Black Sabbath Technical Ecstasy Original US LP Edition

The familiar BLACK SABBATH original LP reissue series. The “TECHNICAL ECSTASY” edition is now available. “TECHNICAL ECSTASY”… There may be no other album with such an intriguing behind-the-scenes production among the masterpieces of BLACK SABBATH in the 70s. Production began in mid-1976, when Tony Iommi began to adapt to the changing times, and he was pursuing a new SABBATH sound by listening to the rapidly progressing QUEEN and new wave bands. The dynamics within the band were also changing, and the members who couldn’t do anything without Iommi’s riffs rarely showed up in the studio, so keyboardist Gerald Woodruff, who supported Iommi on the “SABOTAGE TOUR”, began to take the lead as Iommi’s partner (the testimonies here are contradictory, with Iommi saying “Woodruff quickly puts my ideas into shape,” and Woodruff saying “I wrote half of the 7th album”). As a result, the sound that was born progressed to the point where the keyboard took on riffs and solos depending on the song, and the melancholy melody and dramatics increased. Even though Ozzy Osbourne’s contribution was declining from the inside, they pioneered a new line that reminded me of Ozzy’s later solo work rather than BLACK SABBATH. Such a masterpiece of the new world was also revolutionary in terms of sound. While influenced by various bands, they built a unique world that was unlike anyone else’s by passing it through the genius Iommi’s filter, and embodied a “bright sadness” as a reaction to the “dark madness” of “SABOATGE”. This work is a faithful revival of the “sound of 1976” when such a sound world was born. It is a meticulous digitization of the original LP “BS 2969” released by WARNER BROS. The sound is extremely natural and fat. Sabbath’s latest CDs are largely divided into SANCTUARY (VERTIGO UK master) and RHINO (WARNER US master), and this is of course the latter. In terms of sharpness of the outline and resolution, the RHINO remaster is not as vivid, but the thick sound is very glossy. For example, “Gypsy”. Light drumming sounds from the intro, but the latest RHINO version has a sense of explosion, although the peak of the percussion sound is not broken, and while it is sharp and pointed, it is somewhat thin. In contrast, this work has the presence of the vibrating drum skin. It is not as sharp as if only the peak of the percussion sound was taken out, but the vibe creates power and groove. This can also be said about the piano, which is the same percussion instrument. As mentioned above, “TECHNICAL ECSTASY” features Woodruf’s keyboard, and the piano is used frequently at key points. The peaks have the same natural feel as the drums. And speaking of keyboards, there is the synth. This also has a rich thickness and a delicious sense of unity of the ensemble. For example, “You Won’t Change Me.” The synth plays the basic chord role in both this album and the RHINO version, but the latest remastered version emphasizes the attack sounds of the four members in an attempt to achieve clarity. It feels like only the attack is strongly popping out from the foundation of the synth. However, this album is not like that. It feels like a band of “five people” including the synth are playing together on the spot. In other words, the latest remastered album has the engineer’s preconception that “a four-person band with keyboard support” in sight, while this album has a total perspective of “let’s create a new sound including the keyboard.” BLACK SABBATH’s “TECHNICAL ECSTASY” from the 1970s, when they continued to experiment with new instruments and sounds and expanded their possibilities without any restrictions, was not an album in which they tried to break even the shell of a “four-person formation.” The original LP reproduces every corner of that experimental spirit in the present day and even reproduces Iommi’s thoughts in the studio. Taken from the original US LP (BS 2969) (40:45) 01 Back Street Kids 02 You Won’t Change Me 03 It’s Alright 04 Gypsy 05 All Moving Parts (Stand Still) 06 Rock ‘N’ Roll Doctor 07 She’s Gone 08 Dirty Women Ozzy Osbourne – lead vocals Tony Iommi – guitar Geezer Butler – bass guitar Bill Ward – drums, lead vocals on “It’s Alright” Gerald Woodruffe – keyboards