Controversial
31. Jane’s Addiction: ‘Nothing’s Shocking’ Uh, the album cover is. But, I can relate as often my head is on fire as well. Jane's Addiction was one of the first of the burgeoning alternative rock movement to gain mainstream media attention and commercial success in the United States. Their initial farewell tour launched the first Lollapalooza festival, an annual touring alternative rock showcase.
Nothing's Shocking is Jane's Addiction's first studio album. This album was released on August 23, 1988. "Jane Says" and "Pigs in Zen" had previously appeared on the band's earlier live album, in 1987. The album title is a line from the song "Ted, Just Admit It...".
This album was nominated for the 1989 Grammy Awards; the same year Jane's Addiction took a break. In 2003, the album was ranked number 309 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. It is also number 19 on their list of 100 greatest album covers.
The song "Ted, Just Admit It..." is about serial killer Ted Bundy and contains spoken words by Bundy, from a statement he made.
The song "Jane Says" is about a real person, Jane Bainter. Bainter was addicted to heroin and was always "going to kick tomorrow". She did have a boyfriend named Sergio. She was a "white collar" junkie—she did not steal and was not a prostitute. She did, in fact, eventually kick the habit.
The album features guest appearances by Flea, Angelo Moore and Christopher Dowd from Fishbone.
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Weird
31. Van Halen: 'Balance' Balance is the tenth studio album by the American hard rock band Van Halen. It was released in 1995 and, to date, is the final Van Halen album featuring lead singer Sammy Hagar.
Van Halen is a hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California in 1972. They enjoyed success from the release of their self titled debut album in 1978. As of 2007 Van Halen has sold more than 80 million albums worldwide and have had the most number one hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. During the 1980's they also had more Billboard Hot 100 hits than any other hard rock, heavy metal band of the decade. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Van Halen is the 19th best selling band/artist of all time with sales of over 56 million albums in the USA and is one of five rock bands that have had two albums sell more than 10 million copies in the USA.
The cover was the brainchild of American photographer Glen Wexler whose first album cover commission was to photograph The Brothers Johnson (“Blam!” 1978), for Quincy Jones Productions and A&M Records.
Other album cover projects include, Van Halen, “Balance”, Black Sabbath, “Reunion”, Rush “Hold Your Fire”, ZZ Top, “Greatest Hits”, Missing Persons “Spring Session M”, Slaughter's “Stick It to Ya”, and Chaka Kahn, “Naughty”. Wexler also created images for Michael Jackson, KISS, Yes, Kansas, Whitesnake, Black Crows, Boston, Steve Miller Band, Peter Frampton, Bob Weir, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and many others.
Wexler created a fantasy album cover for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum exhibition “The Greatest Album Covers That Never Were,” which toured nationally 2003-2006. Wexler was invited to lecture about album cover work at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum along with designer John Van Hamersveld in June 2003.
In the fall of 2006, Wexler’s album cover artwork was featured at the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences' (NARAS) “The Art Of Music” event in Los Angeles.
I just wonder why one of the Siamese twins is screaming...maybe at a splinter on her side?
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Worst
31. Any Bonkers compilation: Apparently, "Bonkers" is someone's attempt at a cartoon- I can't imagine the music is any good, but honestly- I have no clue what a Bonker is, but I can help:
Bonkers is an animated American television series that aired from September 4, 1993 to December 21, 1995 in first-run syndication (after a "preview airing" on the Disney Channel). The syndicated run was available both separately, and as part of The Disney Afternoon. The show was last seen on Toon Disney, but was taken off the schedule in late 2004. Enough said, I thought this was a series about true album cover art-we can get really technical if we started bringing in cartoon and children's records.
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Best
31. Nick Drake: ‘Pink Moon’ Pink Moon is the third and final album by British musician Nick Drake. It was recorded at midnight in 2 two-hour sessions, over two days in October 1971, featuring only Nick Drake's vocals and guitar, as well as some piano later overdubbed by Drake on the title track.
Initially, Pink Moon garnered a small amount of critical attention, but after Drake's death it received widespread public and critical acclaim. The music on Pink Moon is strikingly sparse and unadorned (especially in comparison to Drake's previous recordings), leading some to consider it to be the least accessible of his three albums, though it nevertheless continues to be thought of by many as his greatest work.
In 1999, the title track was used in "Milky Way", a successful Volkswagen Cabriolet commercial directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris and lensed by Lance Acord, leading to a large increase in record sales, and a number-five placing for Pink Moon in Amazon.com's sales chart.
The cover of the album features an illustration by the partner of Drake's sister Gabrielle, Michael Trevithick, although Keith Morris was originally commissioned to take photos for the cover.
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