Best Ever Albums

Re: Album Cover News

MadhattanJack — Tue, 7 Oct 2025 04:18:57 GMT

Author: MadhattanJack

Posted: 10/07/2025 08:18

In other album cover-related news, last week Judge Fernando Olguin of the US District Court, Central District of California, dismissed the latest filing of the lawsuit by Spencer Elden, the guy who 30-some years ago was photographed naked in a swimming pool for the cover of Nirvana's Nevermind album, against the surviving members of Nirvana, Courtney Love, and the photographer, Kurt Weddle. The basis of the lawsuit is/was Elden's argument that the image is child pornography and therefore subject to stricter laws against publication and dissemination than would be the case if Baby Spencer had been photographed wearing a Speedo™ or similar garment. Or even just an ordinary diaper.

Reuters: Nirvana again defeats child pornography lawsuit over 'Nevermind' cover

Quote:

"Other than the fact that plaintiff was nude on the album cover," nothing "comes close to bringing the image within the ambit of the child pornography statute," Olguin said.

Attorneys for Elden did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. Nirvana's attorney Bert Deixler said they were "delighted that the court has ended this meritless case and freed our creative clients of the stigma of false allegations."

I'm not sure what he means by "other than the fact" here — the fact is, the plaintiff was nude on the album cover. This is like saying "putting aside the fact that everything the President is doing is insane, nothing the President is doing qualifies as 'insane' for purposes of Constitutional law."

The Huffington Post: Judge Dismisses Lawsuit By Naked Baby On Nirvana’s Iconic ‘Nevermind’ Album Cover

Quote:

In the most recent ruling, obtained by HuffPost and first reported by Billboard, Judge Fernando M. Olguin wrote: “Neither the pose, focal point, setting, nor overall context suggest the album cover features sexually explicit conduct.”

“This image – an image that is most analogous to a family photo of a nude child bathing – is plainly insufficient to support a finding of [child pornography],” Olguin continued. “Nudity must be coupled with other circumstances that make the visual depiction lascivious or sexually provocative.”

I guess that pretty much says it all... 😨

Another thing I noticed is that none of the news articles are pointing out that Elden was only asking for $150,000. I realize that the people he was suing are artists, but in this case, all four of them probably have more than that shoved between their couch cushions. I guess they didn't want to be accused of allowing a precedent to be set over something they did, since that would open the door to even larger damage demands (and settlements) by other plaintiffs whose naked baby photos were used on album covers. This might also be a good opportunity to note that the only album ever released under the title "Naked Baby Photos," specifically this Ben Folds Five album, features no naked baby photos on the cover whatsoever.

Nirvana
Nevermind (1991)

Ben Folds Five
Naked Baby Photos (1998)

Re: Album Cover News

MadhattanJack — Mon, 6 Oct 2025 18:57:54 GMT

Author: MadhattanJack

Posted: 10/06/2025 22:57

In somewhat less-tragic news, the original artwork for David Bowie's Aladdin Sane is coming up for auction in just over two weeks (Oct. 22, 2025), and is expected to break the "world’s most expensive album artwork ever" record at somewhere around $350,000. (I say "somewhat" because Bowie is also deceased, unfortunately.)

‘Aladdin Sane’ by David Bowie expected to become world’s most expensive album artwork
Farout Magazine, Sept 23, 2025

Quote:

The striking artwork for the 1973 record shows Bowie in one of his most famous ever poses, with a red lightning bolt emblazoned across his face. Having been shot by Brian Duffy, a prolific photographer known for capturing the counterculture of the 1960s, the original image is being sold as one of 35 items from his archive.

Currently, it is being predicted that the shot could surpass the largest amount an album artwork has ever been sold for at auction, after the cover of Led Zeppelin’s debut record previously garnered $325,000 when it went under the hammer in 2020.

Other items in the collection being sold at auction include the stool that Bowie sat on during the photoshoot for Aladdin Sane, the 500c Hasselblad camera used by Duffy to take the shot, and the inside artwork of a full-length shot of Bowie dressed as the alter ego, which was included in only the first 5,000 copies of the record. That image alone is expected to fetch between £150,000 and £200,000 itself.

Now, some of you might ask if I intend to bid on this item myself, since Aladdin Sane is my favorite Bowie album and, as you might expect, I have zillions and zillions of dollars to throw around on things like this. Or at least I would, if the International Criminal Tribunal would release the funds like I asked them to. But no, I'm perfectly happy with my collection of Royal Mail Bowie-cover postage stamps, so I'm probably just going to sit this one out.

David Bowie
Aladdin Sane (1973)

Album Cover News

MadhattanJack — Mon, 6 Oct 2025 18:41:55 GMT

Author: MadhattanJack

Posted: 10/06/2025 22:41

Believe it or not, there's been an uptick in album cover news lately, and this forum doesn't seem to have a thread devoted to album cover news (though it has several devoted to actual album covers, of course).

For starters, I will repeat something I noted a couple of months ago in another thread:

A couple of months ago, I wrote:

It should be noted that Ronnie Rondell Jr., the guy on fire below, passed away on Aug. 12. He was 88 years old.

Paste wrote:

The Wish You Were Here artwork remained his most infamous appearance, done in a shoot by photographer Aubrey Powell. It took 15 takes to complete, and Rondell wore fireproof gear and smothered himself in protective gel. What came of it was not only an image immortalized in Pink Floyd‘s lore forever, but a conversation starter for Rondell, who lived long enough to tell the tale of a shoot more dangerous than any of his on-screen stunts.

Pink Floyd
Wish You Were Here (1975)