How Jake E. Lee Got Screwed by Sharon Osbourne

Jake E. Lee was (and still is probably) a hell of a guitar player. Dude was 110% on the stage and owned the crowd!

Who is Jake E. Lee

For this we have to go back to the beginning of Ozzy Osbourne's solo career. After Ozzy got kicked out of Black Sabbath due to his alcoholic issues, he was out to form to his own band. Randy Rhoads played the lead, who by the way just like Jake, was also a real good guitar player. He could've been one of the greatest but unfortunately died on a plane crash. So it's kind of like Andrew Luck --  he was pretty good but the unfortunate circumstances prevented the dude from achieving ultimate heights. 

After Randy's tragic but totally preventable death, Ozzy choose Jake to be his new lead. The band then  continued to tour for Blizzard of Oz and Diary of a Madman -- the two Ozzy-albums that had released prior Randy's death. 

Getting Screwed

After touring, as I wrote earlier, the crew returned back to the studio to work on their third album: Bark at the Moon. Now here's where the controversy starts. Jake claims he wrote some of the lyrics and most of the riffs and solos. In fact he was involved with all of the guitar work. Ozzy camp doesn't really deny this. So what's the issue, you might ask? Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy wife and band manager, didn't really want to give credit to Jake. Giving credit also means comparable financial compensation for one's work. Instead Sharron gave extra $5,000 up-front to Jake and pretty much threatened to fire him had he not accept the new deal! 

Jake had not other choice but to accept it. I mean he was trapped between a rock and a hard place. He had two bad choices and chose to take the money (low-balled money) and stay in the band. The actual money that Jake would've gotten for his work ultimately ended up in Ozzy's pocket. Yeah, that's how that worked out - pretty much of a cut-and-dried situation. 

Latter Years

Ozzy and Jake continued to work on the band's fourth album, Ultimate Sin. We can all say that irony isn't lost in the title. This time Jake actually got some credit. But that was the last album they worked together before Jake getting fired by Sharon. Only thing I can think of is that Jake, deservedly, got some more cash and that probably didn't sit well with Team Ozzy!

My Take 

When you join a band replacing a person that used to be a cornerstone of the group, you're not seen as equal to the person you're replacing in the eyes of everyone else. We saw this with Jason Newsted and Metallica. There was Metallica and then there was Jason - he was not really part of the band as much as the other three were. 

Sharon Osbourne still probably owes Jake around ten million dollars in loyalties, which of course Jake will never get! And that's the business side of music. This kind of remind of Corporate America where everyone is trying to screw everyone else. 

If you want to read more about this, check these out -

• https://www.goldminemag.com/articles/former-ozzy-guitarist-jake-e-lee-clears-up-the-past-and-moves-forward
• https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/jake-e-lee-says-he-found-out-he-was-fired-from-ozzy-osbournes-band-from-his-guitar-tech

Thoughts on All Nightmare Long by Metallica

Word of caution if you haven't heard this song before - if you're epileptic, don't listen. If you're not, you'll be after listening! 

James Hetfield, who also wrote the song, described it has someone having a nightmare (kind of like Entering of the Sandman)  of being hunted by werewolves. Other than that, I don't think there's much actual meaning behind this. But you could read into the music video, and the video is about some Frankenstein-type stuff! Video made no sense, I mean given this song is considered to one of the best of Death Magnetic, they should've done a better job creating a more creative video. In fact, Metallica should've used this song as one of the marquee songs of the album to promote it! Instead, what seems to me is, they did a pretty lazy job with the video. 

That's what went though my head back in 2008 when this came out. I know it's been a while and I haven't really written about this. So why am I writing now? 

Recently I watched Alien, 1979. Need I go any further? Guess what the movie reminded me of? This song perfectly fits into the movie. It's almost as if this song was written based on the movie! 

Alien is one of the greatest movies and you should definitely see it if you haven't. Now word of caution before you watch it - if you're epileptic, don't watch it. If you're not, you'll be afterwards! 

So here's the song analysis from Alien's point of view: 

• Crawl from the wreckage one more time / Horrific memory twists the mind

Crew of Nostromo have visited the derelict and returned back to the spaceship with Facehugger attached to Kane's face! 

• Dark, rutted, cold and hard to turn

Hard to turn could be it was hard to turn down from visiting the derelict. In fact it was Kane who said "we have to keep going" when Lambert said "let's get outta here!"

• Path of destruction feel it burn

Facehugger's blood is so corrosive, it'll burnt though multiple stories of the spaceship

• You hide, you hide but will be found / Release your grip without a sound

Chestburster has grown into its final form as a killing machine and it's ready to hunt you down. 

