The most interesting album covers you have or use to have?

[elegant20]

Which album cover was to this day an eyeopener to you? Discuss.

 

[tripod]

Queen's "News of The World" album cover by science fiction author Frank Kelly Freas. Drummer Roger Taylor had seen an old copy of the October 1953 issue of the magazine Astounding Science Fiction On the cover was a giant intelligent robot holding the dead body of a man. The artist's caption read: "Please... fix it, Daddy?" The artwork was for the story "The Gulf Between" by Tom Goodwin. The robot seemed to have an almost innocent expression on it's face and was likened to a child accidentally killing a small animal or insect while playing with it. The band tracked down the artist Freas and convinced him to re-do a new piece of artwork that was based around an alteration of the original artwork but substituting the four dead band members of Queen instead of the one man.

The inside artwork depicted the robot terrorizing a cave full of people with the same innocent look on his face.

My mother worked at a record store part time when I was a tiny child. She would allow me and my brother to pick out an album every two weeks. I perused the store as a 4 year old and was immediately attracted to the Queen album. My mother was always a liberal new age type of mom and so let me have it (I remember my brother picking out ELO's "Out Of The Blue"). As a four year old, I wore that album out. I was on to KISS the next year. I was rockin' hard at an early age.

 

[Catchoftheday]

Public Image Ltd's album called Metal box which is packaged in a metal box actually I think it's a film reel container with PIL embossed on the top of the tin. I think I still have it somewhere.

 

[B_Shurewood]

Jimmie Spheeris: Isle of View
Jimmie Spheeris - "Isle of View"
I've always thought this cover was very cool.

 

[nudeyorker]

Wow, I used to have so many albums, I'll have to think about it. The two that immediately spring to mind are Led Zeppelin III and the Beatles White Album.

 

[SilverTrain]

Which album cover was to this day an eyeopener to you? Discuss.

"...to this day..."? Meh, none of them really.

But when I was a wee lad, the cover to The Floyd's Wish You Were Here was bitchin', man.

http://felipecotta.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/pink_floyd_-_wish_you_were_here-front1.jpg

 

[Bbucko]

This one continues to resonate with me for some reason.

 

[nudeyorker]

This one continues to resonate with me for some reason.

Me too! I remember once my mother asked why I had a can of Crisco next to the bed. I just could not think of anything else to say other than I had no idea how it got there.

 

[Bbucko]

Me too! I remember once my mother asked why I had a can of Crisco next to the bed. I just could not think of anything else to say other than I had no idea how it got there.

My mother knew better than to ask :tongue:

 

[babl]

First album cover that comes to mind: Animal Collective Merriweather Post Pavilion

Second, while on this site: Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers

 

[Zeuhl34]

Some of my favorites

A.R. & Machines - Die grüne Reise
The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Black Sabbath - Technical Ecstasy
Cardeilhac - Cardeilhac
Cynic - Traced in Air
Dzyan - Electric Silence
Faust - Faust
Gryphon - Red Queen to Gryphon Three
Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick (This doesn't really do it justice; it was 12-page newspaper.)
King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III
The Mars Volta - Frances the Mute
Mastodon - Leviathan
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
Rudra - Brahmavidya: Transcendental I
Rush - Fly By Night
Utopia - Todd Rundgren's Utopia
Yes - Tales from Topographic Oceans
The Zombies - Odessey and Oracle

 

[D_Andreas Sukov]

My dad has a Vynl of Bob Marley's Corination that has a rastafarian Knight in armour on a Horse ETC. Its amazing.

 

[SpeedoMike]

high point of my photography avocation... I shot the cover for a CD album and got photo credit on the album jacket.

 

[798686]

I like the current Muse album cover, 'Resistance',

and also Primal Sream's 'Screamadelica' (which was turned into a stamp).

 

[D_Tilly_De_Toilet]

A couple of my favorites:

 

[SilverTrain]

This one confused me when I was 8.

http://www.covershut.com/covers/Elton-John-Caribou-1974-Front-Cover-34108.jpg

 

[D_Tilly_De_Toilet]

This one confused me when I was 8.

http://www.covershut.com/covers/Elton-John-Caribou-1974-Front-Cover-34108.jpg

It looks like he's standing in a Bob Ross painting.

 

[Bbucko]

It looks like he's standing in a Bob Ross painting.

Actually, it's Maxfield Parrish.

 

[b.c.]

For me it was (in no particular order):

Led Zeppelin Physical Graffitti (jeez...it's got "windows")

The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's (stared at it for what seemed hours. In a way, the cover was kinda creepy after all that "Paul is dead" and the hand over his head ("number 9 number 9") stuff that later unfolded.

Osibisa Wcyaya (elephant on steriods, Roger Dean, need I say more?)

Yes Relayer (Dean again. Without a doubt all time fav album cover artist.)

Traffic The low spark of high heeled boys (oddest shape, with those angled cut corners.)

Parliament Motor Booty Affair (wow...it came with a comic book, pop ups, and everything. Y'all don't know what yer missin' with this CD s#it.)

Janis Joplin Cheap Thrills (speaking of comix...)

R. Wakeman Myths and Legends of King Arthur...Round Table (the cover wasn't worth a damn. It was the interior booklet with little writeups of the legendary Arthurian characters that made for fun stuff.)

 

[Mickactual]

As a kid, I couldn't stop studying the faces on "Sgt. Pepper" cover, and I couldn't stop playing with the zipper on the Stones "Sticky Fingers". Here are some other faves:

Alice Cooper "Killer": File:Ackiller.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
It was the inside pic of Alice hanging from a noose that really got to me.

Bowie "Pin-Ups": FileinUps.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This pic of Bowie & Twiggy always epitomized Glam to me.

Judas Priest "Unleashed In The East": File:Jpunleashedintheeast.JPG - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The cover photo of bare chested, leather-clad Rob Halford set off a million fantasies in me.

Meatloaf - "Bat Out Of Hell": File:Bat out of Hell.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
One of the best LP cover illustrations ever.

U2 "War": File:U2 War album cover.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Stark. Disturbing.

Cream "Disraeli Gears": FileisraeliGears.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Just for the 1967 psychedelic colour explosion.

Herb Alpert & The TJB: "Whipped Cream And Other Delights": File:HA WhippedCream.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anyone care for a lick?

Carly Simon "No Secrets": File:Csns.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
It was all about the nipples...

The Who "Who's Next": File:Whosnext.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gotta love an album cover of a pissoir.

John & Yoko "Two Virgins": File:TwoVCover.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Self explanatory.

The Beatles "Yesterday And Today": File:The Beatles - Butcher Cover.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The original cover, of course.