Review Summary: Sabbath throws most of what made them an outstanding and innovate group away, and slowly meets its demise in the process.
Respective fifth and sixth albums
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and
Sabotage saw Black Sabbath inevitably moving further away from their roots of doom and gloom;
Bloody Sabbath incorporated a progressive flair, being the use or orchestrations and synthesizers, and
Sabotage was perhaps more regular, bluesy hard rock than it was trademark Sabbath metal. Seventh work
Technical Ecstasy continues down this path: it once again incorporates a prominent use of keyboards and synthesizers, and takes a more traditional rock approach.
It was also the album where the demise of the classic Sabbath line-up began to really sink in. Not only were they being personally driven apart by substance abuse, something that had been plaguing the band since turning point
Vol. 4, but by their seventh album, the musical integrity was beginning to crumble. Though with
Sabotage, the band showed they could pull of traditional rockers, some moments on
Technical Ecstasy are rather doubtful. Opener
Back Street Kids, for example, tries to copy the success of
Hole in the Sky, but ends up with a bland, endlessly repeated riff that doesn’t whether to settle on doomy Sabbath or hard rock Sabbath. Osbourne’s vocal performance doesn’t really help either. Whereas his work on the band’s previous two albums had been as good as it had been on the classic
Paranoid, although different, he doesn’t even sound like he’s trying here. On
All Moving Parts (Stand Still) and
She’s Gone, he his at his most nasal and annoying.
On
Gypsy and
Rock ‘n ‘ Roll Doctor (which’ title does indeed not leave much to the imagination), the boys took it down to an even more generic level, but despite half of the album being decidedly average, it also has its share of highlights, which unsurprisingly come in the form of more creative songs. The slow-burning
Won’t Change Me, heaviest on the synths, contains the most emotionally effective instrumentation on the album, and comes close to be called a unique Sabbath moment. Then there are the two ballads,
It’s Alright and
She’s Gone. The former is very interesting, solely because of the fact it is the first Sabbath song not sung by Osbourne, but Ward instead (at Osbourne’s suggestion, actually). It so happens that Osbourne has already proven not to have the ideal voice for traditional ballads (anyone remember
Changes?), and Ward’s vocals are refreshing, especially because they are far more heartfelt, which is of course an essential ingredient for any successful ballad. In comparison, the though well-orchestrated
She’s Gone is a disappointment, once again displaying Ozzy’s inability for the song type.
You’d be hard-pressed to find an actual Sabbath classic on
Technical Ecstasy, but rough closer
Dirty Women makes its move in the right direction. Moving from loud to soft, it is especially the former, frenzied parts and great soloing that stand out. The song also contains the single memorable vocal moment, sounding closest to Osbourne’s vocals on the band’s previous two albums. It is, however, not enough to save
Technical Ecstasy, which, considering it’s too great portion of bland material, just doesn’t make the mark. That said, it gets a little too much hate from some, as the potential is still there. Just face that quality Ozzy-era Sabbath ended after
Sabotage.
Technical Ecstasy’s Black Sabbath was:
- Frank Anthony ‘Tony’ Iommi ~ Lead Guitar
- John Michael ‘Ozzy’ Osbourne ~ Lead Vocals
- Terrence Michael Joseph ‘Geezer’ Butler ~ Bass Guitar
- William Thomas ‘Bill’ Ward ~ Drums, Lead Vocals on It’s Alright
Also performing:
- Gerald ‘Jezz’ Woodruffe ~ Keyboards
Recommended tracks:
You Won’t Change Me
It’s Alright
Dirty Women
TO BE CONTINUED…
