Yeah, but that's more or less instrumental inspiration, not the vocals.

Dude, what the hell do you mean, he 'wrote' trends? Seriously, explain to me what writing a trend consists of. And no-one is denying Sabbath's influence, they're pointing out that Ozzy had little impact on the songwriting.

Sabbath is/was Iommi, just fucking Iommi. Ozzy just sat around and sometimes sang decently and other times like shit. That goes for his solo stuff as well, since his band are the ones that write everything.

Geezer was a big part too. Considering Ozzy listened to groups like the Beatles, I doubt Iommi's riffs would combine that well with probable lyrics about lollipops and sunshine.

He should bring back Jake E. Lee.

Ozzy was simply tapped as a vocalist. He was never that much of a creative force in Sabbath beyond that.

I doubt Ozzy was the only person who in the band listened to the Beatles, and their lyrics encompass a lot more than 'lollipops and sunshine.' In fact, lollipops didn't play a prominent role in their lyricism at all. Sunshine is more common, however.

I wasn't commenting on their songwriting. Beatles songs tended to be cheery while Sabbath songs rather dreary.

Probably not going to happen. I don't think Lee even gets royalties on Bark at the Moon and The Ultimate Sin.

Wasn't the Ultimate Sin "deleted" from the catalog?

Poor ol' jakey lou

Bringing him back could ultimately be a good decision. It would make marketing the album much easier.

I'm not so sure. Jake E. Lee isn't as well known as Wylde. A lot of people probably wouldn't even know that Lee had played on previous Ozzy albums. Plus, the style of the album would probably be quite a bit different if Lee wrote it (I'm only going on the little bit I've heard of Lee; he might sound like Wylde nowadays for all I know). I wouldn't mind a different style, as the bit of newer Ozzy I've heard hasn't been impressive (but I've never been a fan, anyways). However, many people might be disappointed. Also, the loss of Wylde might not be a great thing in terms of selling points of the album. The people that worship Wylde would probably prefer to have him on the album (unless they're just content with BLS).

Exactly, that's where the marketing comes in. I have no doubt they can generate interest with a) a dramatic re-entrance into the band, and b) they would mention his involvement with those "classic" albums.

Anyway, this is extremely hypothetical. You're probably right in that Lee won't be the new guitarriest.

From what I've heard, Lee has developed a really bluesy style over the years. That could actually be interesting if done right...

As much as I like Zakk as a guitarist; I think Ozzy is right. The last album had a lot of BLS flavor to it and the album before that had some as well. I think it will benefit Ozzy more on the new album if he finds a new guitarist. Whether its John5 or whoever; I think Ozzy's run his course with Zakk. Zakk's been stuck in the same style far too long. The last BLS album was a real disappointment.

You know, the last album also sounded a lot like Rob Zombie in some parts. Should he get rid of Blasko as well?

Yeah, Ozzy says he hates that album, though I think you can still get it as an import and on iTunes. Same thing with Speak of The Devil. The part about Jake not getting royalties...I don't think that's true, but there is/was some legal battle between Ozzy and Phil Soussan over "Shot In The Dark" which I think has to do with Ozzy claiming songwriting credits on it and Soussan disputing that (Ozzy and Soussan are listed as co-writers on that song). My theory is that is, considering that "Shot In The Dark" is probably the most well-known song on Ultimate Sin, that legal battle is probably the reason the Osbournes took that CD out of print. Notice that the other albums that had that song (the live ones) are also out of print and it was removed from the Ozzman Cometh CD.

This made me lol for some reason.

I can't believe there's people who actually still listen to Ozzy Osbourne. It doesn't matter which guitarist he gets, the next album is gonna suck either way. Though he may not write any material, and a new guitarist has potential for improving their overall sound, Ozzy will find a way to fuck it up and make it sound like shit. He always does.

Ozzy's band sounds like BLS, but with Ozzy on vocals. and his performance is crap. even an original Sabbath reunion tour would be a wasted effort, because Ozzy couldn't handle the traveling and performing like Dio and crew can. his next album will suck, but i will always be happy knowing i can listen to Black Sabbath forever.