Every once in a long while, you stumble upon an album that surprises you, sometimes for the music, sometimes for the art. In the world of record collecting, album art can be just as intriguing as the music itself. It never ceases to amaze how many album jackets make you ask, "What the heck were they thinking when they approved this jacket art?" Times have changed, and what was once acceptable might now be viewed through a more critical lens.
This article delves into one such album, not necessarily for its musical merit, but for its intriguing and potentially controversial cover art: Anna Russell's "In Darkest Africa."
The Album Cover
This album was issued in 1965 on the RCA Victor label. The jacket pictures a perplexed Anna Russell, the “International Concert Comedienne”, appearing to be in a pot, about to be cooked by the stereotypical African natives surrounding her. Upon further inspection, she is actually sitting behind what I now assume to be a large drum. But the natives don't seem to be happy with her presence.
Released by Columbia Masterworks in 1957, the album cover immediately raises eyebrows. It depicts Anna Russell, seemingly bewildered, surrounded by stereotypical African natives who appear ready to cook her in a pot. On closer inspection, it becomes clear that she is actually sitting behind a large drum, but the overall impression remains unsettling. One can't help but wonder what today's African people might think of this depiction.
Holy crud, this album cover really happened. Not only did it happen, but it happened on the Columbia Masterworks label.
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The Artist and the Comedy
Anna Russell was a very talented musician who mixed classical music with comedy much in the same manner as Victor Borge, for example. It’s the kind of highbrow-meets-lowbrow comedy that played well when In Darkest Africa was released in 1957, but frankly we’re just not sophisticated enough for it 60 years later.
Anna Russell; "THE RING OF THE NIBELUNGS"; A Comedic Analysis
Anna Russell was a very talented musician who mixed classical music with comedy much in the same manner as Victor Borge, for example.
Collecting for the Art
With Top 40 radio a lot of folks bought 45 rpm records and likely never bothered to buy an album. There are plenty of folks who recognize songs but can’t tell you the name of the musical artist. There are those who love songs by various groups but can’t tell you the name of any individual group members. A group may be your all-time favorite, yet you may have no desire to read the group’s biography, because all you care about is the music. So I know my appreciation of album art is shared by even fewer folks, slanted more to art lovers than music lovers. But that’s the great thing about collecting - collect what you love, regardless of value or popularity. It’s all personal.
In Darkest Africa is the kind of record you find at a charity shop or in the dollar bin, and if you’re me you pick it up to stick it in the Bad Album Cover Hall of Fame.
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