For more banned album covers check out the other video I did: th-cam.com/video/vBalqpr3nJI/w-d-xo.html TH-cam deemed the video inappropriate for advertisers, so the algorithm isn't promoting it (which is why you likely missed it). I talk about controversial albums from Jimi Hendrix (Electric Ladyland), The Black Crowes (America), David Bowie (Diamond Dogs), John Lennon (Two Virgins), Mom's Apple Pie, and several others.
Similar to the hood ornament, but not the same. The hood ornament was much pointier at the front and longer in the rear. Could it have been a different year than 1955 or a different make of car? It might have been a concept model for a plane. A google search points to a wooden model painted in silver.
...and that chrome plated hood ornament was designed to resemble a model plane, so it's still correct to call it a model plane. No need to be nitpicky.
I was watching antique roadshow UK one day and a lady had the original Beatles butcher album cover. she sold it for 15000.00 pounds. She later stated "who can say the Beatles paid to have their roof redone" I got a chuckle out of that and thought I would share the story. Good video bud thanks for uploading it.
Three more come to mind: 1) the Five Keys, a late 1950s RnB group, did the thumb/phallus thing. 2) Lynyrd Skynyrd's "flames" cover that was modified after several band members were killed in an accident. 3) Roger Waters' Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking had some nudity that was covered with a black box after the initial pressing.
"Smell the Glove" by Spinal Tap originally had a greased naked female model on all fours being forced to smell a glove shoved in her face by male's hand on the cover. It was never released due to concerns from the label, Polymer Records. Of course the replacement, a completely black cover with no words or distinguishing marks became an industry classic, as was the album itself. There's such a fine line between stupid and clever.
As a ten year boy looking to buy one of his first albums I bought this Blind Faith album having no clue who they were. Happily impressed with the music.
I bought the blind faith album without any reservation or embarrassment. No one I know ever commented on it. It's only unacceptable to the "woke" generation.
I was working in a music store in September of 2001. Dream Theater released a live album, recorded in NYC, on 9/11. By sheer coincidence, the cover art featured the Manhattan skyline, twin towers front and center, drawn in flames. We got faxes from tge label later that morning to pull all copies from the racks. They eventually were destroyed. So glad i took one before we had to do that!
I wouldn't be too quick to say that was a coincidence because there are several Twin Tower references were they were exploding or on fire many years on various things and even a reference to 9/11 itself. The Simpsons had a cartoon once with the Twin Towers in the background and plane fares 9 dollars in front so it formed a 9/11. In the movie Rugrats it had them on fire, the Illuminati card deck has not only the Towers burning right were the plans hit, but also a Pentagon card and also on fire right were it was struck. And many more; all were from the early to mid 90's. One you could say it may have been a coincidence but so many? It's obvious this was planned long before and People in our own government let it happen.
I remember when Poison's album came out, I was never a fan of the band, but my sister was and she had to explain to my conservative born again Christian mother who would freak out if she heard me listening to any form of rock music on the radio or MTV. I still remember her first reaction when she saw Iron Maiden's Number of the Beast album cover and every cover of any Iron Maiden album after that. It's been 30 plus years and i still have ringing in my ears.
My friend made me listen to that Poison album before showing me the cover lol ( a month after it was released). Fortunately they didn't look quite as "pretty" in their videos as they did on the cover. Loved their music, was a fan since day 1.
Luckily for me my mother was very understanding and I could buy whatever I wanted and put up posters on my bed room wall. My dad wasn't as accommodating and it was because of him that I didn't get to see Iron Maiden in '85. He wasn't religious but he was just culturally old fashioned. He didn't even like to watch horror movies. He said that going to that show would leave a lot to be desired,. Now the only thing I desire is a time machine, so I can go back 38 years to correct that mistake. Anyway, I did have other run ins with religious people. It was the age of moral majority and the pmrc campaign. I had a friend who's mother had a complete conniption when she heard the title 'The Number of the Beast", not the cover just the title. She would have burned it if she saw it. Then, I had a few encounters with a few teachers at private schools in the 80's. None of that was pleasant.
Can't believe that you left off Two Virgins. Probably one of the most famous. Also, of I remember correctly, Houses of the Holy came with a paper sash covering the naked children. Also, again I could be wrong, but the Blind Faith model was a little older 13 and her sister was 16. They originally wanted the older sister but she was, how would you say, much more developed and that wouldn't do. I own both covers, with the censored cover being an original pressing. Great segment. Do it again!
I have "Two Virgins" including the paper that covers the album cover. I paid 33-1/3 cents for the album, getting it from a "3 for $1.00" discount bin at a department store!
two album covers banned or censored i can think of right off the bat are the naked cover of hendrix's "electric lady land" (1968). the best "nude" cover in history. and the pushtwangers' "here we go again..." (1986) with the naked lady on the cover. oh, and there's the wondrerful nude cover from the "my pussy belongs to daddy" album featuring the faye richmond song of the same title. lastly, that lady appearing on the blind faith album isn't 11 years old. i don't care what crap the photographer says. besides, since when is child "porn" legal on album covers when its not legal anywhere else? also, when is it r&r's job to shock and disgust people? art was never meant to shock but to enlighten. and then of course you have the sick rappers who sell porn to kids as a marketing strategy. their lyrics, album covers and videos are intended to appeal to the sexual fantasies of horny little boys. who else would buy that crap? and one last lastly, screw demonism and satanism. its the exact opposite of what r&r was intended to be. what's wrong with people? why do they fall for the normalization of this crap?
The story behind the Nothing's Shocking cover is kinda cool. Perry Farrell talks about it in an interview. He says he had a dream about the rocking chair that rocked sideways. Either he, or someone he knew, built the piece of furniture. Then he made a latex mold of his girlfriend and made the statues and set them on fire. They tried to get a bunch of pics really fast before they melted.
I worked at a record store in 87-88. One day 4 copies of the GnR original cover showed up. Was told to put them on the floor for sale, and if they didn't sell, we could buy them. 2 went on display and sold, the other copies in World Music and Opera. I still have the album less the stickers. I also have the Capitol promo poster for the Poison album. It's the eyes only and pics of the band guys with the logo. I have a box of promo posters and a lot of great promo albums from working there. Met Lita Ford there, too!
One small point; in the banned Blind Faith cover, that's not a silvered model airplane. It the chromed hood ornament from a 1950's vintage Chevrolet. I always thought it was used to add surrealism to the image. richard -- One of the phrases you are least likely to hear: "That's the banjo player's Porsche."
I had the censored album cover of Poison's "Open Up". However, I was in their fan club back in 1988, and was able to purchase a rather large poster of the uncensored cover, which I still have today. Also, their album cover for "Flesh & Blood" was censored. The cover was Rikki Rockett's tattoo that said Flesh & Blood, and there was fake blood added to the bottom to make it more realistic, I suppose. People got their panties in a bunch over it, and the fake blood was removed. but I managed to snag one of the copies (on cassette) and again, still have it!
My dad's copy of Santana's Abraxas had a sticker strategically placed over some of the artwork. Eventually the glue on the sticker turned to powder, and it is now in my collection as originally designed.
I'm obviously about the same age as your dad! Abraxas was the first of many Santana albums I bought in my youth, mainly because of the music - but the album cover was certainly an attraction! Have always wondered how CBS got away with the artwork 🤣
I remember the hype, for poison's album, "open up and say ahhhh..." In 1988 I was in middle school. In my Spanish class, a classmate brought the album, to explain the body parts in Spanish. The teacher thought the album was unique. And did not complain or tell the principal about the album.
My older brother had a copy of the original Blind Faith album. Our mom flipped out and told him to get rid of it. He didn’t of course. She also hated the Alice Cooper “Killer” album’s inner gatefold he had hanging on his wall and told him to take it down or she would. Later she’d tell me the same thing about the Gene Simmons spitting blood photo I’d cut out of a rock magazine and hung on my wall. All that is weird because she had no problem with the Heather Locklear, Farrah Fawcett semi nude Playboy, Linda Ronstadt nipple showing, or the busty Loni Anderson posters I’d hung up.
@@roebuckmckinney Yeah, and there's an obvious difference between consenting naked adult women, and underage barely budding girls. Mom sounds kinda based here. lol
Art should never be banned. Don't like it, don't agree with it, fine, don't look at it. That's what I do rather than tread on others. Censorship is a bad, bad thing, as evidenced by many of these covers getting censored. The one exception, a nude child. That's not art. That's pedophilia.
Emerson, Lake, and Palmer's 1973 album _Brain Salad Surgery_ had artwork from Swiss sci-fi artist H.R. Giger that included the male organ in the center. The record company did not approve, and Giger refused to remove it, so it was softened by airbrushing it into a shaft of light instead. There's the full story on Wikipedia's page about the album.
I remember The Dead Kennedys were taken to court over their L.P. Frankenchrist having an insert by Gieger called Penis Landscape. I bought the album when it came out, I didn't see what the fuss was about.
There's a good reason there was a male organ in the woman's throat on that cover.................................for those who don't know, Brain Salad Surgery is slang for male oral sex.
I’m old as dirt, but as a Beatles fan (after the Stones) I got the Yesterday and Today album when it was first hit the stores probably at Giant Music in Falls Church, Va. Word got around that the real cover was underneath and you could steam it off. I did, and it’s on my wall. A week later these covers were gone. Would have been worth more if I didn’t, but what the hell….
