Top 10 Albums With Bad Art… But Great Music
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ก.ค. 2024
- As a collector of physical format music, I enjoy looking at the album’s art while listening to the music. But when the art is bad it can sometimes change how we feel about the music. Especially when not knowing the full context of how or why it was created to represent the album. Often there are concepts behind the creation of the art which made sense at the time, but without knowing the specifics, it has left us with some iconic albums with bad art.
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I agree completely, except for the Sabbath album. I think that cover perfectly goes with the music inside. Basic, sparse, and with a definite spooky vibe.
The Black Sabbath cover is iconic and I've always really dug it. I think it really adds to the different and somewhat "creepy" music at the time. I love it and think it is one of their best covers.
That first Black Sabbath cover is great. Surprised you chose that one
@@sirnorman9442 Yep and Master Of Reality is pretty plain too.
Sabbath's worst album cover is "Paranoid," which is probably their best album. It's kind of a goofy shot, you must admit, but a friend of mine bought that record based on the cover, and then when he got it home, he loved it.
@@MartyMurray It was supposed to be titled War Pigs originally so that’s where that cover came from but it’s still not great. The first one I can stare at for hours
Black Sabbath is the best example where the cover album matches the music. One of the best covers, especially at that time. As well as the music from that album.
Agree I was expecting a Sabbath album like Paranoid or Sabotage, love the first album cover, thought was so creepy as a child.
Yes, I agree they have bad covers, but this one really hits. I can only imagine what it was like back then in 1970 to buy an album and when the sound of thunder, rain and church bells starts while you look at such a dark cover with a witch looking at you.
I think Black Sabbath's debut perfectly captures the spooky and foreboding music within. I think the cover translates much better in larger form on LP. It was the first Black Sabbath album I bought, in 1983. And I was totally staring at the cover the whole time I was listening to it. The green-colored woman, the crow, the haunted looking house. The cover made me think of the movie "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". I think it perfectly fits the music.
That Sabbath cover is one of the best covers ever made. LZ IV is also iconic. Perfection.
They’re both iconic, in fact all 10 are iconic. But personally, the art does nothing for me.
Oh my! The First Black Sabbath is probably my all-time fav album cover (along with King Crimson's debut). So spooky and so in point with the music.
I also really like the Pink Floyd one but I understand that it's not really appealing.
Beauty really is in the eye of the beholder...
Cheers.
I like both of the cow covers. Cows are always fun!
@@ronhaller2143 Swiss band Gotthard also has a "cow" cover on their Made in Switzerland Live release, which is a mix between Floyd and Aerosmith's Pump :-)
Love the Sabbath cover...and the Led Zep IV cover. I remember buying it at the NEX. IIRC, "Black Dog" was on the radio.
Only a sticker attached to the outer wrap clued you in that it was Led Zep's new album.
18:40 oh no! I don’t agree with this pick at all Brendon. This is a wonderful eerie and sinister cover for Black Sabbath.
It’s the artwork for ‘Paranoid’ that I have never really been a fan of.
Do you have a top 10 cool art but lackluster music? Sometimes I take a chance on something I'm not familiar with because it looks cool, but turns out to be a let down music wise.
Great information as always 🤘
Glad you enjoyed it
One must understand...
Art is in the eye of the beholder.
Dig you, man... Keep on keeping on.
Love that Stones cover!
Hi Brendan...!!! Great episode...!!
I want to see another with Great Album Cover...but not the music...
Thats what you look te album cover and think "this goin to be amazing" and when you put the album is not what you were waiting...
I don’t buy albums that have bad music on them. Not sure if that video can be made.
Good show Brendon. REM - Automatic for the People.
Yeah that one too
Saw the title and knew that I wasn’t going to get the typical list of Scorpions, UFO, and Riot albums. For that, I thank you. Like a lot of people commenting, I think the Black Sabbath pick is weird when you look at Paranoid and Sabotage, but to each their own. I think it captures the vibe of a 60s/70s era gothic horror movie poster perfectly. Totally agree with you on the Aerosmith and the Metallica, though!
I agree Paranoid is horrible too.
Another great video mate , I had a question come into my head while you were mentioning back in black , now my question bring with it being such a great album with iconic songs on it what would the album sound like with bon singing the songs instead of Brian?
Love the Zeppelin IV cover.
There is a compilation album called "The Deep Purple singles A's and B's" released in 1978, TERRIBLE album cover, great songs...
