The Ultimate Sin

The Ultimate Sin
Studio album by Ozzy Osbourne
Released	February 22, 1986 & August 22, 1995 (re-issue)
Recorded	1985
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	40:59
Label	Epic CBS Associated (US)
Producer	Ron Nevison
Ozzy Osbourne chronology
Bark at the Moon (1983) The Ultimate Sin (1986) No Rest for the Wicked (1988)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Rolling Stone	(favorable)[2]

The Ultimate Sin is the fourth studio album by Ozzy Osbourne. It was released on 22 February 1986, and it was remastered and re-issued on 22 August 1995. This album features guitarist Jake E. Lee (formerly of Mickey Ratt, Rough Cutt and Dio). This is the only Osbourne album to feature bassist Phil Soussan - who wrote the album's U.S. hit single "Shot in the Dark" - and the first to feature the late drummer, Randy Castillo. Lyrics were largely written by long-time Osbourne bass player Bob Daisley, who was also present during the initial writing sessions. Daisley left after having a disagreement with Osbourne, which led to the hiring of Soussan. He was also not credited as a co-writer on the initial 1986 pressing of the album. This was corrected on subsequent pressings. Drummer Jimmy DeGrasso worked with Lee and Daisley on demos for the album, but the band fell apart when Ozzy did the Black Sabbath Live Aid reunion in 1985, so Randy Castillo and Phil Soussan replaced DeGrasso and Daisley.^[3]

The original title for this album was Killer of Giants^{[citation needed]} (after the song of the same name) but Osbourne opted to change the title at the last minute, thus Killer of Giants became The Ultimate Sin.

The Ultimate Sin was passed over when most of Osbourne's other pre-2001 releases were re-issued in 2002.

At the time of it release, The Ultimate Sin was Osbourne's highest charting studio album. The RIAA awarded the album Platinum status on 14 May 1986, soon after its release; it was awarded Double Platinum status on 26 October 1994.^[4] The album sold over 2,000,000 copies worldwide. In the UK, it was the final of four Osbourne albums to attain Silver certification (60,000 units sold) by the British Phonographic Industry, achieving this in April 1986.

Controversy

The album has since been deleted from Osbourne's catalogue and was not reissued, remastered (and in some cases re-recorded) along with the rest of Osbourne's albums (same for Just Say Ozzy and Live & Loud). There was a rumour that this was mainly due to a continuing legal struggle with bassist/songwriter, Phil Soussan over the song "Shot in the Dark", however this is unfounded as the only legal process between them was over an accounting issue that was resolved in the early '90s. It is not known why the mini-EP, Just Say Ozzy and the double-disc Live & Loud were also not re-released in 2002. The only available versions of these albums are the 1995 remasters. The original version of the album is still freely available in Australia as a budget-priced CD.^[5]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Ultimate Sin"	Ozzy Osbourne, Jake E. Lee, Bob Daisley	3:45
2.	"Secret Loser"	Osbourne, Lee, Daisley	4:08
3.	"Never Know Why"	Osbourne, Lee, Daisley	4:27
4.	"Thank God for the Bomb"	Osbourne, Lee, Daisley	3:53
5.	"Never"	Osbourne, Lee, Daisley	4:17
6.	"Lightning Strikes"	Osbourne, Lee, Daisley	5:16
7.	"Killer of Giants"	Osbourne, Lee, Daisley	5:41
8.	"Fool Like You"	Osbourne, Lee, Daisley	5:18
9.	"Shot in the Dark"	Osbourne, Phil Soussan	4:16
Total length:			40:59

• On the original LP, side one consisted of tracks 1-5, and side two of tracks 6-9.

Personnel

• Ozzy Osbourne - vocals^[6]
• Jake E. Lee - guitar^[6]
• Phil Soussan - bass^[6]
• Randy Castillo - drums^[6]

Additional performers

• Mike Moran - keyboards^{[citation needed]}

Production

• Produced and engineered by Ron Nevison^[6]
• Additional engineers - Martin White, Richard Moakes^[6]
• Remastered by Brian Lee with Bob Ludwig (1995 reissue)^[6]

Charts

Album Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Peak position
1986	The Billboard 200[7]	6

Singles Billboard (North America)

Year	Single	Chart	Peak position
1986	"Shot In The Dark"	Hot 100[8]	68
		Mainstream Rock Tracks[8]	4

Sales accomplishments

RIAA certification[3] (United States) Date Designation Total Sales April 14, 1986 Gold 500,000 April 14, 1986 Platinum 1,000,000 October 26, 1994 Double Platinum 2,000,000

BPI certification (United Kingdom) Date Designation Total Sales April 9, 1986 Silver[9] 60,000

CRIA certification[10] (Canada) Date Designation Total Sales April 30, 1986 Gold 50,000 June 27, 1986 Platinum 100,000

References

1. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r14648
2. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
3. ^ ^{a b} "Metal-Rules.com interview with Jimmy DeGrasso". http://www.metal-rules.com/zine/content/view/1852/1/. Retrieved June 8, 2011. 
4. ^ "RIAA Gold & Platinum database". http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=ultimate%20sin&artist=ozzy%20osbourne&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25. Retrieved February 15, 2009. 
5. ^ "Ultimate Sin, The | Music , Music Genres, Hard Rock/Heavy Metal : JB HI-FI". Jbhifionline.com.au. http://www.jbhifionline.com.au/music/hard-rock-heavy-metal/ultimate-sin-the/195041. Retrieved 2011-08-13. 
6. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} The Ultimate Sin (1995 CD) credits. Epic Records. 1995. pp. 10. 
7. ^ "Album info The Ultimate Sin". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. http://www.billboard.com/#/album/ozzy-osbourne/the-ultimate-sin/12899. Retrieved 19 August 2009. 
8. ^ ^{a b} "Song information "Shot in the Dark"". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. http://www.billboard.com/#/song/ozzy-osbourne/shot-in-the-dark/1246390. Retrieved 19 August 2009. 
9. ^ "BPI certified awards". http://www.bpi.co.uk/platinum/platinumright.asp?rq=search_plat&r_id=27468. Retrieved February 15, 2009. ^{[dead link]}
10. ^ "CRIA certified awards". http://www.cria.ca/cert_db_search.php?page=1&wclause=WHERE+artist_name+like+%27%25ozzy+osbourne%25%27+ORDER+BY+cert_date%2C+cert_award+&rcnt=22&csearch=20&nextprev=1. Retrieved February 12, 2009. 

External links

• Official Ozzy Osbourne website