The original album cover of Hawkwind's PXR5 had a picture of a UK 13 amp 3 pin fused plug conveniently showing how to wire it up (useful when you've just blown a fuse on your guitar amp). However the record company were forced to put a sticker particularly obscuring it, since it showed the earth wire connected to the live pin (potential lethal on UK 240 Volt 3 wire connectors). Shocking 🫨😱💥
I have that album with that sticker. Quite apt when you think that with the band members being out of their boxes most of the time that is probably how one of them would wire a plug!😵💫
@@fus149hammer5 Yes, and David Brock is still gigging ages 81, doing the festivals and they just released a new album (I really like it). Given the interesting mushrooms and Mary Jane wash down with free Cider (their payment for a certain Somerset venue), probably wouldn't be able to tell what colours the wires were anyway 🙂. Still love the band, seen them loads of times since the late 70s...
@@tpbrcombo Yes, this is one of my favourite albums of Hawkwind and "High Rise" one of the best ever - love the base and THEN you listen to the lyrics "Starfish of human blood shape...".
Pantera's Far Beyond Driven had censored artwork. The original had a drill going where the sun doesn't shine. It was available with the original art on the vinyl version here in the UK though. Metallica's Kill 'Em All was originally going to be called Metal Up Your Ass and had artwork depicting a toilet with a hand holding a blade sticking out of it.
I've never seen it in person, but I remember Bowie's Diamond Dogs album cover getting changed because the hybrid Bowie/dog had its genitals showing when the gatefold was opened. If I remember correctly, a very small number of them got into the wild before they were airbrushed and are now worth a lot of money.
I remember seeing that Blind Faith cover in a record shop and a fairly mainstream one (possibly HMV or one of that ilk) - it never occurred to me she was a child! But the Scorpions one? yeah... ah bit dodgy even in "Europe"...
The original cover for Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland with the teenage naked ladies on it was pull from sale and change. What I heard even Jimi was opposed to the cover before being release only because he really wanted a Colorful Psychedelic painted Artwork for the cover
I used to have that copy with the naked women on it. Sold it back in the 90's but wish I'd kept it as it looks like copies are fetching way much more than I sold it for.
In 1991 I got a hold of the original Appetite for Destruction, I still own it. I had the T-Shirt too. I also have the cassette version of Open Up and Say Ahh with the original artwork but I don't remember that cover being an issue.
great topic Frank! I've never understood how the Scorpions actually agreed to that original album cover.... especially when taken in conjunction with the album title. terrible. I think Jimi Hendrix Electric Ladyland is another good example of a banned cover
One cover that was changed out of respect for the band was Lynyrd Skynyrd's Street Survivors. The original cover had the band standing in street surrounded by fire. Shortly after the plane crash that image was replaced by the group standing together under a spotlight. The flames cover was never banned, it was thought that it was too bold afterwards. After about 12 years it was once again been available as the standard cover. I can agree with the criticism of the Blind Faith and Scorpions album covers. They are truley tasteless images. Along the same lines the original cover design for Electric Lady Land is rather unnecessary too. It's not even intriguing, but just silly.
It's said that the replacement was mostly done out of respect to the family of guitartist Steve Gaines, who died in the plane crash, because the fire in the original picture almost completely obscures his image.
I'm amazed that Ronnie Montrose's album "Jump On It" or Jethro Tull's album "War Child" weren't banned as well. I remember seeing that Blind Faith album in a record store back in the 70's and thinking WTF. lol
Exodus' "Bonded By Blood" was also changed from the original, which also had conjoined twins on the cover. The cover was restored on re-issues. Type O' Negative's "Origin Of The Feces" had the original artwork changed as well (those who know, would understand why).
two album covers banned or censored i can think of right off the bat are the naked cover of hendrix's "electric lady land" (1968). the best "nude" cover in history. and the pushtwangers' "here we go again..." (1986) with the naked lady on the cover. oh, and there's the wondrerful nude cover from the "my pussy belongs to daddy" album featruing the faye richmond song of the same title. lastly, that lady appearing on the blind faith isn't 11 years old. i don't care what crap the photographer says. besides, since when is child "porn" legal on album covers when its not legal anywhere else? also, whem is it r&r's job to shock and disgust people? art was never meant to shock but to enlighten. and then of course you have the sick rappers who sell porn to kids as a marketing strategy. therir lyrics, album covers and videos are intended to appeal to the sexual fantasies of horny little boys. who else would buy that crap? and one last lastly, screw demonism and satanism. its the exact opposite of what r&r was intended to be. what's wrong with people? why do they fall for the normalization of this crap?
Bowie's Diamond Dogs cover was censored. The original image (and actually produced as a poster give away in an UK music magazine) showed that the dog half of Bowie was a definite male. The 'offending' part was air brushed out for the release.
I own several copies of Permanent Waves. The old US pressings don't show the newspaper headline while the Canadian and Europeans ones do. It is the infamous Chicago Tribune "Dewey Defeats Truman" headline from the election of 1948. It was an embarrassment for the paper and they wouldn't allow it to be used. But the latest reissue that I own does have the headline visible.
One you missed: the self-titled 1972 album by Mom's Apple Pie (in the original version, the pie is, um, rather interesting). Also "The Electric Spanking of War Babies" by Funkadelic. And the UK cover for Jimi Hendrix's "Electric Ladyland" was replaced in the US. Also, the H.R. Giger art for the Dead Kennedys' "Frankenchrist" led to legal troubles that nearly bankrupted their label.
I have never listened to Mom's Apple Pie, but I had heard much about the cover of their first album. It was one of the biggest "Who cares what the album sounds like? Did you see the cover?!" moments of Rock music.
I read that the Jovi album wasn't banned, but that the band wasn't keen on the pink border and went with the alternate in the states. Thank you for the additional info. Definitely one in my short list. The one I NEVER understood was Stryper - To Hell With The Devil. The original artwork on that album was 100x better. If I would have been in the band, keeping that artwork would have been a hill that I would have chosen to die on.
Definitely agree about Stryper (as they are one of my favorite bands). In that case, the album cover was changed because Christian bookstores didn't want to carry the original album cover, presumably because of the pentagram on the front. Granted, the angels on the front are throwing Satan into hell, but they still didn't like it.
I think I remember that the artwork with the girl was used for the cover of the tour book on that tour. I still have it somewhere. So they did officially use it, in the UK anyway.
@davidtoups4684 The creator of the cover said he made the border pink to match the models nail polish. Jon Bon Jovi hated it and hastily made the one used himself.
The original cover for Golden Earring's Moontan album didn't last long. The original was a drawing of an old school Vegas showgirl, with feathers and pasties. I saw the original when it first came out. Shortly thereafter, the cover became a boring closeup B&W photo of an ear, with a "golden earring" drawn in as hanging from the ear. They censored a drawing. As for the Blind Faith album cover, my CD copy has the original cover within the insert inside, just not on the displayed cover.
Very close. The front art of Moontan was an actual b&w photo that had been colorized. The back cover wasn't innocent either featuring a b&w photo of a completely nude man from the rear. I may be mistaken but I believe it was the lead singer, Barry Hay. That's 1973 for you.
The original Octopus album and the Saturnalia picture disc did cause some controversy although I don't think they were actually banned, and the "Ladies" cover of Electric Ladyland upset a few people, including Hendrix according to some biographies I've read..
The Black Crowes “Amorica” was one I was going to say, and for the more adventurous you could check out… “Heaven Or Hollywood” by Uncle Sam. Our country is kind of prudish when it comes to this kind of stuff.
I remember a line from the movie "Bohemian Rhapsody" when a Queen video was banned in the USA. Brian May says "They're puritans in public and perverts in private".
Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables had a picture of the original band who did Viva Las Vegas. Complains meant the heads were cut off. No idea of value, one of my school mates had the original!1
The Five Keys' "On Stage" is the earliest example I can think of. Both the LP & the 7" EP was airbrushed. Also White Zombies' "Swingin' Summer Sounds" & obscure group "Mom's Apple Pie".
Like Nirvana’s album cover? A agree to Some extend. But honestly: I dont see much harm in the Blind Faith cover. Because its not offensive nor does It sexualise the girl. This in contrast with the Virgin Killer album cover. The BF cover is far from attractive but is somehow intruiging. We live in different times now. Postcards from the prudisch Victorian Age have lots of naked babies and children. In that era they were considered as non- sexual beings. I made Some photo’s I took from my children in the nude in the 90’s are now considered “pornographic”
nevermind was censored they removed the boys penis because you know boys shouldnt have them. just like the weirdos today on fb insta etc who remove girls nipples. imagine being a perfectly normal human @@edwinsam7604
i remember when Open Up And Say Ahhh.... came out and the controversy. I saw a copy of the original LP cover ONCE at the local Meijer. by the time I got my own copy (on cassette) it was the censored cover😵💫
7:26 I don't know if it's still the case; but in Japan it's not allowed to use physical abnormalities on a cover. Same reason the three-legged dog on the 1995 Alice In Chains is not used over there.
One of my favorite albums which had the cover changed was enema of the state, it originally showed a nurse putting on a glove with a red cross on her hat, but due to legal troubles blink 182 had to change it, they had removed the cross but still kept the hat.