Hi Brendon. Cool show again 😀
I actually somehow like the original Stones cover with the graffiti. Unfortunately I own the boring pale beige colored one with the writing in the middle. Sabbaths debut is iconic. Very rarely a cover matched the music as good as this one! And I even like LZ IV a lot. It was pretty daring issuing an album with no title or/and artist's name on it.
I totally disagree with your pics. The Black Sabbath art is amazing, it fits the music and plus it's creepy as hell with the women standing there. She's like an evil spirit..the Led Zeppelin art is amazing too. I could stare at it for hours wondering what is he doing. The Bon Jovi is cool, but it could have been better.
I like almost everything from Hipgnosis. I was surprised that the Sabbath album you had chosen as “bad” wasn’t either Technical Ecstasy or Never Say Die. I have always heard negative opinions regarding those album covers.
Then again, many people don’t believe the music on those albums are great (though I do).
Hipgnosis art group really did make some stinkers for album covers but they did happen to make some iconic covers.
*cough cough* The Dark Side of the Moon
You should do anothet video on how to improve the art on those albums
Haha…I’d tell them each to start over! 😂
It’s subjective but Black Sabbath and Led Zep IV are genuinely great and iconic
It's kind of funny, in that Atom Heart Mother was my introduction to Pink Floyd and I bought it because I thought the cover was cool
Hey Brendon, what about Captain Beef hearts Trout mask replica? 🤔🤭
😎👍
👊
Hi Brendon, good list. A few other annoying "backside" album art : Going for the one-Yes, Hemispheres and 2112 by Rush...WTF ?. More recently, I absolutely hate the cover, color and packaging of Metallica's "72 seasons", but a good album. Maybe you could do a vid about "great art/bad album" ???
Disagree on Springsteen and Sabbath, those are perfect covers for the albums. As for my pick, much as they're my favourite band CCR's "Bayou Country" is a blurry eyesore.
i’m awaiting to see if Jackyl’s “cut the crap” is on this
Love The Beatles was never a fan of The White Album , I know I know , psychedelic band photo with colours would have made the whole concept alot more magical
It was unique at the time. But yes that one is a bore too.
Nice vid... interesting picks, you picked some iconic albums that's for sure, for the most part I'm with you, but a few disagree with... the Floyd I think is brilliant in it's simplicity. Not everything needs to be some fantasy or sci-fi landscape painted or photographed (a la Hipgnosis), the Sabbath is a classic Keef photo, I would say it's one of the best sleeve photos from the 70s. Keef's treated photos are a big inspiration to many modern, Nordic metal and prog bands look and asthetic... and Zep IV has an odd charm to it but I get why you put it on your list. I think many of the worst offenders in the "great music to bad album art" are in a lot of the 80s metal sleeves.
Brendon, I have not seen any of the 10 albums yet and I trust your judgement. 😀
Correct, Brendon. No Web, pretty much got info from CIRCUS magazine, friends, & my older/hipper cousins in south Philly.
Never heard of the bands, I bought these because of the artwork > LED ZEP III, FRAGILE, DEMONS & WIZARDS.
Damn i love that Sabbath album cover..
I disagree about Black Sabbath album cover Brendon. That album cover is iconic and it perfectly captures the music on the album.
I can't argue with most of your picks but I kinda like Slippery When Wet lol
I would add Load/Reload, love both albums but I really don't like looking at that art lol
Also Genesis self titled album I Don't Care much for....
Actually yes the Load/ReLoad albums should both be on here but I didn’t like the music as much as The Black album and at least the Load/ReLoad covers were original unlike The Black album which had been done before.
Yes, I also thought the art of Led Ueppelin IV was ugly… but most of their album covers are sort of bad. The greater is their music! But with IV, which is a gatefold album, you have to look at the whole picture, which goes over to the back. To me it said, that the old is destroyed by the new, which is just as ugly as the old was… at least there is no improvement visible on the cover. Nobody seems to care for the past anymore, they didn‘t even save a painting from being bulldozed.
Yeah most of their covers are not that great. They’re iconic yes, but not because they’re interesting pieces of art. It’s solely because of who they are and the music on the album.
I would think there are more great albums with bad cover art for a 2nd video?
don't agree with your selection of Sabbath...that's a iconic album cover of all time!🖤🖤🖤
I kind of agree with the general concesus. The top 3 are just fine. Sabbath's has the creepy look to it that fits the music.
AC//DC, as you said was meant as a tribute. That said, that version of the album cover I would agree with you on. I think BIB works a lot better in the original lp version or the 2003 digipack having the embossed lettering, a more subdued color of white for the logo outline, and the album title in black lettering.
