Weird / Neat Covers

This category is devoted to weird, cool, interesting cover art on records that might otherwise be not so interesting.

Friends Roadshow – Live at the Melkweg

A year and a half ago, I had the pleasure of digging in Amsterdam.  On the advice of some Dutch collectors, I found myself at the flea markets of Waterlooplein on a rainy day, where I stumbled upon this gem.  In my book, passing on a record with a cover like this is not an […]

The Luft Sisters – Full House

From my prized collection of LPs featuring people holding over-sized playing cards. Not unremarkable. Can we all agree on that? “Hit In The Heart” [Audio clip: view full post to listen] “All Through The Night” [Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Friday Knights – You’re Not A Song, You’re An Album

Here is a pretty unique private press record from Hialeah, Florida of all places (although the band seem to have come from  Hollywood, just a bit further up the coast). At first sight I thought this would be a souvenir from a Medieval themed diner or lounge (a la Orlando’s Medieval Times) but  I’m glad […]

Edward E. Levin – Live Game

Edward E. Levin has been operating his “Magic Piano Shop” since 1971, giving lessons and tuning pianos. He still enjoys composing, though a cerebellar stroke in 2009 impaired his ability to perform. This 1980 LP features an odd parody of the Monopoly board game. One of the game squares simply reads, “FOLD BACK FOIL TO […]

THE POWERHOUSE MECHANIC – WHOLE LOTTA LOVE

Ill advised industrial Zeppelin cover. Not the good kind of industrial, either, but the eye makeup fist pump kind that the Trenzor guy popularized. “Dance for me, girl.” The b-side is ironic industro-rap about Baghdad. EVERYBODY ITCHIN BOUT THE PRICE OF CRUDE! Truly horrendous music. [Audio clip: view full post to listen] [Audio clip: view […]

Paul Becker & Hearing Things: Safe

Quirky local record with what has to be one of my favorite covers ever. Musically it’s a somewhat uneasy mix of ultra lightweight punk, bland AOR, and ballads with an almost prog bent. A tough one to figure out as there seems to be a whiff of novelty to it, but also some fairly sound […]

OPERATION DROPOUT

Picked this one up for the great cover. It’s a two record set put out by the Chicago Daily News and WLS Radio in conjunction with forums and broadcasts addressing the problem of school dropout in  1966. Three out of the four sides are dry and boring press conferences. The remaining side contains excerpts from […]

Anenzephalia – Lyse

First I’ll start off with a disclaimer: I borrowed this record from my girlfriend who used to be a big industrial fan. I am really not that knowledgable on industrial stuff at all, hell I don’t really like it even, but this one seemed too weird not to be shared. Thanks to her for the […]

Happiendo – Kazemachiroman (Happy End – Windy Street Romance)

Many consider Happy End the first true rock band from Japan. This is due to the fact that they were the first to make rock albums sung entirely in their native Japanese. They are very well known in Japan, however I’m not sure of their popularity in the Western World so I hope this mini-review […]

Various – Cumbias Y Gaitas de Colombia

Housed in an incredibly nice cover with a unique pre-historic Flinstone vibe (the drum, the model, the hair…), this record contains several outstanding cumbias. I thought the following cumbia (eh, or Gaita?) from this record is a nice one to post because it features a great hot-jazz guitarist who at one point goes out of […]

Various – Sensazioni

The Italian Phase 6 series might have had one of the coolest strings of sexy covers ever. This one is an absolute favorite of mine. The typefont, the angle, the color of the sky, the choice of model, the negligent position of her bikini. One can almost smell the hot herb-filled air of Italy’s coast […]

Teenage Talk-In

Strange 60’s Christian lp that has one of my favorite covers of all time. It depicts youthful scenes of of the era; playing baseball, dancing, riding on a motorcycle, holding a portable radio dangerously close to your ear and screaming, getting maced by the cops, hallucinating the Beatles’ disembodied heads, etc. And the message, delivered […]

The Elementals with Captain Ricky Pluto – Living Stones

This private press gem originated in Michigan in 1984. Unfortunately the cover is the best part of the package. The music is really really bad 1980s synth pop/new wave stuff, with lyrics that seem to be deep but don’t actually say anything. If you’ve ever seen the British TV show The Office, the “Free Love […]

The Wombles – Keep On Wombling

The moment I saw the trippy psych/kiddie album cover, I knew I had to buy this record, and I’m sure glad I did. The Wombles are an H.R. Pufnstuf meets The Muppets children’s television and book series from the UK with a mission: they’re all about picking up litter. I had some high hopes for […]

Bobby And Betty Go To The Moon

Way in the future, 1985, these 2 kids are the first to fly solo to the moon. Loads of fun science facts and cheesy effects, girls don’t care much for engineering in the future, where scientists sound like cheap impersonations of Bela & Boris. More fun on side two, tame library versions of soul and […]

Rainbow Promise – self titled

Rainbow Promise, teenage Jesus freak jam band from Texas, early 70’s recording, recorded in Ohio, on a Springfield MO label. 2 pressings with different cover variations were made, only sold at their concerts. Four stand out cuts with heavy shredding guitar jams. Listen – my fave track

Gertrude Behanna – God Isn’t Dead!

Here is the “highly personal story” of Mrs. Gertrude Behanna, a story of alcohol, drug addiction, three broken marriages and attempted suicide. Just look at Gertrude, doesn’t she exude the aura of misbehavior and a youth gone wild?! But who am I to know. Maybe God healed her visage of all that was ugly and […]

Norman Ezell / Resurrection Day

Easily one of the greatest record covers of all time, making use of a painting called ‘Rapture’ by Charles Anderson. I also found a different shitty gospel record using the full, uncropped artwork on the cover. Just off to the left of the picture you see here? A 747 smashing into a skyscraper.

Wild Man Steve – Midnight Snack

Here’s a filthy comedy record in the vein of Rudy Ray Moore, Richard Pryor and Jimmy Lynch. Equally hilarious and disgusting stuff, this is definitely not for the faint at heart. The whole album Wild Man Steve is pretty much getting down and dirty live at a nightclub with a group in the background to […]

Shrine Steel Band

All I really know about the Shriners is that they are old, were fez’, drive around in funny little cars, and make bad music.