Why the different covers?

[Altres]

The original UK release.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f3/Yes_-_Time_and_a_Word_-_UK_front_cover.jpg

The US release.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9d/TimeAndAWordUS.jpg

Why are these covers different? And why is Steve Howe on the US cover?

I have always wondered this.

Brian

[brotherofmine]

The reason being that the USA considered the cover obscene so a different cover had to be made for the American version.By that time Pete Banks had left the band and refused to be photographed on the album cover which is howe Steve Howe ended up on the album cover even though he never played on it.

[Altres]

Cheers, down the years I have come across copies of the US version in second hand shops and have always wondered.
Brian

[BlueEagle]

BOM is exactly right- the same reason we didnt get the original Jimi Hendrix or Led Zeppelin covers here in the good ole Victorian-morals-enforced USA. Heaven forbid impressionable yoots would be forever corrupted by seeing a nipple :rolleyes:
Oh and by the way, the American version has to be the WORST cover art EVER. The photography on the back SUCKED and what is up that gawdawful crappy logo? Why didnt they use the word balloon one? SHEEEESH.

[Vic W.]

The reason being that the USA considered the cover obscene so a different cover had to be made for the American version.By that time Pete Banks had left the band and refused to be photographed on the album cover which is howe Steve Howe ended up on the album cover even though he never played on it.

How about that - first time I heard this story.

That U.K. cover is great. Too bad we didn't get it here...I'm sure it would have helped sales...lol...

[Altres]

I definitly prefer the UK release here, it again has a great pop-art feel whereas the US version is just a rather uncomfortable promo shot. How much of a "fish out of water" does Steve Howe look. LOL

Brian

[MikePike]

I have also been wondering this for a while, i think the UK release had a better cover!

[Going For The Fish]

I own a Russian copy. The cover is like the origional, but in color. Found it in a used record store in Montreal, Canada while visiting the city to see Rush last year.

[True Believer]

The US probably thought the original cover was too rude. ;)

[ANTIOCH]

I own a Russian copy. The cover is like the origional, but in color. Found it in a used record store in Montreal, Canada while visiting the city to see Rush last year.

Nice find ! I've never seen this version. I have had the Import for 35 years and also have the US version . . . no comparison when it comes to art and merchandising the product !!

[Wakey's #1 Fan]

I prefer the US version, maybe because the boys are on it. The other one is great too it doesn't look like it's from the early 70s.

[tardistraveler]

Yep - good ol' American morals . . . :rolleyes:

[relayeire]

Yep - good ol' American morals . . . :rolleyes:


true... and a desire from the record company, I imagine, to have something a little more conventional (i.e. a picture of the group) on the cover...

[tardistraveler]

true... and a desire from the record company, I imagine, to have something a little more conventional (i.e. a picture of the group) on the cover...

I don't think conventional is better, by any stretch . . . I've gotten interested in bands before because they had interesting album covers!

[relayeire]

I don't think conventional is better, by any stretch . . . I've gotten interested in bands before because they had interesting album covers!

oh, I agree! Yes having some of the best covers of all... I am thinking from a corporate standpoint...

[Scottie]

I remember how confusing it was to me with an already convoluted line-up of players Yes had by ‘75.

Who is this P. Banks, that is Howe isn’t it? lol. I was 13 or 14 when I bought the album originally.

[gt76yesman]

The original UK release.

http://yesworld.com/gallery/images/albums/TimeAndAWordUK.jpg

The US release.

http://yesworld.com/gallery/images/albums/TimeAndAWordUS.jpg

Why are these covers different? And why is Steve Howe on the US cover?

I have always wondered this.

Brian
Chris from Family Guy would say "I see boobies!".

[SilverShoes]

BOM is exactly right- the same reason we didnt get the original Jimi Hendrix or Led Zeppelin covers here in the good ole Victorian-morals-enforced USA. Heaven forbid impressionable yoots would be forever corrupted by seeing a nipple :rolleyes:
Oh and by the way, the American version has to be the WORST cover art EVER. The photography on the back SUCKED and what is up that gawdawful crappy logo? Why didnt they use the word balloon one? SHEEEESH.

What original Zep and Hendrix covers? Dunno about any alternate Zep covers, but if you're refering to Electric Ladyland, Jimi HATED the cover they put on the UK edition and wanted it changed for the US release (besides which, Reprise was never gonna release an album cover like that here anyway).

As for Peter not wanting to be photograhed for the cover of Time And A Word, then why is his picture on the back cover? I always figured what happened was that the US record company just grabbed a photo from the most recent batch they had on hand, perhaps not realizing that there was a different guitarist in the photo.

But that's happened a number of times over the years. I remember reading an interview with Walter Becker, discussing the 70's era Steely Dan albums (this was in the early 90's, way before he and Fagen started working together again). Anyway, the question of who played drums on, I think, Countdown To Ecstacy, and the interviewer says something like "Jim Hodder is pictured on the cover..." (I think it was Hodder) and Becker says "That's exactly what he was on that album: the drummer on the back cover".

And I've seen quite a few reissues of the first Genesis album that have Steve Hackett and/or Phil Collins pictured.

