Technical Ecstasy by Black Sabbath (CD, Aug-1999, Warner Bros. Records Record Label)

Black Sabbath has pumped out a great number of tunes over the years, and the ones that people still listen to the most are the ones that Ozzy sang on. But even the ones that Ozzy didn't sing on are great, mainly because of the Sabbath constant Tony Iommi, the world's greatest rythem guitar player. Bill Ward and Geezer Butler are important to the history of Sabbath, but Iommi's the only one who has kept on recording with the Sabbath name over the years. Whether it's because of disinterest, injury, illness, or side projects, Butler and Ward haven't always been there. But that's OK. The Godfather of Metal kept it going, and he's accepted them all back numerous times for reunions. And that's the way most people remember them best, Metal's version of the Fab Four. That's why it's a little strange for me to find out that Sabbath had two albums recorded that I didn't have in my collection with Ozzy singing on them. I recently bought all of their studio albums that I didn't already own. I already had Heaven and Hell and Dehumanizer that didn't have Ozzy singing on them, but I thought I had all of the ones with Ozzy. Little did I know that there were Technical Ecstasy and Never Say Die which were also Ozzy sung albums.

Technical Ecstasy is a great album and I'm confused as to why this album wasn't more popular. It's got a lot of cool tunes on the album, so what's up with that. Ozzy recorded this album, then Never Say Die, then left to form a solo band with himself as the focal point. The rest is history. Ozzy has become one of the best artists, and obviously has a good eye for musicians, because he has worked with countless guitar greats, probably the best being Randy Rhodes who we never saw the full potential from, but we caught a glimpse of a young guitar player who was no doubt on his way to being one of the greatest guitar players ever. Obviously, Ozzy has a great eye for guitar players, but he started it all with Tony Iommi, and this album shows the many sides of Tony. Maybe this album was just too progressive, a little ahead of itself. That's the only reason I can think it wasn't commercial enough for the fans to like it, it's a little different than the stuff they had released before. They were experimenting with some stuff and I guess it wasn't as popular for their fans. Oh well, too bad for the closeminded fans. It's still a great album.

Back Street Kids is a straight ahead rocker. You Won't Change Me is an anthem that's a cool original masterpiece. It's Alright has Bill Ward singing lead vocals for the first time on a Sabbath album. Gypsy starts off with some cool drumming from Ward, than goes into a groove similar to something The Who would do. All Moving Parts is groovy bluesy rocker. Rock 'n Roll Doctor is a cool tune that sounds eerily familiar, maybe it's on one of Ozzy's live albums. If I heard it on the radio, I would've thought it was on Diary of a Madman or Blizzard of Oz, it just sounds like old Ozzy. Cool tune regardless. She's Gone also sounds familiar, but in a different way. It's like a prophecy of what Ozzy will do later in life with his ballads. It's a cool slow song that kind of reminds me of Mama I'm Coming Home or one of his other acoustic heavy ballads he recorded on his more recent albums. Dirty Women finishes off the album with some cool riffs and some lyrics about prostitution. All and all, a great experimental album that should've been embraced by Sabbath fans, not ignored.