Ozzy Osbourne

Bark at the Moon

An excellent album

Review Score:

(8/10)
Following the death of guitarist Randy Rhoads, Ozzy found himself in the same situation he was faced with after getting booted from Black Sabbath - Should I quit making music now, or should I find a way to go on? Fortunately for us, the Ozzman chose the latter. He recruited guitarist Jake E. Lee (later of Badlands) to fill Randy's void. In addition, drummer Tommy Aldridge and bassist Rudy Sarzo (who, like Randy, came from Quiet Riot) joined the band. In 1983, one of heavy metal's golden years, Bark At The Moon was recorded. The album gets extremely mixed reviews amongst Ozzy fans. How do I feel the album measures up? Read on and you shall see.

Bark at the Moon - The opener is a good, solid rocker. It's an excellent track, but sadly, it ended up being THE ONLY big hit to emerge from this album.

You're No Different - A slow and gloomy rocker. When it comes to the slow and gloomy, who better to sing than Ozzy? Why this masterpiece never became a hit is beyond me!

Now You See It, Now You Don't - One of the weaker tracks featured on this album, it just sounds weird to me. It's not bad, though.

Rock & Roll Rebel - This one is pretty generic as far as Ozzy rockers go, but for the most part, that's a GOOD thing, since Ozzy's so-called generic rockers put tracks by most musical artists to shaem

Centre of Eternity - One of the album's two masterpieces. This one starts off with bells chiming and a holy chant - but then Lee begins playing faster and heavier than ever before. Combine that with Ozzy's vocals, and you've got a winner!

So Tired - A slow, ultra-melodic ballad. I'm not a big fan of most artists' ballad tracks, but this one actually isn't half bad. It's not for the headbangers, though.

Slow Down - A fast-paced melodic rocker, this one uses the keyboards more than the other tracks do. All in all, another good track.

Waiting for Darkness - The album's OTHER masterpiece. Combine keyboards with Lee's guitar stylings, and throw Ozzy's vocals on top of that, and you've got one hell of a track. This song should've been the hit off of the album, not the title track!

BONUS TRACK (it's a B-Side from one of the album's singles)

Spiders (In The Night): This is a slow-paced, eerie rocker that just plain sounds weird. It's weak by Ozzy's standards - and THAT'S why it was originally a B-Side.

When you buy this album, make damn sure you buy the 1995 remaster, NOT the 2002 "demaster". The original recording has the cover art shrunken down, with a gray border around it, and OZZY written in big letters down the side (see the photo above.) DO NOT BUY THE VERSION THAT HAS THE COVER ART TAKING UP THE WHOLE FRONT OF THE INSERT - THAT'S THE REMIXED VERSION!

I can't believe people dislike this album! I admit, it's not up to the high standards of the Randy Rhoads albums, and there are a few fillers, but it's still Ozzy, and it's still excellent. No Ozzy collection is complete without this - it's a masterpiece that never got the credit it deserved.

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