View source for Technical Ecstasy

{{Short description|1976 studio album by Black Sabbath}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox album
| name       = Technical Ecstasy
| type       = studio
| artist     = [[Black Sabbath]]
| cover      = Black-Sabbath-Technical-Ecstasy.jpg
| alt        =
| caption    = Cover design by [[Hipgnosis]]
| released   = 22 October 1976<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/70s/76/Record-Mirror-1976-10-15.pdf|title=Record Mirror review}}</ref>
| recorded   = June 1976
| studio     = [[Criteria Studios|Criteria]], Miami<ref>{{cite magazine |date=16 October 1976 |title=Billboard's Top Album Picks |magazine=Billboard |page=66 |quote=Those precursors of science-fiction teen-oriented hard rock produced themselves at Miami's Criteria Studios...}}</ref>
| genre      = {{flatlist|
*[[Heavy metal music|Heavy metal]]
*[[hard rock]]
}}
| length     = 40:35
| label      = [[Vertigo Records|Vertigo]]
| producer   = Black Sabbath
| prev_title = [[We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll]]
| prev_year  = 1976
| next_title = [[Never Say Die!]]
| next_year  = 1978
| misc       = {{Singles
 | name        = Technical Ecstasy
 | type        = studio
 | single1     = It's Alright | single1date = November 1976<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/greatrockdiscogr00stro/page/68/mode/2up|title=The Great Rock Discography|year=1995 |isbn=9780862415419 |last1=Strong |first1=Martin Charles |publisher=Canongate Press }}</ref>
 | single2     = Gypsy
 | single2date = 1977 (Netherlands)
}}
}}

'''''Technical Ecstasy''''' is the seventh studio album by the English [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]] band [[Black Sabbath]], produced by guitarist [[Tony Iommi]] and released in October 1976 by [[Warner Bros. Records]] in the United States and Canada and [[Vertigo Records]] elsewhere. The album received mixed reviews from critics but was a commercial success, peaking at number 13 on the [[UK Albums Chart]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/Black%20Sabbath/ |title = Artists| website=[[Official Charts Company|Official Charts]] }}</ref> and number 51 on the US ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Billboard 200|200]] Album chart,<ref>{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r2004|tab=charts-awards |label="''Technical Ecstasy'': Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums" |access-date=30 January 2009}}</ref> later being certified Gold by the [[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]] in 1997.{{Certification Cite Ref|region=United States|title=Technical Ecstasy|artist=Black Sabbath|type=album}}

An attempt by the band to experiment and explore other musical territory, ''Technical Ecstasy'' features more [[eclecticism in music|varied]] and complex songs than earlier records, with prominent keyboard parts and effects. One song, the pop ballad "It's Alright", is sung by drummer [[Bill Ward (musician)|Bill Ward]], becoming the band's first song  not sung by frontman [[Ozzy Osbourne]].

==Composition and recording==
After frustrating legal battles that accompanied the recording of 1975's ''[[Sabotage (Black Sabbath album)|Sabotage]]'', Sabbath chose Miami's [[Criteria Studios]] for the making of ''Technical Ecstasy'', which continued the band's separation from the doom and darkness that had been a trademark of their earlier albums. "Some people may have heard the band in 1970", noted Iommi, "and be thinking, 'Oh no, not them again!' But if they heard us now, they probably might like us."<ref name="Barackman">{{cite magazine|first=Michael|last=Barackman|title=Sabbath surfaces|magazine=[[Circus (magazine)|Circus]] |issue=142|date=26 October 1976}}</ref>

In the July 2001 issue of ''[[Guitar World]]'', Dan Epstein wrote, "The sessions proved extremely relaxing for everyone except Iommi, who was left to oversee the production while the others sunned themselves on the beach." Iommi explained to the same magazine in 1992, "We recorded the album in Miami, and nobody would take responsibility for the production. No one wanted to bring in an outside person for help, and no one wanted the whole band to produce it. So they left it all to me!"

In the [[liner notes]] to the band's 1998 live album ''[[Reunion (Black Sabbath album)|Reunion]]'', Phil Alexander writes that, while the band struggled to finish the album, "rock had spawned a new set of [[iconoclast]]s as the [[Sex Pistols]], [[the Clash]] and [[the Damned (band)|the Damned]]… Suddenly Sabbath found themselves both unsure of their musical direction and labeled as has-beens." "It's not like now: If you're a heavy metal band, you put out a heavy metal album", Butler explained to ''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]'' in 2014. "Back then, you had to at least try to be modern and keep up. Punk was massive then and we felt that our time had come and gone."

