath collection to the deluxe editions of these great albums. There's a live show from this "Technical Ecstasy" tour that is killer. Some songs from that record only played during this tour!
This review of 'Technical Ecstasy' has forced me to go back & give it a listen. Keep in mind I was a Sabbath fan since I bought 'Paranoid' at age 14 & saw them live in '72. I can't tell most people today how big Sabbath was in the early 70's as a dark, underground band with sinister overtones- this was not 'peace & love' music. Sabbath was putting out one masterpiece after another through 'Sabotage'. By the mid 70's, rock music had become more commercial & mainstream and to some degree, this affected Black Sabbath as well. However, in listening to TE today, I was pleasantly surprised- this is a very enjoyable record! By no means is it a masterpiece, desert island album compared to other earlier Sabbath albums, but still better than most other albums, especially considering the year it was issued. I rate it 7/10.
Along with Never Say Die , I've loved Technical Ecstasy since it was released . Every one of the 70's era albums is an absolute classic in it's own right for me .
I own this cd, listened to it many times over the years but I just listened to the whole album, to have it fresh on the brain. Always loved Dirty Women & Backstreet Kids, two of my favorite Ozzy era tunes, two of MANY favorites. lol Gypsy I really like, All Moving Parts, It's Alright ( it does stick out but I really like Bill's vocals and playing, the acoustic guitar is great on that song as well ). She's Gone isn't bad, not a favorite but it works, the opening does have that Revelation Mother Earth feel eh?, it works. You Won't Change Me is a good song, like it more than I rememberd liking it, not outstanding but a decent tune. Rock N Roll Doctor is good, don't need to hear it for a while but it is a good tune. lol ( I love AC/DC but I don't need to hear, You Shook Me All Night Long for a longtime either lol ). My humble opinion, 8/10 for me. Great show fellas! \m/ \m/
I avoided this album for years because of the reputation it had as a "bad" record in the early 80's (just like Priest's Rocka Rolla). So, I didn't actually give it a full listen until the late 90's. I really like this record, it's very somber sounding (even the more upbeat songs). I definitely find myself going back to this over other Sabbath records that I've played to death over the years.
It's not as bad as many people say. But I don't think it's as good as others say. The main reason I play it these days is because it contains songs I'm not overly familiar with. So there's no "I'm sick of that song" factor going on. It's good, though...a solid 6.8.
10/10 for me. I've loved this album since I first got it back in 1982 and now it's my second favourite Sabbath album with Ozzy, right after Sabotage - which I consider a masterpiece. The Deluxe Box Set of Technical Ecstasy with the Steven Wilson Re-mix, Out-takes and Live recording is excellent and highly recommended.
It's the kind of album bands like Sabbath made in '76, Queen were big news in the UK and you can hear it (as you can in bands like the Sweet). I agree with Martin it contains Iommi's finest moments as a soloist until the Dio years.
5/10 This album for me has been hard to get into. Like Never Say Die the song order doesn't work for me at the beginning of the album. Listening to the songs individually every so often has gotten me into them. Then I make my own running order and it's alot better. Try 1 She's Gone 2 Dirty Women 3 Gypsy 4 Rock n Roll Doctor 5 Backstreet Kids 6 It's Alright 7 All Moving Parts 8 You Won't Change Me. This has an emotional narrative. This is maybe a 8/10. I still question the sound production on Backstreet and RnR Doctor enough to wonder if the album title is a joke!
Whilst it's not my favourite Sabbath album, I do think it's a cool album. They're trying to do something different and I enjoy listening to it. And yes, it is a great cover!
The only reason this one drops a little for me, is because it came right after Sabatage, the greatest album of all time. All and all, a great album. 8/10
This album was a definite drop off in fact in my opinion The worse before Dio. The first six all classic, then they lost the plot. Thank god Dio redeemed them.
I don’t think its the greatest thing they’ve done- and I agree with you about Dio: Heaven and Hell/ Mob Rules would be in my top 6 Black Sabbath albums. But I do think its very underrated.
I’ve listened to this since 1976 and thought I think the others are great this album is also high up on my favorite albums list. I listen to this more than the 1st 6 albums
I think Tony had the right idea - this was the age of Rumours, Hotel California and Foreigner, not Led 4, Machine Head and Thick As A Brick. If they wanted a piece of the growing music industry, at that point in time they would need something more commercial to play on the radio. Now, we all know in retrospect that they didn't need to do that and heavy rock would be back in vogue in a few years, but at that point they were not in a good place financially and they needed a hit. Problem was, they were all still in a drug haze. Tony was left in the studio with his coke (freshly emptied out of the mixing desk following The Eagles'session!), while the rest of them went to the beach. The outcome is some *terrible* muddy production and good, but frankly not that good songs. It's not like it's bad, but this comes only a few months after Sabotage! If they wanted to go there, they needed producer. Bit of a shame Bob Ezrin ruined Peter Gabriel's first instead of maybe making something good with Sabbath.
