What Classic Rock Album Covers Blew Your Mind?
My new car comes equipped with a three month trial subscription to Sirius XM radio and when Patriot Channel talk gets repetitive, I occasionally switch to 60′s on Channel 6, where I know the words to every song.
So the other day I happened to hear a song which really jolted my memory bank. It was A Taste of Honey by Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass, but while listening, all I could think about was the album cover.
And if you are of a certain age, you know exactly what I mean.
In 1965 when the album, Whipped Cream and Other Delights, was released the cover was considered “veddy” racy.
And here is the hit song, A Taste of Honey from the album.
Whipped Cream was my parent’s album, but even as a Beatles loving 10-year-old I enjoyed it along with them. However, it was the cover that really made an impression. I even remember spreading whipped cream all over my arms in tribute to the girl on the cover.
This Sirius XM Radio childhood flashback got me thinking about what other album covers made lasting, even mind blowing visual impressions. So here is that small stack of album covers which came tumbling off a dusty shelf in the far reaches of my brain — presented in chronological order.
The Mamas and the Papas — If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears
In the middle of 1966 Beatlemania, this album by the Mamas and the Papas was released. To me, the music and the cover were equally impactful, for sitting in a bathtub fully dressed struck me as rather extreme. Chiefly responsible for the brain dent was Michelle Phillips, who was one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen, wearing those jeans and cowboy boots. I remember getting into our dry bathtub pretending to be her. Yes, I was an impressionable pre-teen!
The Beatles — Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Of course the most famous album cover in history absorbed hours of 1967 summer time fun for me and my friends as we tried in vain to identify all the faces on the cover. Since we were stumped by so many, I remember having to ask my parents. (Oh the horror of asking your parents to explain a Beatles album cover!) But I had no choice since Google was 31 years in the future. Now, in one Google second here is the complete list. (How I love the modern age!)
Psychedelic flower power anyone? Released in November of 1967, this album cover fascinated me. On the inside I loved Cream’s music too, but something about the album design with all the fuchsia colors, totally blew my 12-year-old mind and opened doors of endless creative possibilities.
Traffic – The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
This 1971 album by Traffic was so graphically unique with its die-cut design, it truly broke new ground and decades later the title song is still one of my favorite classic rock tunes. So here is a 1972 live version to enjoy, especially if it has been awhile since you have heard Low Spark of High Heeled Boys.
We must not fret about the passing of album cover art for it now lives on the net with many sites dedicated to its greatness. There are also numerous cover art quizzes that will be used as “game time” trivia at nursing homes around 2040 when I am in my 80’s. (Now at my mother’s nursing home they play trivia contest games with Broadway show tunes and my mother is often the proud winner of a new fluffy nap blanket.)
Speaking of getting old, here is the Whipped Cream girl from that famous 1965 album cover now age 76.
So what classic rock covers blew your mind at a tender age?
And if you can recall them now, remember them for later when a new fluffy nap blanket is at stake.
The original Blind Faith cover from 1969. Can’t believe I just gave all that stuff away. Had the original white album in white vinyl.
The cover for the Grateful Dead’s third album, Aoxoamoxoa comes to mind.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/20/Grateful_Dead_-_Aoxomoxoa.jpg
While I never cared for their music, Yes had some really good album covers.
Ya. I liked the cover art on “Relayer”.
That was the work of Roger Dean: http://tinyurl.com/rogerDeanYesArt
I was and still am a Yes fan. Fragile or Tales of Topographic Oceans were just amazing to this (back then) teenager, especially their inside covers. Remember when albums had inside covers? Covers inside? It sounds like a George Carlin joke.
Led Zeppelin’s “Presence.” Luv that twisty obelisk thingy that can mean ANYTHING.
Genesis, “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.” Don’t forget to read the entire gatefold text while listening to the album! (I think I might have missed something, having done that only while stone-cold sober…)
Led Zeppelin – IV, Physical Graffiti, Houses of the Holy
The Giger cover for Brain Salad Surgery by ELP, any of the Yes albums by Roger Dean.
Ahhh you beat me to it. All the ELP covers. All the KC covers (esp 21′st Century Schizoid Man). All the Yes covers.
We have a winner
Anything by Hipgnosis.
http://www.hipgnosiscovers.com/
Genesis: Foxtrot
Captain Beyond: Captain Beyond
King Crimson: In the Court of the Crimson King
“King Crimson: In the Court of the Crimson King.” for some reason, I always forget about them. Great lyrics.
Santana: Abraxas
I was struck by the covers of “Who’s Next” and “Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of the Moon.”
And Townshend hated that cover…
Pink Floyd – Atom Heart Mother (with the cow)
And that Whipped Cream cover still makes my heart beat a bit faster.
Sgt. Pepper without a doubt.
I once had the opportunity to sit and have a chat with jazz guitarist Peter White (back when he was touring with Al Stewart), and we got on the topic of album covers. We were in agreement:
Yes: “Relayer.”
And while we’re on the topic of Al Stewart, I loved his album covers with Dr. Strange on them – “Past, Present & Future” and “Modern Times.” (For pointless trivia, the girl on “Modern Times” who’s running away from the car was David Gilmore’s girlfriend.)
Donovan: “Mellow Yellow.” I love that cartoon hippie chick!
Nazareth, ‘Hair of the Dog’ album cover.
Boston’s guitar shaped ‘spaceship’ on their covers.
Best ‘classic’ rock albums?
Eagles’ “Hotel California”
Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” and “Dark Side of the Moon.”
Favorite singles or individual songs? For pure motivation:
“Don’t pay the Ferryman.” by Chris DeBurgh.
“Veteran of the Psychic Wars” by Blue Oyster Cult.
