# Albums with gimmick packaging **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 14, 2007, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968 "2007-12-14T05:44:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968/41 "2007-12-14T15:28:15Z")
Clint Black had a release called _Nothin but the tail lights_ that featured LED tail lights that flashed. > **[News, Politics, Sports, Mail & Latest Headlines](https://www.aol.com/)** > > Discover the latest breaking news in the U.S. and around the world — politics, weather, entertainment, lifestyle, finance, sports and much more. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968/42 "2007-12-14T15:36:13Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck] A die cut cover showing the tie and handkerchief. When you pulled out the inner sleeve, it’s revealed the items are being worn by a man being hanged. [/QUOTE] There was an additional gimmick, on the record. It had 3 sides instead of the usual 2. ---
**Author:** ![RumMunkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@RumMunkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RumMunkey)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968/43 "2007-12-14T15:53:42Z")
[QUOTE=Kuboydal] May I add that the White Album was so named because it had nothing at all printed on it? [/QUOTE] You may, but that wouldn’t be entirely accurate. The first pressing had a fictional "[limited edition number](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles_(album)#Sleeve) ". The artistic statement being that anything can be a “limited edition”, because everything has a finite end at _some_ point, and is thus, limited. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968/44 "2007-12-14T16:04:27Z")
**Danzig** had an album where if you kept unfolding the insert, it would form an upside down cross. **The Donnas** had a velvet covered sleeve over their \*Gold Medal \* album. They should have spent more time on the music. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968/45 "2007-12-14T16:04:33Z")
The packaging for Tool’s CD [10,000 Days](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10%2C000_Days#Artwork) has a thick cardboard outer sleeve with a flap that has stereoscopic lenses built into it; you flip the flap up, peer through the lenses, and look at artwork packaged inside to get a 3-D feel from the images. The Wiki article says that the guitarist (who’s also their art director) got a Grammy for the packaging. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968/46 "2007-12-14T16:06:15Z")
**The Who Live at Leeds** was in a record-sized document folder (like one used for papers). The record was on one side, and various reproductions of documents and photos were on the left (for example, the group’s contract at Woodstock, tour schedules, a poster, etc.) The Rolling Stones **Her Satanic Majesty’s Request** originally had one of those “moving image” 3-D plastic pictures that change as you look at it from different angles. You could see the members of the group moving and could spot the Beatles hidden in the bushes if you looked at the correct angle. Later versions substituted a picture, and you can’t find all the Beatles. Re “The White Album”: It was never actually called “The White Album.” The official name was and still is **The Beatles**. We used to call it “The Beatles Double Album” before “White Album” caught on. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968/47 "2007-12-14T16:06:43Z")
I had a [Rocky Horror Picture Show Picture Disc LP](http://www.cosmosfactory.org/images/merchandise/rocky_horror_unknown_picture_disc.jpg). That was the first time I saw a photograph encompassing the record itself. Damned impressive to an 19 year old (or so) from Ohio. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968/48 "2007-12-14T16:13:57Z")
[QUOTE=BMalion] I had a [Rocky Horror Picture Show Picture Disc LP](http://www.cosmosfactory.org/images/merchandise/rocky_horror_unknown_picture_disc.jpg). That was the first time I saw a photograph encompassing the record itself. Damned impressive to an 19 year old (or so) from Ohio. [/QUOTE] Picture disks were a big fad in the early 70s. There’s a long list of groups whose record companies released them. ---
**Author:** ![wouldn\_t\_you\_like\_to\_know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eb8c5e/32.png) [@wouldn\_t\_you\_like\_to\_know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wouldn_t_you_like_to_know)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968/49 "2007-12-14T16:40:59Z")
The Kiss album _Love Gun_ came packaged with a cheap plastic squirt gun. ---
**Author:** ![Quint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/76d3ee/32.png) [@Quint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quint)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968/50 "2007-12-14T16:44:19Z")
I owned [Dirty](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_%28album%29) by **Sonic Youth** for over a year before I noticed that there was a picture underneath the orange CD tray. It was hard to make out, so I pried out the tray. I was surprised to find a weird photo of some naked people engaging in, uuuh, well, some kind of stuffed animal orgy. Turns out it was a photo by supermasochist Bob Flanagan, and was removed in some later pressings. Oddly NSFW: [![](http://www.sonicyouth.com/mustang/lp/lp09i.jpg) ](http://www.sonicyouth.com/mustang/lp/lp09i.jpg) If you have an old copy kicking around, pry out the CD tray to see if you have the “Dirty” pic. After this discovery I checked out every copy I came across for a while, and quite a few that had opaque grey trays still had the pic underneath. It was pretty fun to show to owners who had no idea. ---