It´s a great album and i love Rock and Roll Doctor and You Won´t Change me. I think all the songs are really good. I will put it before 13 of the Ozzy Sabbath albums and before most of the other eras Sabbath albums.
I'm with CHRISTIAN I have listened to this record a shit load of times and think it's enjoyable Who am I to tell the band which direction they chose to pursue? A couple of clunkers and tonys solos need a little more zip in the engineering side. SABBATH wanted to be a little more theatrical. No problem. 7.5 rating
This album has really grown on me over the years. It's not necessarily top tier, but it's still amazing. The only song that drags it down for me a bit is Rock and Roll Doctor. I'll give it an eight.
Love this album (except Rock and Roll Doctor, so awful) the rest of the albums just sounds killer, I think the solos are awesome some of the mid section progressions are so good. The keyboards work stellar. You won’t change me is the stand out track for me wonderfully dark sounding. 7.5/10 for having to skip R&Rdoc
Great show and analysis! I love a lot of dark horse albums but my opinion aligns more with James here. I have had this album since 1987. It is my least favorite of the first 8 albums with Ozzy. I would give all of the others an 8 or better. I just don't think the songs are here and I feel that the band really sound tired. Its not a complete washout. I always liked "Dirty Women" and now I love it. "All Moving Parts (Stand Still)" really grew on me and I love the middle part of the track. "Back Street Kids" has a cool riff. The rest not so much. And like a few who have commented here, I really dig Never Say Die. I would give Technical Ecstasy a 4.5.
Hey Martin are you wearing a University of Michigan sweatshirt hoodie? That’s close to my hometown. Just wondered if you had a connection to the school or was gifted to you.
Aside from hearing Sabbath on the radio - usual suspects like Paranoid and War Pigs - Technical Ecstasy was the first Sabbath album I owned. I bought it the same day as I bought the Ian Gillan Band's Clear Air Turbulence - an album that I love and still play to this day - which may show where musically I'm coming from. I guess I must have bought them some time in mid 1977. From the off with Back Street Kids until the dying embers of Dirty Women (interesting to see the cassette running order as being quite different to the LP) there isnt a track on it that I ever skip. I absolutley love Its Alright with Bill singing, and if you listen to the acoustic on the fade out I swear there's a melody line that I next heard in Goodbye to Romance. She's Gone was always my least favourite, possibly due to my disdain for Ozzy's vocals. I know that it may be totally heretical to the metal world, but I've never really liked his sound all that much - its ok for what it is, but there's just something in my head that turns me off of him. I also realise that its maybe a bit hypocritical to have bought those first 2 Blizzard of Ozz albums, but that was more due to them having Randy, Bob and Lee on them than them being Ozzy solo and I didnt buy that first Blizzard of Ozz album until after I had heard Crazy Train and Mr Crowley. They are also the only 2 Ozzy albums I own. While I like them I'm not as into those first four albums - which is also due to my liking to hear keyboards, and thats what helps make me absolutely love this album, and the follow up Never Say Die, as well as them being a progression away from the traditional Black Sabbath sound. I also rate Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Sabotage above the other four Ozzy albums but would pick Mob Rules and Heaven and Hell above them. And its the only box set of theirs that I've bought - and think that the Steven Wilson Remix makes a fantastic album even better. 10/10 for me.
Well love every sabbath song except for two songs on never say die This is a really good album Tony wwanted to sound like Brian May He did a great job and keyboards are kool
Love this album, she's gone is awesome if you actually listen to it. On the ozzy era, the only song I don't like is who are you. No other band comes close.
T.E- not bad (like N.S.D, which is a total mess), but so boring, almost borderline faceless, I get the sense that they were almost being driven mad seeking critical approval at this point. I'd rather listen one of the early Foreigner records than this any day.
Technical Ecstasy is not the dark horse album, Never Day Die is, & is at least twice the album TE was, TE was to polished & over produced & feels to me the least Ozzy Sabbath album of them all, l much prefer the alternate album from the box set, the songs are stripped down to the bone & much more raw, no bullshit sound. 4 out of 10.🕇🤘🕇lts my 'never go too' album👎
Ok. So I'm not a subscriber of the 'the first six' are all you need. Yes, TE and NSD are a step down from the first six. HOWEVER, those six albums are all diamonds, so being a step under that doesn't mean they're crap by any means. Different doesn't mean bad. And for those that see this as a huge departure.... listen to some of the tunes on Sab Bloody Sab, some of the weirdness on Sabotage and the bluesy stuff on side 2 of the debut. They didn't do doom metal 24/7, and that's a good thing. If I give each of the first six an A, I'd give TE a solid B. I love You Won't Change Me. Dirty Women is cool. She's Gone is NOT horrible, wassamatta with you guys, lol. Gypsy is an excellent tune. So that's half the tunes, the other half are ok. Not stellar, but alright. So an album that's half excellent, and half ok to good, averages out to a pretty decent record in my book.
