[Johnnyo]

[CA Dreamin]

I recall listening to Technical Ecstasy for the first time many many years ago when I first got into the band. It was a surprise left turn. Tony Iommi wanted to branch away for Sabbath's signature doom metal, in favor of a more straightforward rock sound. Everything sounded different on here. Ozzy's voice, the guitar work, ballads, the song structures, the additional instruments brought in...it just didn't sound like Sabbath, and not in a good way. I shelved this album for the longest time until this listening project brought me back to it. My concerns still stand but Technical Ecstasy is better than I remembered. However, having the perspective of knowing what the band was going through during Sabotage, I think the band needed a break, instead of returning to the studio so soon to record a new album. It just sounded to me like they were phoning it in half the time. They were probably burned out. Coupled with the fact of how different it is from what we all love about early Sabbath, it's no wonder Technical Ecstasy gets a bad rep. Again, though, it's not bad. I casually like some of the songs. And there's certainly nothing wrong with artists trying new things. Nevertheless Technical Ecstasy is simply not Classic Sabbath, in terms of sound and quality.

My latest rankings:

In order of what I think are "the best"

1. Paranoid
2. Black Sabbath
3. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
4. Master of Reality
5. Vol 4
6. Sabotage
7. Technical Ecstasy

In order of how much I enjoyed revisiting for this project:

1. Black Sabbath
2. Paranoid
3. Sabotage
4. Vol 4
5. Master of Reality
6. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
7. Technical Ecstasy

[Johnnyo]

[CA Dreamin]

Last month, I rescued The Beach Boys Thread from page 2. Now it's Ozzy's turn to be rescued. Never say die to this thread! Hold on, you mean Never Say Die is the title of the next album? Huh, what a coincidence. Let's talk about it.

Um, I'll come right out and say I did not like Never Say Die on the whole. It starts off okay, and gets gradually worse. The title track is fine enough. It isn't vintage Sabbath. It's a conventionally-structured song. No mid-song jams. No occult or apocalyptic themes. But it works as a generic rocker. Johnny Blade mixes Sabbath's metal sound with an electronic keyboard. I don't have a problem with it, as other fans might have. I interpreted the song as about a homeless man, which I thought was kinda cool. The next two songs, Junior's Eyes and Hard Road, are both ok. Nothing special, but I think they go on too long. Junior's Eyes is apparently about Ozzy dealing with the death of his father. The lyrics are heavy, but the music itself isn't particularly memorable. And that brings us to Side B of Never Say Die. Oof, the second half is disastrous. Shock Wave is subpar, and the songs get more and more lame from there. There is some decent instrument-playing. And again, I have no issue with Sabbath trying new song ideas/structures, and bringing other instruments into the mix (which we hear more of on Side B). But there's just no harmony to it. It's bad, boring, song-writing. Maybe it was creative differences. Maybe they were trying new things only to discover what they were trying wasn't their strong suit. Or maybe the band simply wasn't putting their heart and soul into it, because there were too many internal and external distractions. I reckon it was some combination of all of the above. By this point, every member was drinking and drugging too much, and they couldn't focus. And of course, Ozzy himself was a distraction. He already had one foot out the door, given he had left the band for a few months before the recording of Never Say Die, only to be pulled back. And well, the lackluster result of this album emphasized the need for Ozzy and the rest Black Sabbath to permanently part ways.

And to rub salt in the wound, Sabbath went on tour for this album with Van Halen as their opening act. Van Halen released one the best debut rock albums of 1978, leagues better than Never Say Die.