To make matters worse for the band, manager [[Don Arden]] began spending more of his time focusing on another of his acts, [[Electric Light Orchestra]], whose 1975 album ''[[Face the Music (Electric Light Orchestra album)|Face The Music]]'' was their first to make the US top ten. Iommi's determination to move Sabbath in a new direction was misguided according to some, with Mick Wall noting in the 2013 book ''Black Sabbath: Symptom of the Universe'' that while future [[soft rock]] million-sellers ''[[Hotel California (Eagles album)|Hotel California]]'' and ''[[Rumours (album)|Rumours]]'' were just around the corner, "to try and force that sound on Black Sabbath was like trying to put lamb's wool on a suit of armour. It just didn't work, pleasing nobody."

In his autobiography ''I Am Ozzy'', vocalist [[Ozzy Osbourne]] admitted he had begun to consider leaving the band during this time: "I'd even had a T-shirt made with 'Blizzard of Ozz' written on the front. Meanwhile, in the studio, Tony (Iommi) was always saying, 'We've gotta sound like [[Foreigner (band)|Foreigner]]', or 'We've gotta sound like [[Queen (band)|Queen]].' But I thought it was strange that the bands we'd once influenced were now influencing us." Osbourne also wrote that the cost of recording in Florida "was astronomical" and that he'd "lost the plot with the booze and the drugs" during the recording of ''Technical Ecstasy'', eventually checking himself into the Stafford County Asylum on his return to England.

"That was the beginning of the end, that one", bassist [[Geezer Butler]] confessed to ''Guitar World'' in 2001. "We were managing ourselves because we couldn't trust anybody. Everybody was trying to rip us off, including the lawyers we'd hired to get us out of our legal mess. It was really just getting to us around then, and we didn't know what we were doing. And obviously, the music was suffering; you could just feel the whole thing falling apart."

While the band were recording the album, [[Eagles (band)|the Eagles]] were recording ''[[Hotel California (Eagles album)|Hotel California]]'' in an adjacent studio at [[Criteria Studios]] in Miami. "Before we could start recording we had to scrape all the cocaine out of the mixing board", Geezer divulged to ''Uncut'' in 2014. "I think they'd left about a pound of cocaine in the board." The Eagles were forced to stop recording on numerous occasions because Sabbath were too loud and the sound was coming through the wall.<ref name="iommiautobiography">{{cite book |last=Iommi |first=Tony |title=Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven and Hell with Black Sabbath |url=https://archive.org/details/ironmanmyjourney00iomm_0 |url-access=registration |year=2011 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=978-0-30681-9551}}</ref>