Im right in line with you, im pretty high on NSD and TE, i honestly am a huge fan of the entire ozzy sabbath run in the 70s, i dont think any of those albums are bad at all, there might be a couple of songs from the last 2 albums im a little less high on but overall ive listened to them just as much and enjoyed them just as much
@@thecontrarians2438 I also look at it like this, look at Ozzy's run. If you're one that likes TE and NSD as I am, then you've got the 8 Sabbath records. I think Ozzy's solo records are really good to great through to Ozzmosis. Down To Earth was the first significant dip, IMO. So that a run of 15 albums with the lowest grade of a B, imo. Obviously he's been surrounded by some killer talent, but that's no fluke, luck, or just credit to the other guys. No way.
@@docvader82 haha i actually quite agree too that i like all of ozzy's solo albums up till around Down To Earth (though im a little less favorable on Ultimate Sin)
Doctor Eddie Ganja here Sabbath became my favorite band in 1974 after there performance at The 1974 California Jam don't hate this album My favorites Back Street Kids You won't Change Me Gypsy All Moving Parts stand Still Dirty Women best tracks saw The Tour 1977 Black Sabbath and Moxy
It’s ok.I would rate it a 6.I like never say die better.I don’t like “she’s gone”.I like the first 2 songs very much but not to much after.Maybe I should rate it 5?Ok,I change my rating to 5
Do you like anything from it? Maybe Dirty Women or All moving Parts? Those 2 are pretty Sabbath-esque in line with Sabotage and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath IMO
@@thecontrarians2438 Those 2 songs are the best of the songs on the album but they don't appeal to me enough to actually seek them out for a listen...just not my cup of tea. I actually love Never Say Die , which so many despise .
Probably a 5 for me. Lyrically it is generically preadolescent, but saved by several good(not great) songs. Dirty women, Back Street Kids, You won't change me and all moving parts are my favs on here. Its alright, Shes gone and RnR Doctor are pretty Cringe inducing. There is the bones of a really good album here, but in the shadow of SBS it is an indicator of a band self destructing and no longer caring about the music.
It's the drop off in the quality of the lyrics that hurt it the most; Dirty Women would be one their best songs overall if it had better lyrics; Rock N Roll Doctor is an anemic version of Sabbra Cadabra especially the lyrics; It's Alright is an anemic song in general, should have been a B-side
6.5 or 7. This was my introduction to Sabbath back in 1977 and I did not think it was a good introduction. I hate the sound of it and all of the effects put on Ozzy’s vocals. At times I thought they sounded like a Spanish group. I don’t like Back Street Kids but love You Won’t Change Me, It’s Alright and Gypsy. From side two I really like All Moving Parts Stand Still and Rock-N-Roll Doctor but hate She’s Gone and Dirty Women. But the production really hurts this album for me.
A lot of cheese on this album and also seems like they rushed the music and lyrics. Songs like Rock and Roll Doctor, Backstreet Kids and She's Gone would shine in a 90's Ozzy album but fall short following Black Sabbath's finest album Sabotage.
i don't want to sound like a jerk, but this album is bad in many ways , wow, sabbath just going on this weird trip, sounding to much like they want to all of the sudden fit in with the next music sound, which is not good at all, the old hard core way they sounded is the way they should have kept going with.
First of all its III-ommi, like eye-ommi, NOT eeee-ommi. Second, it’s Dirty Women, PLURAL, not singular, Dirty Woman. All Moving Parts is NOT southern rocky…
Not fair. Half the judges weren't even alive when this album came out. They have no way to judge this. Obviously, this was not their best album but you have to put the album in context of the era in order to judge it properly. The only reason this album wasn't higher rated was because it was Black Sabbath and people expected better. If any other band put out this album, it would have been great!
It's ok. I like half the album, but the two ballads and Rock n Roll Doctor are just garbage. Rock n Roll Doctor is easily the worst 70's Sabbath song imo. Gypsy I find very uninteresting as well. Weak record, 5/10.
If zeppelin did 2 albums like this they would get praised for being versatile critics never gave sabbath a good review it wasn't trendy to like sabbath
Absolute piece of garbage. I love the albums before this, and some of them after. But I'm not going to be a hipster D-Bag, and try to pretend that this is a good record. Only NSD is worse in the Ozzy canon.
I like Reid's overall take, except that I like All Moving Parts (Stand Still) as an essential contributor to the progressive vibe of the album. The other three songs he names as detractors from the flow of the album, I agree with.
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10/10 for me. Has been a favorite album of mine for 30 years. Love the diversity, love all 8 songs and think Iommi’s lead playing and tone is fantastic on this album.
