Historic and Controversial Album Covers- part three by Robert Benson - February 9, 2009 In our last of a three-part series about album cover art, let’s again examine a few controversial album covers and look at some marvelous art. It seems that a major retailer in the U.S. (Wal-Mart) wields a lot of power and influence. When pop rock star “John Cougar Mellencamp” released his 1996 album called “Mr. Happy Go Lucky,” a picture on the cover of Jesus and the devil had to be changed. Since it did not affect the music and he did not design the cover, Mellencamp obliged and changed the cover to appease the previously named major retailer. Rap artist “Ice Cube” joined the foray with his critically acclaimed 1991 album release called “Death Certificate.” It seems an album cover showing “Uncle Sam” on a mortuary slab as well as Ice-Cube’s violent lyrics, prompted one state (Oregon) to enforce a statewide ban on displaying the rapper’s image in retail stores. Alternative rockers “Janes Addiction” singer Perry Farrell caused quite a stir in 1990, when he submitted his original artwork for the band’s sophomore album, “Ritual de lo Habitual,” to his record label. Executives at Warner Brothers were not pleased. Ultimately, two versions of the album packaging had to be created: one cover featured artwork by singer Perry Farrell, related to the song "Three Days" and including male and female nudity; the other cover that has been termed the "clean cover,” and features only black text on a white background, listing the band name, album name, and the text of the First Amendment (the "freedom of speech" amendment) of the U.S. Constitution. The "clean cover" was created so the CD could be distributed in stores that refused to stock items with nudity on the front cover. Perry Farrell also created the cover image to Janes Addictions’ third release, “Nothing's Shocking,” which featured a pair of nude female Siamese twins sitting on a sideways rocking chair with their heads on fire. Farrell said the image, like much of his artwork, came to him in a dream. Farrell hired Warner Bros. employees to create the cover sculpture and after learning how to create sculptures by watching them closely, he fired the Warner Bros. staff and created the artwork himself. Nonetheless major music retailers objected to the album's cover. In fact, nine out of the eleven leading record store chains refused to carry “Nothing's Shocking,” and the record had to be issued covered with brown paper. Punk rock band Chumbawamba released their 1994 LP “Anarchy” to even more controversy. Although many of the tracks on the release address specific social problems, such as homophobia, strikes, or fascism, it was the album cover art that caused the stir. The cover art (a baby being born) caused the record to be banned from some shops, stocked in plain sleeves in others. Apparently the miracle of birth is not suitable album cover material, and to some degree, I concur with this. In 1997, “Aerosmith” released their new album titled “Nine Lives” which featured a dancing figure with a cat’s head. The artwork, taken from Hindu imagery, aroused the anger of some Hindus and the band and record company apologized, and then changed the artwork. Alternative grunge giants, “Nirvana” raised the ire of two retail giants (Wal Mart and K Mart) in 1993 with their album cover art and a song on their album “In Utero.” The back cover of the release was changed to read “Waif Me,” instead of the real title of the song “Rape Me.” Despite Kurt Cobain's insistence that the lyrics for the song were, in fact anti-rape, these aforementioned retail giants insisted on the wording change. The retail giants also refused to stock the album because of its artwork (which featured an anatomical figure and model fetuses), so a “doctored” version of the back cover was made for them. Album cover art controversy was nothing new to Nirvana. In 1991, the band released “Nevermind” and the album cover showed a baby swimming in a pool; but clearly showed the infant’s penis. Chain stores such as Wal-Mart, and K-Mart were highly offended and initially refused to carry “Nevermind.” However, due to such high demand, Nirvana compromised and put a sticker that read featuring "Smells Like Teen Spirit," "Come As You Are," and "Lithium" over the offending area. In 1991, the David Bowie-led Tin Machine had an album cover that pictured four statues with no clothing- hence full frontal nudity. For obvious reasons, the cover for the release “Tin Machine II” created some debate and for the American release of the album, the cover was airbrushed to remove the genitalia of the Kouroi statues. Also in 1991, death metal band Cannibal Corpse's second album "Butchered at Birth," also caused a ruckus. The album was banned in many places due to the gory cover art made by artist Vince Locke. The cover art featured a slaughtered mother-to-be being carved up by a zombie, her baby apparently about to be slaughtered by a second zombie, and dead fetuses hanging from meat hooks and nooses. The album cover also drew a complaint from the Ontario Provincial Police in Canada, which led to a warning not to sell the album to persons under 18. The band “Beautiful South” released an album in 1989 called “Welcome To The Beautiful South,” and the original release pictured an image of a woman with a gun in her mouth and a picture of a man who was smoking a cigarette. This album cover was banned by the retailer Woolworth’s because, in their reasoning, it might cause people to start smoking. The album cover was replaced by pictures of a rabbit and a teddy bear (he was not smoking). Smoking also got the indie music band the “Arctic Monkeys” in trouble with the “censors” in 2006, because of the cover for their release “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I'm Not.” The cover sleeve depicting a friend of the band smoking a cigarette was criticized by the NHS in Scotland. They claimed that the band was “reinforcing the idea that smoking is OK,” a charge that the band disputed. In fact, the image on the CD itself is a shot of a full ashtray and the band’s product manager declared, “You can see from the image smoking is not doing him the world of good.” In a sad tale of irony, the band “Lynyrd Skynrd” had their album called “Street Survivors” (1977) pulled by executives after three band members were tragically killed in a plane crash. You see, the first album cover featured a picture of the band surrounded by flames. The album was released a week before the plane crash that killed singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and back up vocalist Cassie Gaines. The cover was quickly pulled and the replacement cover, a picture of the band without the flames, was quickly introduced. CD reissues have restored the original cover. With an increase in the sales of vinyl record albums and a renewed interest in album cover art, we should, and can expect more censorship, controversial album cover art, as well as legendary album cover art to again become part of rock and roll lore. Look for more interesting stories about album cover art here, at MusicStack!     Robert Benson Author Robert Benson writes about rock/pop music, vinyl record collecting and operates www.collectingvinylrecords.com, where you can pick up a copy of his ebook called "The Fascinating Hobby Of Vinyl Record Collecting." The ebook details why people collect records, where to find collectible vinyl records, album cover art, buying/selling issues, grading, storage, cleaning and much more.  Subscribe to Latest Articles

2 Responses

Eric Krause April 28, 2009 2:22 PM controversial album covers....How about Diamond Dogs by Bowie and Guns N Roses album cover and Golden Earring. When you have time,the birds & animals will take some time,maybe you can go for a part four... FYI..Part two does not show up any more... You can sure keep readers coming back with the stuff you write....Thank You...

Robert Benson April 28, 2009 2:22 PM Again, thanks so much for your comments, I appreciate them! I have fixed part two of this three part series (and yes, a part four will be in the works asap).

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