The Moody Blues' *A Question of Balance* was reworked in the UK because it had an unflattering depiction of a British hunter/adventurer based on a real person, but US/Canadian copies have the original back cover artwork. Ape House issued XTC's original cover art for *Skylarking* (featuring a woman's nether region adorned with tiny flowers) a few years ago which Virgin rejected for the '80's original LP.
Scorpions had many controversial album covers, along with Virgin Killer. In Trance (A woman's nipple) Taken By Force (Children with guns) Lovedrive (Man pulling chewing gum from a woman's breast. Fully exposed breast on back cover) Animal Magnetism (Obedient woman) Love at first sting (Too Sexy?)
@@theragingdolphinsmaniac4696 Relationship may also be implied, but She and the dog are basically the same to him in that picture. They are both Loyal and "Obedient" animals. Hence the name "Animal Magnetism".
@@jodyhowell9164 Art is subjective. What you see and interpret is based on your life experiences. Mine are different than yours therefore I get different meaning than you do.
@@theragingdolphinsmaniac4696 Exactly, so why did you tell me MY "Obedient" interpretation on the initial post was wrong. That is simply MY interpretation.
Roxy Music's 1974 album Country Life features 2 scantily clad beautiful ladies, in front of a backdrop of green leaves or vines . You could buy it in Europe at the time, but in the USA you just got the green leaves...no ladies. Funny!!
I don't have an issue with nudity on an album cover per se, but I draw the line when minors are involved. Children aren't capable of giving consent for something like that. Even if the parents are ok with it, it's still not the child's decision.
You may find this hard to believe, but the US FedGov had no laws on the books regarding child trafficking or child p**n until the later 70's. It was essentially up to local jurisdictions to police these things. And to this day, it's largely in the hands of local authorities to determine what is "obscene". City authorities can restrict the exhibition or sale of whatever materials they deem obscene, however, artists and their representatives have successfully sued in order to fight back against these restrictions.
I brought an original 'Slippery When Wet' when I was in Japan back in 1999 and yes, I also do not understand the 'Open Up And Say Ahh...' issue, here in Australia we only got the original cover, not the letterbox version. Cool video.
Just extra FYI, the "Chrome Jet Toy" on the Blind Faith album is based on an old 50s era hood ornament. Along with the fins in the back, the cars often had these on the front to evoke that futuristic feel.
The original artwork for Country Life by Roxy Music was banned in the US and Canada (I think). The 2 mostly-nude women on the cover were replaced by pine trees. Edit: Sorry, didn’t mean banned, I should have said censored.
There were covers that just had pine trees which was a substitute for the original nearly-nude cover, but the original was also available with the cover hidden by opaque shrink wrap which, when removed, revealed the original cover design.
In Australia we had a controversial album in 1974 by hard rock band Buffalo “ Only want you for your body” . It featured a screaming semi naked obese woman shackled to a torture rack . Many record store owners refused to stock the record whilst others placed it in a brown paper bag . Great album though 😎🎸👌
The US government doesn't have authority to "ban" something like that on obscenity grounds, however, local governments do have varying standards of obscenity. What happened with the Roxy music cover is that record label got nervous about causing offense and re-issued the album with counter-measures to hide the nudity. Nobody forced the label to do that.
You beat me to it! I believe the early US copies had the colored shrinkwrap (green, I believe). Later issues just had the pine trees. Back in the 80's I bought a then new UK pressing that featured the original artwork with no covering. A bit of useless trivia, The two girls were the sister and girlfriend of Michael Karoli, guitarist from the German band Can.
And all official reissues of Country Life (in all formats) now feature the original cover of the two girls. No opaque green shrink-wrap, no strategically placed hype stickers. The cover for Stranded also had some mild controversy because you can see the cover model's nipples through her soaked dress. But no one sought to cover up the offending body parts on that one.
The album Voodoo-U by Lords of Acid was heavily censored in the mid-90s due to devil-women cunnilingus on the cover. Of course, teen me thought it was awesome!
My understanding is that the Yesterday and Today butcher cover was a statement about Beatles records being butchered for the American market! In fact, Yesterday and Today was just one of those albums. Their albums were always robbed of 3 tracks, so the stripped songs would make an extra album to sell. It was a problem.
That's right. 3 or 4 tracks were left off the US (capitol) albums, such as Rubber Soul. They would do this to create additional US albums such as Beatles '65 and Beatles VI and the one you mentioned. Finally, with the release of Revolver, the band said "Stop that!"
Capital also threw in some singles, then with only 11 tracks on those albums, Presto! A Beatles album, also the vinyl was of a lesser quality than the Parlophone/EMI albums. I only have those as I was living over there back then. When seeing the Capitol albums, I was appalled.
The "Butcher Cover" of The Beatles "Yesterday and Today" is pretty damn rare. In April 2013, an original cover sold for $11,632 and in May 2019, John Lennon's own copy sold for $250,000. I actually have one that was handed down to me from my dad... I'll never sell it- will hand it down to my son.
Only the "first state" covers that never had the trunk cover pasted over are rare. There are hundreds of thousands of the paste over version, many of which have been peeled. They're expensive because of demand, but they're not rare.
@@notthatyouasked6656 I heard that still pasted versions are rarer than peeled ones, actually. After the word got out, a lot of people were curious about the hidden butcher covers...
@@hakanstorsater5090 Decent paste over copies are harder to find than they once were, but "rare" is still a stretch, as there are easily tens of thousands of them. Again, they're expensive, not rare.
I have a trunk cover paste-over inherited from my late older brother. Peeled back a corner just enough to confirm that it had the butcher cover underneath, and it shall stay that way for all eternity.
The South Korean pressing of 2112 by Rush has the red pentagram symbol removed, so it's literally just the logo hovering over some water in space. The symbol wasn't even meant to be satanic though, it was just the symbol for the temples of Syrinx in the story.
It’s hard to believe that you didn’t include Some Girls by The Rolling Stones. Lucille Ball and others threatened legal action if their photos weren’t removed.
I've got the Blind Faith album, I can't remember any big controversy when it came out. I think people today are a bit more sensitive . We were just glad to hear Clapton and Ginger playing together again
Yeah, I remember seeing that Blind Faith in record stores all the time back in the '70's, often quite prominently displayed. My mom would've pitched a fit about it, but she never went to record stores.
Buffalo were an Australian band of the early 1970's. The cover of their third album 'Only Want You for Your Body' is right up there. Also the cover of their 2nd album 'Volcanic Rock' whilst a little more subtle is also a contender for your list. Both were excellent hard rock albums.
I’m old😂 Buffalo outraged everyone with Volcanic Rock back in the day but I Only Want You For Your Body went to far.Great albums and they Black Sabbath off stage back then.
The album artwork for "Only Want You for Your Body" shown on Wikipedia seems a lot more tame than what I remember of it from the 70's. Buffalo were ok, but MacKenzie Theory were my speed.
I also cannot believe you omitted John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s album “Two Virgins” which featured a black and white photo of the couple standing completely nude. They were sent to stores with a brown paper cover.
Scorpions are notorious for their covers getting banned. The only one that I'd argue should've been was Virgin Killer. In Trance showed a woman's breast but it's really only noticeable if you look closely. Lovedrive was banned because it depicts gum on a womans nipple which isn't too big of a deal for me personally. The one that gets me laughing the most is Love at First Sting which shows a side boob, really not a big deal people!!!
Really surprised that you that you didn't mention "Country Life" by Roxy Music..... THAT album was censored in record stores when the Blind Faith album was displayed without a second thought.... Of course, back then nobody thought a topless eleven-year-old girl was "sexy". I think it was taken for granted that it was an image of hippy innocence.
Cannibal Corpse has had a lot of problems. I believe the first 3 albums were banned in Germany and a few others needed alternate covers because certain places wouldn't sell the originals.
My band, The Quagaars, had to change our latest album's cover for streaming services. The original is available via Bandcamp but the streaming gods objected to multiple things. First of all, the cover contains 2 toy Gorillas with speech bubbles indicating that one is saying "The Quagaars' albums don't go gold" and the other one responding "but they do go moldy!" (Moldy being the title of the album). The streaming gods don't like any additional text appearing on album covers and so a 2nd cover was created which covered the speech bubbles. They then claimed that the album cover contained copyrighted or trademarked images, but would not indicate what the offending images were. It was probably the toy Gorillas which were trademarked to Sun Arrow toys in 1987 but as they haven't been in production for over 30 years, the trademark would have lapsed by now. So a 3rd cover was created where the entire image was covered in mold. At least we now know that mold isn't trademarked.
That sucks. I have my own response in mind if something like that ever happens to me. I will not say what it is because as far as I know it hasn't been done. But it will be a way to stick it to them without them even knowing.
Jane's Addiction's next album "Ritual De Lo Habitual" also was released with a censored album cover. The official album art was painted by the band's singer, and it depicted nudity. The band also released an alternate cover for the album that is composed of a plain white background under black text that included the band logo, album name, and the text of the first amendment of the U.S. constitution.
I knew someone who had that original Blind Faith album, I lived in Italy in 1970 and the kid was the same age I was, 12. I can only imagine if he managed to hang on that that for 50 years what it would be worth now.
The Scorpions one has always had me scratching my head as to why they ever agreed to it. There's an interesting story attached to the T'AD - 8 Way Santa' album which is another banned one.
It was the 70's and artists were keen on pushing past the boundaries of good taste. Sorry to offend the snowflakes who think the 70's were so great, but it was in many ways an F'd up decade.