I always liked "Technical Ecstacy" but it wasn't one of my favorites back in the day, that is until years later. When I bought the vinyl box set, I absolutely love it more than ever. I still love all of the other Ozzy Sabbath albums better, but I still love it anyways. Ironically, a lot of people don't like the ballads, but I always thought "She's Gone" was an absolutely emotional and deeply moving break up song that I absolutely loved since day one and Ozzy's vocals sound more heartbreaking than any other break up song ever written. There is so much feeling there that it absolutely holds a deep place in my heart forever . One of my first girlfriends when I was 15 broke up with me when I first got this album and that song used to literally break me down into deep tears and I would listen to it again and again and cry my eyes out, feeling like Ozzy was the only one who could understand my feelings. I loved Ozzy's voice and his emotion on that song. I still love it deeply. I don't care what anyone says. On the other hand, Bill Ward's ballad "It's Alright" is more like something you would hear on a Beatles album, but I like it. On to the heavier songs, I love "You Won't Change Me" and "Gypsy". I relate to a lot of the lyrics on this album. "Backstreet Kids" rocks too. I also love "Dirty Women". "Rock And Roll Doctor" always made me think that Sabbath were giving their nod to KISS, though they probably weren't but it sounds like they were. In actuality, it was a tribute lyrically to one of their drug dealers on the road. All in all, its an album that is fun to listen to when you are taking time out from the more classic well known stuff. It's for true Sabbath fans, a diary note of what the guys were going through at the time. If you are as deep of a fan as I am, you like to listen to certain albums and feel what the guys were going through at the time. Albums like this one "Technical Ecstacy" and "Never Say Die" aren't as great as "Master Of Reality" on a power level, but what they are is a band wearing its feelings on its sleeve. You can hear and feel the pain that they were going through, the aftermath of the manager's betrayal, divorces and break ups and never seeing their wives and children while on tour(especially Ozzy), the exhaustion from the never ending road tours, the loss of their parents. Sabbath were never so honest in their music as they were at this time and for a fan like me who really spends hours worshipping and loving these guys. reading the books of their life stories etc, listening to this album and "Never Say Die" really present those melancholy emotions on a deep and real level like nothing else they ever did before or after, and that means something. Sure I love to bang my head to the first few albums the best, but when I want to examine my heroes feelings, these two albums are revealing..I have been a deep fan since 1980 when I was eight. I have seen Sabbath 26 times live and met them twice. I actually love the original line up the best, but I also love all of the later line ups of the band too and all of their singers. I have a massive collection of albums and memorabilia of Black Sabbath, Ozzy, and all members related to them. One thing I will say is I never was crazy about this cover art on "Technical Ecstasy". The art is ok, but the music inside the record is so much more cool and serious than that album cover. But, it was a weird trippy time in the 1970's. Ha.
Always liked this album. It showed their musician training and previewed solo Ozzy's future style. Never Say Die is another great album.
I generally like "Technical Ecstasy" for what it is. It's clearly lower in the ranking of the Ozzy era Sabbath albums, but there's nothing here that makes me wretch. "Dirty Women" is an absolute banger. This album is worth owning just for that song alone.
My favorite metal album of all time, since 1980. Brilliant on every level. I hadn't heard any Sabbath before then, but still today hold to my opinion. The riffs in All Moving Parts. The craziness of Gypsy, only Ozzy could pull this one off, beautifully accentuated by the frenetic guitar playing. Love the slower ones It's Alright and You Won't Change Me. This album had such an impact on me as a kid. Plus She's Gone is usually on the karaoke lists in the Far East!
Dirty Women for me is by far the best track on the album. I remember the first time I heard that riff kick in on a copy of the original vinyl and I was hooked immediately.
Yes it's incredible!
When I was first getting into Sabbath I never got that into thisone or Never Say Die, oddly enough it was when I heard She's Gone on shuffle and thought it must've been some Ozzy solo Ballad, was shocked to see it was Sabbath but I gave the album another listen and I cannot get enough such a classic album. Back Street Kids and Dirty Women are two of the best Ozzy performances ever. Gypsy is fucking killer and I love It's Alright. You Won't Change Me is so doomy, love it, I could take or leave Rock and Roll Doctor honestly but every other song is fuckin deadly
I bought the vinyl box set of this album a few months ago and while I always liked the album more than most, the Steven Wilson remix of the it turns a good album into a great album. Well worth your time listening to that mix.
Agree...the mix really lifts the album...
I dig Technical Ecstasy. I give it a solid 7 out of 10. Back Street Kids, You Won't Change Me, All Moving Parts Stand Still, Rock 'N' Roll Doctor and Dirty Women are all songs I like. The Contrarian Sabbath album I have the biggest soft spot for though is Never Say Die!. I legit love that album.