Led Zep, I think the cover reflects what's on the album quite well. Kind of folksy, I guess. Not sure the word I'm looking for, but folksy will do because of the start of "Stairway...", "Going To California", "Battle Of Evermore", kinda sorta "Misty Mountain Hop".
I know it’s all subjective but the last 3 are absolutely iconic, fantastic covers.
All of the album covers are iconic for sure. But IMO they’re iconic not for the good art but the music instead.
Interesting take on the cover art for these records, i would agree with the majority of them bar the art for the first Black Sabbath record. I would say the art is for me personally, i know all is art is subjective as it is in many mediums. I have always loved the art, it has a foreboding, eerie but also beautiful quality to it as does the music on the record. Paranoid is a guy in a silly suit in the woods with a neon blur applied, ridiculous cover. Master of Reality & Vol 4 are equally uninspired & Sabotage is Bill in his partners stockings & the Ozz in a Kimono, WTF, great concept guys. I think Sabbath Bloody Sabbath was the next best piece of art after the original album but as i say, just my opinion. I am not dismissing yours, we all have opinions & should respect others in theirs whether we agree with it or not. I wonder have you ever done a top ten albums of best covers or covers most representative of the music. Great video Brendon, thanks for sharing 👍
Back in Black, was about actually having money again. Bon had written most of the title track.
I have to go along with the crowd, the Black Sabbath cover is perfect for the album. As for Zep IV, who cares what cover is on the album, just shows you can't judge an album by the cover.
Yes very true. You can’t judge a book, or in this case an album, by its cover.
I would put anything by the band Riot on there. They got that goofy owl looking creature for a mascot on the albums. So it looks like it would be silly music, but they were a really good hard rock band.
Yes most of their albums are pretty silly looking. But it’s not an owl, it’s a seal. 😂
The story I heard about Bon Jovi Slippery When wet was a bit different . The cover designer put a pink border around the picture to match the girl in the picture's fingernail polish. Jon Bon Jovi hated it because the color wouldn't appeal to male listeners. So, because it was so last minute, it was Jon himself who made the garbage bag Slippery When Wet and took the picture.
Atom Heart Mother is good music and with Cow on it my favorite Cow is Pride & Glory w/Zakk Wylde with cows in foreground an old Country House.
Haha 😂😂😂😂
Ranking Black Sabbath's debut at #17 and now sticking it on a top 10 bad album art list??? We're on our way to crossing that fine line between voicing subjective opinion and committing down right sacrilege, lol.
Great video, Brendon. You are absolutely right about Use Your Illusion(s). I loved Gn'R with a passion when those albums came out, so I would have bought anything they put out, but those covers are just...bland. There's nothing to see there. Maybe they wanted to stay away from any controversies after Appetite for Destruction.
Black Sabbath, though...That cover is still the stuff of nightmares today. It's like a still from a dream that's about to turn into a nightmare. Perfect cover.
And you're also right about Metallica. That album was a game changer but...to quote the great Bobbi Flekman, "there's nothing on that goddamn cover".
Love the black sabbath debut cover - a better sabbath pick would be born again great album not so great cover
I like the Slippery When Wet and Use Your Illusion album covers. Otherwise agreed.
IDK, they have never done much for me. But it’s all in the eye of the beholder.
@@BrendonSnyder Totally fair there. Motley Crue 94 and Who's Next are examples of this for me.
Brendon I agree with you about the Black Album. I hate it when bands do this because it's lazy. Ever since Beatles White album, bands try to pull off the same idea and they overuse it. Weezer does this a lot. Give us something besides the color. It's not original anymore.
I’ve had this conversation with people over the years and it’s funny how, especially when talking about an iconic or popular album, you can just overlook the artwork. Facelift by Alice In Chains is a good example. Not a good album cover IMO but a fantastic classic album.
Facelift is a really good example.
i’d say Black Sabbath Paranoid’s cover
Yes that’s a horrible one too. Maybe even more so than the debut.
Art appreciation is subjective, so I can't say you're wrong or right. In fact, I love the covers for Atom Heart Mother, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin IV. My picks are: Sabotage (Black Sabbath), Power and the Glory (Saxon), Bent Out of Shape (Rainbow), Rumours (Fleetwood Mac), Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (AC/DC), Pink Bubbles Go Ape (Helloween), the original Appetite for Destruction cover (G 'N' R), the original covers for Virgin Killer and Lovedrive (Scorpions), All the Girls in the World Beware! (Grand Funk Railroad).
I know both bad/great art and bad/great music are subjective, but I have a couple that I feel fit your topic.
