The Shocking & Censored Covers

Mama Lion: Protect Wildlife (1972) This shot of lead singer Lynn Carey nursing a lion cub became much more famous than the album's middling blues-rock music. The cover was actually a foldout, with the naughty bits covered by a window until the viewer opened the front sleeve, but it was soon banned and altered by label execs. Carey, touted as a Janis Joplinesque singer, had previously bared all for Penthouse. The photo was parodied by, among others, Belle and Sebastian in their debut (see Tigermilk in the Stylishly Alternative Covers). -- JC