BS 9/10
Paranoid 9/10
Master of Reality 10/10
Vol.4 10/10
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath 9/10
Sabotage 10/10
*Technical Ecstasy 8/10*
Never say Die 7/10
I would rate it a 7/10. I would maybe reach for it ahead of the debut and Paranoid but that's because I've heard them too much. It's a decent album but they needed to do something stronger to recover lost commercial ground.
I love this album. It's my second favourite Sabbath album after Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Dirty Women is a classic and I even like She's Gone! I just pretend It's Alright is meant as a pastiche of a Ringo Starr song. Maybe sacrilege to say, but I think Sabbath always sound better with keyboards
Absolutely love the record. Iommi said they were really into rock bands that were experimenting at the time. "Queen", "Pink Floyd" and a lot of Prog bands in general. You can certainly hear it on this record and even going a bit further back to "Vol.4".
Anyway, I've got to definitely upgrade my Sabbath collection to the deluxe editions of these great albums. There's a live show from this "Technical Ecstasy" tour that is killer. Some songs from that record only played during this tour!
Hands down my favorite Ozzy era album . Steven Wilson remix even better . I have had this record since 1980 . Never gets old .
My favorite Ozzy Sabbath album. All tracks are so tasty... 10/10
This review of 'Technical Ecstasy' has forced me to go back & give it a listen. Keep in mind I was a Sabbath fan since I bought 'Paranoid' at age 14 & saw them live in '72. I can't tell most people today how big Sabbath was in the early 70's as a dark, underground band with sinister overtones- this was not 'peace & love' music. Sabbath was putting out one masterpiece after another through 'Sabotage'. By the mid 70's, rock music had become more commercial & mainstream and to some degree, this affected Black Sabbath as well. However, in listening to TE today, I was pleasantly surprised- this is a very enjoyable record! By no means is it a masterpiece, desert island album compared to other earlier Sabbath albums, but still better than most other albums, especially considering the year it was issued. I rate it 7/10.
Along with Never Say Die , I've loved Technical Ecstasy since it was released . Every one of the 70's era albums is an absolute classic in it's own right for me .
I own this cd, listened to it many times over the years but I just listened to the whole album, to have it fresh on the brain. Always loved Dirty Women & Backstreet Kids, two of my favorite Ozzy era tunes, two of MANY favorites. lol Gypsy I really like, All Moving Parts, It's Alright ( it does stick out but I really like Bill's vocals and playing, the acoustic guitar is great on that song as well ). She's Gone isn't bad, not a favorite but it works, the opening does have that Revelation Mother Earth feel eh?, it works. You Won't Change Me is a good song, like it more than I rememberd liking it, not outstanding but a decent tune. Rock N Roll Doctor is good, don't need to hear it for a while but it is a good tune. lol ( I love AC/DC but I don't need to hear, You Shook Me All Night Long for a longtime either lol ). My humble opinion, 8/10 for me. Great show fellas! \m/ \m/
Nice! Our reviews are pretty close actually, but im a sucker for all the Ozzy Black Sabbath era albums
I avoided this album for years because of the reputation it had as a "bad" record in the early 80's (just like Priest's Rocka Rolla). So, I didn't actually give it a full listen until the late 90's. I really like this record, it's very somber sounding (even the more upbeat songs). I definitely find myself going back to this over other Sabbath records that I've played to death over the years.
It's not as bad as many people say. But I don't think it's as good as others say. The main reason I play it these days is because it contains songs I'm not overly familiar with. So there's no "I'm sick of that song" factor going on. It's good, though...a solid 6.8.
Good point about the songs!
my second favorite Sabbath album with NSD being my favorite, to me this is the direction Ozzy took his solo act...
A great album, loved it before I knew it wasn't that well respected. Dirty Women is one of my favorite songs of theirs, at least 8/10.
10/10 for me.
I've loved this album since I first got it back in 1982 and now it's my second favourite Sabbath album with Ozzy, right after Sabotage - which I consider a masterpiece.
The Deluxe Box Set of Technical Ecstasy with the Steven Wilson Re-mix, Out-takes and Live recording is excellent and highly recommended.
It's the kind of album bands like Sabbath made in '76, Queen were big news in the UK and you can hear it (as you can in bands like the Sweet). I agree with Martin it contains Iommi's finest moments as a soloist until the Dio years.
Great episode guys! This album has grown on me over the yrs! It went from being a 4-5 to 7!
5/10 This album for me has been hard to get into. Like Never Say Die the song order doesn't work for me at the beginning of the album. Listening to the songs individually every so often has gotten me into them. Then I make my own running order and it's alot better.
Try 1 She's Gone 2 Dirty Women 3 Gypsy 4 Rock n Roll Doctor 5 Backstreet Kids 6 It's Alright 7 All Moving Parts 8 You Won't Change Me. This has an emotional narrative. This is maybe a 8/10. I still question the sound production on Backstreet and RnR Doctor enough to wonder if the album title is a joke!
