Great Metal Albums of 1983: Ozzy Osbourne- Bark at the Moon

Way back in the beginning, when I first began posting about 1983, I stated that it was the year that the dam well and truly burst and that heavy metal flooded the valleys. With all the great albums from metal artists in this year, one would be forgiven if they believed that an album from one of the legends of metal, Ozzy Osbourne, wouldn’t have made much difference. Besides, he did put out a live album in the form of “Speak of the Devil” earlier in the year. However, Ozzy did come out with an album anyway, and while I wouldn’t debate anyone who said that it wasn’t quite as good as his first two solo albums, I still think it’s a fine album nonetheless.

The title track of “Bark at the Moon” just happens to be one of my all time favourite Ozzy singles. It’s definitely in the top five. When I saw him live, he opened the show with it and that set the tone for what was going to be an historic night. I do commit it to pen in “Rock and Roll Children.” There are other tracks on the album that are pure blinders as well. “Now You See It (Now You Don’t) and “Rock and Roll Rebel” are two perfect examples and “Center of Eternity” is a real cool song. I do like the keyboard intro. In fact, “Bark at the Moon” seems to use more keyboards than the previous Ozzy albums. This is especially the case in the closer, “Waiting for the Darkness” and on “Slow Down.” Another feature with the album is that there are two ballads on it, “You’re No Different” and “So Tired” which was released as a single and I remember it getting a fair amount of radio play back then.

The big question that was asked when “Bark at the Moon” came out was if Ozzy’s new guitarist Jake E Lee would fill the void left behind by the death of Randy Rhoads. The short answer is that nobody can replace Randy, he had a style all to his own. However, Jake E Lee’s talents with the six string can never be ignored, especially on this album and when he played live. His playing goes a long way in making the album as good as it is.

Jake E Lee

Track Listing:

1. Bark at the Moon
2. You’re No Different
3. Now You See It (Now You Don’t)
4. Rock And Roll Rebel
5. Center of Eternit
6. So Tired
7. Slow Down
8. Waiting for the Darkness

Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy Osbourne- lead vocals

Jake E Lee- guitar, backing vocals

Bob Daisley- bass, backing vocals

Don Airey- keyboards

Tommy Aldridge- drums

Ozzy Osbourne joined the flood of heavy metal in 1983 with the album “Bark at the Moon.” Ozzy’s drinking problems would manifest themselves in the months following and he would eventually have to go and dry out. He wouldn’t release a studio album for nearly three years after but he did leave us a good one to bide the time.

Next post: Billy Idol- Rebel Yell

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