Album covers have often been used as attention seeking shock tactics to get a public reaction, but the following are an example of where statement marketing can go really wrong. Be warned these images may well be quite disturbing or explicit…which, in turn serves for the title of this article. The covers chosen for the following albums are ones that were banned from the shelves due to certain factors being inappropriate or, let’s face it, harmful to the eyes, morals or feelings. Warning; the images get worse as the list goes on!
10. The Black Crowes – Amorica (1994)
The major superstores in the States were unified in their reaction to the third album release by the Crowes back in 1994. Their album cover; previously featured on the cover of Hustler in July, 1976, featured a close up of a female’s crotch wearing Star Spangled Banner underwear and pubic hair spilling over the top. This shock tactic may have backfired on them as the momentum surrounding their release was somewhat diminished by the time they managed to replace the artwork, but they still achieved success as Amorica eventually reached Gold status in the United States, shipping 500,000 copies.
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9. The Beatles – Yesterday and Today (1966)
There was so much controversy over the picture on the cover of this 1970’s album that it was even given the name “The butcher cover”. Its fame put The Beatles squeaky clean image in jeopardy for the first time and questioned their judgement towards the media. The members of the band claimed that it was a breath of fresh air to be able to do a photo shoot that was a little off the wall and different to their usual requirements. They were tired of being the model citizens and this arty shoot let them loose for a few hours. They should’ve stuck with the lego hair cuts and matching good boy suits as the conceptual art piece was removed from circulation, 750,000 copies being recalled and costing Capitol Records $250,000. Despite the profit loss the album went to number one anyway and made up for the losses, and then some.
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8. Guns N Roses – Appetite for Destruction (1987)
Labelled as the best metal record of the late 80’s, Appetite for Destruction was the debut album by Guns N’ Roses. There was many an anthem born of this album; Sweet Child O’ Mine, Paradise City, Welcome to the Jungle to name a few. The original album cover was considered even darker than the tone of the music itself depicting a robotic rapist about to be punished by a metal avenger. After being refused by several big retailers it was later replaced with some more light hearted skulls visuals. They did however manage to slip the original artwork (based on a painting by Robert Williams) on the inside of the cover.
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7. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Electric Ladyland (1968)
When it was released in 1968 this album didn’t make the biggest waves but has since been considered some of Jimi’s best work, joining the top 500 albums of all time on the Rolling Stone list and Q Magazine’s top 100 list. It includes one of his most famous songs All Along The Watchtower, a Bob Dylan cover, but this isn’t all its famous for; the initial album cover was rejected by retailers and Hendrix himself for being pornographic and disrespectful. Some sold it with the cover inside out, but the cover was replaced with a red, blurry picture of Jimi’s head.
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6. John Lennon & Yoko Ono – Unfinished Music No. 1. : Two Virgins (1968)
This one didn’t even make it to the eyes of any public since the record company EMI refused to put it out due to the full on nudity of Lennon and Ono. The album didn’t receive much critical acclaim but it did come in a brown paper bag so all the naughty bits were covered up! The origin of the album itself was made under a cloud as Lennon had invited Ono to visit him while his wife was away on a holiday in Greece; they ended up recording this album and sleeping together which in turn ended his previous relationship. The content of the album reflects their avant-garde attitude at the time, it was an experimental project as was their decision to appear nude on the cover which evidently backfired. The album did not achieve major success but to this day remains famous for its story and their brazenness!
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5. Roxy Music – Country Life (1974)
This album did pretty well; it got to the top ten in the UK and it is the first that cracked the US for the band. However, the risqué album cover they initially released is another story. It featured two beautiful young women wearing extremely revealing, well, let’s face it see through, underwear in front of some trees. The position of the models is nothing short of provocative and thus the reaction in the US, Spain and The Netherlands was to reject the original cover. The models were consequently removed and, rather unimpressively, only the trees remained leaving what could actually have been the cover of the namesake of the record Country Life Magazine.
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4. Hurricane – Slave to The Thrill (1990)
In 1990 the 80’s heavy metal band Hurricane released their second album Slave To The Thrill. The original artwork for the album cover was banned due to the explicit portrayal of a woman lying straddled on a machine that looks as though she is about to be mechanically drilled by. It was swiftly disapproved of and replaced by the same picture minus the female form. Not quite as high-impact but much more socially acceptable.
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3. Marilyn Manson – Holy Wood in the Shadow of the Valley of Death (2000)
The press had brutally attacked Manson for directly influencing the killers of the April 1999 Columbine High School massacre, accusations which were later revoked entirely but the damage was done. To follow up the barrage of unfair accusations Manson wrote Holy Wood in the Shadow of the Valley of Death where he explored American hypocrisy, culture and values up against the national acceptance of violence. Due to the nature of the songs on the album many retail stores already had a problem stocking the album, some only agreeing if the album cover was changed.
“The irony is that my point of the photo on the album was to show people that the crucifixion of Christ is, indeed, a violent image. In fact, the picture itself is composed of a statue of Jesus taken from a place of worship. My jaw is missing as a symbol of this very kind of censorship. This doesn’t piss me off as much as it pleases me, because those offended by my album cover have successfully proven my point.”
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2. Pantera – Far Beyond Driven (1994)
Not renowned for their nice and friendly album covers, the artwork on Far Beyond Driven went far beyond the censors approval and was rapidly replaced – the drill bit impaling an anus (!) was removed and instead a human head stood impaled in its stead which was considered less offensive! All gore aside the album actually struck gold being the first extreme metal album to top the Billboard 200 chart,
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1. Scorpions – Virgin Killer (1976)
And if you thought that one was bad, the next one is seriously disturbing in all manners of…WHY? and HOW COULD YOU? Thankfully this one was changed before many could set their eyes on it but those who did were mortified that anyone could reach a verdict that this was a good decision. The fourth album by heavy metal band Scorpions depicted a prepubescent girl in the nude except for the shattered glass which obscured her genitalia; the title‘s meaning being that time is the killer of innocence. The image was considered to be potentially illegal under the Protection of Children Act 1978.
The band members thought that the lyrics justified the image when they claimed, “We didn’t actually have the idea. It was the record company. The record company guys were like, ‘Even if we have to go to jail, there’s no question that we’ll release that.’ We’re using this only to get attention. That’s what we do.’ The lyrics really say it all. Time is the virgin killer. A kid comes into the world very naive, they lose that naiveness and then go into this life losing all of this getting into trouble. That was the basic idea about all of it.
However in 2008 the same band member stated “Looking at that picture today makes me cringe. It was done in the worst possible taste. Back then I was too immature to see that. Shame on me — I should have done everything in my power to stop it. The song has a totally different meaning from what people would assume at first. Virgin Killer is none other than the demon of our time, the less compassionate side of the societies we live in today — brutally trampling upon the heart and soul of innocence.
The controversy generated around this album cover meant that it was sold sealed in black plastic and in some countries replaced entirely. It has been named “worst album cover of all time” and “most controversial album cover of all time”.
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