Whilst it's not my favourite Sabbath album, I do think it's a cool album. They're trying to do something different and I enjoy listening to it. And yes, it is a great cover!
The riff in Dirty Women. Sweet, sugary Jeeezzuzzz........under-rated album overall.
Love Technical Ecstasy!!! my third favorite Sabbath Rekkid! looking forward to this episode!
I'm pretty high on it too! I think its a great album, hope you like the episode, some polarizing views on it be warned
8/10 for me… and I love the Steven Wilson remix!
@@thecontrarians2438 great episode! Always interesting to hear everyone’s opinion.
It took me 30 yrs to like this album.. You won't change me is my favourite off the album
The only reason this one drops a little for me, is because it came right after Sabatage, the greatest album of all time. All and all, a great album. 8/10
I dig this album, including the artwork and production. 7/10 for me.
This album was a definite drop off in fact in my opinion The worse before Dio. The first six all classic, then they lost the plot. Thank god Dio redeemed them.
I don’t think its the greatest thing they’ve done- and I agree with you about Dio: Heaven and Hell/ Mob Rules would be in my top 6 Black Sabbath albums.
But I do think its very underrated.
I've always liked this album but, it has risen a little for me over the years. I'll give it a 7.5/10.
I prefer Never Say Die.
I’ve listened to this since 1976 and thought I think the others are great this album is also high up on my favorite albums list. I listen to this more than the 1st 6 albums
Technical Ecstasy gets a 7 out of 10 from me. Love the later 4 albums from Sabbath, all very good. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is my fav.
Like the graphics. Keep up the good work.
Thanks Carl!!!
Thanks Carl!
Love this album used to wear out my Sega Saturn's disk drive
I think Tony had the right idea - this was the age of Rumours, Hotel California and Foreigner, not Led 4, Machine Head and Thick As A Brick. If they wanted a piece of the growing music industry, at that point in time they would need something more commercial to play on the radio. Now, we all know in retrospect that they didn't need to do that and heavy rock would be back in vogue in a few years, but at that point they were not in a good place financially and they needed a hit.
Problem was, they were all still in a drug haze. Tony was left in the studio with his coke (freshly emptied out of the mixing desk following The Eagles'session!), while the rest of them went to the beach. The outcome is some *terrible* muddy production and good, but frankly not that good songs. It's not like it's bad, but this comes only a few months after Sabotage!
If they wanted to go there, they needed producer. Bit of a shame Bob Ezrin ruined Peter Gabriel's first instead of maybe making something good with Sabbath.
It´s a great album and i love Rock and Roll Doctor and You Won´t Change me. I think all the songs are really good. I will put it before 13 of the Ozzy Sabbath albums and before most of the other eras Sabbath albums.
I'm with CHRISTIAN I have listened to this record a shit load of times and think it's enjoyable
Who am I to tell the band which direction they chose to pursue? A couple of clunkers and tonys solos need a little more zip in the engineering side. SABBATH wanted to be a little more theatrical. No problem. 7.5 rating
im 7.5 too great minds!!
This album has really grown on me over the years. It's not necessarily top tier, but it's still amazing. The only song that drags it down for me a bit is Rock and Roll Doctor. I'll give it an eight.
Just bought the super deluxe edition, thanks for reminding me.
Love this album (except Rock and Roll Doctor, so awful) the rest of the albums just sounds killer, I think the solos are awesome some of the mid section progressions are so good. The keyboards work stellar. You won’t change me is the stand out track for me wonderfully dark sounding. 7.5/10 for having to skip R&Rdoc
Great show and analysis! I love a lot of dark horse albums but my opinion aligns more with James here. I have had this album since 1987. It is my least favorite of the first 8 albums with Ozzy. I would give all of the others an 8 or better. I just don't think the songs are here and I feel that the band really sound tired. Its not a complete washout. I always liked "Dirty Women" and now I love it. "All Moving Parts (Stand Still)" really grew on me and I love the middle part of the track. "Back Street Kids" has a cool riff. The rest not so much. And like a few who have commented here, I really dig Never Say Die. I would give Technical Ecstasy a 4.5.
You don’t like You Won’t Change Me? That one and Dirty Women are my favourite songs on it.
@@jimmycampbell78 Nah, just never could get into that track.
Hey Martin are you wearing a University of Michigan sweatshirt hoodie? That’s close to my hometown. Just wondered if you had a connection to the school or was gifted to you.
No real connection, but we've seen as a family two games in the big house, plus basketball there.
All moving parts sounds more funky to me than Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Love that album, BUT I love Never Say Die even more. TE: 8/10, NSD: 8.5/10. Cheers.
oh man would love to find that vertigo press.
Aside from hearing Sabbath on the radio - usual suspects like Paranoid and War Pigs - Technical Ecstasy was the first Sabbath album I owned. I bought it the same day as I bought the Ian Gillan Band's Clear Air Turbulence - an album that I love and still play to this day - which may show where musically I'm coming from. I guess I must have bought them some time in mid 1977.