Lyrics: 

Luck. Runs. Out.

Crawl from the wreckage one more time
Horrific memory twists the mind
Dark, rutted, cold and hard to turn
Path of destruction feel it burn

	Still life... incarnation
	Still life... infamy
	
	Hallucination 
	Heresy
	Still you run, what's to come, what's to be

		'Cause we...
		Hunt you down without mercy
		Hunt you down all nightmare long
		Feel us breathe upon your face
		Feel us shift, every move we trace
		Hunt you down without mercy
		Hunt you down all nightmare long
		
		Luck. Runs. Out.
		You crawl back in, 
		But your luck runs out

Luck. Runs. Out.

The light that is not light is here
To flush you out with your own fear
You hide, you hide but will be found
Release your grip without a sound

	Still life... immolation
	Still life... infamy
	
	Hallucination 
	Heresy
	Still you run, what's to come, what's to be

		'Cause we...
		Hunt you down without mercy
		Hunt you down all nightmare long
		Feel us breathe upon your face
		Feel us shift, every move we trace
		Hunt you down without mercy
		Hunt you down all nightmare long
		
		Luck. Runs. Out.
		You crawl back in, but your luck runs out

Then you crawl back in,
Into your obsession
Never to return
This is your confession

	Hunt you down without mercy
	Hunt you down all nightmare long
	Feel us breathe upon your face
	Feel us shift, every move we trace
	Hunt you down without mercy
	Hunt you down all nightmare long
	
	Luck. Runs. Out.
	
	You crawl back in, but your luck runs out
	Your luck runs out

Update: so-called geniuses have their own interpretation. Check it out - https://genius.com/Metallica-all-nightmare-long-lyrics

Song Meaning, Background: Something From Nothing by Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters recently released their latest album, Sonic Highways. Concept for the creation of this album was quite different to the approach bands usually undertake in producing albums, that is, bands usually go to the a studio, write song, mix the album and produce it. Foo Fighters did all that, and a few more -- they went to a few different cities to study the uniqueness of music that belong to the city.

"Something From Nothing" was recorded in the city of Chicago. If you know anything about American blues, you know that Chicago has deep roots in blues and rock & roll. As Dave Ghrol pointed out in an interview, the major influence for this song was Buddy Guy, the legendary blues musician from Chicago.

Song Meaning, Analysis, Background: The God That Failed by Metallica

If you're a Metallica fan you know that James and Lars are very potent in staying away from divisive themes like politics and religion ( and climate change lol ). When asked James explained their less punk-like songs by stating that he liked to reach out to people's common emotions that went beyond personal pity personal stuff.

"The God That Failed" is an exception to this unwritten rule. James Hetfield comes out swinging saying that the Biblical God is a failure -- and I agree. Well, in fact I disagree, because how can one fail if he doesn't even exit? Nevertheless the most interesting part is the back story to this song because it's about the death of James' mom.

When he was a kid, James was raised as a christian scientist ( I know it's weird... it sounds like oil and water, or a gay republican ).  What that means is that the Hetfield household didn't believe in science or rational reasoning, or what many interpreted science, logic and reasoning to be. That included their ignorance of modern medicine, because papa and mamma Hetfield believed that God would cure them in the event of a disease.

Then there came a time see the validity of this claim --  James' mom was battling cancer. However none of the fiends of family did anything to help her besides praying to the invisible man in the sky that didn't exist. So she died... and James was absolutely pissed. His dad had already the family a few years prior the mom's death so James is now without a parent.

That's how James' life story turned into lyrics in "The God That Failed." The song is not anti-religious in anyway. In fact James still identifies himself has a christian ( he's got a tattoo of God giving him the gift of music ), but surely not a christian scientist.

I also did an analysis of The Unforgiven, which has somewhat of a parallel meaning to this song. You guys can check that out; it's also got a video in which you can see the early days of James growing up with his family.

Song Meaning and Analysis: Summer of 69 by Bryan Adams

Summer of 69 is one of Bryan Adams' signature tunes, and it's one of my favorite rock songs. As for meaning of the song, it's very straightforward - Bryan is looking back on his teenage years and early days of his high school band.

Song Meaning, Background and Analysis: Welcome to Paradise by Green Day

Welcome to Paradise is about Billie Joel Armstrong's memoir his mom after leaving her home for the first time to live own his own. According to Wikipedia (it's a got nice article on this song; you should read it as well) Billie went onto live with his fellow bandmates, as well as a bunch of other slackers.