Scorpions always had porno covers that really didn't fit their music. Virgin Killer was an absolute classic. It was both their best album & the girl that was featured on the cover of it is still collecting royalties. She (I don't know her name) said that nobody recognizes her from the album cover & she has a very easy life..Lucky Her..
I have the Blind Faith album and 3 Scorpion albums with banned covers...Virgin Killer, In Trance and Animal Magnetism. Purchased while stationed in Germany years ago and have just hanged on to them.
Appetite for Destruction was one of the very first records I ever bought. Back then, there really wasn't any big chains of record stores near me, but there was 2 independent stores in the town I'm from. I was able to get the Robert Williams cover quite easily. The great thing was, both stores were great, and if one of them didn't have what I was looking for, the other usually had it. Good times.
I was hanging with my friend who managed a record store and he told me to buy that original Poison album. He said corporate had just called and told them to ship back all their copies. I think I still have it unopened ... somewhere.
Nick Lowe's album Jesus of Cool had to be renamed and repackaged for US distribution, where it is known as "Pure Pop for Now People". Great album, btw!
Nice vid and some interesting covers! Didnt the guns and roses AFD cover also had “ guns and roses was here” written on the wall above the girl? If i remember corectly i saw it on the cassete tape i got. Besides that i always found the album cover “ when the kite string pops” from acid bath also a very interesting and controversal story! Keep up the great vids!
I don't know if the following cover was actually banned, however, Facebook gave me a lot of trouble for posting a song that featured the cover of Houses of the Holy by Led Zeppelin. They told me the image was banned as child pornography. Others have also said FB did that to them too.
The Velvet Underground and Nico originally had a screen image of an actor on the back cover who complained and was air brushed out. The nearly nude models on Roxy Music's Country Life were removed. Sons of Champlin had "fuck" written in tiny script on their debut and it had to be hand scratched out with an ink pen. Bow Wow Wow's Last of the Mohicans had their 14 year old lead singer in a nude recreation of a famous painting. The Mothers of Invention's We're Only In It For The Money was a spoof of Sgt. Peppers. The label made them put that inside the gatefold. Meet the Residents was literally a defaced copy of Meet the Beatles until they received a cease and desist letter from Capitol (allegedly The Beatles found it hilarious).
I have the Velvet Underground LP. It's known as the Eric Emerson issue. I believe only 3000 were made. I would like to know it's value so i can sell it.
When VH Balance was released the only way to get the vinyl in the US was through Columbia House. I got tons of them and resold them at the a local record shop. Stupidly, never kept one for myself, as they are quite pricey these days.
Scorpions had three other album covers that caused controversy: - Taken by force, originally people placing flowers on what seems like a military graveyard (what's the problem?) - In Trance, a topless woman crawling over a guitar, you can see her breast very faintly, they brushed it away (really? hahaha) - Lovedrive, a Hypgnosis design where bubblegum is attached to a woman's breast and a guy pulls at the gum, on the flip side her breast is exposed (can we please stop banning nipples but allowing blood and gore?) Whitesnake had their share: - Lovedrive, a very beautiful fantasy artwork with a naked woman from behind, mounting a snake (so?) - Come an' get it, a snake with its mouth wide open, now if you look at the tongue, it's clearly a vagina, but then again in fact it is a tongue (on some pressings they kind of redid that tongue) Of course there's a lot more, like one by John Lennon or the poster that came with Queen Jazz, but come on...
When I bought 'Lovedrive' it had what looked like a green plastic bag over the cover, that plastic came right off! Scorps had some interesting record covers back then.
@@DamonBrazzellUkesploitation I don't know. When I got the bleeding it was the censored cover. You had to search out the uncensored covers. Bought mine at sam the record man in Vancouver many years ago. They weren't even allowed to play the songs live in Germany from the first few albums for many years.
![ILLSLICK - THE KING'S LANDING [Freestyle]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/feIJJnNkTfk/mqdefault.jpg)
For more banned album covers check out the other video I did: th-cam.com/video/vBalqpr3nJI/w-d-xo.html
TH-cam deemed the video inappropriate for advertisers, so the algorithm isn't promoting it (which is why you likely missed it). I talk about controversial albums from Jimi Hendrix (Electric Ladyland), The Black Crowes (America), David Bowie (Diamond Dogs), John Lennon (Two Virgins), Mom's Apple Pie, and several others.
Metallica, Metal up your ass is missing!
hmmmm
John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s album Unfinished Music No.1 had a special sleeve to hide their naked bodies.
Oh my God, seriously I find the banned album cover for Virgin Killer more offensive (AND DISTURBING) than the original Slippery when Wet cover.
You forgot Smell The Glove
You should have seen the cover the band wanted. Trust me, it wasn't a glove.
"How much more black could a record sleeve be? None. None more black."
What's wrong with being sexy?
Quite provocative indeed...
I could scorpion’s virgin killer cover pretty horrible. I remember my mother looking at the cover of animal magnetism… I was pretty embarrassed.
the girl on the Blind Faith cover wasn't holding a silver painted model plane, she was holding a chrome plated hood ornament from a 1955 Chevy.
Similar to the hood ornament, but not the same. The hood ornament was much pointier at the front and longer in the rear. Could it have been a different year than 1955 or a different make of car? It might have been a concept model for a plane. A google search points to a wooden model painted in silver.
...and that chrome plated hood ornament was designed to resemble a model plane, so it's still correct to call it a model plane. No need to be nitpicky.
Exactly.
@@MichaelBradley1967 It looks awfully close to the hood orni on a Rocket 88 Oldsmobile... not sure of the year.
@@ronaldstokes4841 Oh, they're very similar and clearly come from the same design idea for sure.
I was watching antique roadshow UK one day and a lady had the original Beatles butcher album cover. she sold it for 15000.00 pounds.
She later stated "who can say the Beatles paid to have their roof redone"
I got a chuckle out of that and thought I would share the story. Good video bud thanks for uploading it.
Three more come to mind:
1) the Five Keys, a late 1950s RnB group, did the thumb/phallus thing.
2) Lynyrd Skynyrd's "flames" cover that was modified after several band members were killed in an accident.
3) Roger Waters' Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking had some nudity that was covered with a black box after the initial pressing.
Yeah, a bare bum on Pros and Cons was so mild, censoring it was absolutely ridiculous. (plus, it was s tiny, flat bum)
@@barryh7821 Lovely legs mind you !
"Smell the Glove" by Spinal Tap originally had a greased naked female model on all fours being forced to smell a glove shoved in her face by male's hand on the cover. It was never released due to concerns from the label, Polymer Records. Of course the replacement, a completely black cover with no words or distinguishing marks became an industry classic, as was the album itself. There's such a fine line between stupid and clever.
But it's not real lol
If you asked the question, "is there anything more black than this?" the answer would be none. None more black.
The album cover is sexy. Wait--I meant sexIST.
@@p0llenp0ny We never would have known that if you didn't tell us.
@@elimgarak7330 Apparently the op doesn't.
As a ten year boy looking to buy one of his first albums I bought this Blind Faith album having no clue who they were. Happily impressed with the music.
"Sea Of Joy" is great.
I bought the blind faith album without any reservation or embarrassment. No one I know ever commented on it. It's only unacceptable to the "woke" generation.
@@tonynewley1671 And it was also more normal for adults to diddle little girls, so I'd rather be around the "woke" than the priests.
I was working in a music store in September of 2001. Dream Theater released a live album, recorded in NYC, on 9/11. By sheer coincidence, the cover art featured the Manhattan skyline, twin towers front and center, drawn in flames. We got faxes from tge label later that morning to pull all copies from the racks. They eventually were destroyed. So glad i took one before we had to do that!
I got my copy that day.
Sheer coincidence huh? Who'd a thought these 'prog-metal' masters would have such high ranking masonic ties??? I mean who knew??
I wouldn't be too quick to say that was a coincidence because there are several Twin Tower references were they were exploding or on fire many years on various things and even a reference to 9/11 itself. The Simpsons had a cartoon once with the Twin Towers in the background and plane fares 9 dollars in front so it formed a 9/11. In the movie Rugrats it had them on fire, the Illuminati card deck has not only the Towers burning right were the plans hit, but also a Pentagon card and also on fire right were it was struck. And many more; all were from the early to mid 90's. One you could say it may have been a coincidence but so many? It's obvious this was planned long before and People in our own government let it happen.
@@QuantumEffectResidue Yes also let's not forget that Slayer released their album "God Hates Us All" on 9/11 too
@@QuantumEffectResidue The tinfoil hat screws...back them out at least 1/4 turn. You'll thank me later.
I remember when Poison's album came out, I was never a fan of the band, but my sister was and she had to explain to my conservative born again Christian mother who would freak out if she heard me listening to any form of rock music on the radio or MTV. I still remember her first reaction when she saw Iron Maiden's Number of the Beast album cover and every cover of any Iron Maiden album after that. It's been 30 plus years and i still have ringing in my ears.
What?
My friend made me listen to that Poison album before showing me the cover lol ( a month after it was released). Fortunately they didn't look quite as "pretty" in their videos as they did on the cover. Loved their music, was a fan since day 1.
Your mother would have had a stroke if she saw a Cannibal Corpse album cover.
