Music Editor Barry Fenton showcases some of the worst-album covers to misrepresent amazing music.
Album art is usually your first introduction to a new artist. Everyone remembers the iconic image of the Fab Four walking across Abbey Road’s zebra crossing for the first time, or Pink Floyd’s iconic triangle refracting light … but do you remember when Drake’s long awaited Certified Lover Boy was released alongside 9 emoji’s of pregnant women?
The criteria for this list was albums which had PR, publishing companies, all the usual bells-and- whistles of a major release presented and accounted for, but still left listeners wondering,
‘How did no one think this was a bad idea!?’
To start our list, we have George Harrison’s 11th solo album. Yes. ELEVENTH.
One critic pointed out that he ‘looks like that one single uncle at the family barbecue’. An apt description.
Anyone who remembers the ‘Graphic Design is My Passion’ meme on tumblr gets the vibe here. Strange cloud images, shoddy green screen work and a shirt to bring it all together make this cover one for the ages.
I suppose any big Harrison fan just has to look past it when trying to enjoy ‘I Got My Mind Set On You’.
Moving swiftly on, Drake’s aforementioned ‘Certified Lover Boy’ can’t be ignored when compiling a list of tragically funny album covers.
We can all agree Drake has had a troubling year, but he really didn’t do himself any favours with this cover.
One is reminded of the age-old saying ‘it ages like a fine milk’.
There isn’t really a point in trying to unpack what the artist was hoping to convey here. It’s both extremely on the nose and desperately confused. But seriously, the fact that ‘Yebba’s Heartbreak’ - a soft yet powerful ballad - was sacrificed to this strange cover should be offensive to any music enthusiast.
Lastly, at 22 million global sales and one of the top 50 best-selling albums of all time: ‘(What’s The Story) Morning Glory’ by Oasis.
While it is one of the most recognisable covers in popular culture, even Noel has admitted in an interview
“I was high when I ok’d that…it is my biggest record and the sh***est cover of all time!”
Oh how underwhelming this cover is. A blurry image with a stock font slapped on the top, it’s hard to believe the amount of money that went into the production of this album’s artwork.
The point of this article is not to criticise artists or designers, but to celebrate the craziness behind some of these choices. In the end, these covers remind us that in the world of music, it’s sometimes the bizarre, the inexplicable, and the downright cringe-worthy covers that stick with us. So while you’re admiring the audacious choices in album art—or wondering if anyone, anywhere approved them with a straight face—remember, true artistry knows no bounds. Or, perhaps, no shame.