This is one of my favorite album covers, and its one of the many records in my stacks with a personal story behind it.

Until lowbrow and pop surrealism started to take hold during the nineties, those of us who leaned toward Dali and Magritte had to enjoy our art in the form of album covers.  Artists like those behind The Fool Circle, for example, picked up where Luis Bunuel left off, each album cover a single frame from some surreal film we’d never see.

The Fool Circle’s jacket was the work of Alan Schmidt with an able assist from airbrush maestro Pat Carroll.  For years I’ve had nothing but opinions regarding what’s going on in that image, and thanks to new friend of Why It Matters  Alan Schmidt I now have a good explanation.

The classic rock format reduced Nazareth to “Love Hurts” and “Hair of the Dog,” and at least here in the States they’ve never really gotten out of that box, which is a shame.  Lead singer Dan McCafferty has one of the best weathered voices in rock and roll.

I’m sad to say that you’ll probably find this one in the dollar bin of your local indie record store.  Online you can get it for five bucks or so. Even if you don’t like Nazareth, wouldn’t this one look sweet framed in the game room? Happy hunting.