😂😂😂😂😂😂
Luckily for me my mother was very understanding and I could buy whatever I wanted and put up posters on my bed room wall. My dad wasn't as accommodating and it was because of him that I didn't get to see Iron Maiden in '85. He wasn't religious but he was just culturally old fashioned. He didn't even like to watch horror movies. He said that going to that show would leave a lot to be desired,. Now the only thing I desire is a time machine, so I can go back 38 years to correct that mistake. Anyway, I did have other run ins with religious people. It was the age of moral majority and the pmrc campaign. I had a friend who's mother had a complete conniption when she heard the title 'The Number of the Beast", not the cover just the title. She would have burned it if she saw it. Then, I had a few encounters with a few teachers at private schools in the 80's. None of that was pleasant.
Can't believe that you left off Two Virgins. Probably one of the most famous. Also, of I remember correctly, Houses of the Holy came with a paper sash covering the naked children. Also, again I could be wrong, but the Blind Faith model was a little older 13 and her sister was 16. They originally wanted the older sister but she was, how would you say, much more developed and that wouldn't do. I own both covers, with the censored cover being an original pressing. Great segment. Do it again!
I remember the paper covering the cover of "Houses Of The Holy".
Yep, pretty sure that girl is 14 or so.
I have "Two Virgins" including the paper that covers the album cover. I paid 33-1/3 cents for the album, getting it from a "3 for $1.00" discount bin at a department store!
@@jsivco3sivco785 It's likely a pirate copy. Originals the bag covers the entire record, fakes have the top inch or so revealed. (Mine's a fake, too)
two album covers banned or censored i can think of right off the bat are the naked cover of hendrix's "electric lady land" (1968). the best "nude" cover in history. and the pushtwangers' "here we go again..." (1986) with the naked lady on the cover. oh, and there's the wondrerful nude cover from the "my pussy belongs to daddy" album featuring the faye richmond song of the same title.
lastly, that lady appearing on the blind faith album isn't 11 years old. i don't care what crap the photographer says. besides, since when is child "porn" legal on album covers when its not legal anywhere else? also, when is it r&r's job to shock and disgust people? art was never meant to shock but to enlighten.
and then of course you have the sick rappers who sell porn to kids as a marketing strategy. their lyrics, album covers and videos are intended to appeal to the sexual fantasies of horny little boys. who else would buy that crap?
and one last lastly, screw demonism and satanism. its the exact opposite of what r&r was intended to be. what's wrong with people? why do they fall for the normalization of this crap?
The story behind the Nothing's Shocking cover is kinda cool. Perry Farrell talks about it in an interview. He says he had a dream about the rocking chair that rocked sideways. Either he, or someone he knew, built the piece of furniture. Then he made a latex mold of his girlfriend and made the statues and set them on fire. They tried to get a bunch of pics really fast before they melted.
Then he reformed the band and called it “Porno for Pyros,” probably a nod to that album cover.
So where do the Siamese twins come into play?
I worked at a record store in 87-88. One day 4 copies of the GnR original cover showed up. Was told to put them on the floor for sale, and if they didn't sell, we could buy them. 2 went on display and sold, the other copies in World Music and Opera. I still have the album less the stickers. I also have the Capitol promo poster for the Poison album. It's the eyes only and pics of the band guys with the logo. I have a box of promo posters and a lot of great promo albums from working there. Met Lita Ford there, too!
Glad you got the GnR record.
I do have a GnR live EP on CD with that cover. It’s amazing.
Litaaaaahhh!
The original is badass & hello, the robot is killing a r***st. That was a dumb controversy
One small point; in the banned Blind Faith cover, that's not a silvered model airplane. It the chromed hood ornament from a 1950's vintage Chevrolet. I always thought it was used to add surrealism to the image.
richard
--
One of the phrases you are least likely to hear: "That's the banjo player's Porsche."
I never knew it was banned, the only ones I have seen have had the girl on them. Is the banning a non-UK thing?
I had heard the cover was supposed to represent the juxtaposition between natural innocence and technology.
Correct. Makes one wonder what else the dude got wrong 😮
@@brianfretwell3886Most definitely an US thing. They’re filled with “Majority Moral” brigades and belives as a general rule that nudity kills. 🙄
@@kasperkjrsgaard1447 I have the original blind faith album bought here in the us in a commercial record store
I had the censored album cover of Poison's "Open Up". However, I was in their fan club back in 1988, and was able to purchase a rather large poster of the uncensored cover, which I still have today.
Also, their album cover for "Flesh & Blood" was censored. The cover was Rikki Rockett's tattoo that said Flesh & Blood, and there was fake blood added to the bottom to make it more realistic, I suppose. People got their panties in a bunch over it, and the fake blood was removed. but I managed to snag one of the copies (on cassette) and again, still have it!
my mom has the uncensored cassette
My dad's copy of Santana's Abraxas had a sticker strategically placed over some of the artwork. Eventually the glue on the sticker turned to powder, and it is now in my collection as originally designed.
The artwork on Abraxas is by the late Mati Klarwein, an absolutely great artist. One of the books by Herman Hesse mentions Abraxas.
One of my all-time favorite albums. You can easily get the original cover today.
My mother took a black magic-marker and crossed out the boobs on my Abraxas album.
I'm obviously about the same age as your dad! Abraxas was the first of many Santana albums I bought in my youth, mainly because of the music - but the album cover was certainly an attraction! Have always wondered how CBS got away with the artwork 🤣
I remember the hype, for poison's album, "open up and say ahhhh..." In 1988 I was in middle school. In my Spanish class, a classmate brought the album, to explain the body parts in Spanish. The teacher thought the album was unique. And did not complain or tell the principal about the album.
My older brother had a copy of the original Blind Faith album. Our mom flipped out and told him to get rid of it. He didn’t of course.
She also hated the Alice Cooper “Killer” album’s inner gatefold he had hanging on his wall and told him to take it down or she would. Later she’d tell me the same thing about the Gene Simmons spitting blood photo I’d cut out of a rock magazine and hung on my wall.
All that is weird because she had no problem with the Heather Locklear, Farrah Fawcett semi nude Playboy, Linda Ronstadt nipple showing, or the busty Loni Anderson posters I’d hung up.
Rock stars were out to shock moms and they did...and we loved it.
On balance, your mom seems pretty cool. She was okay with consenting adult boobs, not so much with stylized blood and gore.
@@roebuckmckinney Yeah, and there's an obvious difference between consenting naked adult women, and underage barely budding girls.
Mom sounds kinda based here. lol
Art should never be banned. Don't like it, don't agree with it, fine, don't look at it. That's what I do rather than tread on others. Censorship is a bad, bad thing, as evidenced by many of these covers getting censored. The one exception, a nude child. That's not art. That's pedophilia.
Emerson, Lake, and Palmer's 1973 album _Brain Salad Surgery_ had artwork from Swiss sci-fi artist H.R. Giger that included the male organ in the center. The record company did not approve, and Giger refused to remove it, so it was softened by airbrushing it into a shaft of light instead. There's the full story on Wikipedia's page about the album.
I remember The Dead Kennedys were taken to court over their L.P. Frankenchrist having an insert by Gieger called Penis Landscape. I bought the album when it came out, I didn't see what the fuss was about.
I was going to make the same comment you did. You stole my comment. Hahaha
@@Rr0gu3_5uture cost them a fortune in court costs
@@davehoward22 Yeah, I think they were deliberately trying to bankrupt Jello Biafra because they hated him so much. The trail was just bullshit.
There's a good reason there was a male organ in the woman's throat on that cover.................................for those who don't know, Brain Salad Surgery is slang for male oral sex.
I’m old as dirt, but as a Beatles fan (after the Stones) I got the Yesterday and Today album when it was first hit the stores probably at Giant Music in Falls Church, Va. Word got around that the real cover was underneath and you could steam it off. I did, and it’s on my wall. A week later these covers were gone. Would have been worth more if I didn’t, but what the hell….
The original album cover of Hawkwind's PXR5 had a picture of a UK 13 amp 3 pin fused plug conveniently showing how to wire it up (useful when you've just blown a fuse on your guitar amp). However the record company were forced to put a sticker particularly obscuring it, since it showed the earth wire connected to the live pin (potential lethal on UK 240 Volt 3 wire connectors). Shocking 🫨😱💥
I love this
I have that album with that sticker. Quite apt when you think that with the band members being out of their boxes most of the time that is probably how one of them would wire a plug!😵💫
@@fus149hammer5 Yes, and David Brock is still gigging ages 81, doing the festivals and they just released a new album (I really like it). Given the interesting mushrooms and Mary Jane wash down with free Cider (their payment for a certain Somerset venue), probably wouldn't be able to tell what colours the wires were anyway 🙂. Still love the band, seen them loads of times since the late 70s...
@@tpbrcombo Yes, this is one of my favourite albums of Hawkwind and "High Rise" one of the best ever - love the base and THEN you listen to the lyrics "Starfish of human blood shape...".
My version of pxr5 ain’t got a sticker on it and I’m in the Uk .
Pantera's Far Beyond Driven had censored artwork. The original had a drill going where the sun doesn't shine. It was available with the original art on the vinyl version here in the UK though. Metallica's Kill 'Em All was originally going to be called Metal Up Your Ass and had artwork depicting a toilet with a hand holding a blade sticking out of it.
I've never seen it in person, but I remember Bowie's Diamond Dogs album cover getting changed because the hybrid Bowie/dog had its genitals showing when the gatefold was opened. If I remember correctly, a very small number of them got into the wild before they were airbrushed and are now worth a lot of money.
