Metal Sludge Gossip Board

Just telling y'all what you already know.

Bark isn't as good as Blizzard or Diary but that's a lot to go up against. Two virtually flawless classics.

Sitting shiva for Ozzy (shalom), I played mostly Bark at the Moon, an album I always liked but was never a go-to.

Fantastic album. "You're No Different," "Waiting for Darkness," even "So Tired," which I love--it's not the first two but it's REALLY, REALLY good.

"Waiting for Darkness" is INSANE.

And I've always had a lot reverence for The Ultimate Sin, with that being the first one I ever heard. The Ozzy I knew in the beginning had a perm!

Aaaaaanyway, Enuff Z'Nuff, Jake E. Lee rocked. He was done dirty. Seems like a super nice guy.

Saint Rhoads (lol) is #1, but Jake is my #2 guy in terms of his solo career guitar players. (Iommi otherwise would be #1, and so on.)

Listening to The Ultimate Din now and boy, this really reminds me of the movie The Wraith.

HOSER

I'M A SECRET HOSER

"Shot in the Dark" just ended.



I think that song's better than "Crazy Train."

That is a CLASSIC. OZZY. SONG. Top 5, easily.

I don't care that it's goopy and doesn't sound like "War Pigs." That song is a jam.

We salute you, Bill Susan!

And given his politics, I now get great amusement out of the line "I opened up my mind to treason."

JizzySynatra wrote: ↑Sat Aug 02, 2025 4:16 pm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrXgbiv ... nnel=Alfie

I really dislike this!

Ugh, this is really my least favorite kind of music. Sounds like it should be on Moonlighting.

Whatever they did between that piece of shit and the Ozzy version--good choices.

Chip Z'Hoy wrote: ↑Sat Aug 02, 2025 4:10 pm "Shot in the Dark" just ended.



I think that song's better than "Crazy Train."

That is a CLASSIC. OZZY. SONG. Top 5, easily.

I don't care that it's goopy and doesn't sound like "War Pigs." That song is a jam.

We salute you, Bill Susan!

And given his politics, I now get great amusement out of the line "I opened up my mind to treason."

Agree 100% with you here, Chip. As good a classic as "Crazy Train" is, "Shot in the Dark" just rips, and, dare I say it gives me all the TenBenny-style feels?

dmbrocker wrote: ↑Sat Aug 02, 2025 4:23 pmAgree 100% with you here, Chip. As good a classic as "Crazy Train" is, "Shot in the Dark" just rips, and, dare I say it gives me all the TenBenny-style feels?

It hits me right in the feels! I hold space in my heart for "Shot in the Dark."

The song, yes. The album, no. TUS was better.

Jake rules for sure. Stupid to fire him. F Hakk. He's always suxked and will continue to suck.

I never fully understood what a genius Jake actually was until I watched videos of skilled guitarists playing all his parts on all those Ozzy songs up close. HIs rhythm parts and chord changes were so cool. And that bag of tricks he had with the fake echo slides, bending harmonics behind the nut, etc was mad scientist inventive like early EVH.

And then he crawled into a pipe for 15 years. Hey it happens. He survived.

If you're a super Jake nerd like me check out his solo album A Fine Pink Mist. It's great.

I’m really not a fan of No Rest For The Wicked - I like Zakk, but I wish we’d got one more album out of the Jake and Randy Castillo era with someone like Terry Date, Bob Rock, Michael Wagener, etc producing.

Bark at the Moon had its moments, but it's a looongg way from the firs two.

I will never understand the love for shot in the dark . . . . generic crap.

But dig Jake E Lee. Saw him live on bark at the moon tour and he ripped. Sadly, I missed Randy by a few months -- got Senor Whammy Bar instead on the diary tour.

veritas wrote: ↑Sat Aug 02, 2025 8:08 pm

I will never understand the love for shot in the dark . . . . generic crap.

THIS!

I love Bark though, those first 3 albums are the best. Ultimate Sin is pretty good, but for me it's a step down from Bark...

HottKarl777 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 02, 2025 7:31 pm I never fully understood what a genius Jake actually was until I watched videos of skilled guitarists playing all his parts on all those Ozzy songs up close. HIs rhythm parts and chord changes were so cool. And that bag of tricks he had with the fake echo slides, bending harmonics behind the nut, etc was mad scientist inventive like early EVH.

