Which album cover do you like best?

[Sarge]

Inspired by the threads RSG started regarding the album covers, I'd like to know which one do you like best and which one is your least favorite. I have all Meat Loaf albums on vinyl and I think many covers look especially impressive in LP format.

My list:

01. Bat Out Of Hell
02. Welcome To The Neighborhood*
03. Couldn't Have Said It Better*
04. Hell In A Handbasket
05. Dead Ringer
06. Bad Attitude
07. Bat Out Of Hell II
08. Hang Cool Teddy Bear**
09. Stoney & Meatloaf (original cover, not the silly "meatloaf" thing from 1978 )***
09. Bat Out Of Hell III
10. Blind Before I Stop (European version)
11. Midnight At The Lost And Found
12. Blind Before I Stop (U.S. version)****

* I like old movies and pulp art, so I favor these covers over the fantasy art. (Except for Bat I which conveys a certain rawness. Whelan and Bell are a tad too perfect and colorful for my liking.) The girls look very cool on promo and tour posters, too.

** If only the blonde wasn't there. She doesn't fit, looks as if she comes from a 1980s movie or ad and you can recognize by her posture that she apparently belongs in another painting. I really wish there had been obvious Behind The Valley Of The Dolls references. The self-mockery and the little bat from the Lisbon Cathedral are very interesting, though.

*** I like not only the images on the cover (who had that idea? :lawl:) but also its texture.

**** shudder

[JennaG]

Hmmm. That is a tough question.

I'm going to go away and take a good look at all the album covers and have a proper think about it. I don't usually pay them a great deal of attention so it'll be interesting to have a proper look at them.

I wish I had more of them on vinyl as I agree that a lot of covers look good on LP's.

[samurai7]

I like the fantasy art too, but I really love the Bad Attitude cover. It looks magnificent on the LP sleeve. Also a special mention to the artwork for WTTN too.

[melon]

I like Dead ringer & Bad attitude. Bat 1 also

[Evil Ernie]

Tough one.

I'm gonna have to go with WTTN. I wanted to go with one of the BOOH covers, but that I realized that they were all cheesy as hell. WTTN had a good cover and theme.

[Sarge]

Nice to see Welcome To The Neighborhood and Bad Attitude being mentioned. :-)

I wanted to go with one of the BOOH covers, but that I realized that they were all cheesy as hell.

LOL, true. I love the first one, though. Just the guy on the bike, the graveyard and the bat. No winged blonde women in nightgowns or bikinis.

I really wish there had been obvious Behind The Valley Of The Dolls references.

Oops, that should have been Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, of course.

[Mr. Happy]

I've always really liked the Dead Ringer cover. Fantasy art is something different (away from the self portraits that everyone seems to do) for an album cover, and the Dead Ringer one in particular is cool :D

[Wario]

cover wise:

3 Bats Live (the DVD and CD graphics are astounding! concert itself: not so much)
Bat Out Of Hell II
Bat Out Of Hell
Live with the MSO
Hell In A Handbasket (US)
Hang Cool Teddy Bear
Very Best Of
Bat Out Of Hell III
Welcome To The Neighborhood
Couldn't Have Said It Better
Dead Ringer
Blind Before I Stop (European version)
Hell In A Handbasket (UK)
Stoney & Meatloaf (original)
Hell In A Handbasket (OZ)
Midnight (Worldwide version)
Bad Attitude
Stoney & Meatloaf (rerelease)
Blind Before I Stop (U.S. version)
Midnight (OZ version)

[Evil One]

Bat Out Of Hell II. I think the 3 Bats Live one is hideous. :shock:

[JennaG]

I've had a look and the ones that jump out at me at the moment is Bat 1 and Welcome to The Neighbourhood. It's interesting, I thought that Hell In A Handbasket would be the one I'd go for, being as I liked the idea of the globe made up of the skulls. I can't pinpoint exactly what it is about those two that made them stand out, they just did.

My least favourites were Midnight at The Lost and Found, Blind Before I Stop and I also found that Couldn't Have Said it Better didn't stand out all that much. In comparison to some of the others, I guess I didn't find it quite as artistic.

[Julie in the rv mirror]

I guess my favorites would be "Dead Ringer" and Bat II- I like the fantasy art, but it does get kind of old after a while. I also like "Bad Attitude". Of the newer albums, I do like HIAHB.

[Evil Ernie]

If we're talking about the overall artwork I would have gone with BOOH2. But the album cover doesn't match the artwork on the inside. I think that it would have been cool if they made the cover more in line with that.