===Musical styles and songs===
''Technical Ecstasy'' is an attempt by Black Sabbath to mature as a group and explore novel musical directions.<ref name="Rivadavia">{{cite web |last1=Rivadavia |first1=Eduardo |title=Black Sabbath Albums Ranked Worst to Best |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/black-sabbath-album-ranked/ |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |access-date=13 June 2024 |date=21 May 2015 |archive-date=13 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613120957/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/black-sabbath-album-ranked/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Compared to the band's earlier albums, the record's songs are more [[eclecticism in music|eclectic]], complex and flowery, with studio effects and synthesisers appearing prominently.<ref name="cos">{{cite web |last1=Hadusek |first1=Jon |title=Ranking: Every Black Sabbath Album from Worst to Best |url=https://consequence.net/2017/03/ranking-every-black-sabbath-album-from-worst-to-best/full-post/ |website=Consequence of Sound |date=9 March 2017 |access-date=29 January 2020 |archive-date=5 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201105091510/https://consequenceofsound.net/2017/03/ranking-every-black-sabbath-album-from-worst-to-best/full-post/ |url-status=live }}</ref> As Greg Pato of [[AllMusic]] describes: "The band was getting further and further from their original musical path, as they began experimenting with their trademark [[sludge metal|sludge-metal]] sound", citing the [[funk music|funky]] "All Moving Parts (Stand Still)" and the melodic, Bill Ward-sung "It's Alright" as examples.<ref name="Prato">{{cite web |last1=Prato |first1=Greg |title=Technical Ecstasy Review by Greg Prato |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/technical-ecstasy-mw0000197070 |website=AllMusic |access-date=14 June 2024 |archive-date=24 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240524100910/https://www.allmusic.com/album/technical-ecstasy-mw0000197070 |url-status=live }}</ref> The latter song – the first time Osbourne did not take lead vocals on a Black Sabbath track – has been compared to the work of [[Paul McCartney]] and [[Badfinger]] and is among the group's most [[controversy|controversial]] songs.<ref name="cos" /> The prominence of guest keyboardist [[Gerald Woodroffe]] throughout the album was considered a "surprise left turn",<ref name="Elliott">{{cite web |last1=Elliott |first1=Paul |title=Every Black Sabbath album ranked, from worst to best |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/black-sabbath-albums-ranked-from-worst-to-best |website=Classic Rock |access-date=13 June 2024 |date=9 August 2022 |archive-date=13 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613223133/https://www.loudersound.com/features/black-sabbath-albums-ranked-from-worst-to-best |url-status=live }}</ref> though Steven Rosen of ''[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]]'' considers his work on the album to be "supplemental in nature", adding that "the new synthesized wheezings are nice and so long as he remains in a back-up role there should be little problem with his being accepted by the Sabbath fans."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rosen |first1=Steven |title=Black Sabbath: Technical Knock-out |journal=Sounds |date=22 January 1977 |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/black-sabbath-technical-knock-out |access-date=14 June 2024 |archive-date=14 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240614102138/https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/black-sabbath-technical-knock-out |url-status=live }}</ref>

Butler has described ''Technical Ecstasy'' as a response to [[punk rock]]. Music journalist Michael Hann disputed this, saying: "Given it was recorded in June 1976, that suggests they were either way ahead of the curve, or that Butler is mistaken."<ref name="Hann">{{cite web |last1=Hann |first1=Michael |title=Every Black Sabbath album – ranked! |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/jan/31/every-black-sabbath-album-ranked-ozzy-osbourne |website=The |access-date=13 June 2024 |date=31 January 2019}}</ref> In a 2021 interview, Ward cited ''Technical Ecstasy'' in asserting the band's "punk and [[prog rock|prog]] credentials" while admiring [[punk rock]] because "I came from a violent band as well." He said, "We never made music to fit into anything or to reach a certain audience".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kielty |first1=Martin |title=Bill Ward Asserts Black Sabbath's Punk and Prog Credentials |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/black-sabbbath-punk-prog/ |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |access-date=14 June 2024 |date=8 October 2021 |archive-date=14 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240614103403/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/black-sabbbath-punk-prog/ |url-status=live }}</ref> With regard to Iommi being the only member determined to work on the album, Peter Watts of ''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]'' comments that ''Technical Ecstasy'' is "the sound of Tony Iommi being left to his own devices and getting pulled in several different directions at once", believing that he wished to eschew heavy metal for [[hard rock]], while also "nodding at punk and [[soft rock]]" but still remaining "quintessentially Black Bloody Sabbath", with the resulting record combining aspects from all their earlier albums – including the drive of their earliest work and experimentation of ''[[Sabbath Bloody Sabbath]]'' (1973) – as well as a straight [[pop music|pop]] song with vocals by Ward.<ref name="Watts">{{cite journal |last1=Watts |first1=Peter |title=Technical Ecstasy |journal=Uncut Ultimate Music Guide Series |date=2024 |issue=53 |pages=60–61}}</ref>

''Technical Ecstasy''{{'}}s lyrics dealt with a variety of topics. Tony Iommi's autobiography ''Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven & Hell with Black Sabbath'' reveals that "Dirty Women" was about "all these hookers" Butler had seen around [[Florida]]. "All Moving Parts (Stand Still)" is about "a transvestite who becomes President of the United States", Butler told biographer Mick Wall in 2013, "because America was such a [[Misogyny|misogynistic]] society at the time." As with their previous two albums, the band continued experimenting with keyboards and synthesisers on ''Technical Ecstasy''. The music itself was less dark and more atypical than that of previous albums, especially on the ballads "It's Alright" and "She's Gone".

