Convince me that Jake E. Lee is still a guitar god post Ozzy era

I’m in the camp of nothing did a lot for me after Ozzy. Like some of the Badlands songs but there’s no guitar playing on it that makes me go wow. There’s so much tasty stuff hidden in that massive reverb and delay on Ultimate Sin though. From the rhythm voicing and leads. That is my favorite. I’ve never liked his tone all that much. Always sounds congested and lacks size but his playing on Ultimate sin trumps the tone he got. It may be a simple thing but I’ll always love that harmonic intro on Fool Like You. Really different compared to what other players were doing back then.
 
You guys watch that High Wire vid and still think no good? His Badlands stuff was freakin fantastic if u ask me. There’s tunes that rip, beautiful cleanish stuff, heavy blues and some funky shiznat thrown in. I know he thought Badlands was his Zeppelin and only if,… Ray didn’t pass away.
 
Badlands was awesome! But Def. Not because of the leads, more the total package and those vocals. RDC is sort of lazy and sloppy but at least he is being true to himself and how he evolved taste wise.
 
Only Ozzy and Badlands....never liked his tone, the damn chirp sound he makes sometimes when he picks drives me nuts too. But yes, I count him as an influence and very much love those records, but it's mainly riffs and melodies that influenced me when I was a youngin'.
 
Kapo_Polenton said:
Badlands was awesome! But Def. Not because of the leads, more the total package and those vocals. RDC is sort of lazy and sloppy but at least he is being true to himself and how he evolved taste wise.
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Agreed. I've worn out a few copies of that album. It's not about the guitar wowing me, it's just that pretty much every song is really interesting.
 
thenine said:
You guys watch that High Wire vid and still think no good? His Badlands stuff was freakin fantastic if u ask me. There’s tunes that rip, beautiful cleanish stuff, heavy blues and some funky shiznat thrown in. I know he thought Badlands was his Zeppelin and only if,… Ray didn’t pass away.
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100% right .. sounds like the OP is really just listening for guitar gymnastics and not actual songs because if a musicians doesn't like badlands then there is something wrong with them:cool:
 
I think JEL was awesome in his time and I liked Badlands as well. I think he was far more creative than people admit and was an excellent songwriter. But Father Time is undefeated. None of these guys are the players they were then. Also, people evolve and change. They move on to new things and explore new territory. I never dug his "Wicked Alliance" stuff. His chops are not remotely what they were in the 80s either. But the guy is in his 60s so I can forgive it. I do not care for his RDC stuff either. He did an album of covers before that called "Retraced" ( I think) - I found that lacking in production and inspiration. But we all are expecting and hoping these guys will take us back to the old days with their playing and few ever achieve that in their old age.
 
I always liked Jake with Ozzy. Thought he was a good replacement for Randy in both playing and stage presence. Brought his own thing and was able to do justice to Randy's tunes. Was he on the same level as Randy, "in my opinion" no, not close but then again, as I said Jake brought his own thing. That said I much preferred BATM vs TUS. I always felt TUS was a very basic by the numbers 80's rock album.

Badlands - I own all of it. Some tunes are fantastic, some make me scratch my head. I always thought with Ray's voice, Jake could/should have written some tunes that were more "radio" friendly, more accessible in order to break the band big. And yet he could still do what he was trying to do with Badlands which was almost the antithesis of the 80's LA rock bands. Good band though but by that point IMO, Jake was also trying to distance himself from the guitar hero thing as well. Band had tons of potential to break big but they were just not accessible enough outside of the rock realm that new who Jake was.
 
littleguitars said:
I think Jake's best stuff was on Voodoo Highway and the Badlands debut record. He was playing at a very high level on those records. Trying to play "Joe's Blues" note for note with that same swing was a lot harder for me than learning Bark at the Moon. I never did nail it 100 percent either, no matter how much time I put in.

I'm probably in the minority here, but I happen to love Jake's Badlands stuff more than the Ozzy stuff.
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I agree the RDC stuff isn't as innovative as Badlands was. I believe Jake lost most of his inspiration after Ray Gillen died. Sometimes you can't make lightning strikes twice no matter how hard one tries.

I fully agree with Little Guitars Jake's improv style was/is nothing short amazing which is equal to EVH's ability to swing in and out of the pocket behind the beat and make it work and sound fantastic and interesting at the same time. In a world where alot of players adopted the Floyd Rose because of Ed, Jake made his own way in the world with his own style. I for one enjoyed Jake's originality, song structures, rhythm/lead playing, Ray Gillens vocals were the icing on the cake, Jakes time with Ozzy was also very good as he wasn't trying to cop Randy style.

I was hoping he could rekindle the spark in Red Dragon Cartel but sadly it seems that ship had sailed with Ray Gillen. I seen him on tour with RDC in 2019 and it was great show and he actually played alot of Badlands songs which he always seemed to avoid previously for whatever reason.
 
I really liked JEL, especially in the past... I don't know if he still plays the guitar but lately he comes off as a drunk who doesnt practice very much.
 
Yes I sort of am looking for his guitar "gymnastics", but I didn't care for Ray's voice nor heavy blues type music so anything after Ozzy just doesn't do it for me.

Change my mind! 😆
 
Compared with many solo albums from other guitarists over the past few decades, Jake's really had some nice originality to it:

 
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All great creativity wanes eventually. Some just last longer than others. Drugs and alcohol took a toll on Jake obviously over the years. Didn't mean he's not still talented, he can still play his shit. Not everyone is as inspired in their 50s as they were in their 20s. EVH did nothing for me after Dave left. Just seemed like he was going through the motions for a paycheck with Hagar. No different.
 
napalmdeath said:
Most overrated guitar player on this board. Don't get all the man crushes people have here for the man, but he does nothing for me, never has.

Of course, opinions are like assholes, everybody's got one, but Ozzy should have hung on to Joe Holmes. Sure, Zakk made his mark, but Holmes is a stud. Blows Jake E Lee away, IMO.
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Joe is a beast. My faves are in order: RR, Jake, Zakk.
I can’t really put Joe on the list; no albums.
But I have Farmikos…monster player. If he had recorded with Ozzy he’d be at #2.
 
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