Stories

This is perhaps my favorite album cover I have ever made. Everything about it’s happening was magical and dramatic from finding the perfect yellow Cadillac convertible in the junk yard to cut the fender off of to going into the big discount men’s store to purchase the perfect Everyman circa 1972 polyester outfit, where, while Neil was being fitted, we watched a young black woman being rudely arrested for shoplifting (Why would anyone want that crap badly enough to steal it?!) to buying the daily newspaper of the day of the photo shoot to include as a time document, and the headlines blared SEN. BUCKLEY CALLS ON NIXON TO RESIGN. I couldn’t have made up a better artifact to include in the photo.

I feel that we succeeded in creating a Time Capsule of that moment in time and I love all of the colors, patterns and the overall vibe in the photo. They are really what it was. At that time I was totally repulsed by the colors, cuts and patterns of clothing of the period. I drank Coors then, when it was rare because it didn’t travel well and you couldn’t find it everywhere. Later I drank Corona when you had to go down to Tijuana to get it because you couldn’t buy it in the U.S. yet. Should have got that franchise.

People thought I was really nuts when I insisted on printing INSIDE the record sleeve with the colorful pattern from the umbrella and beach chairs. No one had ever printed there before. Bob Seidemann shot these wonderful photographs. And Rick Griffin painted all of the lettering for the package.