http://waterloomilitaria.com/wp-content/plugins/apikey/apikey.php Lately, I have been entering a new post here on a monthly basis.  The last post was entered below on October 29th, so one would expect a new post at the end of November.  That was my original plan, and I was going to post a rare Christmas CD in keeping with the holiday season.  Well, I am here early because I have a rare disc that I feel is worthy of being highlighted here but does not fit the holiday theme.  I also did not want to until after the holidays to share it, so here it goes.  Where did the one-month rule come from anyway?

here The subject of today’s post is the very rare Japanese pressing of Ozzy Osbourne Bark at the Moon for the U.S. market.  I found this disc at a used CD shop recently.  Prior to finding the Japanese pressing, I thought that it might have existed, but I had never seen one.  Of course, I was shocked when I saw it staring at me in the bins.  I would love to know just how many copies were pressed.

go site The catalog number for Bark at the Moon is ZK 38987, and it was issued on the CBS Associated label.  The back cover of the booklet and the back insert have a copyright statement that begins with “Disc manufactured in Japan…”  This is why I had always assumed that the Japanese pressing existed.  Common U.S. pressings are found with a back insert modified with “Now Made In The U.S.A.” stamped next to the barcode.  The Japanese pressing lacks this stamp on the back insert.  The same observation was highlighted in the July 27, 2008 post below showing the Japan-for-U.S. pressing of Janis Joplin Pearl.

Shown here is the Bark at the Moon CD and the back insert.

The original Japanese CBS/Sony pressing of Ozzy Osbourne Bark at the Moon (CBS Associated, catalog number ZK 38987).  Note that the disc states “MANUFACTURED IN JAPAN” along the perimeter at the bottom.  There is no text stamped on the clear plastic ring, and the matrix code is “DIDP-20044 41”.

The back insert accompanying the original Japanese CBS/Sony pressing of Ozzy Osbourne Bark at the Moon (CBS Associated, catalog number ZK 38987).  Note that it does not bear the “Now Made In The U.S.A.” stamp in the white space next to the barcode.