I think the reissues have restored the original cover now for this one as well.
@@gregmcdonald8962 Yep, I think I had heard that too...
Yes, I've got the "airbrushed" ~1974-5 copy - only sentimental value 😊
I remember seeing that Blind Faith cover in a record shop and a fairly mainstream one (possibly HMV or one of that ilk) - it never occurred to me she was a child! But the Scorpions one? yeah... ah bit dodgy even in "Europe"...
The original cover for Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland with the teenage naked ladies on it was pull from sale and change. What I heard even Jimi was opposed to the cover before being release only because he really wanted a Colorful Psychedelic painted Artwork for the cover
I used to have that copy with the naked women on it. Sold it back in the 90's but wish I'd kept it as it looks like copies are fetching way much more than I sold it for.
Like a lot of these, it was only ever issued that way in more libertine Europe and UK.
In 1991 I got a hold of the original Appetite for Destruction, I still own it. I had the T-Shirt too. I also have the cassette version of Open Up and Say Ahh with the original artwork but I don't remember that cover being an issue.
great topic Frank! I've never understood how the Scorpions actually agreed to that original album cover.... especially when taken in conjunction with the album title. terrible. I think Jimi Hendrix Electric Ladyland is another good example of a banned cover
It was a not too good cover photo of aloof looking girls, but banned, that's ridiculous.
1:44 - I have that one. That is NOT a model of an airplane it is a car hood ornament.
One cover that was changed out of respect for the band was Lynyrd Skynyrd's Street Survivors. The original cover had the band standing in street surrounded by fire. Shortly after the plane crash that image was replaced by the group standing together under a spotlight. The flames cover was never banned, it was thought that it was too bold afterwards. After about 12 years it was once again been available as the standard cover.
I can agree with the criticism of the Blind Faith and Scorpions album covers. They are truley tasteless images. Along the same lines the original cover design for Electric Lady Land is rather unnecessary too. It's not even intriguing, but just silly.
I have one of the original covers of street survivors album from not long after the plane crash !
@@Sparky68M me too. It has all the dates for the tour that never finished.
It's said that the replacement was mostly done out of respect to the family of guitartist Steve Gaines, who died in the plane crash, because the fire in the original picture almost completely obscures his image.
Something ironic about the Lynyrd Skynyrd cover is that the plane crashed because of fuel exhaustion, i.e. they ran out of gas.
So there was no fire.
@@Sparky68M
The album was released just 3 days before the plane wreck.
I'm amazed that Ronnie Montrose's album "Jump On It" or Jethro Tull's album "War Child" weren't banned as well. I remember seeing that Blind Faith album in a record store back in the 70's and thinking WTF. lol
Just looked up War Child. What do you mean? I don't see anything that can be taken as controversial about that one.
Exodus' "Bonded By Blood" was also changed from the original, which also had conjoined twins on the cover. The cover was restored on re-issues. Type O' Negative's "Origin Of The Feces" had the original artwork changed as well (those who know, would understand why).
That album shreds.
@@user-sw4qd2up2s Exodus' second album was changed as well. Pleasures of the Flesh
Ugh.....Peter Steele's bunghole.....I think it was banned even in hell
Most albums by Cannibal Corpse....lol...
two album covers banned or censored i can think of right off the bat are the naked cover of hendrix's "electric lady land" (1968). the best "nude" cover in history. and the pushtwangers' "here we go again..." (1986) with the naked lady on the cover. oh, and there's the wondrerful nude cover from the "my pussy belongs to daddy" album featruing the faye richmond song of the same title.
lastly, that lady appearing on the blind faith isn't 11 years old. i don't care what crap the photographer says. besides, since when is child "porn" legal on album covers when its not legal anywhere else? also, whem is it r&r's job to shock and disgust people? art was never meant to shock but to enlighten.
and then of course you have the sick rappers who sell porn to kids as a marketing strategy. therir lyrics, album covers and videos are intended to appeal to the sexual fantasies of horny little boys. who else would buy that crap?
and one last lastly, screw demonism and satanism. its the exact opposite of what r&r was intended to be. what's wrong with people? why do they fall for the normalization of this crap?
Bowie's Diamond Dogs cover was censored. The original image (and actually produced as a poster give away in an UK music magazine) showed that the dog half of Bowie was a definite male. The 'offending' part was air brushed out for the release.
I own several copies of Permanent Waves. The old US pressings don't show the newspaper headline while the Canadian and Europeans ones do. It is the infamous Chicago Tribune "Dewey Defeats Truman" headline from the election of 1948. It was an embarrassment for the paper and they wouldn't allow it to be used. But the latest reissue that I own does have the headline visible.
One you missed: the self-titled 1972 album by Mom's Apple Pie (in the original version, the pie is, um, rather interesting). Also "The Electric Spanking of War Babies" by Funkadelic. And the UK cover for Jimi Hendrix's "Electric Ladyland" was replaced in the US. Also, the H.R. Giger art for the Dead Kennedys' "Frankenchrist" led to legal troubles that nearly bankrupted their label.
I was going to mention Mom's Apple Pie. Later versions had cops looking in the window and the missing slice of "pie" covered up and barbed-wired.
@@giorgiopalmas7934 Barbed wire with a US flag flying over it, to drive home the point.
Side note: the "mom" on the Mom's Apple Pie cover has always creeped me out!
I have never listened to Mom's Apple Pie, but I had heard much about the cover of their first album. It was one of the biggest "Who cares what the album sounds like? Did you see the cover?!" moments of Rock music.
I read that the Jovi album wasn't banned, but that the band wasn't keen on the pink border and went with the alternate in the states. Thank you for the additional info. Definitely one in my short list. The one I NEVER understood was Stryper - To Hell With The Devil. The original artwork on that album was 100x better. If I would have been in the band, keeping that artwork would have been a hill that I would have chosen to die on.
That pink border just adds to the mid 80's tackiness! I can see why they didn't like it.
Definitely agree about Stryper (as they are one of my favorite bands). In that case, the album cover was changed because Christian bookstores didn't want to carry the original album cover, presumably because of the pentagram on the front. Granted, the angels on the front are throwing Satan into hell, but they still didn't like it.
I think I remember that the artwork with the girl was used for the cover of the tour book on that tour. I still have it somewhere. So they did officially use it, in the UK anyway.
@davidtoups4684 The creator of the cover said he made the border pink to match the models nail polish. Jon Bon Jovi hated it and hastily made the one used himself.
Chumbawamba album caused a bit of a stir as did" never mind the bollocks " by the pistols.
The original cover for Golden Earring's Moontan album didn't last long. The original was a drawing of an old school Vegas showgirl, with feathers and pasties. I saw the original when it first came out. Shortly thereafter, the cover became a boring closeup B&W photo of an ear, with a "golden earring" drawn in as hanging from the ear. They censored a drawing.
As for the Blind Faith album cover, my CD copy has the original cover within the insert inside, just not on the displayed cover.
Very close. The front art of Moontan was an actual b&w photo that had been colorized. The back cover wasn't innocent either featuring a b&w photo of a completely nude man from the rear. I may be mistaken but I believe it was the lead singer, Barry Hay. That's 1973 for you.
Still have the original Golden Earring album of Moontan!
So do I
The original Octopus album and the Saturnalia picture disc did cause some controversy although I don't think they were actually banned, and the "Ladies" cover of Electric Ladyland upset a few people, including Hendrix according to some biographies I've read..
The Black Crowes “Amorica” was one I was going to say, and for the more adventurous you could check out… “Heaven Or Hollywood” by Uncle Sam. Our country is kind of prudish when it comes to this kind of stuff.
I remember a line from the movie "Bohemian Rhapsody" when a Queen video was banned in the USA.
Brian May says "They're puritans in public and perverts in private".
I had that Black Crowes album..
Pretty sure the Amorica cover was a Hustler photo originally.
@@KennyRider137 Yep, that's right!
Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables had a picture of the original band who did Viva Las Vegas. Complains meant the heads were cut off. No idea of value, one of my school mates had the original!1
Thee original Scorpions Love Drive album cover was banned too. Cool video Mr.Laundry. 😎👍
I just commented on that. I bought it and it was in pink shrink wrap!
The Five Keys' "On Stage" is the earliest example I can think of. Both the LP & the 7" EP was airbrushed.
Also White Zombies' "Swingin' Summer Sounds" & obscure group "Mom's Apple Pie".
That White Zombie album is called Supersexy Swingin' Sounds, and the cover was only altered for outlets like WalMart.
The only controversy over the VH cover is the fact they took this long to consider repressing this album in vinyl.
The Poison album is only offensive if you make the mistake of listening to it.
Jane's Addiction Ritual De Lo Habitual was also banned. It was re-released with a white cover with the band name and freedom of speech slogans on it.
The white cover for Ritual included a printing of the First Amendment if memory serves.
It looked like generic grocery boxes did in the 80s
Kids should NEVER be exploited like that!!
