Friday, April 10, 2009

Controversial Album Covers

h/t to Kottke
It’s amazing how times change. What would be considered absolutely unacceptable 40 years ago is the norm now. Sometimes I wonder what people will find completely acceptable 40 years from now. Yikes!

In any case, just for fun, here are 30 or so album covers that were either banned, changed to appease an overly prudish public, or sanitized to keep a retailer happy. Enjoy!

Check out the explanation for Bruce Springsteen, ‘Born in the U.S.A.’ (1984). I was laughing out loud.

6 comments:

  1. Seems those damned First Amendment rights get trampled by the oh-so righteous right-wing.

    At least the right-wing does protect one of the amendments, the next one.

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  2. I cannot believe they left out the infamous Yesterday and Today by the Beatles!
    I actually held an uncensored original version of the cove in my hands in Toledo in 1972.
    I will try to find a link for it, but if you don't know, the Beatles issued a record with the boys posed in Butchers uniforms with the proper utensils and dismembered dolls and raw meat....
    Only a few were actually sold before the batch was recalled and recovered with an innocous photo of the Beatles posed around a packing case.
    Supposedly, quite a few were recycled with the new cover glued over the old one.
    Great record, a kind of filler record, full of great R&B covers...Kansas City, Long Tall Sally...

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  3. OOPS, I went back and looked at the pages and found the Beatles cover.
    I still have the Blind Faith Album with the original cover. I knew that would be a collectors item when I saw it back in '69.

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  4. I couldn't believe that Beatles' cover. I'd heard about it but hadn't seen it before.

    There're some great stories on that list, huh?

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  5. Muddy, yeah kinda like that Right-wing firebrand Tipper Gore trying to ban Music Lyrics in the 90s!

    Totalitarianism knows both left AND right wing.

    I don't support either...you support one. (not just Muddy either)

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  6. These are great, thanks! My husband's gonna get a big kick out of them.

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