The ballad "It's Alright" was written and sung by drummer [[Bill Ward (musician)|Bill Ward]]. Initially reluctant to sing the song for fear of offending Osbourne, he was encouraged by the band to do it.<ref name="iommiautobiography" /> In his autobiography, Osbourne praises the performance, enthusing, "He's got a great voice, Bill, and I was more than happy for him to do the honours." It was released as a single because, said Iommi, "We want to break out as far as we can… so we've decided to hit the singles market."<ref name="Barackman"/> It has since been covered live by [[Guns N' Roses]], and features on their ''[[Live Era '87–'93]]'' album. It also featured in the 2010 film ''[[It's Kind of a Funny Story (film)|It's Kind of a Funny Story]]''.

==Artwork==
The [[cover art]] was designed by [[Hipgnosis]]. Osbourne once described it as "two robots screwing on an escalator".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.black-sabbath.com/faq/faq.html#faq44 |title=The Artwork |work=Black Sabbath FAQ |publisher=black-sabbath.com |access-date=2 April 2007 |archive-date=9 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309162024/http://www.black-sabbath.com/faq/faq.html#faq44 |url-status=live }}</ref> Hipgnosis' [[Storm Thorgerson]], who had been assisted by [[graphic design]]er [[George Hardie (artist)|George Hardie]], discussed the cover with ''Zoom'' magazine in 1979:<ref>"All About Hipgnosis", ''Zoom, the International Magazine'', no. 6, New York, 1979</ref> "We're very fond of that cover. From the title of the piece, ''Technical Ecstasy'', I thought of something ecstatic rather than something technical, and I immediately thought of ecstasy in sexual terms: some sort of mechanical copulation, which would be tricky to do. I then thought of ecstasy as falling in love, perhaps during a brief encounter on an escalator – and, since it was 'technical', I thought of two robots&nbsp;... It's really quite simple – he's just done curves for the female and hard, angular, macho lines for the male. It's really quite sexist, actually – stereotyped. Anyway, it's love at first sight, but I felt robots wouldn't do it like humans would do it, so instead they're squirting lubricating fluid at one another." The UK release had a two-sided insert of lyrics and credits.

==Tour==
During the subsequent 1977 European tour in support of ''Technical Ecstasy'', the band was supported by [[AC/DC]].<ref name="iommiautobiography" /> The relationship between bassist [[Geezer Butler]] and [[AC/DC]] rhythm guitarist [[Malcolm Young]] was quite tense.<ref name="iommiautobiography" /> Guitarist [[Tony Iommi]] recalls the atmosphere between the two being "heavy" and that the pair did not get along at all.<ref name="iommiautobiography" /> Ward's drum tech Graham Wright and Osbourne's personal assistant David Tangye stated in their 2004 book ''How Black Was Our Sabbath'' that the problems between the two originated after a show the two bands performed earlier in [[Switzerland]].<ref name="howblack">{{cite book |last1=Tangye |first1=Dave |last2=Wright |first2=Graham |title=How Black Was Our Sabbath |year=2004 |publisher=PAN Macmillan Adult |isbn=978-0-33041-1943 |page=193}}</ref> An altercation occurred in an hotel bar in which Butler removed a switch-blade comb from his pocket and opened it. Young thought it was a [[Switchblade|switchblade knife]] and believed Butler was pointing it at him.<ref name="howblack" /> In the [[Bon Scott]] biography ''[[Highway To Hell]]: The Life and Times of AC/DC Legend Bon Scott'', [[Clinton Walker]] writes of the tour: "Sabbath, by 1976, were well past their prime, and AC/DC were all but blowing them right off the stage. Substance abuse in the band was rampant." Graham and Tangye also disclose that during the tour drummer Ward had begun driving from gig to gig in a rented [[Winnebago Industries|Winnebago]] due to a fear of flying.

Osbourne briefly left following the [[Technical Ecstasy Tour]]. Although he would eventually return for the follow-up ''[[Never Say Die!]]'', the band temporarily replaced him with former [[Savoy Brown]] vocalist [[Dave Walker]]. The band wrote a handful of songs with Walker, and performed an early version of what would become "Junior's Eyes" on the [[BBC]] programme ''Look Hear'' with him.