And there's lots of records where studio musicians took the place of at least some of the actual band members on some records (I recall someone telling me that the members of Toto-all of whom were LA studio vets-basically "pretended to be The Tubes" on most of that album that had She's A Beauty on it...I forget the album title). Peter Criss played on one song on Kiss Dynasty, and didn't play at all on Unmasked (though he's depicted in the album cover artwork and appears in the Shandi video). And Ace Frehley didn't play on Creatures Of The Night (though he's pictured on the cover, and even appears in the I Love It Loud video).

[SilverShoes]

Chris from Family Guy would say "I see boobies!".

And Beavis would say "You can see her thingies". That is assuming he can stop giggling long enough to actually get the sentence out of his mouth.

[relayeire]

What original Zep and Hendrix covers? Dunno about any alternate Zep covers, but if you're refering to Electric Ladyland, Jimi HATED the cover they put on the UK edition and wanted it changed for the US release (besides which, Reprise was never gonna release an album cover like that here anyway).

As for Peter not wanting to be photograhed for the cover of Time And A Word, then why is his picture on the back cover? I always figured what happened was that the US record company just grabbed a photo from the most recent batch they had on hand, perhaps not realizing that there was a different guitarist in the photo.

But that's happened a number of times over the years. I remember reading an interview with Walter Becker, discussing the 70's era Steely Dan albums (this was in the early 90's, way before he and Fagen started working together again). Anyway, the question of who played drums on, I think, Countdown To Ecstacy, and the interviewer says something like "Jim Hodder is pictured on the cover..." (I think it was Hodder) and Becker says "That's exactly what he was on that album: the drummer on the back cover".

And I've seen quite a few reissues of the first Genesis album that have Steve Hackett and/or Phil Collins pictured.

And there's lots of records where studio musicians took the place of at least some of the actual band members on some records (I recall someone telling me that the members of Toto-all of whom were LA studio vets-basically "pretended to be The Tubes" on most of that album that had She's A Beauty on it...I forget the album title). Peter Criss played on one song on Kiss Dynasty, and didn't play at all on Unmasked (though he's depicted in the album cover artwork and appears in the Shandi video). And Ace Frehley didn't play on Creatures Of The Night (though he's pictured on the cover, and even appears in the I Love It Loud video).

this kind of thing is often due to shoddy work from record company marketing departments... "This picture looks nice; let's use it!" if they'd hire me this stuff would never happen!

[SoLrSaYlR]

Turnabout seems to be fair play- on VH1's "guitar gods of 72" they say Steve Howe but I SWEAR that's a picture of Petey. Go figger

[CloseToTheHedge]

Well I say thank goodness for the different covers - because my mother, bless her well-meaning heart, is awfully against the idea of me spending money on things like CDs, and while I got away with the Ultimate Yes CD by saying it was something my brother forgot to take, she'd ask questions if she saw Time and a Word in it's lovely UK cover!

Alright, I guess I meant to say thank goodness for the Rhino release including both covers so the booklet is like a reversible cover... That US cover is probably the blandest Yes album cover though IMO. At least my mother will probably think it's a harmless country song collection.
Still... even 90125's cover is far better than this. Howe looks so terribly uncomfortable I could sense something odd before I even listened to this album the first time.

I won't ever understand why the CD shop I went to stocked both Atlantic and Rhino versions of Time and a Word though, in fact it's the most ubiquitous non-compilation album in stores. (Where the hell, however, is Relayer? I can't live without my periodic Sound Chaser fix and I'm tired of listening to it online...)

One last thing, I wish Yes had more CD covers like the UK one for this: I love the Roger Dean covers too, but it gets a bit one-pattern after a while to be honest... Not that I like the GFTO cover though.

[Altres]

First album too.

UK version.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/37/Yes_-_Yes.jpg

US version

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4f/69Yes.jpg

[Orbert]

The idea of what they're doing with the original first album cover is kinda cool. Plenty of other bands have done essentially the same thing. What I don't care for so much is the color scheme. Ugh.

Either way, I think the U.S. version is superior. The "other" way to do a self-titled first album cover is just a band picture with the name, and I've always liked that picture.

[kirk]

Banks is on the back, but not the front.

K

[cinderella]

There's a lot of great album cover art out there and has been since I began listening to music, but.............


I always prefer seeing the band on the album cover. :D


Of course now it doesn't matter cause the cd covers are too small to appreciate.

[Scottie]

Banks is on the back, but not the front.

K
?

I see him on the left side between the pillars. Bill is on the right.

It's the Time and a Word cover you speak of maybe? Now that was confusing for this young pup (at the time).

[YESOLA]

?

I see him on the left side between the pillars. Bill is on the right.

It's the Time and a Word cover you speak of maybe? Now that was confusing for this young pup (at the time).

Yeah brother, the thread is orginally about TAAW.

[Olorin]

I actually like the US versions better. Maybe it's because it's what I'm used to; maybe it's because the band is pictured.

If you really want to see a censor job, compare the UK cover of Roxy Music's classic "Country Life" http://www.roxyrama.com/classic/releases/roxy_music/albums/country_life.shtml to the American version, which had just a closeup of the evergreens.

[The Whale]

At least the U.S. version has a nice little teddy bear going for it......

[Soundchaser_413]

I don't think it would have made much difference if the US cover had the same cover as the UK version. The album didn't even chart in the US at the time and I'm sure very few people even bought it over here. I'm guessing it sold maybe 10,000 copies initially(if that). As was mentioned before it's possible that the original version would have helped it's sales if anything.