Monthly special
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This month, the cover of The Butcher album is in the spotlight.
Bruce recently gave a lecture on the Butcher Cover at the Jefferson Parish Regional Esat Bank Library in Metairie, Louisiana. As you can see from the pictures, Bruce dressed for the occasion! One of the attendees brought a Butcher Cover that her husband had peeled all those years ago. The cover she is holding looks very similar to some of the homemade peels shown somewhere in his book.
But.
The infamous Beatles Butcher cover (shown above) made its limited appearance in June 1966. After Capitol Records sent out copies of the album to distributors, disc jockeys and reviewers, the company was besieged with angry protests over the grisly photo. It marked the first time that the Beatles judgment was severely and universally criticized. Faced with an unprecedented outpouring of outrage, Capitol recalled the cover on the eve of the album’s release. The story behind the album cover is now well known, featured and discussed in countless books, magazine articles and internet blogs and sites.
Legend has it that the cover was the Beatles way of getting back at Capitol for dissecting and reconfiguring their carefully crafted albums. The cover was a brutal visual pun letting the world know that “Capitol Butchers the Beatles.” Stories also tell of Brian’s approval of the cover, stemming from his fondness for pop art and sick humor. Paul is given credit for being the Beatle who pushed for the cover. Once the cover was recalled, the Beatles were hastily thrown together for a replacement cover (shown below) taken of them surrounding a steamer trunk. Their bored facial expressions and body language show their disappointment and resentment that their cover of choice was pulled from the market before it even went on sale. And that’s pretty much what we have heard time and time again.
Another story.
Beatles collectors have chased the ‘Butcher Cover’ for decades — a mistake, a scandal, and a treasure hunt all wrapped in one album sleeve.” Could an innocent-looking album cover of The Beatles’ album, Yesterday And Today, be hiding the recalled “Butcher Cover” as it’s now known? How can you tell if the album with the band hanging around an open trunk is actually one of the tens of thousands of slicks that were pasted over the original cover?
If you’re a Beatles fan, like I am, then you probably know about the recall of 750,000 albums distributed in June 1966 by Capitol records. The original cover photo (taken by Robert Whitaker) had the band members wearing white lab jackets with ripped off doll heads and raw meat all over them. A little strong for that era — even though it was described as “conceptual art.”
When Capitol Records altered the cover with the new “trunk” photo, it wasn’t placed in exact alignment. It had to be trimmed 1/8" to 3/16" of an inch, leaving a clue for what may be a treasure underneath. The give-a-way: Look real close for bleed-through of Ringo’s black V-Neck sweater.
It wasn’t long before this new cover started peeling off to reveal the original image underneath. As the value climbed and collector interest piqued, certain techniques were developed for uncovering this hidden treasure and keeping it intact.
If the album has a Gold Record Award seal on it, it is NOT an original
The Three States of Yesterday and Today
There are three different versions of the record album that are known as “States.”
1. First State
The original release with the controversial image is called the “First State.” They, of course, are the rarest, hardest to find and the most valuable. (Read about Alan Livingston’s Collection)
2. Second State
Copies of the album with the paste over “Trunk” image that are unpeeled are referred to as the “Second State.” They, too, have become increasingly harder to find and rising in value, especially if it’s in its original sealed wrap.
3. Third State
Then, you have the albums that originally had the paste over, but have been peeled and reveal the “Butcher” photo known as the “Third State.” The value of these albums depend on how skillfully it was peeled.
The Butcher album was never released on CD.
If you see one, it’s a bootleg.
Below the letter Capitol records released in June 1966