==Critical reception==
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{Rating|2|5}}<ref>{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r2004|label="Black Sabbath: ''Technical Ecstasy''" |first=Greg |last=Prato |access-date=13 September 2011}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
| rev2Score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|last1=Larkin|first1=Colin|title=Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music|date=1997|publisher=Virgin Books|location=London|isbn=1-85227 745 9|page=138|chapter=Black Sabbath}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[Martin C. Strong|The Great Rock Discography]]''
| rev3Score = 5/10<ref name="Strong">{{cite book |last1=Strong |first1=Martin C. |title=The Great Rock Discography |date=2006 |publisher=Canongate Books |location=Edinburgh |isbn=1-84195-827-1 |chapter=Black Sabbath |pages=98}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev4Score = {{Rating|2|5}}<ref name="RS">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/black-sabbath/albumguide |title=Black Sabbath: Album Guide |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=5 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120427215415/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/black-sabbath/albumguide |archive-date=27 April 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| rev5 = ''[[Spin Alternative Record Guide]]''
| rev5score = 2/10<ref name="Weisbard & Marks 1995">{{cite book|editor1-last=Weisbard |editor1-first=Eric |editor1-link=Eric Weisbard |editor2-last=Marks |editor2-first=Craig |year=1995 |title=[[Spin Alternative Record Guide]]|chapter= Blondie|publisher=[[Vintage Books]] |location=New York |isbn=0-679-75574-8|pages=46–47}}</ref>
}}
The album received mixed reviews, with Phil Alexander writing in 1998: "While today hardcore Sabs fans defend some of the bold steps taken on ''Technical Ecstasy'', it was a confused offering which still hit Number 13 in the UK but limped into the US charts at 52." In 2001, ''[[Guitar World]]'' was less kind, calling it perhaps the "least-loved effort of the original lineup" with the band "trying to stretch its sound in several different directions, none of them exceptionally successful". It deemed "Rock 'N' Roll Doctor" "a bad [[Kiss (band)|Kiss]] imitation", while eschewing "It's Alright" as "a sub-par [[Paul McCartney]]-style pop ballad". In 2013, ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]'' magazine opined: "''Technical Ecstasy'' is the sound of Sabbath trying to make a grown-up, radio-friendly rock record and, in some parts, it works&nbsp;... Mostly, however, it doesn't with tracks like 'Back Street Kids', 'Rock 'N' Roll Doctor' and 'Dirty Women' resorting to clichéd and ill-fitting rock moves." Greg Prato of ''[[AllMusic]]'' agrees: "it was not on par with Sabbath's exceptional first five releases", but praises "Dirty Women", the "funky" "All Moving Parts (Stand Still)" and the "raging opener" "Back Street Kids".<ref name="Prato" />

In ''The Great Rock Discography'' (2006), [[Martin C. Strong]] bemoaned the album's "ill-advised experimentation" and believed it marked "the beginning of the end".<ref name="Strong" /> In ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]'' (2004), ''Technical Ecstasy'' is described as "the Seventies-era Sabbath album least likely to be found in a hard-rock fan's collection. It's not horrible, but you wonder if anyone in the band remembers making it. Is it an ill-fated attempt to snag some of the [[boogie rock|boogie-rock]] money that [[Ted Nugent]] was rolling around in? Or had they just run out of steam? Tony Iommi's guitar is the only thing left alive."<ref name="RS" /> In his ''Uncut'' piece, Watts wrote: "Punk is on the horizon and Sabbath try reinvention, with mixed results."<ref name="Watts" /> Writing in the ''[[Spin Alternative Record Guide]]'' (1995), Rob Michaels deemed ''Technical Ecstasy'' far inferior to the surrounding Sabbath records, adding: "While the album's aimless synthesized wankery is arguably technical, ecstasy comes only to those who consign its cover to permanent dope de-seeding detail."<ref name="Weisbard & Marks 1995" />

In 1992, Iommi admitted to ''Guitar World'': "Black Sabbath fans generally don't like much of ''Technical Ecstasy''. It was really a no-win situation for us. If we had stayed the same, people would have said we were still doing the same old stuff. So we tried to get a little more technical, and it just didn't work out very well."

