Technical Ecstasy in Bloomington, MN

Black Sabbath
was unraveling at an alarming rate around the time of their second to last album with original singer
Ozzy Osbourne
, 1976's
Technical Ecstasy
. The band was getting further and further from their original musical path, as they began experimenting with their trademark sludge-metal sound. While it was not as off-the-mark as their final album with
Osbourne
, 1978's
Never Say Die
, it was not on par with
Sabbath
's exceptional first five releases. The most popular song remains the album closer,
"Dirty Women,"
which was revived during the band's highly successful reunion tour of the late '90s. Other standouts include the funky
"All Moving Parts (Stand Still)"
and the raging opener,
"Back Street Kids."
The melodic
"It's Alright"
turns out to be the album's biggest surprise -- it's one of drummer
Bill Ward
's few lead vocal spots with the band (
Guns N' Roses
covered the unlikely track on their 1999 live set,
Live Era 1987-1993
). ~ Greg Prato