Tag: Jake E. Lee

My Sunday Song – “Shout It Out” by Red Dragon Cartel

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For My Sunday Song #461, we are talking Jake E. Lee’s Red Dragon Cartel and their song form the debut album, “Shout it Out”. The album came out on January 28, 2014 and debuted at #69 on the Billboard 200. While this song was used to promote the album, it did not chart anywhere. For me, it is one of the coolest and best songs on the album. The band consisted of Jake E. Lee, Darren James “D.J.” Smith, Ronnie Mancuso and Jonas Fairley and what a combination of talent. However, they all didn’t necessarily play on the song…we will get to that.

The song was written by Jake E. Lee and Ronnie Mancuso and it appears to be a call to action. Not for anything good though. It is about excess and fame. Doing whatever it takes to get to the top. Find your inner demon and let it loose. Kick everyone down until the can’t take it anymore. Dominate, win and get all the excesses that come with it. Fame and fortune at all costs.

Musically, it is a heavy song. Almost industrial in nature. Jake’s riff has a really killer groove to it that isn’t played the whole time, but is throughout the song. And like every good guitar song needs is a great solo and he delievers. What I like about it is a little different than his playing in the song. It gives it a new dimension. The chorus is so big, I love the cadence of the vocals by Darren. His deliver is deliberate and so menacing too. There is a gang style vocal to the chorus too that takes it all up a notch. The verses are sang slow and like it is the devil on your shoulder, then he goes so high in the vocals and back to a low evil tone. The drums are pounding, metallic in tone and you can feel every beat. A beast of a track and a song that makes you stop and take notice.

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‘Sex, Drugs, Ratt & Roll: My Life in Rock’ – A Memoir By Stephen Pearcy with Sam Benjamin – Book Review

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I’m a huge Ratt fan as the first series the site ever did was a Ratt one where we reviewed every Ratt album in their discography (and my collection). A big part of that is because I like Stephen Pearcy. So when I was in Los Angeles and saw a book by Stephen Pearcy called ‘Sex, Drugs, Ratt & Roll: My Life in Rock’, I had to grab it. Now, Stephen didn’t write it by himself, he had the help of Sam Benjamin. But the two together crafted a book that was an easy, entertaining read and I like easy. And you will notice down below, the copy I picked up had been signed by Stephen back in 2018 which I didn’t notice until I got back home. Pretty cool!!

The story opens with birth of his daughter and him going to rehab, then quickly jumps back to his childhood. He was a typical kid, parents divorced when he was young so he didn’t now his Dad very well and raised by a single mom. He had to move from L.A. to San Diego when he was young and didn’t fit in with the scene. He found some hippie type friends and got in to drugs and drinking at a young age. He was hit by a car and both legs broken and was in rehab in the hospital for months on end and took a long time to recover.

When he finally discovered music, that became his motivation, his drive, his obsession. He knew he was going to make it and did everything in his power to make it happen. He met David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen early on when that band was getting ready to break and there are some fun stories with that. And with a book called Sex, Drugs, Ratt & Roll, you get all of that and then some. Most of the book is about his sex addiction and his drug addiction and after awhile that does get old because how many times can you talk about getting trim and not just sound like it is on repeat. He gets a lot and constantly. Stephen is a giant man-child who can’t commit to anything or anyone except the addictions, but his drive to be a rock star was insane.

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Ratt – Ratt E.P. – Album Review

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Back in 1976, there lived a band fronted by Stephen Pearcy called Mickey Ratt.  With limited success and numerous line-up changes over the years, including the great Jake E. Lee on guitar, the band eventually found the line-up that would work.  By 1982, that line-up be complete.

In 1981, one of the most crucial pieces was another songwriter to work with Stephen.  That role was filled by the late Robin Crosby on guitar. Also in 1981, a young guitar great, by the name of Warren DeMartini, joined the band courtesy of Jake E. Lee’s recommendation.  He would leave as he was in college and was afraid to quit school for a band with only moderate success.  He returned in 1982.  Finally, the band would add Bobby Blotzer on drums (ex Vic Vergeat) and Juan Crucier (formerly with Dokken) on bass and the band was complete.

Everything was in place and the band finally got a record deal in July 1983 with an independent label called Time Coast Music.  The band released their first E.P. as Ratt and it was simply called Ratt.  The E.P. included 6 tracks; however, the European release would give you 7 tracks which was an early version of “You’re In Trouble” that was later released on ‘Out of the Cellar’.  My version on vinyl is the U.S. release.  My version is also a re-release that was done in 1984 after the success of ‘Out of the Cellar’ which included a picture of the band with their more current look and was released by Atlantic Records.

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“My First Time” with Ozzy Osbourne’s ‘The Ultimate Sin”

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It is hard to believe this is the 10th “My First Time” selection.  That means there only two more to go in the series before I call it quits.  My intention was one a month for a full year.  For the 10th selection, I have chosen the album that was ‘My First Time’ with Ozzy Osbourne.  That album was ‘The Ultimate Sin’.  It took up to his fourth solo release before I actually bought anything Ozzy Osbourne.

The album came out on February 22, 1986 and at the time was Ozzy’s most successful album.  It would go on to sell over 2 million copies and cemented me as a fan.  I had never been into Ozzy’s music prior (with the exception of “Crazy Train”), but there was something about this album I liked.  It felt more accessible to me.  The tunes were more melodic and not as hard as I imagined an Ozzy album to be.  It helped that the first single “Shot in the Dark” received massive airplay on MTV.

Ozzy is always known for having outstanding musicians on an album and this one was no different.  The guitarist at the time was none other than Jake E. Lee.  This would end up being his last album with Ozzy.  He would do some solo stuff and founded Badlands, but he would then disappear for years until his recent return with Red Dragon Cartel.  Most of the music on the album was written by Jake, but since he had been screwed out of writing credits on previous albums, he wouldn’t contribute anything else until he was assured credit.  Once a contract was in place, BOOM, we have a new Ozzy album.

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