From the off with Back Street Kids until the dying embers of Dirty Women (interesting to see the cassette running order as being quite different to the LP) there isnt a track on it that I ever skip.
I absolutley love Its Alright with Bill singing, and if you listen to the acoustic on the fade out I swear there's a melody line that I next heard in Goodbye to Romance.
She's Gone was always my least favourite, possibly due to my disdain for Ozzy's vocals. I know that it may be totally heretical to the metal world, but I've never really liked his sound all that much - its ok for what it is, but there's just something in my head that turns me off of him. I also realise that its maybe a bit hypocritical to have bought those first 2 Blizzard of Ozz albums, but that was more due to them having Randy, Bob and Lee on them than them being Ozzy solo and I didnt buy that first Blizzard of Ozz album until after I had heard Crazy Train and Mr Crowley. They are also the only 2 Ozzy albums I own.
While I like them I'm not as into those first four albums - which is also due to my liking to hear keyboards, and thats what helps make me absolutely love this album, and the follow up Never Say Die, as well as them being a progression away from the traditional Black Sabbath sound. I also rate Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Sabotage above the other four Ozzy albums but would pick Mob Rules and Heaven and Hell above them.
And its the only box set of theirs that I've bought - and think that the Steven Wilson Remix makes a fantastic album even better.
10/10 for me.
I love TE, of the OZZY classic eight albums, i'd rank it fifth, one track lets it down a bit after that all good.
With the exception of Rock and Roll Doctor (too generic) I love this album 8/10
how do you feel about Am I going Insane? just curious
@@thecontrarians2438 It's the strange out of place track on Sabotage, but I still like it.
Well love every sabbath song except for two songs on never say die This is a really good album Tony wwanted to sound like Brian May He did a great job and keyboards are kool
Love this album, she's gone is awesome if you actually listen to it. On the ozzy era, the only song I don't like is who are you. No other band comes close.
T.E- not bad (like N.S.D, which is a total mess), but so boring, almost borderline faceless, I get the sense that they were almost being driven mad seeking critical approval at this point. I'd rather listen one of the early Foreigner records than this any day.
ya that were slagged pretty heavily in the 70's by critics for sure
Doctor Eddie Ganja here Martin love Sabotage Black Sabbath in The Seventies
E-ommi???? What’s up with that?
Album cover is a kool cover Bright album colors which is different
Technical Ecstasy is not the dark horse album, Never Day Die is, & is at least twice the album TE was, TE was to polished & over produced & feels to me the least Ozzy Sabbath album of them all, l much prefer the alternate album from the box set, the songs are stripped down to the bone & much more raw, no bullshit sound. 4 out of 10.🕇🤘🕇lts my 'never go too' album👎
I wouldn't say polished - it sounds like it's buried in a mountain of coke!
Love this álbum 10/10
A decent album that I bought when it came out but I don’t listen to it much. Volume 4 or MOR are my favorites
It is an Epic Album!
All the previous albums are better but it's still good: you won't change me, it's all right, Dirty women, and All moving parts are really good.
Kick ass great album !
Stop the negative drama folklore of imbecile opinions.
Ok. So I'm not a subscriber of the 'the first six' are all you need. Yes, TE and NSD are a step down from the first six.
HOWEVER, those six albums are all diamonds, so being a step under that doesn't mean they're crap by any means.
Different doesn't mean bad. And for those that see this as a huge departure.... listen to some of the tunes on Sab Bloody Sab, some of the weirdness on Sabotage and the bluesy stuff on side 2 of the debut. They didn't do doom metal 24/7, and that's a good thing.
If I give each of the first six an A, I'd give TE a solid B. I love You Won't Change Me. Dirty Women is cool. She's Gone is NOT horrible, wassamatta with you guys, lol. Gypsy is an excellent tune. So that's half the tunes, the other half are ok. Not stellar, but alright.
So an album that's half excellent, and half ok to good, averages out to a pretty decent record in my book.
Im right in line with you, im pretty high on NSD and TE, i honestly am a huge fan of the entire ozzy sabbath run in the 70s, i dont think any of those albums are bad at all, there might be a couple of songs from the last 2 albums im a little less high on but overall ive listened to them just as much and enjoyed them just as much
@@thecontrarians2438 I also look at it like this, look at Ozzy's run. If you're one that likes TE and NSD as I am, then you've got the 8 Sabbath records. I think Ozzy's solo records are really good to great through to Ozzmosis. Down To Earth was the first significant dip, IMO.
So that a run of 15 albums with the lowest grade of a B, imo.
Obviously he's been surrounded by some killer talent, but that's no fluke, luck, or just credit to the other guys. No way.
