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Episode 368 – Ozzy Osbourne – Bark at the Moon

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From Discogs:

Originally released on the 15th of November 1983 by CBS Associated Records in the USA with red perigram on logo and title and original tracklist.

In Europe (specifically in UK) it was released on the 2nd of December by Epic Records with blue perigram on logo and title, often alongside with different tracklists like including “Spiders”

The album marks Ozzy’s change to a synth infused pop-metal sound, with both its “sonic production, and in Ozzy’s imaging.

This is Osbourne’s first album to feature guitarist Jake E. Lee and only studio album to feature drummer Tommy Aldridge.

Bark at the Moon is the only Ozzy Osbourne album on which the songwriting is credited entirely to Osbourne. However, guitarist Jake E. Lee maintains that he composed a significant amount of the album’s music but was cheated out of his writing and publishing claims by Osbourne’s wife and manager, Sharon. Lee claims that after he had composed the songs and completed recording his parts in the studio, he was presented with a contract which stated that he would have no claim to any writing or publishing relating to the album. The contract also stated that Lee could not mention this publicly. Lee claims he signed the contract because he had no legal representation and because Sharon threatened to fire him and have another guitarist re-record his parts if he refused.

Osbourne himself admitted several years later in the liner notes to The Ozzman Cometh that Lee had been involved in the album’s writing to at least some degree, stating that the album’s title track was in fact co-written by the guitarist. Osbourne’s bassist at the time, Bob Daisley, has mirrored Lee’s account of the album’s production, stating that he co-wrote most of the music with Lee and wrote the vast majority of the lyrics. Daisley has stated that he accepted a buyout from Osbourne in exchange for a writing credit. Osbourne’s former drummer Lee Kerslake, who also played with Daisley in Uriah Heep after leaving Osbourne’s band, stated that Daisley had been hired by Sharon Osbourne to write the Bark at the Moon album for “$50–60,000 or whatever it is. He was offered the chance to write with Ozzy. Words, music – write the album.

Shortly after Bark at the Moon’s 1983 release, a Canadian man named James Jollimore murdered a woman and her two children after allegedly listening to the album. The media and Christian groups began to infer that the music was Satanic and had influenced Jollimore to commit the act. The timing was particularly inopportune for Osbourne, who was, at the time, facing allegations that his song “Suicide Solution” had influenced a fan to commit suicide (despite the song not being about actual suicide, it is instead about AC/DC’s lead singer drinking himself to death).

In 2002 it was re-issued again, although this version was actually a new remix of the album. This 2002 remixed version of the album was met with mixed reaction; many elements found in the original mix are not present in the remix, namely several lead guitar parts. In addition, the song “You’re No Different” has an alternate ending (with the fade-out removed) and “Centre of Eternity” has an altered intro segment. This edition also included the bonus tracks “Spiders” and “One Up the ‘B’ Side”, originally the B-side of the “Bark at the Moon” single.

Some EU pressings identified the track “Centre of Eternity” as “Forever”, on tours for the album, Osbourne referred to it as “Forever”

“Spiders in the Night” was originally only included on the European, Australian, New Zealand and Greek releases, but was included on the 1995 CD reissue and the 2002 reissue, listed simply as “Spiders”

Within several weeks of its release it was certified gold for over 500,000 sales in the US, today it has sold over 3,000,000 copies in the US.

In the UK, it was the third of four Osbourne albums to attain silver certification (60,000 units sold) by the British Phonographic Industry, achieving this in January 1984.

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Additional Musicians:

Technical:

Album Art & Booklet Review

  • Design, Artwork – Steve Joule
  • Photography By – Fin Costello
  • Photography By – Tony Harrison (6)
    • Also credited with working on Diary of a Madman
  • Producer [Production By] – Denise Richardson
    • Visual design work for artists including set design. May have worked with designing the set for the cover photo.
  • Producer [Production By] – Roger Thorpe
    • Only credit on Discogs.

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Album Tracks:

Side One:

  1. Bark at the Moon
  2. You’re No Different
  3. Now You See It (Now You Don’t)
  4. Rock ‘n’ Roll Rebel

Side Two:

  1. Centre of Eternity
  2. So Tired
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYomVbcJKhI
  3. Slow Down
  4. Waiting For Darkness

European Release featured two additional tracks:

“Spiders” and “Forever” which replaced “Slow Down” and “Centre of Eternity.”

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Bustin’ Out The Spreadsheet

Reception and Charts:

  • Released on November 14, 1983 in the US and December 2, 1983 in the UK.

Reviews

Brendan Ashbrook – Logo Designer

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