And for something a little bit newer - Lateralus, by Tool. Absolutely kick-ass cover art, and booklet isn’t bad either. Definitely one of the more original efforts I’ve seen.
My favorite cover art is most of the albums by KMFDM. An artist named BRUTE! did all their covers except one (Nihil), and for some reason that dark, shadowy, angular style hooks my interest and strikes me as very German-looking. And really fits the personality of the band, too.
Frank Zappa - Overnight Sensation - I still have my original copy, I think the re-release was in a plain brown cover.
Rolling Stones - Their Satanic Majesties Request - originally came with a thick attachment that changed the image when you changed the viewing angle. Subsequent releases had a regular photo. I traded my original for an illegal substance way back when.
Big Brother and the Holding Company - Cheap Thrills - more relevant now that the Hell’s Angels have actually moved into town.
I leafing through the vinyl in a Galway music shop when I came across a very surprising album cover.
I never even read the words on it, the picture just leaped out at me. Partly because it was shocking, partly because this was a Catholic country where porn seemed very hard to find and very tame when you did.
But on this cover was the torso of a bare breasted woman. And when you turned it over you see her sitting on something with one leg hanging down and the other tucked up, with her knee by her chin. And there between her legs was … (well use your imagination) for all the world to see. I thought ‘Whoa, this is a good record to bring home to shock your parents!’ I don’t think I would have had the guts to buy it if I wanted too.
I do remember staring for long periods of time at a Big Brother and Holding Company cover. I believe it was done by Crumb. Very fascinating, and wierd.
Also Maiden’s Powerslave. If you look closely at the heiroglyphics you can see all sorts of hilarious things (well you could on the album but not the CD).
gawd bless you, mbh. whipped cream and other delights was the first album i ever bought and it was strictly because of the delectable lass on the cover.
sticky fingers appeals because of… well, you know.
physical graphetti has enough genius oozing through the vinyl to the cover to rank it.
in through the out door was unique because of, yes, the 6 angles butt also - we we’re getting a little ripped and spilled some turkey on the album sleeve and it bust into color too from an original b & w. went from woops to wow rather quickly.
magical mystery? of course.
i’ll check my collection for more tonite butt is anyone else familiar with les dudek’s upside down, champagne pouring cover? it’s name escapes me. cheers.
What are the hidden references? I only have that record on cassette, which is notable for being the only format that makes CD cover art look impressive (and not to mention on cassette the picture’s usually squashed up!)
I don’t remember many of them because it has been so long since I have seen an actual ALBUM cover but I remember several Disney characters, a mummy in a sarcophagus with a little quote baloon saying “help, its hot in here” and some other stuff. I wish there was a good website on this stuff. I found Iron Maiden Cover Art especially Powerslave but none of the images were of enough quality to resolve anything.
In reference to the earlier post about the Somewhere in Time cover here is some tidbits from the Iron Maiden FAQ:
