First off, let me just say that I actually love both this album and its cover. The Seger System's debut is a psychedelic rock 'n roll classic well worth a-checkin' out. But still….the disconnect between image and title is striking. I can almost hear Bob in a bar somewhere, "You know baby, I'm a ramblin' gamblin' man, like a nun touching herself on an ice-floe…"
Thankfully, Bob explains it all on the back cover:
"The title of this album up until 3 days ago was 'Tales of Lucy Blue'. At that time I realized that Lucy Blue is Ramblin' Gamblin' Man. Thank you Doctor Fine!"
No, thank YOU, Doctor Seeger! You are now officially licensed to perform brain surgery.
One of the things I love about album covers is that they're more than just an image: they're a unique combination of image, text, and indeed the subtext of the music itself. All three come together (ideally) in a beautiful, swirling symbiosis of meaning-making and expression that can move one beyond the plane of the mundane and literally transport you to another world of experience...
That said, sometimes that world can be a ruddy, sweaty, constipated kind of place. A place full of encrusted signet rings, cheap bourbon, & pepto-bismol. The kind of place your creepy uncle takes you to after the uncomfortable family reunion.
No, sometimes I don't like album covers at all.
This testament to designing your album covers during all-day drinking sessions with your poker buddies was brought to you by: Coors Light, Oscar Mayer Wieners, and The Thing In David Crosby's Mustache that's been controlling his mind since at least 1967.
Shout out to Russ (he knows why)