This comment deserves more attention
Like Nirvana’s album cover? A agree to Some extend. But honestly: I dont see much harm in the Blind Faith cover. Because its not offensive nor does It sexualise the girl. This in contrast with the Virgin Killer album cover. The BF cover is far from attractive but is somehow intruiging. We live in different times now. Postcards from the prudisch Victorian Age have lots of naked babies and children. In that era they were considered as non- sexual beings. I made Some photo’s I took from my children in the nude in the 90’s are now considered “pornographic”
nevermind was censored they removed the boys penis because you know boys shouldnt have them. just like the weirdos today on fb insta etc who remove girls nipples. imagine being a perfectly normal human @@edwinsam7604
i remember when Open Up And Say Ahhh.... came out and the controversy. I saw a copy of the original LP cover ONCE at the local Meijer. by the time I got my own copy (on cassette) it was the censored cover😵💫
That is not a "silver painted airplane", it is in fact a hood ornament off of a mid fifty's Chevrolet.
7:26 I don't know if it's still the case; but in Japan it's not allowed to use physical abnormalities on a cover. Same reason the three-legged dog on the 1995 Alice In Chains is not used over there.
Wow!
Interesting. Thanks for the info.
That Alice in Chains one made me feel sad. The dog has big sad eyes, I’m such a softy when it comes to animals! 🥹🥺
One of my favorite albums which had the cover changed was enema of the state, it originally showed a nurse putting on a glove with a red cross on her hat, but due to legal troubles blink 182 had to change it, they had removed the cross but still kept the hat.
Another is Lynyrd Skynyrd Street Survivors. Original cover had Steve Gaines engulfed in flames. It was changed after the crash.
I believe the entire band was engulfed in flames, not just Gaines.
I had it.
Having naked and exposed children on album covers is absolutely disgusting and should have had people charged and beaten up
The Moody Blues' *A Question of Balance* was reworked in the UK because it had an unflattering depiction of a British hunter/adventurer based on a real person, but US/Canadian copies have the original back cover artwork. Ape House issued XTC's original cover art for *Skylarking* (featuring a woman's nether region adorned with tiny flowers) a few years ago which Virgin rejected for the '80's original LP.
my god that blind faith and virgin killer album cover is disgusting
Scorpions had many controversial album covers, along with Virgin Killer.
In Trance (A woman's nipple)
Taken By Force (Children with guns)
Lovedrive (Man pulling chewing gum from a woman's breast. Fully exposed breast on back cover)
Animal Magnetism (Obedient woman)
Love at first sting (Too Sexy?)
Great list! The first cover that came to my mind was the Lovedrive cover.
I don't think Animal Magnetism's cover issue was her "obedience" but the relationship activity it implied.
@@theragingdolphinsmaniac4696 Relationship may also be implied, but She and the dog are basically the same to him in that picture. They are both Loyal and "Obedient" animals. Hence the name "Animal Magnetism".
@@jodyhowell9164 Art is subjective. What you see and interpret is based on your life experiences. Mine are different than yours therefore I get different meaning than you do.
@@theragingdolphinsmaniac4696 Exactly, so why did you tell me MY "Obedient" interpretation on the initial post was wrong. That is simply MY interpretation.
Roxy Music's 1974 album Country Life features 2 scantily clad beautiful ladies, in front of a backdrop of green leaves or vines . You could buy it in Europe at the time, but in the USA you just got the green leaves...no ladies. Funny!!
I don't have an issue with nudity on an album cover per se, but I draw the line when minors are involved. Children aren't capable of giving consent for something like that. Even if the parents are ok with it, it's still not the child's decision.
You may find this hard to believe, but the US FedGov had no laws on the books regarding child trafficking or child p**n until the later 70's. It was essentially up to local jurisdictions to police these things. And to this day, it's largely in the hands of local authorities to determine what is "obscene". City authorities can restrict the exhibition or sale of whatever materials they deem obscene, however, artists and their representatives have successfully sued in order to fight back against these restrictions.
it’s child pornography, pure and simply child pornography.
I brought an original 'Slippery When Wet' when I was in Japan back in 1999 and yes, I also do not understand the 'Open Up And Say Ahh...' issue, here in Australia we only got the original cover, not the letterbox version. Cool video.
i have guns n roses "Appetite for Destruction" with original cover, i understand why it was banned
Just extra FYI, the "Chrome Jet Toy" on the Blind Faith album is based on an old 50s era hood ornament. Along with the fins in the back, the cars often had these on the front to evoke that futuristic feel.
AC/DC Highway to Hell Australian cover had flames, and they removed them for the US copy out of respect. Great show as always Frank. Keep spinnin....
Thanks Jamie.
I can't believe this one wasn't mentioned, considering the controversy it caused -- Body Count's self-titled album.
Roxy Music -Country Life and Black Crowes -Amorica
The original artwork for Country Life by Roxy Music was banned in the US and Canada (I think). The 2 mostly-nude women on the cover were replaced by pine trees. Edit: Sorry, didn’t mean banned, I should have said censored.
There were covers that just had pine trees which was a substitute for the original nearly-nude cover, but the original was also available with the cover hidden by opaque shrink wrap which, when removed, revealed the original cover design.
In Australia we had a controversial album in 1974 by hard rock band Buffalo “ Only want you for your body” . It featured a screaming semi naked obese woman shackled to a torture rack . Many record store owners refused to stock the record whilst others placed it in a brown paper bag . Great album though 😎🎸👌
The US government doesn't have authority to "ban" something like that on obscenity grounds, however, local governments do have varying standards of obscenity. What happened with the Roxy music cover is that record label got nervous about causing offense and re-issued the album with counter-measures to hide the nudity. Nobody forced the label to do that.
You beat me to it! I believe the early US copies had the colored shrinkwrap (green, I believe). Later issues just had the pine trees. Back in the 80's I bought a then new UK pressing that featured the original artwork with no covering. A bit of useless trivia, The two girls were the sister and girlfriend of Michael Karoli, guitarist from the German band Can.
And all official reissues of Country Life (in all formats) now feature the original cover of the two girls. No opaque green shrink-wrap, no strategically placed hype stickers. The cover for Stranded also had some mild controversy because you can see the cover model's nipples through her soaked dress. But no one sought to cover up the offending body parts on that one.
The album Voodoo-U by Lords of Acid was heavily censored in the mid-90s due to devil-women cunnilingus on the cover. Of course, teen me thought it was awesome!
My understanding is that the Yesterday and Today butcher cover was a statement about Beatles records being butchered for the American market! In fact, Yesterday and Today was just one of those albums. Their albums were always robbed of 3 tracks, so the stripped songs would make an extra album to sell. It was a problem.
That's right. 3 or 4 tracks were left off the US (capitol) albums, such as Rubber Soul. They would do this to create additional US albums such as Beatles '65 and Beatles VI and the one you mentioned. Finally, with the release of Revolver, the band said "Stop that!"
I also read that was the reason.
Capital also threw in some singles, then with only 11 tracks on those albums, Presto! A Beatles album, also the vinyl was of a lesser quality than the Parlophone/EMI albums. I only have those as I was living over there back then. When seeing the Capitol albums, I was appalled.
The "Butcher Cover" of The Beatles "Yesterday and Today" is pretty damn rare. In April 2013, an original cover sold for $11,632 and in May 2019, John Lennon's own copy sold for $250,000. I actually have one that was handed down to me from my dad... I'll never sell it- will hand it down to my son.
Only the "first state" covers that never had the trunk cover pasted over are rare. There are hundreds of thousands of the paste over version, many of which have been peeled. They're expensive because of demand, but they're not rare.
@@notthatyouasked6656 I heard that still pasted versions are rarer than peeled ones, actually. After the word got out, a lot of people were curious about the hidden butcher covers...
@@hakanstorsater5090 Decent paste over copies are harder to find than they once were, but "rare" is still a stretch, as there are easily tens of thousands of them. Again, they're expensive, not rare.
I have a trunk cover paste-over inherited from my late older brother. Peeled back a corner just enough to confirm that it had the butcher cover underneath, and it shall stay that way for all eternity.
Yeah, I found one in a used record store in Santa Cruz, around 1982. You can just barely see Ringo's turtleneck through the new photo.
The South Korean pressing of 2112 by Rush has the red pentagram symbol removed, so it's literally just the logo hovering over some water in space. The symbol wasn't even meant to be satanic though, it was just the symbol for the temples of Syrinx in the story.
Here's a couple more
Roxy Music - Country Life
Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland
The Black Crows Amorica, a little pubic hair will get ya everytime
That album cover was actually the cover of 1976 Hustler magazine that the Black crowes news for the album.
It’s hard to believe that you didn’t include Some Girls by The Rolling Stones. Lucille Ball and others threatened legal action if their photos weren’t removed.
I was thinking about that one too. Yours was the only comment I could find mentioning it.
This would have been my reply also - fyi: I have copies of both issues.
I've got the Blind Faith album,
I can't remember any big controversy when it came out.
I think people today are a bit more sensitive .
We were just glad to hear Clapton and Ginger playing together again
Yeah, I remember seeing that Blind Faith in record stores all the time back in the '70's, often quite prominently displayed. My mom would've pitched a fit about it, but she never went to record stores.
Mom's Apple Pie
Buffalo were an Australian band of the early 1970's. The cover of their third album 'Only Want You for Your Body' is right up there. Also the cover of their 2nd album 'Volcanic Rock' whilst a little more subtle is also a contender for your list. Both were excellent hard rock albums.
I’m an Aussie, became conscious of music an hard rock around 1980(grade 10). Never heard of buffalo. Will have a geek
I own both original albums. The gatefold of Volcanic Rock is awesome. Good rock band
I’m old😂 Buffalo outraged everyone with Volcanic Rock back in the day but I Only Want You For Your Body went to far.Great albums and they Black Sabbath off stage back then.
