10 Hilariously Terrible Album Covers And Why They Exist

4. Ted Nugent €“ Scream Dream

Released in 1980 as the sixth studio album by American hard rock guitarist Ted Nugent, Scream Dream is a relatively short album that nevertheless was received quite warmly by critics upon release, and sold decently well. Sadly, this positive response did nothing to stop people laughing at the album cover, which was intended to be a visual representation of the title. Snapped by photographer Lynn Goldsmith, the cover depicts Nugent... well, screaming. As for the dream part of the equation, Nugents arms appear to be merging into guitar fret boards, with the bodies of the guitars clearly visible at the bottom of the picture. Perhaps the whole thing wouldn't be so hilarious if Nugent wasn't wearing nothing but a glorified loin cloth, but fortunately for people who like to laugh at silly things, he is. Interestingly, the cover does have a well-intended meaning for its bizarreness. At the time of the album's release, Nugent's career was beginning to falter. His label Epic Records was beginning to doubt Nugent's merits as a signed artist and his sales were slipping, with his previous record State Of Shock netting the worst sales of his career. Since it was Nugent's hard rocking and guitar-based prowess that sold, and since that's what his marketing largely hinged on, the label believed a guitar-centric cover would help boost Nugent's sales. Rather than depict Nugent playing his instrument traditionally, they wanted to give the impression he was reinventing himself, too. Unfortunately for Epic Records, most people just thought the cover was... well, weird.