#15 - Pearl: Janis Joplin (1971)

What a wonderful mess Janis Joplin was. Though she sang her heart out, she also did pretty much everything in her power to make it to the 27 club.

Not familiar with that particular establishment? Think Janice, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse … Yup, they all made pretty corpses.

In fact, this album was actually released posthumously. Further, the song “Buried Alive in the Blues” had to go on there as an instrumental – Janis had approved the track, but had yet to lay down the vocals.

As often happens with posthumously released stuff, Pearl would go to #1. Having classic likes “Me and Bobby McGee” and “Mercedes Benz” (the last song she ever recorded) certainly helped though.

What I like about this cover is how it well it reflects the best parts of Joplin’s personality – fun, funky, out front … It’ also just a wonderful shot of her.

The picture was taken by Barry Feinstein, who gets credit for almost 200 albums. 

A LIFE and Time photog in the ‘50s, he would switch to music in the ‘60s, touring with Dylan a couple of times.

Honestly, though, all the photographer had to do was point the camera her way …

<#16                    #14>

#16 - Nothing's Shocking: Jane's Addiction (1988)

 

Wow! Siamese twins! Naked! With their hair on fire! Rocking the wrong way!

The only thing I don’t like about this effort is the rather give-away title. This would have been so much more jarring if the title had been something like “Had A Dad,” “Standing in the Shower … Thinking,” or “Ted, Just Admit It …” (all songs on the album).

It was actually put together by front man Perry Farrell, with a little help from his friends (including girlfriend Casey Niccoli, who posed for the plaster cast). 

The image had appeared to Farrell in a dream. Most major record stores put it in a brown paper wrapper.

Jane’s Addiction was one of those alt rock bands (with an emphasis on the rock) that came out of California in the 1990s. Think the Red Hot Chili Peppers, tattoos, no shirts, heroin … I’m afraid it was never a genre that I was really into.

Perry Farrell’s an interesting fellow though. Born Peretz Bernstein in Queens, he would move to Florida as a teen, then California as a young adult. There, he would live out of his car, surf, wait tables, and do construction work before hitting the big time. A bit of an impresario, he created Lollapalooza (as well as Kidzapalooza and PurimPalooza) as well as starting the bands Porno for Pyros and Satellite Party.

Dave Navarro’s the other well-known member of the band. A former member of the Peppers, he’s also known for his guitar skills, fedora, and tattoos (and is in fact a judge on the reality show Master Ink).

A couple of other album covers I like:

The band is Dave, Perry, drummer Stephen Perkins, and some other guy:

<#17                    #15>

#17 - Exile on Main Street: The Rolling Stones (1972)

Our third – but not last! – Stones cover. 

A double album, it’s got some great songs (especially “Tumbling Dice”), and really hangs together, with a particular emphasis on the band’s blues and rock ‘n roll roots. Many critics consider it one of the top albums of all time. Jagger, interestingly, wasn’t a fan, preferring to have done something more new and experimental.

The cover photo was from the collection of Robert Frank, a very influential and acclaimed photographer.

It’s from his 1958 book The Americans (of which I have a copy), and was taken outside Hubert’s Museum and Flea Circus, a popular “dime museum” near New York City’s Times Square. There are pictures of burlesque queens, circus freaks, “The Human Corkscrew,” and “Congo the Jungle Creep” (that last one taken by the equally talented and famous Diane Arbus).

The back cover and inside liner have photos of the band done in the same style, by Frank and also by Norman Seef (who you’ve seen here before).

Frank actually has almost 40 more credits on discog.com, including stuff for Tom Waits, New Order, and Jerry Garcia. 

He made it to 94, passing away just last year. And here's some more of serious stuff (that second one is one of my favorite photos ever):

Frank would eventually move into film, directing the Stones’ Cocksucker Blues. Because of some rather interesting legal issues (basically, the film shows the band breaking the law numerous times), it can only be seen with Frank in attendance.

The designer was John Van Hammersveld:

He's got 146 credits, including for Jefferson Airplane, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Cream, the Doors … Here are some of my faves:

Of course, he's also responsible for this:

The album was mostly recorded at a chateau in the south of France. The band were tax exiles there – hence the title. Brave boys!

Here are some more Stones album covers I like and I don't think I've shared yet:

This one seems to have more homages than parodies:

<#18                    #16>

#18 - Born in the USA: Bruce Springsteen (1984)

Another portrait of Bruce (like this one). This one, though, is of his (fairly famous) backside. 

So, is he peeing on the flag, or not? According to Bruce, “That was unintentional. We took a lot of different types of pictures, and in the end, the picture of my ass looked better than the picture of my face, so that's what went on the cover. I didn't have any secret message. I don't do that very much.”

There might be something to that ass idea. You might not remember, but The Boss started out as a skinny, 98-pound weakling.

It was only after a major body-building program that his career really took off.

In fact, he still looks pretty buff today (at age 60):

The peeing on the flag idea certainly wasn’t photographer Annie Leibowitz’s. Indeed, the flag theme was Springsteen’s idea, she shot all sorts of variations of it for him, and he picked the final version.

Annie Leibovitz? Well, she’s probably just the most famous photographer in this whole blog. 

Originally known for her Rolling Stone covers, she would eventually become – in my opinion at least – the nation’s unofficial portraitist. 

Interestingly, she’s also done her fair share of album covers as well, including several more of Springsteen’s and others pretty much all over the place:

The album? You’ve probably heard of this one.  I understand it’s quite popular.

As iconic an album cover as this is bound to get some parodies:

<#19                    #17>