# 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:** 8\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2007, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968/81 "2007-12-15T02:57:14Z")
[QUOTE=fishbicycle] Epic released _The Girl Is Mine_ single (a 1982 Michael Jackson record with Paul guesting) in pic disc, and red vinyl; in Israel they made an orange vinyl pressing. [/QUOTE] Just as an aside, that song is definitely a candidate for Most Ridiculous Song Of All Time. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2007, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968/82 "2007-12-15T03:03:32Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] Just as an aside, that song is definitely a candidate for Most Ridiculous Song Of All Time. [/QUOTE] Yeah, there’s a promo edition with that embarrassing spoken-word section cut out. That’s how ashamed of it the record company was. That didn’t stop it from going to #2 for three weeks, though. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2007, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968/83 "2007-12-15T07:01:23Z")
[QUOTE=It’s Not Rocket Surgery!] The outside cover of the Pat Metheny Group’s _Imaginary Day_ is written entirely in [code](http://sleevage.com/pat-metheny-group-imaginary-day/); you use the CD as a decoding wheel. [/QUOTE] New Order did this for _Power, Corruption, and Lies_. There’s nothing written on the cover - you have to use the decoder to figure out what it says. R.E.M.'s _Green_ has a translucent “4” stamped on every “R” on the cover. Apparently Michael Stipe was writing lyrics on a typewriter that stamped a “4” every time he typed “R.” ---
**Author:** ![Hometownboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5e9695/32.png) [@Hometownboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hometownboy)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2007, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968/84 "2007-12-15T08:15:09Z")
One that I remember from my radio station days was “Blind Man’s Movie,” a comedy record by **Murray Roman**. It was to the color black what the “White Album” was to the color white. There are several books collecting photos of album covers. I highly recommend [The Album Cover Album](http://cgi.ebay.com/THE-ALBUM-COVER-BOOK_W0QQitemZ260192200307QQihZ016QQcategoryZ29223QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem), which this eBay auction doesn’t do justice to. (And, no, it’s not my auction. I prize my copy of the book). It’s a lovely hardbound coffee table book, and has the good taste to group albums by theme of cover art, and gives a good set of info on each. Lots of great album covers, both famous and obscure, with gimmicks. One of my favorites was “Trocadero” by **Showaddywaddy**. The outside shows an illustration of a street scene in front of the Trocadero from the 1950s. A bunch of kids are horsing around in the foreground. The inner sleeve shows the same scene with people and cars in the same positions, only its from the 1970s and the kids have grown up to be the band. It’s a foldout cover front and back, so it’s a sizeable illustration, very well done. **The Tubes** Self-titled albums featured a cover photo of two female hands with brightly painted red nails and clear plastic bracelets on the right hand, which is shown ripping back a triangular piece of the cardboard cover and peeling it back to reveal the record inside. Very realistic, very well done **Breaker & Kuypers** “Live-In Shaffy” on the Bvhaast label had the LP tucked into an oversized blank cardboard triangular cover. **Family’s** “Bandstand” album had a double cover die-cut to fit the shape of an early 1950s TV set. The back showed a picture of the back of the TV set **Raspberries** put out a cover die-cut into a halleck of — what else — raspberries. **Gentle Giant’s** “Octopus” had a die-cut cover depicting a squat canning jar with an octopus inside And \*\* Paul Davis’\*\* “Ride Em Cowboy” was die-cut in the shape of a western shirt. ---
**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 15, 2007, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968/85 "2007-12-15T16:47:46Z")
This is pretty obscure… My sister had **Poi Dog Pondering** ’s 12" single “U-Li-La-Lu”. The A side had the main song and the “B-side” song, while the B side was smooth vinyl etched with a drawing. I wish I could find a good photo of it to link. ETA: [EBay to the rescue!](http://cgi.ebay.com/POI-DOG-PONDERING-U-LI-LA-LU-12-EP-W-ETCHED-B-SIDE_W0QQitemZ150170320225QQihZ005QQcategoryZ306QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p1638.m118) The guy with the camera isn’t part of the etching… ---
**Author:** ![WreckingCrew](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wreckingcrew/32/4080_2.png) [@WreckingCrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WreckingCrew)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2007, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968/86 "2007-12-15T16:58:38Z")
[QUOTE=Struan] Nah, it was PiL’s second album Metal Box that was originally marketed in an, erm, metal box. Good album, although only Poptones and Careering seem to have had any impact ongoing. PiL never had an album called Public Image Limited. IMO the only ones worth having are First Issue, Metal Box and Flowers of Romance. [/QUOTE] And just to clarify for those scoring along at home, Metal Box was re-released as “Second Edition” but without the fun packaging. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2007, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968/87 "2007-12-15T19:37:29Z")
[QUOTE=Tool of the Conspiracy] This is pretty obscure… My sister had **Poi Dog Pondering** ’s 12" single “U-Li-La-Lu”. The A side had the main song and the “B-side” song, while the B side was smooth vinyl etched with a drawing. [/QUOTE] That reminds me- the B-side to the Napoleon XIV single _They’re Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haa!_ was _!Aaa-Ah ,Yawa Em Ekat Ot Gnimoc Er’yeht_- the same song played backwards. ---
**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:** [December 16, 2007, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968/88 "2007-12-16T02:02:36Z")
“ **Be Good To Yourself At Least Once A Day** ” unfolded to reveal the very cool [_Man’s Map of Wales_](http://www.manband.co.uk/misc/wales/map1600.jpg) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-with-gimmick-packaging/429968.md?page=4)