Great music terrible album cover

[Mylan23]

I was looking through my collection of cd's the other day and I noticed that their are some amazing albums out their with the worst artwork I've ever seen as the cover. For example Nirvana's nevermind album is fantastic but I think the album cover is disturbing. The baby in the water with the dollar bill.



Are their any other great albums with terrible covers?

[SquirrelDip]

The Nevermind cover never bothered me but one that did was the censored version of Amorica (The Black Crowes). Not so much the cover but the fact that it was censored.

Uncensored:


Censored:

[MackemX]

I take it you didn't vote for it


http://www.paramountcomedy.com/comedy/watn/article.aspx?id=34

The baby from the cover of Nirvana's Nevermind
We've all been there: you've been dating someone for a few months and bring them home for the inevitable meet the parents get-together. Before you know it, out come the embarrassing baby photos.

But imagine if your early naked snaps were available to buy in HMV. Well, that's the fate that?s befallen 14-year-old Spencer Elden who, as a four-month-old baby, was involved in a photo shoot that helped shape music history ? Nirvana's Nevermind.

The image of an innocent baby being tempted by the corrupting influence of money has been voted the best album cover of all time and was the brainchild of Nirvana?s Kurt Cobain back in 1991.

"One day, Dave and I were sitting around watching a documentary on babies being born underwater and I thought 'Let's put that on the album cover'" said Cobain in an interview on a promotional CD.

When a stock image of a baby underwater proved too expensive to use, the band employed photographer Kirk Weddle to take his own snaps. He involved Spencer, the baby son of his friends Renata and Rick Elden.

"We were both in the water with the baby," explained Renata in an interview with the Daily Mirror in 2002, "dunked him in the water three times and Kirk got the shot after taking only 12 pictures."

The fishhook and dollar bill were Kurt's idea and superimposed later.

Spencer's father Rick has since admitted that at the time they thought Nirvana were just another flash-in-the-pan grunge band. "It wasn't until we drove down Sunset Boulevard four months later and saw Spencer's picture on billboards that we realised maybe we were wrong.?"

Spencer received just £140 for appearing on the cover but has a framed platinum disc of the Nevermind album in his bedroom.

Now 14 years old, Spencer is still at school in California but is fast becoming the child of choice for album covers ? he also appeared on the cover of cEvin Key's The Dragon Experience in 2003. In 2001, Spencer re-created the iconic Nirvana album shot for Rolling Stone magazine, to celebrate the album?s tenth-anniversary.

Despite having secured his place in the music hall of fame, Spencer admits that although he has "a teacher who's quite impressed", he is not a Nirvana fan.

Oh well, Nevermind.

and from Wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevermind#Album_cover

Album cover

The now-legendary Nevermind cover shows a baby swimming toward a bill on a fishhook. According to Cobain, he conceived the idea while watching a television program on water births with drummer Dave Grohl. The fishhook and bill were also Cobain's idea, and were superimposed later. The infant is then-three-month-old Spencer Elden. The Serial Number on the dollar bill is "L 94998746 B."

Geffen prepared an alternate cover without the penis, as they were afraid that it would offend people, but relented when Cobain made it clear that the only compromise he would accept was a sticker covering the penis, accusing anyone who was offended of being a "closet pedophile." The alternate cover image is featured in Come as You Are'.'

In 1992, Weird Al Yankovic mimicked the cover for his album Off the Deep End. That version does not feature a penis, and Yankovic is swimming toward a donut instead of a dollar.

In 2003, VH1 named Nevermind's album cover the third greatest album cover of all time.

[thecoalman]

The infant is then-three-month-old Spencer Elden. The Serial Number on the dollar bill is "L 94998746 B."

lol.. his 15 minutes of fame so to speak... "yep that's me I'm Penis Baby"... Do you think he took some busting in school?

[MackemX]

I'd like to know how much that dollar is worth $$$

[SquirrelDip]

I'd like to know how much that dollar is worth $$$

About $1.20 CDN

[MackemX]

I'd like to know how much that dollar is worth $$$

About $1.20 CDN

at current exchange rates it's not much more than £0.50 either as it nearly hit £1=$2 today

[redstripes]

I totally agree about Amorica... but don't knock NEVERMIND! that thing is CLASSIC! album art and all.
But added to the list of graphic artists who should quit their day job... How about Mew's album, "And the Glass Handed Kite". Lucky for them the album on the INSIDE is amazing... but if I was to pass it in the store, I'd have no idea what the heck was going on.

http://www.dudesweet.org/ss_Mew_album.htm

[adam]

This thread reminds me of the scene in Spinal Tap when their new album is released and the cover is just solid black.