How was this album cover received upon release? I always thought it was rather garish and not too tasteful. However that was my own opinion. I prefer his earlier covers.
That was unfortunately a case of American vs. British perception of the artwork on that cover… the artist Alan Aldridge was / is very well-known in the UK for his illustrations in the ubiquitous, much-loved children's books (‘The Butterfly Ball’, ‘The Lion’s Cavalcade’etc)… so it was a very familiar style in the UK and probably understood right away. Not so much on this side of the Atlantic… so it was, as you say, taken as odd and garish.
I'd argue that this doesn't count because it's a series of several different pictures and not the continuation of one whole image.