In rankings of the band's albums, ''Technical Ecstasy'' was listed 10th by Eduardo Rivadavia of ''[[Ultimate Classic Rock]]'',<ref name="Rivadavia" /> 11th by Paul Elliott of ''[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]]'',<ref name="Elliott" /> and 13th by John Hadusek of ''[[Consequence of Sound]]'',<ref name="cos" /> Nick Ruskell of ''[[Kerrang!]]'',<ref name="Kerrang list" /> and Michael Hann of ''[[The Guardian]]''.<ref name="Hann" /> Hadusek believed ''Technical Ecstasy'' marked "where Black Sabbath changed, and not for the better", adding: "On one hand, the songs had become more complex, flowery, and aurally varied — nothing wrong there. But it’s awkwardly executed by Iommi, who produced the album. Instead of coming off as [[progressive music|progressive]], these experiments reek of a band losing touch with the traits that made them great. The studio effects and synthesizers often overtake the bass and guitar."<ref name="cos" /> Ruskell believes the album is "actually pretty good", despite its reputation as the first Black Sabbath album to reveal "cracks", but still believed it lacked the "hungry, stoned-out [[blues]]" of the band's first three albums, or the "coke-guzzling creativity" of the next three.<ref name="Kerrang list">{{cite web |last1=Ruskell |first1=Nick |title=Black Sabbath: Every album ranked from worst to best |url=https://www.kerrang.com/black-sabbath-every-album-ranked-from-worst-to-best |website=Kerrang! |access-date=13 June 2024 |date=30 June 2021 |archive-date=13 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613222824/https://www.kerrang.com/black-sabbath-every-album-ranked-from-worst-to-best |url-status=live }}</ref> Rivaavia called it a "bold but ill-fated attempt to mature and explore novel musical directions", believing it could have been comparable to ''Sabbath Bloody Sabbath'' (1973) if not for "the largely unimpressive songs to carry those innovations to fruition"<ref name="Rivadavia" /> Elliott believes that it was the first album on which the band "faltered", believing some songs, such as "Back Street Kids", to be "hokey", but adding that there are several great songs, including "Dirty Women" and the ballad "It's Alright".<ref name="Elliott" /> Hann wrote that while "Back Street Kids" may back Butler's claim that the album was a response to punk, "most of the rest of ''Technical Ecstasy'' was a mess."<ref name="Hann" />

==Track listing==
{{tracklist
| headline = Side A
| all_writing = Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward and Ozzy Osbourne, except "It's Alright", written by Bill Ward
| title1  = Back Street Kids
| length1 = 3:47
| title2  = You Won't Change Me
| length2 = 6:42
| title3  = It's Alright
| length3 = 4:04
| title4  = Gypsy
| length4 = 5:14
}}
{{tracklist
| headline = Side B
| title5  = All Moving Parts (Stand Still)
| length5 = 5:07
| title6  = Rock 'n' Roll Doctor
| length6 = 3:30
| title7  = She's Gone
| length7 = 4:58
| title8  = Dirty Women
| length8 = 7:13
| total_length = 40:35
}}
{{track listing
| headline = 2021 ''Technical Ecstasy'' Super Deluxe, Disc Two (New Mix)
| title1 = Back Street Kids
| length1 = 3:49
| title2 = You Won't Change Me
| length2 = 6:33
| title3 = It's Alright (Mono Single)
| length3 = 4:00
| title4 = Gypsy
| length4 = 5:10
| title5 = All Moving Parts (Stand Still)
| length5 = 4:58
| title6 = Rock 'n' Roll Doctor
| length6 = 3:26
| title7 = She's Gone
| length7 = 4:55
| title8 = Dirty Women
| length8 = 7:42
}}
{{track listing
| headline = 2021 ''Technical Ecstasy'' Super Deluxe, Disc Three (Outtakes & Alternative Mixes)
| title1 = Back Street Kids
| length1 = 3:58
| title2 = You Won't Change Me
| length2 = 6:46
| title3 = Gypsy
| length3 = 5:16
| title4 = All Moving Parts (Stand Still)
| length4 = 5:32
| title5 = Rock 'n' Roll Doctor
| length5 = 3:34
| title6 = She's Gone (Outtake Version)
| length6 = 5:52
| title7 = Dirty Women
| length7 = 7:27
| title8 = She's Gone (Instrumental Mix)
| length8 = 4:05
}}
{{track listing
| headline = 2021 ''Technical Ecstasy'' Super Deluxe, Disc Four (Live World Tour 1976-77)
| title1 = Symptom of the Universe
| length1 = 4:49
| title2 = War Pigs
| length2 = 7:25
| title3 = Gypsy
| length3 = 5:13
| title4 = Black Sabbath
| length4 = 7:33
| title5 = All Moving Parts (Stand Still)
| length5 = 6:13
| title6 = Dirty Women
| length6 = 7:16
| title7 = Drum Solo / Guitar Solo
| length7 = 3:57
| title8 = Electric Funeral
| length8 = 3:27
| title9 = Snowblind
| length9 = 6:15
| title10 = Children of the Grave
| length10 = 4:46
}}
* "It's Alright" and "She's Gone" were swapped on some copies, most notably the UK cassette version. 
* Disc four of the 2021 ''Super Deluxe'' edition features a partial live recording of the band's performance on 8 December 1976 at the [[Civic Arena (Pittsburgh)|Civic Arena]] in [[Pittsburgh]], Pennsylvania.

