On February 22, 1986 Ozzy Osbourne launched his fourth solo album, The Ultimate Sin, which ultimately became guitarist Jake E. Lee’s final project with Osbourne.
Following the death of Randy Rhoades, Osbourne scored big time with the recruitment of another young and ambitious guitarist. After a successful release with Bark At The Moon, Bob Daisley and Tommy Aldrige were replaced by Phil Soussan and Randy Castillo. Equipped with a fresh set of musicians, Osbourne and company began recording their next album.
Daisley wrote a significant amount of the LP’s lyrics like he had done on previous work with Osbourne (Blizzard Of Ozz, Diary Of A Madman). However, he left the group before the album was completed. Therefore, Daisley did not receive credit for his writing on The Ultimate Sin.
Lee was also faced with a problem that spurred during the Bark At The Moon recordings. The extensive number of music he had written for his first LP with Osbourne went uncredited under the authority of Sharon Osbourne. Despite this setback, Lee ended up using the last of his material from Bark At The Moon sessions to shape the album that eventually became The Ultimate Sin.
During its time of release, The Ultimate Sin had charted higher than any of Osbourne’s prior solo albums. The LP focused mainly on Lee’s hard rock capacity rather than the heavy keyboard element implemented in Bark At The Moon.
Tracks such as Thank God For The Bomb and Lightning Strikes are only a small fraction of Lee’s overall ability. His presence marked a vivid impact in his short time span with Osbourne and ended on a heavy metal high note.
The Ultimate Sin goes down as one of the most overlooked albums in Osbourne’s catalog since it was one of his only LPs to not be reissued or remastered. Others gloss over the Lee era due to its smaller selection of songs and lack of smash hits. Yet, this lineup is what continued the band’s road to success and kept Osbourne moving forward with expansion.
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