[Elijah's way]

1. Very Best
2. Bat 2
3. Bat 3
4. Hang Cool Teddy Bear
5. Bat 1
6. Dead Ringer
7. Welcome To The Neighborhood
8. Hell In A Handbasket
9. Couldn't Have Said It Better
10. Bad Attitude
11. Hits Out Of Hell
12. Blind Before I Stop
13. Midnight At The Lost And Found
14. Stoney & Meat Loaf

[RSG]

bat out of hell. its a classic. i was also thinking TeddyBear too. Cant explain, and there isn't any particular one i dislike. The Monster Is Loose in consideration of all the records. Does nothing for me

[AndyK]

It's a tie for me between Bat and WTTN.

Bat is the classic definitive Meat Loaf cover, but I've always liked hte pulp comic art and WTTN is a prime example of that.

Of course, having the original picture hanging on my wall helps in my appreciation of it

http://media.mlxxfc.net/12022008024.jpg
(and this pic just doesn't do it justice!)

[ninja]

tough one.
my favorites are:
WTTN, CHSIB, HIAH, HCTB, all coming back, fallen angel, bat 1-3

[Cherry.Loaf]

Love chsib as I think pinup style art is beautiful; I love hiahb and am planning on getting it printed on canvas. It's a cross between Bad attitude and Boh but since I use itunes mainly I haven't seen any of the album covers in a while

[Evil One]

If we're including singles then the Objects In The Rear View Mirror cover is one of my favourites.

[chairboys]

If we're including singles then the Objects In The Rear View Mirror cover is one of my favourites.

me too

[samurai7]

If we're including singles then the Objects In The Rear View Mirror cover is one of my favourites.

Rock and Roll Dreams is a cracker too. In fact, I like almost all of the inner-sleeve artwork on Bat 2 MORE than I like the cover.

[Wario]

the bat 2 cover is King Kong

[Evil Ernie]

the bat 2 cover is King Kong

It wasn't a bad concept, the style of the art on the cover was just a little bit too comic book like.

Not to say that I don't like comics, but...

[lisa01]

I like all of meat loafs album covers they are really cool and i love all the art work that go into them to make them look fantastic

[rockfenris2005]

1. Bat out of Hell
2. Bat out of Hell II: Back into Hell
3. The Very Best of Meat Loaf
4. Bad Attitude
5. Dead Ringer
6. Welcome To The Neighborhood
7. Hell In A Handbasket
8. Hang Cool Teddy Bear
9. Couldn't Have Said It Better
10. Stoney and Meatloaf
11. Blind Before I Stop (Original Release)
12. Midnight at the Lost and Found
13. Blind Before I Stop (US Release)
14. Bat out of Hell III: The Monster is Loose

Also:

I'd do anything for love (But I won't do that) (Leave Taking, 1992)
Life is a lemon and I want my money back (Thanatos, 1983)
Rock and roll dreams come through (Verge, 1989)
Out of the frying pan (And into the fire) (The Red Step, 1991)
Objects in the rear view mirror may appear closer than they are (Lovecraft's Nightmare, 1981)
Everything louder than everything else (All my Sins Remembered, 1978)
Lost Boys and Golden Girls (Dragon Prince, 1988)

(Curious why "It just won't quit" and "Good girls go to Heaven" didn't have any accompanying art)

WttN art

&

Jim Steinman: Bad for Good
Pandora's Box: Original Sin (The original image by JK Potter is called Wet Dreams)

[mib]

I'd have to go with WTTN, I also liked the pulp art inside the booklet too.

[Paul Richardson]

Also:

I'd do anything for love (But I won't do that) (Leave Taking, 1992)
Life is a lemon and I want my money back (Thanatos, 1983)
Rock and roll dreams come through (Verge, 1989)
Out of the frying pan (And into the fire) (The Red Step, 1991)
Objects in the rear view mirror may appear closer than they are (Lovecraft's Nightmare, 1981)
Everything louder than everything else (All my Sins Remembered, 1978)
Lost Boys and Golden Girls (Dragon Prince, 1988)

(Curious why "It just won't quit" and "Good girls go to Heaven" didn't have any accompanying art)

I have a radio interview with Meat from 1993 just before the release of Bat 2 where he says there are six singles on the record (and then lists ALL of the songs !). Maybe the art work was done for the songs which the record company thought could be singles ?

Although, there are actually seven songs with art work on the record, and I can't imagine Lost Boys & Golden Girls as a single over It Just Won't Quit (an awesome song) or Good Girls Go To Heaven (which was one of the singles from Original Sin). So who knows ... :shrug: