Jake E. Lee on The Ultimate Sin: “Sharon said, “We’re remixing the whole album”

Ozzy Osbourne’s 1986 album The Ultimate Sin marked Jake E. Lee’s second and final studio outing with the singer, but behind the scenes it was a far rougher experience. In a brand new Guitar World interview with Jake E. Lee, the guitarist looked back on the sessions and described his time with producer Ron Nevison as anything but smooth.

“Terrible. [Laughs] It was butting heads from the beginning. Ozzy gave us a list of producers, and it wasn’t my choice per se, but he asked me, and I thought Nevison was a guitar producer since he’d worked with UFO and Led Zeppelin, so he had my vote. I’m not saying that’s why Ozzy picked him, but that’s where my vote went.”

The producer’s demand for noon start times clashed immediately with Lee’s nocturnal schedule, to the point where Nevison even floated the idea of replacing him with another guitarist using Lee’s demos as a guide.

“I’m a nighttime guy, right? To me, rock is nighttime music you play in clubs until closing time… Ron Nevison wasn’t. He told Sharon [Osbourne] that he wanted to start no later than noon. Sharon told me that, and I said, ‘Noon? I’m not even thinking about waking up then. I won’t start any earlier than 6 p.m.’ So right off the bat, we had problems, and Nevison told Sharon, ‘I know a lot of guitar players… we don’t have to use him. We can use other people to come in and play the parts. I have all the demos.'”

Sharon Osbourne backed her guitarist.

“It was ridiculous. He (Nevison) obviously had no idea what Ozzy was. He’s not somebody who brings in fucking guitar players. But Sharon told me that, and I said, ‘Really? And what did you say?’ Sharon said, ‘I told him he was out of his fucking mind. You’re playing the guitar. How about we start at 3?'”

Even after the recording was done, the first mix came back drenched in keys, setting up one last showdown that, again, swung in Lee’s favor.

“When I heard the first mix, I hated it. [Laughs] It was keyboard-heavy, and I talked to Ozzy on the phone and said, ‘What do you think?’ He said, ‘Too many fucking keyboards!’ I said, ‘Exactly!’ Sharon said, ‘We’re remixing the whole album.’ She told Nevison, ‘I want Jake there, and I want Jake to approve of the mix as you’re mixing it,’ which Nevison hated. But I made sure the guitars were actually there, though I still think it could have been more guitar-heavy. After that, I gotta admit, I liked it.”

full in bloom’s Inside the Album: Ozzy Osbourne ‘The Ultimate Sin’