great album, dreadful album cover

Black Sabbath, Paranoid

Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam

Beatles VI

Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Zuma

Classic Album, FUCKING TERRIBLE Cover Art

http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/1756/cover5cn.jpg

One of the best rap LPs of the 00s, but a totally cheapo-looking cover. Where is the glimpse of light even supposed to come from, his nail? And it's not like the album was released by some small label with little cash, it's on Motown. You'd think they could've afforded a better designer?

is that dave chapelle?

No, it's AZ.

I have to disagree with both albums on the first post.
I agree they are great albums, but I think both those covers kick ass!
Unless you are talking about the US cover of This Is It, then that's understandable.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/68/RootsManuva_BrandNewSecondHand_albumcover.jpg

the cd issue of Blank Generation is abominable and the original cover is a real fine artyfact, imo

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/93/Elegant_gypsy.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Boardsofcanadabocmaxima.jpg

What's wrong with Al di Meola cover? It has a good composition, nice colours, fine use of body language... I think it's quite good.

Steely Dan - The Royal Scam

Alright, I guess it's okay. I just hate the way Al looks is all.

Steely Dan - countdown to ecstasy is a way better record and a waaaaay worse cover than royal scum

I don't mind the cover for Countdown, nice use of colour at least. It is a far better album than Royal Scam though, no arguments there.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bd/Elton_John_-_Elton_John.jpg

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/410B86Z4DRL._SS500_.jpg

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/318GTARVTJL._SS500_.jpg

Actually, Elton rules this thread - awkwardly posed pictures of himself, covers with lettering that look like they were put together in five minutes.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f0/Elton_John_-_Honky_Ch%C3%A2teau.jpg/200px-Elton_John_-_Honky_Ch%C3%A2teau.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/54/Elton_John_-_Caribou.jpg
awkward awkward awkward...

I just hate the way Al looks is all

Yeah, what's up with that? Folded arms and pouting and all - it looks like he's just lost a argument with his gypsy, so now he's decided to give her the silent treatment. Petulant little jerk. But aside from that I think it's visually appealing (I love that shade of green.) CBS used that same style of calligraphy on a LOT of their covers from that era, 1975-79 or thereabouts.

he's just lost a argument with his gypsy, so now he's decided to give her the silent treatment. Petulant little jerk.

BAhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51MGTriw-3L._SS500_.jpg

I remember being in grade school when this album came out. "Dog Eat Dog" and "Antmusic" were all over the radio, and I distinctly remember going to Disc-O-Mat on 58th and Lexington to go buy the album. I remember being really turned off by this record cover -- almost to the extent that I didn't buy it. Actually, I ended up buying the cassette (smaller image).

That the image comes from a video still no less makes it even crappier still.

By the same token, however, it's an AMAZING ALBUM.

http://digilander.libero.it/flanders1/images_file/HARD_CANDY.jpg

http://www.tbolin.com/images/history/pic_cover_spectrum_300w.jpg

(i think it's the combination of the font w/the pixels that makes it awful)

I like the way the yellow border makes it look like a National Geographic cover.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/73/RubberSoulUK.jpg/200px-RubberSoulUK.jpg

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/616F44ECKQL._AA240_.jpg

WORST

http://media.brainwashed.com/common/images/covers/krank082.jpg

xpost Adam Ant: the border really brings out the yellow in his teeth...

WTF!?

Wow. There's some synchronicity for ya!

has this ever happened in the HISTORY OF ILM?!

Maybe that album title refers to the night they came up with the cover art.

Also, several million Scorpions album covers to thread...

http://www.perrific.com/cds/covers/snoop.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d1/King_Missile_-_Happy_Hour.jpg

http://newsletter.isp-direct.com/images/rundgren_todd_dvd_audio.jpg

i can't stand steely dan, but i think that the album cover for 'the royal scam' is absolutely awesome.

Ha, Davey. And it's a pretty good album, too! Definitely in my top 10 of 2005.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/24/Addntoxaddinsulttoinjury.jpg

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5104S71960L._AA240_.jpg

antexit u are stupid as shit

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5a/Addntox-avanthard.jpg
They didn't even bother to finish off the "robot" or whatever it is on the left properly. It's probably their best album as well.

Ha, Davey. And it's a pretty good album, too! Definitely in my top 10 of 2005.

Yes, I LOOOOOOVE that album. Too bad they broke up...

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ovAQj4F7L._AA240_.jpg http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/419ZCEEG4EL._AA240_.jpg http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41KKVNSS1QL._AA240_.jpg

uhhhh...i don't know if that's really true, about the gratful dead being...good...

I don't own it -- and that's no accident -- but I feel somewhat confident in asserting that Willenium -- let alone any album put out by Will Smith -- is NOT a 'great album.'

http://bp3.blogger.com/_A5hdYC7dF9U/Rkh1meiU-9I/AAAAAAAABqk/Agwz2UAWfw8/s1600-h/The+Move+-+Message+From+The+Country.jpg

Has there been a "Musicians Who Shouldn't Do Their Own Cover Art" thread?

And did Roy Wood also draw the "Shazam" cover? 'Cause that should be here too.

http://bp2.blogger.com/_A5hdYC7dF9U/RlG0CwQY-tI/AAAAAAAABuM/sF4P4t6HTKs/s1600-h/The+Move+-+Shazam.jpg

Second attempt.

http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/B0009Y335Q.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

Has there been a "Musicians Who Shouldn't Do Their Own Cover Art" thread?

