SEALED 1976 ORIG BLACK SABBATH TECHNICAL ECSTASY HARD HEAVY & MELODIC LP

$

109

       FACTORY SEALED  ~ ORIGINAL 1976 FIRST PRESS

      ..|/\|...............................................|/\|..                          
                             = BLACK SABBATH =                "Technical Ecstasy"
            ..|/\|...............................................|/\|..                                   USA - Warner Brothers - BS-2969

Here's a 42+ years ago STILL FACTORY SEALED ORIGINAL 1976 COPY (flat & square with 4-sharp corners.) Guaranteed, you won't find a better original copy - anywhere! ..................................................................................................... 
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Recorded around a blur of drugs, alcohol, spiraling ego, grueling touring schedules and draining legal battles, Black Sabbath's `Technical Ecstasy' from 1976 is one of the last of the classic '70s Ozzy Osbourne-fronted Sabbath Lp's by the defining heavy rock group. It does have an admirable eclectic and diverse approach with ambitions of offering something a little more than just the usual sludgy heavy-metal riffs and doomy lyrics as well as a more sophisticated production.  While Ozzy was about to take a long rest from the Sabbath machine Technical Ecstasy still offers gems here and there.

Opener `Back Street Kids' is a reliably brash heavy chugger with Tony Iommi's galloping riffs, Geezer Butler's pumping dirty bass and a screeching Ozzy vocal that also throws in a few whirring synths courtesy of Gerald Woodroffe and Bill Ward's busy drumming. But it's the longer and dramatic `You Won't Change Me' that proves to be a real Sabbath classic - a defiant and blunt vocal from Ozzy delivering a confronting lyric that holds traces of the dark romance and despairing hope that permeates so many great Sabbath songs, backed to snarling evil riffs over gloomy synths and frantic guitar soloing from Iommi, all topped off with a cracking chorus. The love it or hate `It's Alright', is sung by drummer Bill Ward,  with traces of a Beatles-esque sound is fairly forgettable, but repeated listens reveals a harmless time-passer at worst. After quite an upbeat intro of skittering drums and buzzsaw guitars `Gypsy' tears through a multi-sectioned range of moods and ideas, but despite it not being the most memorable song, the slick studio production really goes to town to make it at least sound interesting and dense.

Side two's misogynist-blasting `All Moving Parts (Stand Still)' is a funky bluesy romp with shrieking Ozzy vocal and stomping drumbeat. On the other hand the throwaway `Rock 'N' Roll Doctor' seems lumbering not offering a punchy memorable chorus. Downbeat ballad `She's Gone' is strangely elegant and melancholic with its gloomy orchestration and reflective acoustic guitars behind another tortured romantic lyric and genuinely passionate vocal from Ozzy, and closer `Dirty Women' is one of the more overtly `progressive' moments due to its lengthy instrumental runs with constant organ, melodic reaching guitar strains (and Tony's solo in the climax seems to go on forever!) but still finds time for a roaring vocal and plenty of ballsy chugging riffs.

Along with the band feeling the pressure of the emerging punk bands of the time and the pressure to remain relevant and vital, `Technical Ecstasy' found Black Sabbath in something of a no-win situation - deliver a more typical heavy-metal album and be accused of merely repeating themselves, or experiment with their formula and annoy the metal purists by shifting too far from their signature sound.

Time and perspective actually reveals a perfectly fine album that can't be compared to the classic run of the earlier Sabbath albums that stretched from the self-titled debut in 1970 through to '75's `Sabotage', but seriously, what could be compared to their earlier albums by the band when shifting to an more inventive edge?
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Back Street Kids (3:46)
You Won't Change Me (6:34)
It's Alright (3:58)
Gypsy (5:10)
All Moving Parts (Stand Still) (4:59)
Rock 'N' Roll Doctor (3:25)
She's Gone (4:51)
Dirty Women (7:15)
                 CONDITION: The cover: rated: STILL FACTORY SEALED ...no bar code, flat & square with 4 sharp corners. As good as it gets for this 42 years ago album. There are no delete marks, no split seams, no bends, and no writing  ...

                                    
      A cool addition to anyone's music library!






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