# 40 of the Worst album Covers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [May 16, 2023, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-of-the-worst-album-covers/984125 "2023-05-16T13:23:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-of-the-worst-album-covers/984125/21 "2023-05-16T18:40:22Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Yeah, the Knorkator cover too is intentionally bad. They’re a veteran German metal parody band. - [![](https://i.scdn.co/image/ab67616d0000b2734796993fb11c28d9826b0a1f) ](https://i.scdn.co/image/ab67616d0000b2734796993fb11c28d9826b0a1f) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-of-the-worst-album-covers/984125/22 "2023-05-16T18:53:55Z")
Looking at the first ten or so again, at least two of them are parodies - the Uranus one (which exists with a couple of titles), and “Mary Hinge” (aka Hairy Minge), whose only AllMusic entry is for a Caravan album that also has a spoonerism for a title. I’m sure there are more. ETA the Reverend Al one for sure. ETA2 Boy’s Town Gang, on the other hand, phew…how did they pick just one? [boys town gang music - Google Search](https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=APwXEdeZ_NSltUqPYlWHwW4OdvdZy3e3zA:1684263389463&q=boys+town+gang+music&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi0xaWIwvr-AhWmMVkFHQTpBY0Q0pQJegQICRAB&biw=1490&bih=743&dpr=1.25) ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-of-the-worst-album-covers/984125/23 "2023-05-16T19:02:10Z")
That’s a mild understatement! You can buy that “music” on Amazon. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-of-the-worst-album-covers/984125/24 "2023-05-16T19:02:12Z")
Their version of Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You actually ain’t all that bad. I may even say good, at least on a half-listen. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-of-the-worst-album-covers/984125/25 "2023-05-16T21:54:21Z")
I seem to be the only person on the Internets promoting Root Boy Slim and the Sex Change Band, whatever the discussion is. [[Album] Imgur: The magic of the Internet ![](https://i.imgur.com/pE0Vzp8.jpeg?fb "Imgur: The magic of the Internet") ](https://imgur.com/a/HmJZWbi) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-of-the-worst-album-covers/984125/26 "2023-05-16T22:16:23Z")
There are tons of these lists out there. Ca. 1990, I dated a man who owned a used record store, and EVERY.SINGLE.TIME someone purchased Prince’s “Lovesexy”, they would cringe and say, “…the cover…” [https://www.merchbar.com/pop/prince/prince-lovesexy-vinyl-record](https://www.merchbar.com/pop/prince/prince-lovesexy-vinyl-record) One of my favorite YouTubers is “Classic Album Review” and his favorite bad album cover is “Love Beach” by the Bee Gees. > **[How Emerson Lake and Palmer Found Themselves on 'Love Beach'](https://ultimateclassicrock.com/emerson-lake-palmer-love-beach/)** > > Emerson Lake and Palmer released the critically derided 'Love Beach' on Nov. 18, 1978. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-of-the-worst-album-covers/984125/27 "2023-05-16T22:34:46Z")
Perfect ad copy for waxing. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-of-the-worst-album-covers/984125/28 "2023-05-16T22:35:37Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I think someone must have just done a Google image search on “Bad album covers” I think even beyond that, they searched **albums of bad covers** instead of bad album covers. How else to explain the Nimoy and Wing ones? The album covers seem fine, just portraits of the singer. Boring and uninspired, but they aren’t even dressed silly or wearing bad makeup to deserve a place on this list. The Party Cannon cover is excellent. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2023, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-of-the-worst-album-covers/984125/29 "2023-05-17T00:36:45Z")
I love the original lineup of Black Sabbath, but the artwork for many (most?) of their album covers was really bad, IMO. One example is [Sabotage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabotage_(Black_Sabbath_album)#/media/File:Black_Sabbath_Sabotage.jpg), with Bill Ward wearing his wife’s yoga pants. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2023, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-of-the-worst-album-covers/984125/30 "2023-05-17T01:38:15Z")
That is your example from Black Sabbath? Yoga pants \>\>\> the album cover below. But I mostly agree. Great albums, shit artwork. I do like their eponymous album cover, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath as well as the cartoony Master of Reality (that album is monumental in my young life so it gets undeserved elevation plus I’m a big stoner rock fan and that is the bedrock of all) [![](https://i.discogs.com/kdTVHGq9XAgbBq-2NAeu1I0sfoO8M8P9oFX_QZlX7FM/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:600/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTI2Mzc5/MzMtMTI5NDQ0NTY0/NS5qcGVn.jpeg) ](https://i.discogs.com/kdTVHGq9XAgbBq-2NAeu1I0sfoO8M8P9oFX_QZlX7FM/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:600/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTI2Mzc5/MzMtMTI5NDQ0NTY0/NS5qcGVn.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2023, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-of-the-worst-album-covers/984125/31 "2023-05-17T16:22:52Z")
