How rad an album cover is will greatly sway whether or not you purchase it, and that is just a fact of life, ladies and gentlemen. The more obvious factor you'll take into consideration is your familiarity with a band, sure, but if you're seeking out new artists then the first thing you take into consideration is their name, then their genre, then finally - the album cover. How rad an album cover is also decides if you're financially sound to purchase it; something plain and pisspoor will leave that nagging voice in the back of your mind that you have rent and bills to pay this week. On the flip-side however, something that is so in your face cool that you're instantly drawn to it suddenly turns you a millionaire, willing to drop a tenner or more right there and then to take home this work of art.
And that is what we celebrate here today - those album covers that left you powerless in purchasing the record so that you may indulge in the music that dwells behind the artwork. Sometimes the music is shit, sometimes it perfectly compliments the art, but right here and now we're all about the artwork. So let's begin.
Danzig - Thrall - Demonsweatlive, 1993
We start with this bad boy, Danzig's split EP Thrall - Demonsweatlive. The artwork was designed by artist Simon Bisley, a dude who made his career drawing various album and magazine artworks, before being hired by 2000AD despite having no experience in comic strips. He was hired specifically because of one image he sent to the offices, and 2000AD knew there was no way they could pass up this guy's work, and this album shows exactly why they made that call. Orcette titties? Check. Cool demon skulls? Check. Extreme acts of violence? Checkity check check. Danzig is a pretty metal guy, so it makes sense he would seek out equally pretty metal artwork, which is what we are presented with here. Awesome.
The Prodigy - The Fat of the Land, 1997
The Fat of the Land is one of the most iconic albums of all time, and one of the reasons for this status is definitely how rad the album cover is. The Prodigy were already an established name in the rave scene of the late 80s and early 90s, but it was Fat of the Land's dark and aggressive nature that really brought them into the limelight for better or for worse, as the general public cried out over it's inclusion of Smack My Bitch Up, equaled in its offence by its music video, along with that of Breathe and Firestarter, all three of which were either banned or relegated to airtime only when well past the watershed. The cover perfectly captures this feeling of adrenaline and aggression the band would soon become known for, as you the viewer feel as though you're flying down a beach at breakneck speeds, straight into the path of a pissed off crab ready to do battle with you. Fuck yeah.
Fu Manchu - The Action is Go, 1997
Fu Manchu are quite possibly one of the raddest bands to ever grace this earth. Their style of music perfectly captures the essence of the mullet brandishing, dope smoking, skateboarding crowd that you associate with top tier stoner rock in the 90s, and the album artwork really compliments that. It features an action shot of Z-Boys' legendary Tony Alva taken by the equally legendary Glen E. Friedman, who is known for capturing some of skateboarding's earliest pioneers, as well as an impressive selection of rad bands, including: Bad Brains, Public Enemy, Dead Kennedys, and many more. This album is a quintessential for anyone looking to amass an album collection that is as good to look at as it is to listen to. Radical.
Fatboy Slim - You've Come A Long Way, Baby, 1998
What else other than rad artwork makes for a killer album cover? Photos of rad folk, that's what. You've Come A Long Way's model is an unknown attendee of a 1983 Fat People's Festival, and boy is this dude a sight to behold. Look at that strut, that cooler than thou smirk - this is a guy who knows how to carry himself, pulling off a bold statement on his tee which is then tucked into his denims, as he sports a pair of sweet shades and brandishes a cigarette. Truly, we have come a long way indeed. The American artwork was changed to a photo of a load of records on a shelving unit, which is kinda lame.
Slabdragger - Rise of the Dawncrusher, 2016
A more recent album cover, Dawncrusher has a lot going on. A giant space drill desecrates the Earth as it spews out fire from its engines, along with debris, naked chicks, and bongs. It's so loud and in your face that you can't help but be drawn in by it, and it does a hell of a job selling the slugdey stoner rock that dwells within. With a name like Slabdragger it is your duty to display only the raddest of alum covers, and the band has certainly succeeded in this work of art. Sweet.
Boston - Boston, 1976
It is widely known that the inclusion of sci-fi and shape travel elements to your album cranks it up a few notches on the radometre, as best shown in Boston's debut self-titled album. We see what appears to be major cities of Earth feeling the exploding homeland, each on their own spacecraft, with the city of Boston leading the escape as blue flames spit from the exhaust port. The album holds some of the greatest hard rock tracks of all time, and thus it must convey to the audience that the band Boston are out of this world in terms of the rock power. Fuckin' A.
Rage Against the Machine, Rage Against the Machine, 1992
If an album is going to be trouble, it darn well better warn you in advance. Rage's debut album of the same name figured the listener needed further cautioning beyond the Parental Advisory sticker, and opted to include an image of Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức burning himself alive back in 1963. Rage intended to tell America they were sick of its shit and were about to drop a selection of tracks that would make their opinions heard, and their point hit home hard with an image of government rebellion that had already shaken America years prior, prompting president Kennedy to withdraw support from the then Vietnamese government Thích was demonstrating against. A monk keeping his chill as he burns himself alive is a pretty powerful symbol of rad, but to do it because he's sticking it to the man? That only propels his status of rad, and in turn Rage's.
Bad Religion - Suffer, 1988
To some this album is one of the most important punk albums of all time, not only because it is considered one of Bad Religion's greatest outings, but because of the influence it had on so many bands that followed. Five years prior to its release, Bad Religion had dropped their prog-rock album Into the Unknown, a record both they and fans alike keep very well swept under the rug to this day, and which was also followed by the band's break-up. With Suffer they had to show they were back with a bang, and so they chose to catch your attention with the image of an idealistic suburban neighbourhood, occupied solely by one single lad in the iconic cross-buster tee, his body wrapped in flames. As previously stated, people on fire are pretty cool, and Bad Religion knew well before Rage the selling power it had. So thank you Bad Religion for this album, and the artwork that you chose to grace it.
Aphex Twin - Richard D James Album, 1996
That fucking face man. That iconic sinister grin that adorned the Richard D James Album had been previously implemented on I Care Because You Do and Donkey Rhubarb, but Richard was the first use of the artist's mug in the flesh, admittedly with some slight photoshopping. The lighting, the too close for comfort frame, the piercing eyes, everything about it is rad. There's absolutely no indication from this image what the album's contents will be, so unless you were already an established fan this unknown face was the image was the lone element Aphex Twin chose to sell his album. That's a lot of pressure to put on one single face, but it worked like a charm, and it is now considered one of the artist's most iconic album covers, rivaled only by Window Licker and Come to Daddy, though both only hold their own due to also featuring this menacing grin. Rad as fuck.
Scorpions - Moment of Glory, 2000
Holy fucking shit.
That's it for this installment of Rad Album Covers : A Collection, join us next week for another collection which we promise will feature album covers equally as rad as the ones you have seen here. I will leave you with one final honourable mention:
Pooh-Man - Funky As I Wanna Be, 1992
It takes a lot of balls to label oneself the Pooh-Man, but Mr MC Pooh takes the mantle and flaunts it with devastating power. Here we see Mr Pooh popping his head up between a woman's thighs - what was he doing down there? What is the emotion he is conveying behind those glasses? And just how funky does he want to be? These are all questions we must ask when faced with an album cover of this magnitude - truly Pooh-Man is a provocateur in the greatest of sense, as we can assume he not only wants to sell records, but also wishes to let the ladies know he's down for goin' down. Stay funky, Pooh-Man.
Later.
ความคิดเห็น