I always wondered when the day would come that music would transform from physical to digital distribution. Nowadays, that day seems to have come. Physical copies of CD’s are still being sold, but digital distribution via ITunes and Spotify is booming. But one thing that struck me the most was that something else could be lost with this change: album covers! While most artists still produce album covers, since they still sell some of their musical beauty physical, some do not anymore. Yet, album covers are something special. They can tell stories, provoke and make people smile or just let them have a damn, good laugh. Some covers even sparked mascots for bands, like Iron Maiden with their “Eddie the Head”. Let’s have a look at 10 of the most funny, controversial or beautiful album covers of the past 20 years. (Yes, the last 20 years and no I am not an art expert. This list is therefore composed of my subjective experience which may or may not suit you. I hope we can still be friends..)
These numbers do NOT imply a ranking from 10 (worst) to 1 (best), since I do not like rankings. Rankings can be fun, but I don’t think they’re fun. Puppies are fun, as well as album covers.
10. The Number of the Beast – Iron Maiden
One of the most influential and popular metal bands of all time came up with this piece of art, which sparked significant controversy in the United States, as well as in religious communities in other parts of the world. For those of you paying attention, this cover is indeed from 1982 and that is indeed not from the last 20 years. I promise the next 9 will, don’t worry, I just liked this one very much. So what was the main problem with this controversial artwork? Well, apart from the devil being controlled as a puppet and much of the lyrics implying Iron Maiden would be Satanists, not much. Ironically, it became one of the most successful and critically acclaimed metal albums of all time. Using this little controversy trick, Iron Maiden constantly got media attention and free advertising. Don’t get me wrong, Iron Maiden is pure quality and their attention was not the sole reason for their success. On the contrary, it just gave them a little extra.
9.Show us your Hits – Bloodhound Gang
While this album cover not necessarily sparked a controversy, it was a witty and fun way to trick mostly guys. Probably at least two out of five people would read the album name wrong. Aren’t you the pervert, hm ?This “Greatest Hits” album from the Bloodhound Gang featured many of well… their greatest hits. Think of The Bad Touch or Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo and a lot more. Only those songs in themselves are brilliant, with all their puns and innuendo’s scattered all over their songs, just like in this album cover.
8. Does this look Infected? – Sum41
Ahh, Sum41. A band which I listened to extensively when I was in hi
gh school. Strong and rough lyrics, combined with up-beat rock tempo’s and a punk feeling you would almost feel obliged to conform to. But then it would not be rebellious anymore… Oh well, this album stems from 2002 and features…some gore with some sarcasm. Although it did not spark that much controversy, it was their first album to have a parental advisory sticker on it. For me this was just a great album cover to show to your music teacher in class: “I like this kind of music!”
7. Take off your Pants and Jacket – Blink-182
One more punk album to finish it! Blink-182 came up with this brilliant piece of work most people would not understand without explanation. (I needed the explanation) This great album is called “Take off your Pants and Jacket”. Now if you thought this title in combination with the 3 symbols was a great joke in itself, consider the fact that the title is also a tongue-in-cheek pun to male masturbation. I will let you figure that one out yourself.
6. Brighter than Gold – The Cat Empire
This band is just pure awesome. An Australian ska and jazz band, with Latin influences and with trumpets. Did I tell you I love trumpets? I love trumpets. They produce songs with rhythms white people get scared off and a positive feeling of over at least 9000. This beautiful album cover involves a cat, some sort of tuba-like instrument and their mascot Pablo (in the middle). It breathes a certain relaxed atmosphere, while at the same time it looks like it’s all on the bottom of the ocean. But that could be me, I have a silly imagination.
5. Night Visions – Imagine Dragons
Imagine Dragons is awesome. It has one of my favourite band names of all time, considering I was (and still am in secret) a big Spyro the Dragon fan and now it has one of my favourite album covers of all time. There is so much you can imagine when looking at this.. Whether it is reaching the top in something, being lonely at the top or just plain standing on a pillar in the middle of a bunch of other pillars, it sparks imagination and fantasy. And we need more imagination and fantasy in this world people. Enough serious business in the news nowadays.
4. This is War – 30 Seconds to Mars
30 Seconds to Mars is also awesome. It has one of my favourite animals of all time, considering I was and still am a big feline fan. Besides that, 30 Seconds to Mars makes the most beautiful rock for me, which gives me chicken skins every time. (Goose bumps, I just love the bad, bad translation some of my Dutch compatriots sometimes come up with) The album just screams beauty, with a beautiful tiger in combination with the album title “This is War”. Just listen to a song like “Closer to the Edge” or “Kings and Queens” while gazing at this angry feline.
3. Wolf’s Law – The Joy Formidable
The Welsh alt rock band “The Joy Formidable” were not that known to me up until this album.
This cover is the perfect example of how album art can provoke curiosity without even listening to the particular band. After listening I must say I was not totally convinced, but the band nevertheless has a great sound. This album cover however, convinced me completely. It just feels artistic, with the wolf and the blooming flowers. Is the wolf sleeping? Why are there flowers growing out of him then? Is he dead and do the flowers resemble new life? Just like the Imagine Dragons album, it sparks imagination, one of my favourite themes when it comes to album covers.
2. Goodbye country (Hello Nightclub) – The Groove Armada
This album probably has one of the best chill-out songs of all time, “My Friend”. The English electronic duo Groove Armada even re-released this song in my own country, since it received popularity due to a soft-drinks commercial. On to the album cover, which gives a cosy, little feeling. The door is wide open, with people already sitting inside and a speaker ready for some music. Sounds like party, doesn’t it? It just screams (or whispers, considering the relaxed state of most songs) hospitality and harmony. Great artists to just relax, after too much stress.
1. Eddie Vedder – Into the Wild
Although this cover is actually more a movie cover than a music cover, I do think it deserves attention. The whole feeling of adventure and exploring, of being independent and going back to your roots is just plain awesome. You can just smell the fresh mountain air and feel the salmon between your paws. Or maybe you can feel the vibe of the movie and you just want to watch it, that’s also possible.
And there we have it! Ten of the most controversial, funny or beautiful album covers in my opinion. Of course, ten is a small, very small number compared to the enormous amount of album covers in existence. But for the sake of your time, which in this society always seems to be limited, I’ll keep it at this. What are your favourite album covers? Maybe they involve puppies or kittens?
Author bio – This is written by Pieter and you’ll read more from him on here but in the meantime check out his blog via OtterMusicFactory
This post thoroughly interested me during my procrastination in English class!
I particularly enjoyed the innuendo of Blink 182, nothing beats a bit of immaturity!
Great post 🙂
Ellie