Yep. And all without a whangulator. Jake was a stud.

Yeah, it's crazy Jake couldnt go from strength to strength at the time, like joining up with Whitesnake or something.
He prolly had his brain fried by being fucked with as a sideman, and didnt want to do it again.

+1 for Shot in the Dark beng wussy and lame. TUS is my least fave of all Ozz albums that matter. But that's not Jake's fault.

HueyRamone wrote: ↑Sun Aug 03, 2025 8:18 am Yeah, it's crazy Jake couldnt go from strength to strength at the time, like joining up with Whitesnake or something.
He prolly had his brain fried by being fucked with as a sideman, and didnt want to do it again.

So he was asked to join the "video guys" in '87?

Sometimes I start thinking that Jake is the best guitarist Ozzy's ever had, but then I go listen to Diary again and realize that while he's a great, great guitar player - easily the second-best of Ozzy's solo career, he wasn't anywhere close to Randy in the creativity department. Still dig his playing tho

I think that he could outplay Randy, but he couldn't out-compose him, if that makes any sense.

Bono Nettencourt wrote: ↑Sun Aug 03, 2025 10:33 am

HueyRamone wrote: ↑Sun Aug 03, 2025 8:18 am Yeah, it's crazy Jake couldnt go from strength to strength at the time, like joining up with Whitesnake or something.
He prolly had his brain fried by being fucked with as a sideman, and didnt want to do it again.

So he was asked to join the "video guys" in '87?

No I dont know that he was asked, I just mean everyone in that era knew he played amazing, looked cool, and was avail. Just thought he'd get snapped up.

HueyRamone wrote: ↑Sun Aug 03, 2025 11:08 am

Bono Nettencourt wrote: ↑Sun Aug 03, 2025 10:33 am

HueyRamone wrote: ↑Sun Aug 03, 2025 8:18 am Yeah, it's crazy Jake couldnt go from strength to strength at the time, like joining up with Whitesnake or something.
He prolly had his brain fried by being fucked with as a sideman, and didnt want to do it again.

So he was asked to join the "video guys" in '87?

No I dont know that he was asked, I just mean everyone in that era knew he played amazing, looked cool, and was avail. Just thought he'd get snapped up.

There are rumors that he was but without details. It could've been a short timeline because the Ozzy tour ended in early 87 and WS started opening for the Crue that summer.

Bono Nettencourt wrote: ↑Sun Aug 03, 2025 11:04 am I think that he could outplay Randy, but he couldn't out-compose him, if that makes any sense.

Look, I think Jake is fantastic, but I can't think of anything showing him "outplaying" Randy. At least in the recording department, I think Randy showed significantly more versatility than Jake (to my ears) and at least equal technical skill. (In his brief time, Randy could play anything from straight-ahead Mick Ronson rock riffs, pentatonic and blues stuff, to harmonic minor pseudo classical stuff like Revelation Mother Earth, and I don't see Jake playing diary of a madman or classical guitar -- although he does have that intro on The Rapture on Fine Pink Mist....so maybe?)

I agree on the composer part -- although the secret sauce that elevated Randy's songwriting was Bob Daisley (and Ozzy's melodies).

I don't want to ballwash Randy here: I think Jake brought his own unique and excellent thing and comparisons between different players is (mostly) silly.

HueyRamone wrote: ↑Sun Aug 03, 2025 8:18 am Yeah, it's crazy Jake couldnt go from strength to strength at the time, like joining up with Whitesnake or something.
He prolly had his brain fried by being fucked with as a sideman, and didnt want to do it again.

+1 for Shot in the Dark beng wussy and lame. TUS is my least fave of all Ozz albums that matter. But that's not Jake's fault.

Why would he do that when he got a deal with Badlands in 1988? He briefly came out of hiding when he guested on Rob Rock's Rage of Creation album for a couple of tracks in 2000.

All I Need
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szidtaX ... Rock-Topic

Media Machine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfE7t3_ ... Rock-Topic

Disagree about his solo album Fine Pink Mist that someone mentioned. It unfortunately came out in 1996 and is what you'd expect sound wise for that particular year. Was disappointed when I bought the CD back then.