Technical Ecstasy

sounds like they're trying to cosplay as the Doors through most of it, so I kinda get what he's saying.

It does sound much more like a rock album, but it is way better than Technical Ecstasy.

I was going to say, it is less annoying than Technical Ecstasy.

Agreed.

Yeah.

D+.

Like there's a couple of tracks on here that are okay.

It's way better than Technical Ecstasy, which I've fucking shot dead in the streets.

All right.

We've, we've had some, uh, we've had some hesitation over the years about the Technical Ecstasy album.

We've always wanted to talk about it.

We've covered the first six.

I think maybe through, like, the Heaven and Hell or whatever.

Yeah.

But when he was describing them and he got to this one and he's like, "Yeah, Technical Ecstasy is two robots having sex on a escalator."

Escalator.

I love that, man.

You know, and stuff off Technical Ecstasy, you know, um, it, it was funny because a few of the songs became, um, you know, kind of, uh, out in the world, the deep tracks that bands played, people were discovering them from this concert, which is amazing.

They're like, "What song is that?" It's like-

Right

G'day everyone and thanks for tuning into today's episode of Music From A Lifetime, the podcast where I offer you new thoughts on old albums and an old person's thoughts on new albums.

On today's episode I'm going to take a look at the album Technical Ecstasy by Black Sabbath, the band's seventh studio album released on September 25, 1976.

Ignition! Every band is entitled to an album where they go outside of their comfort zone, play outside of the box, experiment with their sound, and generally mess with the minds of their die-hard fans to the point where they question what the hell was going on when the album was written and recorded.

Think Megadeth's Risk.

Think Halloween's Chameleon.

Think Metallica's career after 1991.

Even for a band that began its life in the flower power era of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Black Sabbath's technical ecstasy is a greatly diversified effort from the catalogue that precedes this, and as a result takes a great deal of effort to get used to.

50 years on from its release, just how does it hold up in the modern world? By the time Black Sabbath came around to their seventh studio album, there had been a lot of water under the bridge, and the band had been through quite a bit.

Great song.

In 1976, Black Sabbath was at it again, this time releasing their seventh studio album called Technical Ecstasy.

They tried to modernize their heavy metal sound on this one.

Hit number 51 on the Billboard Albums chart, and it had hits like It's Alright and Backstreet Kids.

They're not that great.

The best one that I've heard is Sabbath, Technical Ecstasy, which is probably not most people's favorite Sabbath album, nor is it mine, although I do love that record.

But man, that one's worth getting because there's a mix without any background vocals, any backing tracks at all.

And it's just Ozzy dry.

Uh, fun fact, the band recorded The Last Resort at the Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida.

However, Black Sabbath was also recording Technical Ecstasy in an adjacent studio and played loudly.

The Eagles so much so had to re- re-record the song a number of times due to the noise coming through the wall.

And if that isn't some sort of poetic justice and, um, we'll just say puts a cap of perspective on all of this, I don't know what is.

Sweet.

No. Here's a funny one, though, is Technical Ecstasy.

Have they conned us with the cover on that? Because That album cover kind of promises you something exotic and artistic and strange.

It's hypnosis.

That title, Technical Ecstasy, is very complicated, hard to spell.

But what you get is Black Sabbath's most accessible, trying to participate in the world kind of album.

So is that a bit of a con? How about things like...

And and you wonder if, you know, you feel a little bit conned for that for that reason.

And title's going to matter in this as well.

It's going to be all mixed up in sort of the packaging of what we got.

So you'll see as we go here.

I think they conned us with the cover a little bit on 1983's The Revolution by Night.

I love that cover.

I love that title, The Revolution by Night.

Um, I've even done a couple of paintings where I've taken ad elements from those and, and, and picked it, uh, you know, paired it with an image that I came up with sort of thing.