And did Roy Wood also draw the "Shazam" cover? 'Cause that should be here too.

http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/11925.jpg

This is a particularly ugly cover.

http://www.celebrityenglish.com/jukebox/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/tim.jpg

http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/5361/challengers265x265km9.jpg

http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/3443/140503nf4.jpg

will smith=genius

Wow, I never realized Remain In Light was Tibor Kalman. Another reason for him being a legend. Who is Tibor Kalman now he's gone though? Daniel Eatock?

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000003TBS.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Okay, once again, that is a great cover. What is wrong with this thread?!

no way! that album cover sucks!

Remain in Light is one of the greatest covers on earth ffs
almost better than the album even

almosteven better than the album even

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51PT%2BEAeC3L._SS500_.jpg

I hate the cover for Washing Machine...laziest SY art ever.

JESUS CHRIST IS THIS THE THREAD FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE ALL REALLY FUCKING RONG

I am a supporter of the Washing Machine cover.

What's even good about the Washing Machine cover? It's a snapshot of two ugly 14 year olds in even uglier SY t-shirts (that, iirc, they made themselves).

Not really in the spirit of the thread because the album and the cover are both awesome, but I just wanted to post this somewhere.

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0000AVHBN.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

That's why it's cool Johnny.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41ASFZ8K00L._AA240_.jpg

http://www.soulfulkindamusic.net/gaye.jpg

Does that say "EXPANDED Love Man EDITION"?

Totally dude.

That cover's actually amazing.

That's why it's cool Johnny.

Come on! That doesn't make it cool. It makes it Ugly.

love the monk cover

Steely Dan - The Royal Scam

-- Gavin in Leeds, Thursday, February 14, 2008 10:10 AM (4 days ago) Bookmark Link

christ. this cover is amazing. so dark.
i've never liked this cover but listen to it lots:

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00005K9LK.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

thats a pretty sweet eagle actually

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000024J5H.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51VB9CYSMXL._SS500_.jpg

<img>http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00007LTIN.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg<;/img>
I have to admit that I've always like this album's stupid artwork.

http://d2media.iventa.com/Gratefuldead/f6e8f14b-b896-491f-9c31-d0412faddc93.jpg

xp

JESUS!
Good job, KKVG.

Love that guy!

The Band's Music from Big Pink. I recently got a vintage copy that preserves the original look of the cover, and it really is a terrible, TERRIBLE painting. (Dylan's definitely improved in that regard.)

https://i.discogs.com/ERPMD-UhRDi-NylbRi4NZxMBTz6TbT8TV047lDKWH-0/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:593/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTQ3MDE3/MTAtMTQ3MjA0Nzc4/NC03NjIzLmpwZWc.jpeg

Previously I only had the Capitol CD reissue from 2000 which seemed to muddy and darken the cover as if the painting had been aged and dirtied by decades of exposure. It's actually an improvement as it neutralizes the bright fast-food chain colors of the painting's original look.

(FWIW, the best way to hear this is the original MFSL gold CD or the Japanese SHM-SACD that's reportedly a "flat transfer.")

I always liked the back(?) cover:

https://theband.hiof.no/band_pictures/mfbp_lp_back_04.jpg

I like rest of it too, especially the family photos. If I was under the false impression that one of their grade-school kids painted the cover, I would be a little more sympathetic, but it's Dylan.

How did it become the cover? Did they already have the painting and choose it, or did Dylan give them the painting and say "here's your cover"? If it was the latter, I would've cringed and been like "FUCK....he's our meal ticket though. I guess we have to..."

it's a terrible painting but it's also a unique and instantly identifiable cover, idk I find it a bit charming. I'm in a number of "bad album cover" groups on Facebook and there are always arguments about covers like that.

to me what comes to mind is American Dream by LCD Soundsystem, it doesn't even look like an album cover it looks like what you'd see in a music magazine under "upcoming releases" when the official cover art hadn't been revealed yet. I was stunned they actually went with that.

imo Echolyn are the champion of this sort of thing, they have a couple decent covers but many of them are just boring, ugly, or graphic design nightmares

https://i.discogs.com/pcJATiMNigiZLnmLKiYlZcN9ubatqKqysqa2XEERZI4/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:600/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTE4MDQ4/MTItMTQxODIzMTE5/MS02NDM0LmpwZWc.jpeg

I always thought that Fleetwood Mac cover served the same purpose as In The Court of the Crimson King: to get shoppers thumbing through record bins to say WTF?!?!

It's attention getting!

In The Court actually matches the music though

Album covers that don't match the music are a different category, worthy of a thread of its own

this is an extremely “protools sucks” opinion but even the worst “pre-computer” album covers are more charming to me than lazy generic stuff done on computers (unintentional weirdness aside). even all those countless 50s church albums with same mountain range photo

Don't make me post Herbie Mann.

xp I'll second that. I'd rather have Dylan's terrible painting than the low-budget Photoshop jobs of Springsteen's worst '00s and '10s album covers.

https://media.pitchfork.com/photos/5929a04db1335d7bf1697fbd/1:1/w_320,c_limit/d2072048.jpg

(though I'll also add this is NOT a good album - "The Last Carnival" and "The Wrestler" are keepers, but the rest goes into the trash)

It doesn't even look like an album cover it looks like what you'd see in a music magazine under "upcoming releases" when the official cover art hadn't been revealed yet.

― frogbs, Friday, April 7, 2023 3:37 PM (seven hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

edited down your post to the part that I very passionately agree with as a universal sentiment. I hate album covers that look like magazine ads! You know it when you see it type of thing.

yeah exactly, or like a shitty handbill for a boring club night