@@docvader82 haha i actually quite agree too that i like all of ozzy's solo albums up till around Down To Earth (though im a little less favorable on Ultimate Sin)
10. Fantastic album
Doctor Eddie Ganja here Sabbath became my favorite band in 1974 after there performance at The 1974 California Jam don't hate this album My favorites Back Street Kids You won't Change Me Gypsy All Moving Parts stand Still Dirty Women best tracks saw The Tour 1977 Black Sabbath and Moxy
loved the album!
It’s ok.I would rate it a 6.I like never say die better.I don’t like “she’s gone”.I like the first 2 songs very much but not to much after.Maybe I should rate it 5?Ok,I change my rating to 5
Louder sound saying Paranoid is sabbaths best album? wrong
Peace and radiation !!
Easily , for me , Sabbath's worst album... I haven't listened to it in many years & more than likely never will again .
Do you like anything from it? Maybe Dirty Women or All moving Parts? Those 2 are pretty Sabbath-esque in line with Sabotage and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath IMO
@@thecontrarians2438 Those 2 songs are the best of the songs on the album but they don't appeal to me enough to actually seek them out for a listen...just not my cup of tea.
I actually love Never Say Die , which so many despise .
@@talesofanasphaltjockey I agree on NSD
Always liked it ok.
Never Say Die > Paranoid
If the host reads how magazines trashed the album, why do the show? Let's just hear what the panel says.
Thank you for the comment :-)
U should always go to the albums that supposedly suk.. That's what makes them special and sometimes in ur mind sound good.
10/10
Probably a 5 for me. Lyrically it is generically preadolescent, but saved by several good(not great) songs. Dirty women, Back Street Kids, You won't change me and all moving parts are my favs on here. Its alright, Shes gone and RnR Doctor are pretty Cringe inducing. There is the bones of a really good album here, but in the shadow of SBS it is an indicator of a band self destructing and no longer caring about the music.
It's the drop off in the quality of the lyrics that hurt it the most; Dirty Women would be one their best songs overall if it had better lyrics; Rock N Roll Doctor is an anemic version of Sabbra Cadabra especially the lyrics; It's Alright is an anemic song in general, should have been a B-side
6.5 or 7. This was my introduction to Sabbath back in 1977 and I did not think it was a good introduction. I hate the sound of it and all of the effects put on Ozzy’s vocals. At times I thought they sounded like a Spanish group. I don’t like Back Street Kids but love You Won’t Change Me, It’s Alright and Gypsy. From side two I really like All Moving Parts Stand Still and Rock-N-Roll Doctor but hate She’s Gone and Dirty Women. But the production really hurts this album for me.
A lot of cheese on this album and also seems like they rushed the music and lyrics. Songs like Rock and Roll Doctor, Backstreet Kids and She's Gone would shine in a 90's Ozzy album but fall short following Black Sabbath's finest album Sabotage.
10
i don't want to sound like a jerk, but this album is bad in many ways , wow, sabbath just going on this weird trip, sounding to much like they want to all of the sudden fit in with the next music sound, which is not good at all, the old hard core way they sounded is the way they should have kept going with.
All the songs are not great but the ones that are .are really good .I rate it 7
5 out of 10. Only Ozzy era album worse than this is 13. Most of Tony Martin era albums rank above this one.
If I cared enough to listen to it I might have an opinion. I never will because I've heard it's crap.
tony E-ommi?? WTF
First of all its III-ommi, like eye-ommi, NOT eeee-ommi. Second, it’s Dirty Women, PLURAL, not singular, Dirty Woman. All Moving Parts is NOT southern rocky…
It just isnt that good...but compared to the 6 albums before what would be
i give it a 9 out of 10,...can you do any better?
Not fair. Half the judges weren't even alive when this album came out. They have no way to judge this. Obviously, this was not their best album but you have to put the album in context of the era in order to judge it properly. The only reason this album wasn't higher rated was because it was Black Sabbath and people expected better. If any other band put out this album, it would have been great!
This album ranges from boring to bad. Never Say Die was flawed but still much better than this turd.
It's ok. I like half the album, but the two ballads and Rock n Roll Doctor are just garbage. Rock n Roll Doctor is easily the worst 70's Sabbath song imo. Gypsy I find very uninteresting as well. Weak record, 5/10.
Horrible album. My least favorite. From the Ozzy era. I like even like Never say die better. Ugh!
If zeppelin did 2 albums like this they would get praised for being versatile critics never gave sabbath a good review it wasn't trendy to like sabbath
Absolute piece of garbage.
I love the albums before this, and some of them after.
But I'm not going to be a hipster D-Bag, and try to pretend that this is a good record.
Only NSD is worse in the Ozzy canon.
This is a disaster of an album…..1 out of 10….Ozzy s worst by far and almost as bad as forbidden..Nothing but duds!
I like Reid's overall take, except that I like All Moving Parts (Stand Still) as an essential contributor to the progressive vibe of the album. The other three songs he names as detractors from the flow of the album, I agree with.