Iron Maiden - Dance of Death ---- In my opinion this album is the best of the post-reunion albums, and ranks currently pretty high on my list of their complete discography, after the classic albums of the '80s. But the artwork is awful. Looks like some high school kid, just learning graphic arts and Photoshop, slapped something together quickly and handed it to Steve Harris and he said "That's good. We'll use that for the cover."
Lady Gaga - Born This Way ------ Slap Gaga's head on the handlebars of a motorcycle and have her arms serve as part of the chassis for the front wheel steering. LOL
Two other Rolling Stones albums. Maybe they are in bad taste and not necessarily bad art since they seem to fit the titles. But I think Sticky Fingers and Goats Head Soup are awful artworks (both original banned covers and the ones used for retail.)
And don't get me started on the original Scorpions Virgin Killer album cover. Great album, though. Again this one is probably more in bad taste than actual bad art, despite the shocking inappropriateness of it.
Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking ------- A fantastic debut album by them, but the cover is just bad. Though, it does go with the album title and I guess that was the point.
There are many great Thrash, Death and other Extreme Metal albums with awful covers. Exodus and Cannibal Corpse come to mind with great albums that have awful cover art.
Great list, but I'd have to put The Beatles "White Album" on the list.
I agree with that…but I don’t own it so it couldn’t make the list! 😂
In my opinion it doesn’t matter what’s on the cover, it matters what the music does to you.
For me it’s a complete package.
@@BrendonSnyder I agree.
No problem with the Born in the USA cover. 😊 😂
Disagree with the guns r roses in particular - I love the colours and the art.
Personally , I like the AC/DC , Metallica and black sabbath covers. Dislike their paranoid album cover
You should do a video playing your guitar
There must be a hidden message in the black spots of the cow on the Pink Floyd album.
😂😂😂
The Guns & Roses albums I Always saw Axel Rose on the Cover to me it lookt like him
Black Sabbath is one of the greatest album covers ever.
If you say so 👍
@@BrendonSnyder
Everyone on here says so,.
Led Zep 4 and Atom Heart Mother are interesting because there is no print. As for Metallica.......
One more thang...
Open Led's gatefold
you'll see a concrete tenement building.
Rock and the peasant Rolls. (my theory)
Also, that great Argus album you haven't opened...
Check out the UFO. (probably easier to see in the booklet)
Peace on earth.
Wow! I pretty much disagree with all of your choices. They are all so iconic. I decided to pick album covers that are just poor executions. Here they are.
David Bowie - The Next Day
David Bowie - Toy
Crosby Stills Nash - Live It Up
Judas Priest - Jugulator
Iron Maiden - Dance Of Death
Guns N Roses - The Spaghetti Incident
Black Sabbath - Born Again
Bee Gees - Live In A Tin Can
Alice Cooper - Raise Your Fist And Yell
Riot - Narita
Sorry Brendon don't agree about the sabbath album I think it's a great cover
That’s ok, it’s just an opinion
Only disagree on the Black Sabbath cover. I still think it’s an awesome cover.
Yeah it seems everyone but me likes it 😂
I really like the first four Metallica studio album covers, but the art just went downhill from there.
disagree with the Zeppelin too!
For 'Born In The USA' (since it isn't really a pro-America song), I remember there was speculation that the cover was Bruce pissing on the flag. His right hand is in front of his body (like he's holding 'the boss'). It's an iconic album and cover, so I guess Bruce gets the last laugh either way.
@@jaredlitherland2670 I could care less about Springsteen... I said Zeppelin
every time i look at the metallica black album cover, all i can think of is spinal tap (haha!) ..& i haveta put my 2 cents worth in on both the black sabbath & the led zeppelin album covers... in short, they are both just plain ol' UGLY! ...another great video, thank u sir
That Aerosmith cover is Utterly Ridiculous! Lmfao
I like your pun!
i thought led zeppelin 3 has worse artwork than 4.
I'm ok with Back In Black, always took it as a tribute to Bon. But if I didn't know AC/DC and you handed me Dirty Deeds I would say no thanks.. that's a horrible cover with great music.
Disagree on Sabbath, Springsteen, Guns n Roses, Ac Dc, Metallica, Zeppelin.🤫🤫😊
I absolutely not see why the Metallica, the AC/DC, the Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin covers should be bad art. I cannot agree with your point of view.
Dire Straits and Steely Dan. Great artists, great albums...but mediocre to terrible album covers
Genesis: 1983 Self-titled, also called the " shapes " album cover..pictures of what appears to be children's blocks in various shapes. Genesis' last very good album
Your take on metallica was good, but you really come across as a simpleton with Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin.