‘I mean, it’s just a s—ty little polite record sleeve.
I hate it.’
Under the Cover is a column that reveals the stories behind album art.
Credit: Daily Herald/Mirrorpix via Getty Images
Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, along with albums forOasis, Paul Weller, andEric Clapton.
I’d always had a crush on [his art].
I was thrilled to meet him.
Decca Records
He’s very gentle."
Art and design have always been a major factor in the Who’s work.
My Generation(1965)
“I think the cover is just pathetic.
Track Record
I mean, it’s just a s—ty little polite record sleeve.
The photographer was a nice guy and he took some good pictures of us.
But it’s nuts.
Decca Records
So we came up with the idea to write jingles [forThe Who Sell Out].
They made us very, very welcome, and they had each of us take a different photograph.
We had a lot of fun.
Decca Records
So it was a bit like having an ice bath.
It was the birth of the hippie era.
“We had just played at Monterey [Pop Festival], and Karen came with me.
MCA Records
We had a really bad acid trip on the way back.
And we went to a small gathering at which Mike McInnerney was doing some artwork.
I felt a real deep connection.
Warner Bros.
Mike McInnerney’s input was really part of what made [Tommy] work so well.
He started to take each song and tried to do a piece about it.
He worked under a single light bulb.
It’s very detailed.
The quality of the artwork is very, very refined.
Also, the way that he approached it, it’s [Rene] Magritte-like.
Whos Next(1971)
“It’s another piece of s—.
It’s a horrible thing.
Of course I don’t like it.
It’s got no artistic consequence whatsoever.
No link to the music.
It’s four guys stopping in a car and pissing up against a chunk of concrete.
There’s no irony in it, there’s no truth in it.
Anyway, can we move on?”
I think that’s perfectly okay, but it’s not the way that I saw it.
The photos inside are high-contrast, they’re really beautifully printed, they’re evocative.
So, again, I’m kind of sad about this album cover.
I don’t think it’s great.
I think the idea is great.”
Face Dances(1981)
“The band was really busy at the time.
Punk had made a lot of noise, and then immediately declined.
I think I had the most difficulty because I was finding it really hard to write songs.
Peter[’s idea for the cover was to] commission all these incredible British artists to produce panels.
They did it fantastically quickly, and it was entirely his idea.
I think it’s wonderful, absolutely wonderful.
The cover is much, much, much better than the music.”
