Bark at the Moon is the third studio album by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, released on 18 November 1983 in the US[5] and on 2 December 1983 in the UK.[6] The album marks Ozzy's change to a synth infused pop-metal sound, with both its "sonic production, and in Ozzy's imaging".[7]
A commercial success, Bark at the Moon peaked at number 19 on the Billboard album chart[8] and within several weeks of release was certified gold for over 500,000 sales in the United States.[9] To date, it has sold over 3,000,000 copies in the United States.[9] 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.[10] The album was remastered on CD in 1995 and again (with a different mix) in 2002. This is Osbourne's first album to feature guitarist Jake E. Lee and only studio album to feature drummer Tommy Aldridge.[11]
Overview
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.[12] 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.[12]
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.[13] 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.[14] 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."[15]
Some European pressings identified the track "Centre of Eternity" as "Forever". On tours for the album, Osbourne referred to it as "Forever". This can be heard on bootleg recordings of tours promoting the album. The title track was released as the album's first single with an accompanying music video, the first Osbourne had made. In the early 1980s infancy of the music video medium, the video was highly anticipated due to his outrageous image. The decision to release the ballad "So Tired" as the album's second single was unpopular with many longtime fans. The track "Spiders in the Night" was originally included only 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."
Composed by Daisley, the lyrics to the song "Now You See It (Now You Don't)" were a pointed rebuke aimed at Osbourne's wife and manager Sharon, who had fired him from the band in 1981.[16] Daisley stated many years later that he was surprised the Osbourne camp allowed the lyrics on 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.[17]
Bark at the Moon is Osbourne's third solo album after parting ways with Black Sabbath in 1979, and his only studio album to feature drummer Tommy Aldridge, who was a fixture of his live band in the early 1980s. Aldridge departed after the recording of the album and was briefly replaced by Carmine Appice, but returned mid-tour after Appice was removed by the Osbournes.[16] When asked why Aldridge was brought back, Osbourne told Hit Parader magazine in early 1984 "For health reasons. He [Appice] was making me sick." Nonetheless, Appice did appear in the popular music video for the "Bark at the Moon" single.
2002 Remixed edition
Bark at the Moon was re-issued again in 2002, although this release featured alternate mixes of many of the songs.
Track listing
All lyrics and music credited to Ozzy Osbourne (except as noted)[†]
^ † All writing was officially credited to Osbourne. However, Jake E. Lee has claimed that he and Bob Daisley wrote material for the album but were cheated out of writing credits by Ozzy's manager/wife, Sharon Osbourne. Ozzy later admitted that they were involved in the songwriting "to some extent" but stated they were co-written with him.[12]
Mixed by Tony Bongiovi at The Power Station, New York City (except "Slow Down" and "Waiting for Darkness", mixed by Malcolm Pollack at The Power Station)
^Southall, Brian (11 November 2009). "Ozzy Osbourne". Pop Goes to Court: Rock 'N' Pop's Greatest Court Battles. London, UK: Omnibus Press. ISBN9780857120366. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
^Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN978-951-1-21053-5.
