Banned Album Covers
Or As Sean Connery Might Say - Anal Bum Covers You Didn't See

Dilated Peoples, Target Practice
Dilated Peoples' single was issued by ABB not long after 9/11. Controversy erupted over the song Target Practice, as well as over the cover art, which featured an electronic map of the world with cities, including New York, apparently targeted for attack.

Roger Waters, The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking
When Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters stepped out in 1984 with his first solo album, it grabbed the attention of feminist activists. After enduring charges that he was a sexist, and assertions that the graphics "encouraged rape", a new cover was issued with the offending buttocks covered by a black bar.

Tad, Jack Pepsi
In 1991 the Seattle grunge band TAD, and their label, Sub Pop, were forced to change the cover art for their pro-drunk-driving single, Jack Pepsi. Any response from the other implicated firm, Jack Daniels, remains unknown.

Jane's Addiction, Ritual de lo Habitual
When singer Perry Farrell submitted his original artwork to Warner Brothers for the band's 2nd album, in 1990 the label reportedly wasn't too thrilled. They gave it a go, until a few stodgy retail chains squawked. Under corporate pressure, and forced to reconsider, the guys opted to change to minimal text, simply quoting the free speech guarantee within the First Amendment.

Ice Cube, Death Certificate
When Ice Cube broke from NWA to go solo, his 1991 album carried on the tradition of controversy. The cover, showing Uncle Sam on a mortuary gurney (a visual metaphor for the death of the American dream?) and his various intolerant and violent songs led to condemnations in US Billboard magazine, widespread retail boycotts, and, in Oregon, an official statewide ban on displaying the rapper's image in retail shops.

Guns n' Roses, Appetite for Destruction
While no one has ever expected enlightened behaviour from heavy metal bands, Guns N' Roses probably set some kind of record for managing to offend a huge portion of potential fans with their songs. But the final straw for some was the robot-rape-scene cover (by the noted artist, Robert Williams) used for their 1987 hit album. After protests and denunciations, Geffen Records replaced it with a tattoo-styled, skulls-and-cross motif.

Alice Cooper, Love it to Death
When Warner Brothers started taking flak over the cover-image on 1971's Love it to Death, the questionably "offensive" thumb (centre) was airbrushed away on all later printings. The streets of America were thus made safe once again.

Black Crowes, Amorica
When Amorica was released by Universal in 1994, replete with pubic hair, there was immediate uproar. Under pressure from powerfully conservative retail chains, the band was forced to accept a substitute.

The Five Keys, On Stage!
After this album was released in 1957, Capitol Records reportedly received a bit of heat over the Virginia-based doo-wop stars' cover photograph. The angry complainants imagined that the forefinger (seen far) of lead balladeer, Rudy West, was a penis - and thus a decision was made to airbrush the offending digits out for subsequent issue.

The Beatles, Yesterday and Today
When Capitol released Yesterday and Today, cobbled together from other albums including Revolver and Help! the Fab Four, reportedly outraged that their art was being "butchered", posed for this photo. Capitol released it in June 1966, but faced with rejection by distributors, they had to recall thousands of "Butcher" LPs. Panicked, they rustled up a gloomy and unflattering photo - ever since known as the Trunk Cover - and pasted them over the recalled jackets. In that process, they created one of the holy grails of record collecting.
 

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