Bad if not Excruciating Album Covers

[Frances]

Never knew Bob played rugby , or is that an egg.

Methinks egg.

[firehazard]

Never knew Bob played rugby , or is that an egg.

The Jamaican rugby team's haka is a thing to behold.

[Frances]

The Jamaican rugby team's haka is a thing to behold.

I just read that Bob Marley was buried with his soccer ball(?)

Delaware, '76
http://blogs.delawareonline.com/pulpculture/2009/07/23/marley-me/

[RoddyRuddy]

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[RoddyRuddy]

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[RoddyRuddy]

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[RoddyRuddy]

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[RoddyRuddy]

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[firehazard]

Could have picked any Top of the pops lp.

There was a whole series of these back in the early 70s, with similar "artwork".
They featured a range of soundalike covers of current hits, recorded by musicians who weren't quite the actual bands. A weird concept, and looking back I'm not sure how the copyright would've worked.
But they were cheap and widely bought among those a year or two younger than me. I suspect there are still one or two lurking in the old family home.

[philipchevron]

Could have picked any Top of the pops lp.

There was a whole series of these back in the early 70s, with similar "artwork".
They featured a range of soundalike covers of current hits, recorded by musicians who weren't quite the actual bands. A weird concept, and looking back I'm not sure how the copyright would've worked.
But they were cheap and widely bought among those a year or two younger than me. I suspect there are still one or two lurking in the old family home.

The reason they existed is that back then, it would have been extremely unusual for multiple record companies to co-operate and license their material to a third party on such an album. Sometime in the mid-70s K-Tel questioned the wisdom of so blinkered a strategy and, probably because they themselves had no dog in the race, persuaded the majors to succumb to the sort of Original Artist compilation we now know from the long-running Now (that's what I call music) series. The Now albums became quite sophisticated at one stage. They licensed Fairytale of New York before the single even hit the shops, which was the first strong indication we had of a huge hit on our hands.

Personally, I'd have been curious to know what the "cover" would have sounded like on Hallmark's Top Of The Pops version. Elton John, who back in the day would certainly have been called upon to play piano and possibly do Shane's vocal on the EMI/Music For Pleasure equivalent of the Hallmark series, did so many of these anonymous sessions that he later released them as a proper album.

[cagliostro]

I remember one of those that my sister bought in the 70's that had Bohemian Rhapsody. We were huge Queen fans in the day, and I remember the cover including an extra word that I remember pissing me off. "Nothing really matters/Anyone can see/Nothing really matters/Nothing really matters MUCH to me"

And they sang it a bit stronger as if to emphasize that, yes, they did indeed add a word, and fuck you. I still don't understand that.

[kmurray105]

I think this one is great!

[NewJerseyRich]

Come to think of it, I haven't seen any late night commercials hawking the NOW discs here in some time. Ktel in the 70's and 80's was king of the late night commercial. You couldn't watch TV after 11pm here without being being bombarded with "all your favorites" on one album! Can it be selling them on the TV is dead?

[firehazard]

...
Personally, I'd have been curious to know what the "cover" would have sounded like on Hallmark's Top Of The Pops version. Elton John, who back in the day would certainly have been called upon to play piano and possibly do Shane's vocal on the EMI/Music For Pleasure equivalent of the Hallmark series, did so many of these anonymous sessions that he later released them as a proper album.

Just a few years earlier and it could've been on this one, which I reckon my sister must've bought, as which the cover is seared on my memory. The poor lass in the picture looks petrified. Presumably Mr Dwight didn't do the vocals on his own song?

[Run Run]

...
Personally, I'd have been curious to know what the "cover" would have sounded like on Hallmark's Top Of The Pops version. Elton John, who back in the day would certainly have been called upon to play piano and possibly do Shane's vocal on the EMI/Music For Pleasure equivalent of the Hallmark series, did so many of these anonymous sessions that he later released them as a proper album.

Just a few years earlier and it could've been on this one, which I reckon my sister must've bought, as which the cover is seared on my memory. The poor lass looks petrified.

I think Benny Hill is just out of shot and she is catching him up.
Yakety Sax .Yakety Sax .