Cover: 8 Werewolves out of 10
Ozzy usually has album covers featuring himself, and Bark At The Moon is no exception. This time he's decked out as a werewolf, complete with fangs, claws, a furry mane and a fuzzy ass. He's climbing up a tree or something and there's a full moon in the background, with Ozzy leering in true lunatic fashion.

Booklet: 4 Lycanthropes out of 10
I'm trying to take into account several factors. First, this album is almost 2 decades old. Second, compact discs didn't really start to take off with the masses until the later 80s. In the early part of the decade, the record companies didn't seem to put too much effort into CD booklets. Add to that, this CD has been issued and re-issued many different times, with slightly different packaging in every instance. Lastly, the booklets differ in issues for the USA, Europe, and Japan. So if you're hunting through a used CD bin, it's a crapshoot as to which version you'll end up with. Therefore, I'm basing the 4 out of 10 rating on the booklet I have to look at. The back cover is another photo of Ozzy in his werewolf suit. Inside, there's a real basic presentation of credits, track listing, lyrics, and a black-and-white photo of Ozzy's studio band for this album. Pretty simple as far as booklets go.

Songs: 8 Theriomorphs out of 10
This is by no means the best record Ozzy's ever made, and a lot of people seem to pass it off as his worst, but I dig it. In 1983, Ozzy was in a tough spot to follow up his previous studio masterpiece, the classic Diary of a Madman album. After the tragic passing of Randy Rhoads, the Ozzman had to find someone to fill the late virtuoso's shoes. No easy act to follow, but the torch was passed to former almost-Rough Cutt, almost-Ratt, and almost-Dio guitarist Jake E. Lee. Although relatively unknown, he stepped up to the plate and took Rhoads' place as lead guitarist and songwriting partner of Ozzy. Even though the rhythm section of Bob Daisley/Tommy Aldridge remained intact, Lee's addition results is a different chemistry, different vibe, and different sound than what was heard on the previous Ozzy CDs. A bid saddening to Rhoads afficiondos, but never fear - some of these songs rock indeed! The title track and "Rock 'N Roll Rebel" are killer examples of the Ozzy/Lee songwriting partnership. Naturally, Ozzy has his obligatory semi-ballad, this time in the form of the Pat Boone-sounding "So Tired." There is also a very noticable amount of Don Airey's keyboards used throughout the compositions, especially on tracks like "Centre of Eternity" and "You're No Different." "Waiting for Darkness," perhaps my favorite song on this disc, is an intriguing combination of orchestrated keyboards and Lee's technical prowess on the fretboard. It makes me want to eat a bat! Please note that, as with the 'booklet' rating above, there are several different issues of this CD with different tracking. For instance, the song called "Centre of Eternity" on the US release is called "Forever" on some overseas releases. Likewise, there may or may not be a lousy song called "Slow Down" and/or "Spiders." The next re-issue is purported to contain "One Up the B-Side," which was the B-Side for the "Bark at the Moon" single in the UK but previously unavailable in the US.

Comments: Bark at the Moon may not hold up as well with young teenagers today as it did 20 years ago, but the cover will still scare their grandparents! A must-have for any true Ozzy fan.