==Personnel==
;Black Sabbath
* [[Ozzy Osbourne]] – vocals on all songs except "It's Alright"
* [[Tony Iommi]] – guitars
* [[Geezer Butler]] – bass
* [[Bill Ward (musician)|Bill Ward]] – drums, vocals on "It's Alright"

;Additional
* [[Gerald Woodroffe|Gerald "Jezz" Woodroffe]] – keyboards (credited as "Gerald Woodruffe")

==Charts==
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! scope="col" | Chart (1976)
! scope="col" | Peak<br />position
|-
{{album chart|Canada|38|artist=Black Sabbath|rowheader=true|chartid=3844|access-date=October 30, 2023}}
|-
{{album chart|Sweden|33|artist=Black Sabbath|rowheader=true|access-date=October 30, 2023}}
|-
{{album chart|UK2|13|date=19761031|rowheader=true|access-date=October 30, 2023}}
|-
{{album chart|Billboard200|51|artist=Black Sabbath|rowheader=true|access-date=October 30, 2023}}
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
! scope="col"| Chart (2021)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
{{album chart|Wallonia|123|artist=Black Sabbath|album=Technical Ecstasy|rowheader=true|access-date=October 30, 2023}}
|-
{{album chart|Germany|27|id=12150|artist=Black Sabbath|album=Technical Ecstasy|rowheader=true|access-date=October 30, 2023}}
|-
{{album chart|Scotland|46|date=20211008|rowheader=true|access-date=October 30, 2023}}
|-
{{album chart|Switzerland|81|artist=Black Sabbath|album=Technical Ecstasy|rowheader=true|access-date=October 30, 2023}}
|-
{{album chart|UKIndependent|14|date=20211008|rowheader=true|access-date=October 30, 2023}}
|-
{{album chart|UKRock|9|date=20211008|rowheader=true|access-date=October 30, 2023}}
|}

==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United Kingdom|award=Silver|relyear=1976|certyear=1977|certref=<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mediastorehouse.co.uk/memory-lane-prints/mirror/0300to0399-00329/heavy-metal-group-black-sabbath-pictured-silver-21613362.html|title=Heavy Metal group Black Sabbath pictured with the silver discs they received for the album " Technical Ecstasy"|publisher=Media Storehouse|access-date=August 30, 2024}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United States|artist=Black Sabbath|title=Technical Ecstasy|award=Gold|relyear=1976|certyear=1997}}
{{Certification Table Bottom | nosales=true}}

==Release history==
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Region
! Date
! Label
|-
| United States
| 1976
| [[Warner Bros. Records]]
|-
| United Kingdom
| October 1976<ref name=GRD>{{cite book|last1=Strong |first1=Martin Charles |url=https://archive.org/details/greatrockdiscogr00stro/page/68/mode/1up?view=theater|page=68|title=Great Rock discography |date=1995 |publisher=Canongate Press |isbn=978-0-86241-541-9 }}</ref>
| [[Vertigo Records]]
|-
| Canada
| 1976
| Warner Bros. Records
|-
| United Kingdom
| 1996
| [[Castle Communications]]
|-
| United Kingdom
| 2004
| [[Sanctuary Records]]
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Discogs master|type=album|4938|name=Technical Ecstasy}}
* [http://www.black-sabbath.com/2008/08/what_the_hell_happened_to_tech/ What the hell happened to Technical Ecstasy?], an article about the album by music journalist Dan Marsicano

{{Black Sabbath}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1976 albums]]
[[Category:Albums with cover art by Hipgnosis]]
[[Category:Black Sabbath albums]]
[[Category:Vertigo Records albums]]
[[Category:Warner Records albums]]