Number 6
Jake E. Lee
If you are not familiar with Jake E. Lee and his body of work, then shame on you. Although, in all fairness, it is somewhat understandable.
You see, Jake had the very unenviable task of being the guitarist to follow Randy Rhodes and precede Zakk Wylde in Ozzy Osbourne’s solo band. Jake also had the great dishonor of being in what I consider the most underrated band of the 1980s: Badlands.
When asked why Jake left the band, Ozzy said that “they were done writing mediocre songs”. In fairness to Jake, Ozzy has really, really high expectations for his guitarists! After all, his first guitarist was number 4 on this list, and his first solo guitarist is number 2. But, in even more fairness to Jake, some of the songs that he wrote while working for Ozzy are absolute classics and bangers. Like Randy Rhodes before him, Jake only got to make two albums with The Prince of Darkness, but Bark At The Moon (which helped guide the tone of 80s metal) and Ultimate Sin are incredible albums by anyone not spoiled by great guitarists standards. In Ozzy’s defense he was going through a really difficult period in his life with very excessive coke and pepsi abuse.
So, while Jake’s guitar wizardry shows through on Ozzy’s songs, it was with Badlands that he really, really let his talent show. Just like with Ozzy, Jake only made two albums with Badlands before the lead singer died of AIDS and Jake moved on. But, oh, boy, were those two absolutely incredible albums. So, Badlands…here we go…
Besides Jake, Badlands also had THE absolute best overlooked voice in all of music, in my humble opinion: Ray Gillen.
Ray was what you would get if Steve Perry had a baby with Sammy Hagar. His voice was pure power and could go from a raspy whisper to a scream so amazing that it would blow your roof off. And that is the kind of voice it took to hang with Jake on these two albums.
By the time Ultimate Sin was completed, Jake said he was really very much over the “heavy metal thing”. His heart was into a fusion of blues, rock, metal, and jazz. Just…everything. And Jake has the chops to pull it off. And he did so on Badland’s two albums: Badlands and Voodoo Highway.
These two albums are the best of Jake’s work and I’d hold them up against nearly any album that came out between 1983 and 1996. It blows the stuff he did with Ozzy straight out of the whiskey bottle, and, remember, Ozzy is my absolute favorite singer.
With Badlands Jake showed his speed, his dexterity, his mastery of tone and texture. His writing was just as good writing something softer or heavier. Check out the solo for Rumbling Train, which was two sections put together where Jake was just winging it. I mean…really!?
There is nothing Jake E. Lee cannot do on a guitar. Fast, slow, loud, soft, heart touching, soul healing, or face melting. He’s on 4 of the best albums of the 1980s and for that, he’s on my list.