Album Covers by Taschen Strike a Chord with Their Bold, Sexy Designs
In the world of music, album covers have always been more than just a simple packaging. They serve as a visual representation of the musical content within, often pushing boundaries and captivating listeners with their audacity and humour. The book "Sexy Record Covers," published by Taschen, takes a deep dive into this fascinating realm, showcasing some of the most provocative, edgy, and humorous album covers from the past six decades.
The idea for this comprehensive collection was sparked by record collector Eric Godtland in 2010. As a manager for the Village People's tour, Godtland encountered eccentric and erotic records in markets around the world, igniting his passion for the provocative side of music packaging.
As we delve into the book, we find that the 1960s marked a significant shift in album covers, with covers playing off the allure of hippies and free love, adopting a gender-inclusive, everyone-loves-sex attitude. This trend continued into the 1970s, with sexuality becoming goofier and riskier in album covers.
The international album covers in the book are a visual feast. They boast bright and primary colours, sexiness, often blatant nudity, originality beyond expectations, and a lot of humour. The evolution of album covers in the genre is clear when grouped together, with a noticeable change over time.
France, Germany, and Italy produced the most sexy record covers, often being far more daring than American releases of the same records. Germany, home to hard rock and heavy metal bands like Scorpions, is known for provocative and sometimes banned covers that balance humour and edgy sexuality. German designers also express nihilistic, absurdist collage art, reflecting a bold graphic aesthetic that can be both artistic and subversive.
French album art tends to emphasise avant-garde, artistic, and often surreal imagery, combining elegance with conceptual depth. Italian album covers, especially in rock and pop, have often blended sensuality and bold graphic design, sometimes using provocative imagery that can be playful or risqué.
Japanese album art frequently embraces eclectic and experimental visuals, mixing kawaii (cute) culture with edgy or underground styles. The result can be humorously provocative or surreal, drawing from manga, anime, and street fashion influences. However, a clear answer for why Japanese record companies did not use Japanese women on covers was never provided.
To be included in the book, albums had to be genuinely provocative, edgy, or humorous. They needed striking visual impact, conceptual relevance, controversy and censorship, and sometimes humor and absurdity. For example, the German rock band Scorpions' album *Animal Magnetism* (1980) features a provocative and controversial cover designed by Storm Thorgerson of Hipgnosis, depicting a woman with a large metallic belt and a dog on a beach at sunset. The cover was edgy yet humorous—Storm himself said they "just knew there was something rude somewhere" about it, capturing a playful provocation without explicit explanation.
Dian Hanson, the book editor, looks for a combination of visual impact, sexiness, originality, and humour when considering the curation of the book. However, she found it hard to reject the funny items because she loves the funny stuff too. A collector valued everything in his collection, and Hanson had to act as a "mum," telling him that some items weren't really sexy; they were just funny.
Everything tapered off in terms of sexuality in album covers from the 1980s onwards. Some of the famous album art included in the book are The Rolling Stones' Under Cover, Roxy Music's Country Life, and John and Yoko's Two Virgins.
In conclusion, "Sexy Record Covers" offers a captivating journey through the evolution of album covers, showcasing the audacity, humour, and provocation that have made these covers iconic. The book is a must-read for music enthusiasts, artists, and anyone with an appreciation for the intersection of art and rebellion.
Books that discuss the intersection of art and rebellion, such as "Sexy Record Covers," often delve into the fascinating world of music, exploring how album covers have served not only as packaging but also as a form of entertainment that pushes boundaries and captivates listeners with their audacity and humor. As seen in the book, music from the 1960s to the 1980s featured album covers that were provocative, edgy, and humorous, with France, Germany, Italy, and Japan producing some of the most iconic examples in the genre.
