An Addendum (to the 100 Greatest Album Cover Photographs of All Time)
Errors, omissions and explanations
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The response to last week’s 100 Greatest Album Cover Photographs piece has been really nice. I’ve received lots of comments, both here, offline and via direct message, pointing out egregious omissions — or at least suggestions of other albums that might deserve a spot in the top 100. So I’ve got an update today in which I will recap several of those suggestions, which fall into two primary categories: covers that didn’t make the cut, and covers I didn’t know about (or, in a couple of cases, covers I knew but forgot about).
• Covers I Didn’t Know or Forgot About •
Friend and reader Corey sent a suggestion: the band Gubenthal and their album German for Your Mom, which he shot while, I’m sure, grinning ear to ear the whole time. I didn’t know that one, nor several other more famous covers (though all shot by photographers I’m sure nowhere near as cool as Corey).
Leonard Cohen - The Best Of
This is a two-fer, because reader Jason suggested Ween’s The Pod, which is an homage to Coen’s Best Of and so this is both one I forgot about, and one I didn’t know about. The original is a great portrait by Cohen’s friend Giuseppe Pino, who is named in one of Cohen’s most popular songs, “Famous Blue Raincoat.” The Ween cover is, well, the Weenest thing to ever Ween. I’m fairly certain they started with the original cover and photoshopped a masked face on top. And it is fantastic.
Matthew Sweet - Girlfriend
I’ve been singing “Sick of Myself” for two days now even though it’s not on this album. But this album does have a great cover that I’d forgotten about: a vintage portrait of a teenage Tuesday Weld, shot by Ken Galente. Weld objected to the original name of the album, Nothing Lasts, so Sweet renamed it. Which I take as evidence these artists really do care about their visuals: he didn’t change the cover art, he changed the name of the record.
Donald Fagen - The Nightfly
Reader “Front Wheels” (I believe that name is of Dutch origin?) mentioned that he’s always been fond of this one, which was shot by James Hamilton who worked on a variety of great covers in the 1980s (and then again in the 2010s, but interestingly not much in between).
Elton John - Sleeping with the Past
Seeing these beautiful Herb Ritts portraits reminds me of how great he really was and what a loss we feel in his absence. A master of beauty. This simple portrait definitely would’ve been in contention for the top 100.
Roxy Music - Siren
A banger that had I known about it would definitely have been in contention. Photographer Graham Hughes has a ton of great covers to his name: The Who’s Quadrophenia, The Who’s Greatest Hits, Clapton’s Money and Cigarettes, and Thunderclap Newman’s Hollywood Dreams, a personal favorite of my late father-in-law.
Marianne Faithful - Come My Way
A beautiful portrait shot by Gered Mankowitz, longtime rock ‘n roll photographer best known for his work with Faithfull, Jimmy Hendrix and The Rolling Stones. Painterly, window light, lovely, relaxed pose… I almost thought it to be a pencil drawing. Just beautiful.
Louis Armstrong - Louis
Is it a surprise to learn that the few dozen Philippe Halsman album cover photos are outstanding? Eartha Kitt’s Bad But Beautiful is a great one, as are the covers he shot for Joan Baez, Ian & Sylvia, and Dean Martin. This Louie cover is very contemporary, with a wide angle close to the subject and looking down. It’s a look that would become a thing decades later. I wonder if this 1966 shot was the first of its kind?
Echo and the Bunnymen - Heaven Up Here
Perhaps my favorite omission of them all. Another Brian Griffin. I’d never seen it, and if I’d known about it I would have assuredly included it in my top 100. But the real question is: which one would I remove?
Did I mention there’s a playlist? Photographic Jazz compiles selections from the “100 best cover photos” and you can listen to it right here…
• Covers that Didn’t Make the Cut •
There were several covers that lived briefly in the upper reaches of the list, but ultimately didn’t make the cut. In an effort to ensure I’d covered as many popular genres as possible, I was really hoping to get more country albums on the list.
Steve Earle (country adjacent), Brian Kelley (a name I was unfamiliar with, but a shot I do really like) and Dolly Parton (excuse me, Her Majesty Dolly Parton) all had their moments before being removed from the prestigious list. As did Lou Reed, Bon Iver, Tom Waits and others, including…
Chet Baker - Let’s Get Lost
A great portrait, shot by Bruce Weber. I really wanted to include it, mostly because once I realized it was shot by Bruce Weber I thought it might be a great opportunity to get another fantastic photographer on the list.
Alex Chilton - Like Flies on Sherbert
Several William Eggleston covers crossed my mind, but I really struggled with the “licensed stock” style of cover, and chose just one to represent all of ol’ Bill. Reader Søren suggested this and many other good ones.
Whitney Houston - Whitney
Shot by Richard Avedon, it’s a gorgeous portrait of a gorgeous woman — two artists at the peak of their game. Undoubtedly fantastic, but I decided it didn’t move me in a way that would pass my “hang it on the wall” test.
Allman Brothers - Live at Fillmore East
The greatest live album of all time? Maybe. The greatest album cover photo? No. But a really, really good one that was briefly in my top 100. Shot by the icon, Jim Marshall.
U2 - Achtung Baby
One could make a list called Anton Corbijn’s best album covers of all time, and it would just be everything he shot for U2 and Depeche Mode. I read somewhere in my research that this one comprised Polaroids Corbijn had shot, but I’m not so sure. They’re pretty great pictures, and they work well together in particular. I love a good grid. But alas, this one’s reign in the top 100 was short lived. Unlike…
Nirvana - Nevermind
The ultimate exclusion, and the last to be removed from my list. No, it wasn’t an oversight. And no, I’m not unaware of this cover’s iconic status. But I tried to avoid giving due to iconic status alone. And while it’s a unique photo (shot by Kirk Weddle) with a wild story (that includes the baby in the picture growing up to not only get a Nirvana-inspired tattoo but also to sue the band on more than one occasion) I decided it failed at the most fundamental test I applied: if this image was removed from the context of the band and/or photographer, would I want to hang it on my wall? Yeah, that’s gonna be a no from me dawg.
All fair and well explained. I am glad to see a couple of inclusions. Nice follow-up.
Thanks for the nod on the Nightfly cover (it's a great album, too; every song a gem). And you were close, the name is actually German. ;)