What is hidden behind the picture? Secrets of 12 covers of cult music albums

A music album is not only a collection of tracks, but also an example of fine art. Each cover carries a certain meaning, and behind the picture, as a rule, there is a story hidden. It can both display the ideas of songs, and tell something about the life of the musicians themselves. There are cult publications for which collectors are ready to pay huge sums, because they contain the essence of the creativity of their favorite performers.

From Michael Jackson to Pink Floyd: read the stories of creating the most famous album covers of all time.

The publication of a music album is an important step in the career of any musician. In order for the album to sell well and be liked by listeners, every detail is important, and the cover is one of the main components of success. It carries a special message to fans, which is hidden behind a carefully thought-out picture.

More than once there were cases when the album cover became the cause of scandals and even lawsuits. For example, the group Nirvana was sued by a man who was depicted on the cover of the collection "Nevermind" as an infant.

Spencer Elden was photographed in the pool with a dollar bill, which is lowered under the water on a hook. Now he claims that the picture is child pornography, and his parents never signed a contract for the photo to be used for the album cover of the cult band. The shot was taken by an expert in underwater photography Kirk Weddle (Kirk Weddle) in his own studio with a swimming pool in Los Angeles.

Here are some more fascinating stories about the most famous music album covers.

Noel and Liam Gallagher first had to portray people passing each other on the street. However, after a good walk at the party on the eve of the shooting, they could not get up at five in the morning to take pictures in London's Soho quarter, while it was deserted. Instead, photographer Brian Cannon and radio DJ Sean appeared on the cover Rowley.

The band Blink-182 hired porn star Janine Lindemulder to photograph the cover of their album. She appeared in the image of a playful nurse in gloves. Photographer David Goldman says that until the last moment the album should have been called "Turn Your Head And Cough" ("Turn Your head and cough"), that's why they came up with the idea of a glove. Now the former porn actress is 52 years old, she is married to Sandra Bullock's ex-husband Jesse James and maintains an account on OnlyFans.

Fans of the singer have searched through all possible sources in search of information about what meaning is attached to the image on this cover. The black star itself symbolizes death. This was the artist's last album. The star fragments at the bottom make up the word "Bowie".

Under ultraviolet light, the cover turns blue, and in natural sunlight, an image of the galaxy appears above the main picture: if you connect the dots-stars, you will get the outlines of a star man.

If you look closely at the right side of the cover, you can see the letters "L. I. L. Y.". This is a coded message from Paul McCartney to his wife: "Linda I Love You"("Linda, I love you").

The legendary musician married Linda Eastman in 1969. She died in 1998 from breast cancer. McCartney's wife was 56 years old.

The album "RAM" was released in 1971, two years after their wedding.

The cover depicts the performer himself in a bear costume-the emblem of his trademark Dropout Bear. He sits sadly on the stairs. The singer did not want his face to be visible, but the choice of the image of the bear was accidental. It happened at a school where a photo shoot for the album cover was being held.

This album was produced by Nilsson and produced by John Lennon with the participation of Ringo Starr. At that time, the three famous musicians were close friends and hung out a lot at parties.

The original name "Strange Pussies" was rejected by the record company, but the musicians still managed to add a note of mischief to the name. In the picture on the left side there is a cube with the letter "D", and on the right – with the letter "S", and between them there is a mat: everything adds up to the word "DRUGS" ("Drugs").

The serial number of the aircraft is 3MTA3. If you read it backwards, you will get "EAT ME"("Eat me"). At that time, the band's producer was Rick Rubin. He saw a photo of Led Zeppelin's private jet and wanted to "show an incredible life in the style of rock and roll" on the album cover. Rick Rubin convinces that if you look at the plane from the side, it resembles a penis, and this can be regarded as a promise to the listeners to have fun with the hits of the band.

The album's lyrics tell about the dark side of the recording industry, after ex-guitarist Syd Barrett left the band due to mental health problems. The cover reflects the famous English expression " I've been burned "("I've been burned") in the meaning of "I've been ripped off"("I've been thrown").

Two businessmen shaking hands make a deal, but one of them is engulfed in flames. To get a spectacular photo, a stuntman was hired, who was actually set on fire. A successful shot was made only from the 15th time.

Guys in balaclavas resemble typical bandits. In fact, the composition is similar to the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci "The Last Supper", which depicts Christ and his disciples before Jesus predicted the betrayal of Judas.

The singer himself is in the place of Jesus, and other people in the photo are looking at the lens, and not arguing among themselves, like the heroes of the picture. There are also dishes on the table, and also a PlayStation joystick.

The colorful cover of the album depicts Kari-Ann Muller, who was paid only 20 pounds (about 2000 rubles) for the shooting. But this was the beginning of her stellar career. Later, the beauty played a Bond girl in the film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", and then appeared on the cover of the Mott the Hoople album "The Hoople".

Soon Kari left the modeling business and began teaching yoga classes. She is married to Mick Jagger's brother, Chris.

Fans have been discussing another baby from the cover of a music album for many years. Different versions were put forward about who this child was: the rapper himself as a child, his son or a completely foreign baby. In fact, the photo shows Keithroy Yearwood, who was hired by a children's modeling agency. He was paid only $ 150 (about 11,500 rubles), but this photo brought him fame.

There is a lot of talk about this cover, but its main theme seems to be fraud in show business. A dog in the form of a king, a bird in the form of a queen and elephants ridden by clowns-all these images embody the dark side of the star industry.

The legendary American showman Phineas Taylor Barnum is depicted at the bottom of the picture. In front of him is a child who is holding the skull of a large animal in his hands. Michael Jackson himself acts as a circus performer. The album cover reflects how the king of pop music fell into the trap of his own popularity, but never gave up his title.

The criterion for the popularity of a musician can be considered how well his works are sold. Music blogger soulaway decided to analyze the top most successful albums in the history of mankind.