The album artwork for "Only Want You for Your Body" shown on Wikipedia seems a lot more tame than what I remember of it from the 70's. Buffalo were ok, but MacKenzie Theory were my speed.
Lita Ford’s album where she is dressed in black see through negligee
I also cannot believe you omitted John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s album “Two Virgins” which featured a black and white photo of the couple standing completely nude. They were sent to stores with a brown paper cover.
I've heard that people didn't object to the nudity as much as how unattractive John and Yoko appeared.
Just too many to pick from. Might have to do a Part 2... and 3.
@@Channel33RPM YES! That'd be great! Go for it.
I saw it in a London record shop fully exposed.
Original Motley Crue album Shout At The Devil had an inverted pentagram on the cover. They changed it to 4 pics with a member per pic.
Scorpions are notorious for their covers getting banned. The only one that I'd argue should've been was Virgin Killer. In Trance showed a woman's breast but it's really only noticeable if you look closely. Lovedrive was banned because it depicts gum on a womans nipple which isn't too big of a deal for me personally. The one that gets me laughing the most is Love at First Sting which shows a side boob, really not a big deal people!!!
I have a copy of In Trance where you can see the breast and another one where it is darkened out.
Also, Scorpions "Taken By Force" which had kids playing with guns in a graveyard
Really surprised that you that you didn't mention "Country Life" by Roxy Music..... THAT album was censored in record stores when the Blind Faith album was displayed without a second thought....
Of course, back then nobody thought a topless eleven-year-old girl was "sexy". I think it was taken for granted that it was an image of hippy innocence.
Cannibal Corpse has had a lot of problems. I believe the first 3 albums were banned in Germany and a few others needed alternate covers because certain places wouldn't sell the originals.
Eaten back to life was not banned. The 2 albums that were banned to some extent were butchered at birth and tomb of the mutilated.
@@GDCDGC Ok, that sounds right. It's been awhile since I heard the details.
@@davidburns6284 im not sure but i think worm infested was also banned in some countries.
That's kinda par for the course with Cannibal Corpse. I'd be a bit worried if they weren't offending people.
Yeah, I expected to see Cannibal Corpse in here. I guess he thought that was too predictable to include.
What about Rodger Waters "Pros and cons of Hitchhicking" ?
Great White - Hooked
Aerosmith - 9 Lives
I have both versions of 9 Lives, I have no clue as to why the first cover was replaced.
Roxy Music -Country Life
My band, The Quagaars, had to change our latest album's cover for streaming services. The original is available via Bandcamp but the streaming gods objected to multiple things. First of all, the cover contains 2 toy Gorillas with speech bubbles indicating that one is saying "The Quagaars' albums don't go gold" and the other one responding "but they do go moldy!" (Moldy being the title of the album). The streaming gods don't like any additional text appearing on album covers and so a 2nd cover was created which covered the speech bubbles. They then claimed that the album cover contained copyrighted or trademarked images, but would not indicate what the offending images were. It was probably the toy Gorillas which were trademarked to Sun Arrow toys in 1987 but as they haven't been in production for over 30 years, the trademark would have lapsed by now. So a 3rd cover was created where the entire image was covered in mold. At least we now know that mold isn't trademarked.
That sucks. I have my own response in mind if something like that ever happens to me. I will not say what it is because as far as I know it hasn't been done. But it will be a way to stick it to them without them even knowing.
Red Dwarf reference?
Jane's Addiction's next album "Ritual De Lo Habitual" also was released with a censored album cover. The official album art was painted by the band's singer, and it depicted nudity. The band also released an alternate cover for the album that is composed of a plain white background under black text that included the band logo, album name, and the text of the first amendment of the U.S. constitution.
Came here for this mention.
JA’s response cover (with the text of the first amendment) was perfect.
And don't forget the Hitler jokes on the back.
I just had the feeling that Scorpions album cover would be on the list. It's one of the most famous or infamous album covers in history
Confirming this was the only reason that I checked in. Own it. Never played this copy.
I knew someone who had that original Blind Faith album, I lived in Italy in 1970 and the kid was the same age I was, 12. I can only imagine if he managed to hang on that that for 50 years what it would be worth now.
The Scorpions one has always had me scratching my head as to why they ever agreed to it. There's an interesting story attached to the T'AD - 8 Way Santa' album which is another banned one.
It was the 70's and artists were keen on pushing past the boundaries of good taste. Sorry to offend the snowflakes who think the 70's were so great, but it was in many ways an F'd up decade.
@@ryanjacobson2508 That's why it was so much fun!!
Scorpions always had porno covers that really didn't fit their music. Virgin Killer was an absolute classic. It was both their best album & the girl that was featured on the cover of it is still collecting royalties. She (I don't know her name) said that nobody recognizes her from the album cover & she has a very easy life..Lucky Her..
@@marcstevens8576 I prefer Taken By Force
The tad one was replaced because the people in the picture died (or threatened to)
I have the Blind Faith album and 3 Scorpion albums with banned covers...Virgin Killer, In Trance and Animal Magnetism. Purchased while stationed in Germany years ago and have just hanged on to them.
Appetite for Destruction was one of the very first records I ever bought. Back then, there really wasn't any big chains of record stores near me, but there was 2 independent stores in the town I'm from. I was able to get the Robert Williams cover quite easily. The great thing was, both stores were great, and if one of them didn't have what I was looking for, the other usually had it. Good times.
I was hanging with my friend who managed a record store and he told me to buy that original Poison album. He said corporate had just called and told them to ship back all their copies. I think I still have it unopened ... somewhere.
Nick Lowe's album Jesus of Cool had to be renamed and repackaged for US distribution, where it is known as "Pure Pop for Now People". Great album, btw!
Nice vid and some interesting covers!
Didnt the guns and roses AFD cover also had “ guns and roses was here” written on the wall above the girl?
If i remember corectly i saw it on the cassete tape i got.
Besides that i always found the album cover “ when the kite string pops” from acid bath also a very interesting and controversal story!
Keep up the great vids!
I don't know if the following cover was actually banned, however, Facebook gave me a lot of trouble for posting a song that featured the cover of Houses of the Holy by Led Zeppelin. They told me the image was banned as child pornography. Others have also said FB did that to them too.
It is CP. How is it not?
@@suspiciouswatermelon7639 well, FB agreed it is not.
@@suspiciouswatermelon7639 Because its not sexual in anyway. There's nothing explicit on it
@@alsimon8313 It's naked pre pubescent kids. Have you ever seen the album cover?
The original Moby Grape album artwork included one of the band members flipping the bird.
The Velvet Underground and Nico originally had a screen image of an actor on the back cover who complained and was air brushed out. The nearly nude models on Roxy Music's Country Life were removed. Sons of Champlin had "fuck" written in tiny script on their debut and it had to be hand scratched out with an ink pen. Bow Wow Wow's Last of the Mohicans had their 14 year old lead singer in a nude recreation of a famous painting. The Mothers of Invention's We're Only In It For The Money was a spoof of Sgt. Peppers. The label made them put that inside the gatefold. Meet the Residents was literally a defaced copy of Meet the Beatles until they received a cease and desist letter from Capitol (allegedly The Beatles found it hilarious).
The Roxy Music cover was available as an import. I have it. Nice bikini underwear.
I have the Velvet Underground LP. It's known as the Eric Emerson issue. I believe only 3000 were made.
I would like to know it's value so i can sell it.
Go to Discogs or Popsike.@@buckaroo1949
When VH Balance was released the only way to get the vinyl in the US was through Columbia House. I got tons of them and resold them at the a local record shop. Stupidly, never kept one for myself, as they are quite pricey these days.
Scorpions had three other album covers that caused controversy:
- Taken by force, originally people placing flowers on what seems like a military graveyard (what's the problem?)
- In Trance, a topless woman crawling over a guitar, you can see her breast very faintly, they brushed it away (really? hahaha)
- Lovedrive, a Hypgnosis design where bubblegum is attached to a woman's breast and a guy pulls at the gum, on the flip side her breast is exposed (can we please stop banning nipples but allowing blood and gore?)
Whitesnake had their share:
- Lovedrive, a very beautiful fantasy artwork with a naked woman from behind, mounting a snake (so?)
- Come an' get it, a snake with its mouth wide open, now if you look at the tongue, it's clearly a vagina, but then again in fact it is a tongue (on some pressings they kind of redid that tongue)
Of course there's a lot more, like one by John Lennon or the poster that came with Queen Jazz, but come on...
I have the original lovedrive and I never understood all the fuss .
I have the In Trance album that I picked up in the late 80's....good call.
The Whitesnake album is Lovehunter
When I bought 'Lovedrive' it had what looked like a green plastic bag over the cover, that plastic came right off! Scorps had some interesting record covers back then.
David Bowie’s ‘The Man Who Sold the World’ album cover originally featured him in a ‘man’s dress’ - but was soon replaced.
All the early Cannibal Corpse covers!🤣
Didn't the Butchered at Birth album have a card you could send in to get the actual cover?
@@DamonBrazzellUkesploitation I don't know. When I got the bleeding it was the censored cover. You had to search out the uncensored covers. Bought mine at sam the record man in Vancouver many years ago. They weren't even allowed to play the songs live in Germany from the first few albums for many years.