I’ve always loved the cover (an music!) of Vol4 [![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/610fl-jTVyL._SY355_.jpg) ](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/610fl-jTVyL._SY355_.jpg) Shit artwork or not, they did find interesting fonts. ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2023, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-of-the-worst-album-covers/984125/32 "2023-05-17T22:25:34Z")
Google ‘Big Black ‘Headache’ original cover’ and you will have your answer. Warning: not for the squeamish. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2023, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-of-the-worst-album-covers/984125/33 "2023-05-17T22:35:44Z")
Submitted for your [dis]approval: [Toe Fat Two](https://jamesostafford.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/23-toe-fat-toefat-2.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2023, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-of-the-worst-album-covers/984125/34 "2023-05-17T22:42:33Z")
“We Can’t Be Stopped” by the Geto Boys isn’t for the squeamish, either, and that’s why I’m not going to post a link. All I remember about it was that when Rolling Stone reviewed it, they said that it was an automatic shoo-in for “Worst Album Cover” when they did their annual viewer’s poll. The guy who was shot has since died - in 2019, from pancreatic cancer. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2023, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-of-the-worst-album-covers/984125/35 "2023-05-17T22:47:54Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Shit artwork or not, they did find interesting fonts. It’s actually a font called “VolumeFour”. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-of-the-worst-album-covers/984125/36 "2023-05-18T05:36:42Z")
The one with Leonard Nimoy gives me bad vibes. Must have been shot a couple of years after he finished _Mission:Impossible_, he’s getting typecast thanks to Trek, he’s stressed out from suing Paramount because they are using Spock’s likeness to sell everything from cheap toys to overpriced beer, and he himself has been hitting the sauce a little too hard lately. “Potatoe”. It just doubles the cringe. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-of-the-worst-album-covers/984125/37 "2023-05-18T13:46:25Z")
Carcass - Heartwork Great album, stupid album cover. Only gets noted because it’s an HR Giger sculpture but even then it’s not one his best works. It looks like something a not very gifted high school art student would create. [![](https://www.metalmusicarchives.com/images/covers/carcass-heartwork-20160917101653.jpg) ](https://www.metalmusicarchives.com/images/covers/carcass-heartwork-20160917101653.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-of-the-worst-album-covers/984125/38 "2023-05-18T13:53:43Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > I do like their eponymous album cover, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath as well as the cartoony Master of Reality I don’t actually mind Paranoid, either, considering that the band thought it was a pretty random cover. It does look like an artist’s concept of what a paranoid person would do or see, even though the composition of the picture itself seems amateurish. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-of-the-worst-album-covers/984125/39 "2023-05-18T13:57:32Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > It does look like an artist’s concept of what a paranoid person would do or see, even though the composition of the picture itself seems amateurish. Tony Iommi’s explanation: “The album cover on _Paranoid_ has nothing to do with [the song] ‘Paranoid.’ It was going to be called _War Pigs_, so we had a bloke with the shield and a [sword], which remotely made sense — more so than _Paranoid_,” he explained. “But they banned that, you couldn’t use [_War Pigs_] as a title in them days. …It was so awkward for us to move forward with things.” ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-of-the-worst-album-covers/984125/40 "2023-05-18T14:05:06Z")
I’ve never heard/read that story before. Odd that an album titled War Pigs had to be renamed. Very interesting…thanks for sharing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-of-the-worst-album-covers/984125.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-of-the-worst-album-covers/984125.md?page=3)