The red velvet cover, with gold embossed lettering, served notice that Odessa was going to be unique and beautiful, which it was. If The Beatles could do a double “ White Album,” the Bee Gees could do a fuzzy red one. On their 1969 debut, the cavorting characters were there to remind you how much fun rock’n’roll was supposed to be. 100: The Flamin’ Groovies: Supersnazz (design by Cyril Jordan)īandleader Cyril Jordan’s terrific comic art has turned up on numerous The Flamin’ Groovies covers and posters over the decades. (Artists as varied as Young Thug and Glass Animals can attest to that.) So, without further ado, here is our pick of just 100 of the greatest record covers of all-time. Pepper’s with the cover to the White Album and vice versa.) Even in today’s digital age, a cool record cover can have a huge impact. What we can say for sure, though, is that album covers are vitally important to how a record is received by the public. It doesn’t really matter what sort of adjective you want to put it in front of the words “album cover,” because lists of this sort of are always incredibly subjective. It will forever be a classic.The coolest, best, greatest, most iconic, most famous album covers of all-time. To think that it was written and recorded in the mid-1960s is astonishing. “The Velvet Underground & Nico” is an album that could be released today and receive critical acclaim. Instead, it is better to list the various musical genres that the album influenced including noise, punk, shoegaze, indie and garage rock. The Kinks’ “The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society” (another famous flop upon release) comes close in terms of the level of detail in the lyrics, but it is still completely different otherwise. It is difficult, if not impossible, to compare “The Velvet Underground & Nico” to anything else besides the band’s later albums. The result was a sound characterized by Reed’s and Morrison’s energetic guitarwork, Cale’s screeching and droning viola and Tucker’s stripped-to-the-bone drumming. Warhol, who acted as the producer despite having no experience in the position, knew instinctively to let the band do their thing. The innovative sound on the album was a conscious decision. “Heroin”, for example, captures Reed’s experiences with the drug in a direct and honest way: “I have made a big decision/ I’m gonna try to nullify my life.” The track “Venus in Furs” gets its name and its masochistic subject matter directly from a novella of the same name by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. ![]() Reed, the principal songwriter on the album, takes lyrics directly from the world around him and writes in a style more akin to authors like William S. As a song about the troubles of finding one’s identity, it benefits tremendously from the general gloom present in the music. Tucker’s steady bass drum and tambourine, Cale’s repetitive and frenetic piano motif and Nico’s haunting double-tracked vocals create a dark but fragile atmosphere. The best example of this album’s unique sound is “All Tomorrow’s Parties”. There is some beauty in Morrison’s sinewy lead, but it is more sarcastic than sweet. Its guitar, piano and drums drive the song forward with aggression. “I’m Waiting for the Man” is about scoring drugs, and it directly juxtaposes the previous song. The song seems to literally float in the air by the time it ends. The feeling of waking up on a sunny day is captured impeccably well by Cale’s celesta and viola, and Reed’s gentle vocals make it all the more soothing. “Sunday Morning”, the album’s opener, is a great example of this. The music on this album is the perfect blend of beauty and raw energy. Although it was a critical and commercial failure at first, it has gone on to become one of the most influential albums of all time. When the album was released, it shocked listeners with its direct, unadorned lyricism and its embrace of experimental sound. It was released in March of 1967 and features Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison and Moe Tucker, with Nico as a guest singer. “The Velvet Underground & Nico” is The Velvet Underground’s debut album. ![]() (Photo Courtesy of Verve Records) Andy Warhol was a producer for The Velvet Underground and designed the album cover.
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