Black Sabbath, The Beatles Cited On Worst Album Covers List
You can’t judge a book by its cover, an old saying goes. The same is true for albums. The FW has recently created a list of the 50 Worst Album Covers, and we here at Ultimate Classic Rock were shocked to discover three of our favorite artists had made the final cut.
The Beatles show up at No. 47 with the infamous “butcher cover” of ‘their 1966 Capitol LP, ‘Yesterday and Today.’ In fairness to the Beatles, ‘Yesterday and Today’ was not a “proper” Beatles album. It was compiled out of tracks from the U.K. releases of ‘Help,’ ‘Rubber Soul’ and ‘Revolver’ due to the differing approaches between Capitol and the band’s U.K. label, Parlophone. Still, the Beatles happily participated in the photo shoot by Robert Whitaker, so they must accept some of the blame.
Black Sabbath‘s 1975 album, ‘Sabotage‘ clocks in at No. 28. Citing its “cross-dressing sci-fi” vibe and “bulbous camel toe-inducing crotch shots,” they heap particular scorn on Ozzy Osbourne, whom they claim is wearing “a cross between a kimono and a bathrobe with construction boots.”
Breaking into the Top Ten at No. 9 is Jeff Beck‘s 2010 album, ‘Emotion and Commotion,’ which features a bald eagle carrying a Fender Stratocaster in its talons as sunlight streams on it. To them, it suggests that “God blessed America with rock n’ roll,” and while that may actually be a noble concept, it does seem a bit strange strange coming from Beck, who is British.