I also like War’s “Why Can’t We Be Friends.” which is a sort of a tongue-in-cheek look at lost friendships. Their “The Boys are Back in Town is one of my favorites,too.
I listened to them all back then…Gotta admit I was only about twelve or thirteen when “Veteran of the Psychic wars came out, though.
“Boston’s guitar shaped ‘spaceship’ on their covers.”
That’s the one that always got me – and if you looked at it closer their were dozens of those guitar shaped spaceship’s all with the name of a different city.
Imagine sending an entire city into space intact in a ship? Then imagine every city on earth doing the same thing – a mass exodus!
For my teenage money, Zappa and the Mothers and the Parliament/Funkadelic gang were the masters of the intricate, in-joke littered, album-cover-as-dada-artwork trend: Burnt Weenie Sandwhich and The Clones of Dr Funkenstein, respectively, are good examples of the style – along with, of course, Capt. Beefheart’s legendary Trout Mask Replica.
King Crimson’s first album cover burned itself into everybody’s (pretty much stoned) consciousness in 1969 I remember, as did the infamous “is that really what I think it is/ did they really get away with that?” illustation of a band called Mom’s Apple Pie (Google image search this if this was before your time).
Other iconically “shocking” covers of the time were Hendrix’s original Electric Ladyland (you had to get the early UK release to see it), John and Yoko’s unfortuate-in-all-ways Two Virgins and, of course, Sticky Fingers by the Stones.
Lstly, I know that I remember an album cover from the early 70s that appeared to be a super close-up of the head of a man’s penis dripping a single drop of fluid out of its urethra. (I’m guessing that on closer inspection, the image turns out to be sonething else entirely, but this is, in fact, the initial image that the viewer is supposed to receive. Does anybody here recall this also and can tell me who the band was that put this out?
Kansas had neat covers. Point of Know Return in particular is iconic, if not that great an album outside of the title track and Dust in the Wind.
Dio also had some nice ones, very creepy. The Last in Line in particular.
(And strangely, there was a Dio/Kansas crossover which is worth checking out, Dio sang on a couple of Kerry Livgren songs. The Mask of the Great Deceiver in particular is really great)
Cheap thrills with R Crumb art and then JJ on the inside. Playin’ in a garge band at the time and she and Jimi took my breath away. Her Quote ” I just made love to 25000 people and went home alone” still gets me.
The Beatles. White Album.
This cover was about the time of Paolo Soleri’s “Arcosanti” etc, so caught my attention. I was struck by the almost religious optimism in a rock song, and later was intrigued by John Paul II’s references to having no fear.
And the Universe is His palette….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSCoUb5M4c8
A quirky old favorite from a San Francisco band virtually no one has heard of:
Sons of Champlin:Loosen Up Naturally
And one of the very best records from the foremost composer-performer of his era:
Al Stewart: Past, Present, and Future
Spinal Tap–Smell the Glove
King Crimson, “In the Court of the Crimson King”.
I always lover the back cover of the Stones’ greatest hits album “Hot Rocks.” The band dressed in medieval garb in a crumbling castle setting.
That would be Iron Maiden – Fear of the dark. The monster attached to the tree is really, really scary. In fact I “like” (in a way) all Maiden covers, they are very… different to put it mild.
Didn’t take long for most of my main choices to get mentioned, such as ELP’s Brain Salad Surgery, or any of Roger Dean’s cover art (Yes and Asia).
Led Zeppelin IV and In Through the Out Door with its watercolor gimmick.
@25 Adi – All of Riggs’ covers were decent, but I’d have to go with Powerslave as my personal favorite, with honorable mention of Somewhere in Time and all of its Easter eggs.
Tull’s Thick as a Brick was one that really impressed me when I ran across it. Not so much the cover itself, but that it folded out into a full size 12 page “newspaper”. (later prints were shrunk to 4 pages and the size reduced)
Naturally, as soon as I hit submit comment, another comes to mind. Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here.
The Jethro Tull album was also a big winner for me. And Uriah Heep “Magicians Birthday”.
Glad to see I’m not the only one that was listening to their parents Tijuana Brass albums. Except in my case it was the Glenn Miller Orchestra, which I consider to be a much better performance than Herb Alpert.
“Who’s Next” “Trout Mask Replica” “Weasels Rip My Flesh.”
I always chuckle when I see the Stones “Their Satanic Majesties Request“ album cover art.
That Traffic album cover was great, but all I think of is Grateful Dead’s “American Beauty”
I appreciate this post. So very hard these days to remember good memories, and this triggered one of the best:
Watkins Glen, 1973. Grateful Dead, The Band, Allman Brothers (Eat a Peach is a great cover). Half a million fans. the last night, all three bands came onstage and jammed together under a summer starlit sky.
I still remember every second of that, just wish I had it on a CD.
American Beauty is still my favorite…and I had the Daily News front page from Watkins Glen taped to my wall for years, “600,00 Jam Watkins Glen” was the headline. I was too young to go and very upset!
Boston. First album. Simple straightforward message, no b.s.
Most of my faves have already been mentioned, but The Moody blues Seventh Sojourn cover. Triggered my imagination of far away places and loneliness.
The Flock – Dinosaur Swamps
IF2 and IF3
Lighthouse – One Fine Morning / Thoughts of Moving On
Cheers -
In the Court of the Crimson King always got my creative juices going!
The first two Led Zep covers
The first HOT TUNA Album
John Barleycorn Must Die (Traffic)
Morrison Hotel (Doors)
1st DEVO album
1st POLICE album
Most of the PASSPORT albums
AJA (Steely Dan)
Grateful Dead Europe ’72. Was that the Bucktooth fellow who could not quite get the Ice Cream Cone in his Mouth? Loved that Guy. And the Keep On Trucking Guy Too. They were my Faves From the Days.