Not bad.
This Sabbath album is sometimes called disappointing. It's certainly an unusual one for them, but it still rocks pretty well. Even drummer Bill Ward sings lead on the mellow "It's All Right".
About half the album has good stuff. The other half,while not great, is not at all terrible. If you buy it,just don't expect the best ever Sabbath release.

Technical Ecstasy
This was the first misstep of Black Sabbath that featured Ozzy Osbourne. The album peaked at #51, their lowest charting album up to the date. In this instance it was indicative of the material recorded. The one standout song is "Dirty Women", of the nine songs here this is the one that could stand with any song from their previous six albums. "Back Street Kids" & "Rock 'n' Roll Doctor" are the only other songs that rise above average. "It's Alright" is a decent ballad that features the drummer, Bill Ward, on vocals. He's not a bad vocalist but his doing the vocal was a certainly a harbinger on Ozzy's future with the group. In fact, not long after the album was released, Ozzy announced he had left the group. He would agree to return to do the album Never Say Die! which would be his last with Black Sabbath.

Technical Ecstasy was Sabbath's seventh studio album & although some of their later albums would chart better than this one, they were essentially finished as a major charting force. It's unfortunate because they were certainly one of the best heavy metal bands that there had ever been. Black Sabbath is now a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame group, deservedly so. Tony Iommi is one of rock's great guitarist & certainly has been a grand creator of riffs. Bill Ward is an excellent drummer as is Geezer Butler on bass.

An Overlooked Gem
A much maligned album, Technical Ecstasy marked the beginning of the end for the original Black Sabbath line-up. It is clear that the band had moved away from what had made it successful: awe inspiring riffs, wall-of-sound sludge, and a desire to include experimentation in their music. Technical Ecstasy strikes me as an attempt to make Sabotage (Part II), in that it's a fairly straight ahead hard rock record, and almost completely leaves behind the menacing metal sound that is found on their earlier albums. But Sabotage was one of Sabbath's best efforts and, in not living up to that standard, it's easy to see why this album might have been a disappointment to Sabbath fans. Within the context of Sabbath's discography, Technical Ecstasy is, indeed, a turning point. It hints at the end of the Ozzy era, and a complete change in Sabbath's sound.

Taken out of context, however, this album is a hidden gem. There are moments where the material fits in with the approach taken on Sabotage. Six of the tracks are good hard rockers, while "She's Gone" offers up a ballad that is reminiscent of Vol 4's "Changes." While it may mark a period of change for Sabbath, the true mark of Ozzy's downfall, as a member of Sabbath, comes with their next release, Never Say Die!, which lacks both in metal credibility and fails to rock as well as Technical Ecstasy, let alone Sabotage.

All in all, if you enjoy Sabotage, this album is a worthy, if somewhat less wonderful, follow-up. If you hate Sabotage, then don't even bother with this one.

Worst Sabbath Album
Let's get one thing straight. I am a huge Sabbath fan. I have all the albums and have dabbled into their music in the darkest of corners and listened with open ears and mind time and time again. You know how it is when a song is great and it gives you "The Goosebumps/ Chills"??? Well there is hardly anything on this album that does it for me. Dirty Women is the best song and arrangement on the album. There are no "great" tracks besides that, and as hard as I try, I have no love for this record. Never Say Die is far better - as people like to compare the two, but it's no contest. I love Sabbath but this is a downer album for me.

2 great Sabbath tracks, the rest, ehhh....
This is one of Sabbath's most forgetful albums. It isn't very good, and it feels tired and perfunctory on most of the tracks. The song Rock and Roll Doctor, which sounds like a rock anthem on paper, comes across as lethargic and weary, which the band was feeling at the time. The road and drugs (many drugs) were starting to take their toll. There are, however, 2 GREAT songs that should be listened to.

Dirty Women, the closer, is a great Sabbath epic, grungy, rocking, and with a wicked vocal turn by Ozzy, his best on the entire album. But my favorite has to be It's Alright. It's a beautiful, moving song, one of the most touching ones Sabbath ever wrote, and Bill Ward's vocal (no Ozzy here) is gentle, beautiful, and uplifting. It's a shame he didn't sing more in the band, as he could have balanced the rockers out with some great ballad work. I know, you're thinking "Sabbath and ballads" don't belong together, but I think they do. Sabbath was/is much more adventurous than most people admit. So, if you're a completist, get this one, otherwise, just get It's Alright and Dirty Women.