Great albums with awful cover art

I don't really think this is "awful" but who would like to chime in?

Hambi and the Dance, Heartache LP (1982), opening track Time After Time:



The band's name is barely visible in dark red above the photograph.

 

If you found that cover horrible then I hope staring at Love Beach helped pull you through...

 

Any of Phil Collins solo albums with progressively larger pictures of his face...

 

This one was definitely “designed” towards the end of a late meeting on a Friday afternoon.

 

Yep. Pretty despicable.

 

Musically, this is a damned great album. Ten minutes of lead flute and Duane Allman guitar on that title track.

 

fantastic album.....Hold On I'm Coming too. ive grown to love the cover....has a cool fabric cut out....I kind of like herbies confidence...'yeah, I'm naked, bald, hairy and sweaty. so what'

 

shut your dirty mouth

 

How do you figure?

 

I meant ignore a member which results in you not seeing anything they post.

 

I knew someone was gonna point this out. To be more accurate, it fits the vibe I get from the title. Homeless people needing to use rundown, sleazy comments left by people in the underbelly of society, etc.
That said, the RSVP cover does introduce some irony to the whole idea, especially when couple with the gatefold. But I still like the toilet cover better.

 

Got it! I don’t think I have anybody on the forum on ignore. It kinda helps that I don’t get involved in threads that I don’t find interesting, and Beatles discussions aren’t for me. I did just miss the mention of Sabotage.

 

This is a fantastic example. I think that the *unusual* cover literally keeps people from checking out the album, which is a damn shame.

 

The Doors - Strange Days


Sparks - Kimono My House

 

Wha.......?!
One of the greatest covers (and album) of all time!
The cover reflects the eerie, unsettling and carnivalesque music perfectly!

 

A better album than Sabotage, and an even worse cover...

 

I like it as well, particularly with the knife cutting across to the back cover. If there's a disappointing cover from their early career, I would point to Foxtrot myself.

 

Yeah I’d considered that one. I can’t ever decide if the low-budget look of that one has some positive aspect, or at least fits the lyrical themes /overall feel on some level.

Many would disagree, but I think that Ozzy-era Sabbath is generally ill-served by the album covers. The huge exception is Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, whose cover is thoroughly awesome. Vol. 4 is pretty cool too, or at least appropriate. I have mixed feelings about the first album, and Master Of Reality is poorly served by its cover.

 

Phil's face was never bigger than on "Face Value", his first solo album!

Criticize the "Phil head" covers if you want, but ya can't claim his face got bigger - the shot on "NJR" is probably half that of "FV"!

 

Yeah I was the same. Great band and great album but i must have walked past it 500 times before trying because of this cover!

 

Wow!

This is prob in my top 10 covers ever! love it

 

I love Icehouse's 'Measure for Measure.' A synthy classic that even has Brian Eno integrated into the band. But the cover is wretched. For the original Australian version, we get Iva Davies sniffing his arm pit. For the US version, we get Iva Davies wearing a godawful trouser/sock/shoe combination.

 

And that Blind Faith albums cover with the naked girl holding an airplane... what the hell was that?

 

I agree, totally. Easily my favourite of the Doors’ cover images.

 

As I understand it, the photographer originally wanted her older sister but used her instead. Don't know if this is accurate though. The rumor was she
was Ginger Baker's kid.