**Author:** ![VanillaGorilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@VanillaGorilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VanillaGorilla)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968/51 "2007-12-14T16:54:51Z")
[QUOTE=Salmo Trutta] Lets not forget the famous Velvet Underground and Nico vinyl that had a banana sticker on the cover. More recently Sigur Rose released an album called ( ) It’s 12 page booklet featured nothing but tracing paper and faint blurred black and white nonsense. It is all very emotially charged mood music. None of the songs are in a real language so each of the 12 pages were to write or draw some personal insight about each of the 12 songs. (each called “untitled”) When closed and held up to a light it was supposed to be some sort of personal masterpiece. Pretentious as hell, but a fantastic album. [/QUOTE] Yes, fantastic it is. As are all their albums (excluding Von here, which is only good). My copy of ( ) doesn’t look like that though, guess I have a newer version. :mad: Oh, and it’s Sigur Rós, not Sigur Rose. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968/52 "2007-12-14T17:02:22Z")
Elvis’ “ **Moody Blue** ” - the album itself (not the sleeve) was a beautiful translucent blue vinyl. Then we have \*\*Bobby Sherman’s \*\* record (I cannot recall the title of the song) which was printed on the back of a Raisin Bran box. You cut where indicated on the cardboard, put it on your turntable and voila! ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968/53 "2007-12-14T17:08:40Z")
[QUOTE=wouldn’t you like to know] The Kiss album _Love Gun_ came packaged with a cheap plastic squirt gun. [/QUOTE] Nah, it was a paper gun that had an insert that would pop out and make a noise when you whipped it down quickly. Also, _Kiss Alive II_ came with rub-on tattoos. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968/54 "2007-12-14T17:25:37Z")
[QUOTE=Quint] I owned [Dirty (disambiguation) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_%28album%29) Dirty by **Sonic Youth** for over a year before I noticed that there was a picture underneath the orange CD tray. It was hard to make out, so I pried out the tray. I was surprised to find a weird photo of some naked people engaging in, uuuh, well, some kind of stuffed animal orgy. Turns out it was a photo by supermasochist Bob Flanagan, and was removed in some later pressings. Oddly NSFW: [http://www.sonicyouth.com/mustang/lp/lp09i.jpg](http://www.sonicyouth.com/mustang/lp/lp09i.jpg) If you have an old copy kicking around, pry out the CD tray to see if you have the “Dirty” pic. After this discovery I checked out every copy I came across for a while, and quite a few that had opaque grey trays still had the pic underneath. It was pretty fun to show to owners who had no idea. [/QUOTE] Ewww, why did I click? ---
**Author:** ![Tool\_of\_the\_Conspiracy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@Tool\_of\_the\_Conspiracy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tool_of_the_Conspiracy)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968/55 "2007-12-14T17:25:50Z")
[QUOTE=LonesomePolecat] I forget the title, but Grand Funk Railroad had one circular album cover made to look like a silver coin. (“We’re an American Band,” was it?) [/QUOTE] _E Pluribus Funk_. My parents had it. I have a limited-edition version of **ZZ Top** ’s _Recycler_ CD with real diamond-plate on the front and back of the case. The covers album _Schoolhouse Rock Rocks_ came in a jewel case made of opaque yellow plastic instead of the usual clear. Other opaque jewel cases include **Pet Shop Boys** ’ _Very_ and the Wax Trax box set _Black Box_. **Beck** ’s latest album _The Information_ has a graph-paper cover and comes with stickers to customize it. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968/56 "2007-12-14T17:38:43Z")
Becks _The Information_ comes in a blank sleeve with stickers included so you could make your own cover art. _Band on the Run_ came with a fold out Polaroid snapshot poster. John & Yoko’s _Wedding Album_: > [@](#): > > The original album came with various inserts, including a photo strip, a postcard, a poster of wedding photos, a poster of John and Yoko lithographs, a square mylar bag with “Bagism” printed on it (not included with 1977 Japanese reissue), a square photo of a piece of wedding cake inserted in the mylar bag, a 17 page black cover booklet of wedding photos and clippings (“The Press”), a copy of the wedding certificate, glued to the inside box lid and a four page lyric and interview sheet (Japanese issues only). ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968/57 "2007-12-14T17:40:02Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck] … _School’s Out_ by Alice Cooper opened like a grade school desk, and the record was covered by a pair of paper panties… [/QUOTE] In addition to that was **Muscle of Love** in '74 which came in a sweat stained brown “paper” wrapper. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968/58 "2007-12-14T17:43:57Z")
I don’t know that it counts as a “gimmick”, but the CDs in **Cash Unearthed** are packaged in an actual album – the kind that my grandma kept her 78’s in, with board covers and heavy brown paper sleeves. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968/59 "2007-12-14T17:50:03Z")
Does [Smell the Glove](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smell_the_Glove) count? ---
**Author:** ![NailBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecae2f/32.png) [@NailBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NailBunny)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968/60 "2007-12-14T18:09:15Z")
**Alice in Chains** ’ _Jar of Flies_ CD had a bunch of plastic flies inside the clear edge. I remember almost buying it for this reason, even though I didn’t care for it. **Tom Waits** ’ recent _Real Gone_ has a flip-picture show of Tom beatboxing contained in the CD insert. **Negativland** has tons of crazy stuff included with their CD’s. My favourite was _A Big 10-8 Place_, which came with a poster, a recipe, a bumper sticker, and a small ziploc bag full of sawdust with a tag proclaiming it personally inspected by Mark Hosler (which I later verified it actually was!). My husband purchased the boxset _Weird Tales of the Ramones_ for me last year - it came with a 3-D comic book and glasses. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968.md?page=4)