This is part of a series I’m doing on the best and worst albums covers from one particular artist.

The Rolling Stones have been trudging along for a good 45 years at least. In that time they have had probably over 40 chances to do something interesting with the covers of their albums, singles, vids, etc. So it only makes sense that they have had a few great covers and also a few entirely horrid covers as well.

The Worst

First, the bad. Sometimes I think the Stones might get a little caught up in trends or some cool idea someone floats by them and they don’t really think it through. A lot of the bad ones look like no one was home that day so the record label just put any old thing out.

The cover of Emotional Rescue looks like they got it back from the printers all jacked and said “F**k it, put it out anyway.” A weird mish-mash of negative images that would scare most people away from the music.

The Rolling Stones will never be The Beatles. Sorry, just ain’t gonna happen. The cover to Her Satanic Majesty’s Request is just a poor knock-off of Sgt. Pepper done really cheaply and badly. They try and up it a notch with the lenticular image on the front but it just looks like they are trying to hard. Plus the colors make you want to puke. Just play the blues, guys. And leave the high concept stuff to someone else.

Holy crap, that’s a bad cover. Oh my goodness. It’s like the ’80s threw up on them. And what the hell is Mick doing? Airing out his crotch? WTF? Fire your art director because we never need to see that much hot pink and florescent yellow on these dudes ever again. It’s just embarrassing. And the album is titled Dirty Work. How does this image connect with “dirty work”? It’s dirty work wearing hot pink and sitting on the floor barefoot? Huh?

Dishonorable mention: A Bigger Bang

The Best

Well the cover of Sticky Fingers sure is… interesting. What I like about it is it’s simplicity and directness. It has become a classic cover for being provocative but not over the top. And the zipper is a cheeky and unusual addition that raises it’s interest level. It gets people talking and further propels the Rolling Stones image as being the bad boys. So it succeeds on many levels. Plus it got rated number 4 on Rolling Stone Magazines Top 100 album covers of all time.

The cover of Beggar’s Banquet might at first seem kinda weird. But I like it for a lot of the same reasons I like the Sticky Fingers cover. It fits. The Rolling Stones in my opinion are best when they are raw and rock and roll. No fancy stuff, no flowery nonsense. These guys are a blues bar band at heart that connects with this cover. It says they want to be outlaws, bad boys, the dirty underbelly of rock. And that works.

Tattoo You. It’s bold and striking with it’s powerful black and white face in front of a shock of bright red. It catches the eye. It’s clean and direct but still has an edge to it with all the markings on the face and neck. It definitely gets my attention.

Honorable Mention: Exile On Main Street

At this point in the game people don’t really care if the Stones ever put out another new record. They keep dong it but I think it’s just to give them an excuse to tour and make another $500 million. People will always cherish the classic Stones. Their album covers are really up and down. But they do pull out some classics now and then. As long as they stay away from the hot pink, we’re all good.

Quick Summary:
Worst – Dirty Work
Best – Tattoo You



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