“Maybe he felt my part was getting bigger than a band member should be”: Jake E. Lee on contract negotiations for Ozzy’s The Ultimate Sin
Six-string sidekick on landmark albums Bark at the Moon (1983) and The Ultimate Sin (1986), Jake E. Lee is an integral part of the Ozzy Obsourne story.
When hired by Ozzy in 1982 at the fledgling age of 25, he had limited experience, and as he explains in a new interview with Guitar World, his limited songwriting and publishing rights on Bark at the Moon led to him pursuing a more robust contract prior to the recording of The Ultimate Sin.
READ MORE: Mötley Crüe win legal battle over Mick Mars – former guitarist ordered to partially pay back $1.5M advance for not completing tour
“They realised they got away with something on Bark at the Moon,” Lee explains. “They knew it was something that would never happen again.”
When it came time to discuss Ozzy’s Bark at the Moon followup, Lee says he was adamant on signing a contract before going any further.
“I told him, ‘I’m not doing anything until I get a contract,’ and so, that came pretty quickly…’” he says.
“It was something that lingered over the Bark at the Moon sessions. When those were done, I became unhappy, so with The Ultimate Sin, before I gave him my demos, I said, ‘I want a contract that says exactly what I’m gonna get out of this record. I need a songwriting credit. I want the publishing I deserve.”
Lee had a vision for The Ultimate Sin which he clashed with producer Ron Nevison over, and that vision ultimately shaped the sound of the record.
“I wanted to hear the guitar like an orchestra. Kind of like having violins on top, cellos on bottom and then having moving and melodic parts. It was about more than basic chords and one guitar sound. That wasn’t my vision…”
He goes on: “I remember we had a big band dinner, and Ozzy raised his glass and said, ‘This is a toast to Jake E. Lee, who practically produced this record and was a very important part of making it.’ Maybe he felt like my part was getting bigger than a band member should be.
“I don’t know; a lot of things came with that. We were writing for the next record; I was pushing boundaries and getting rejected. I was bored with the restrictions. I’m sure Ozzy didn’t like that. But as far as The Ultimate Sin, I stand by it.”
Jake E. Lee ended up being dismissed by Ozzy’s wife Sharon Osbourne in 1987, and was subsequently replaced by Zakk Wylde.
The post “Maybe he felt my part was getting bigger than a band member should be”: Jake E. Lee on contract negotiations for Ozzy’s The Ultimate Sin appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
