Black Sabbath
Technical Ecstasy

THE REVIEW

A succulent, pleasant, airy, and vaguely psychedelic aftertaste is what "Technical Ecstasy" embodies, released in 1976 (one year after “Sabotage”, which I consider the best album by the Sabs before RJD) and unjustly labeled as one of the band’s low points, especially by purists with their noses in the air who stubbornly claim that Black Sabbath died with Sabotage.

Let’s delve into the (re)discovery of this pop-rock gem. "Back Street Kids" opens the album brilliantly: it’s a very carefree and catchy rock tune, with those synthesizers integrating perfectly with Iommi’s guitar. "You Won’t Change Me" is perhaps even better: the doomy intro recalls the early Black Sabbath, then flows into a continuous play of bouncing between guitar and keyboards that gives this song the intensity and power of an anthem. "It’s Alright": and here I can't do anything but bow: sure, it's a bit gaudy, but for someone like me who was (and perhaps still is) crazy about " Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon" and " Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy" by Queen, this can only be a masterpiece. 10+ to Bill Ward as a singer of Black Sabbath. "Gypsy", correct me if I'm wrong, has a certain self-ironic value: the eerie and mysterious lyrics recall the early Sabbath, but the rhythm of the song is very cheerful and pleasant. The level remains high with "All Moving Parts (Stand Still)" where Butler's bass and Iommi's guitar duet wonderfully in a very catchy and vaguely sarcastic piece, like almost the entire album.

Pseudo-doom intro for "Rock n’ Roll Doctor” (which if I'm not mistaken was the single that launched the album) where the chorus stands out with a time-bomb effect. Cute, but perhaps the most cliché piece of the album. "She’s Gone" is the ballad of the album: it's a healthy middle ground between the ethereal "Solitude" and the extremely gaudy and irritating " Changes". It's a very beautiful and heartfelt song, with an extra touch given by the intertwining of violins and acoustic guitars. The album closes with "Dirty Women" (moral of the story, after being heartbroken over the loss of the love of his life, our songwriter consoles himself by going to prostitutes :-) Jokes aside, "Dirty Women" is a seven-minute song with a compelling rhythm that vaguely recalls " Fairies Wear Boots". Here the synthesizers are minimized and Iommi’s guitar takes center stage, showcasing a long solo.

"Technical Ecstasy" is a bit like the "Virtual XI" of Black Sabbath: a courageous and innovative album that unfortunately wasn’t understood, and to bash it means to have very little musical sensitivity. A major flaw in the album is certainly that hideous cover (oh, yes, even more hideous than those of "Master Of Reality", "Sabotage", and "Born Again") which is supposed to represent two robots having sex but instead looks more like a salt shaker and a knife holder on an escalator.