I don't think this would fly nowadays...
When I first saw it, I thought 'ah yes, the old boiling cauldron,' but no, it's a beautiful drum! Then I thought 'those poor guys, probably Americans dressed up for the cover,' but maybe not...
Not only was this recorded at the Johannesburg Music Festival, but check out the ear on the guy at the far right. That looks quite legit to me, many, many years before hipsters and other weirdos started ruining their lobes for that 'look at me!' look. These two pieces of evidence lead me to believe that these are real tribesmen. However, you'd still never see a cover like this anymore.
Let's look at some more normal images now.
I always like these ads and technical notes. Two more things that died off almost entirely once CDs and cassettes became the standard.
I can't even imagine the outcry at a cover like this today.
ReplyDeleteThere are probably a few people who could get away with it (if not entirely, then largely), but even they'd be raked over the coals for sure.
Delete