Food for Thought

A fun collection of album covers that will whet your appetite.

Food: a simple four-lettered word that describes one of the key ingredients (pun intended) to our survival. It splits our day into threes; breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and gathers us around tables with friends, loved ones, and strangers. From Da Vinci’s The Last Supper to Cézanne’s still lifes, Judy Chicago’s feminist tablescape The Dinner Party, and Carrie Mae Weems' intimate series, The Kitchen Table, artists have long been creating works about and around the idea of food.

When looking at food-related album art, The Rolling Stone’s Let It Bleed comes to mind, along with the Tex-Mex and PB&J-inspired gatefolds of ZZ Top’s Tres Hombres & Jefferson Airplane’s Volunteers along with the work of Pentagram designer Paula Scher. Scroll down to find more album covers depicting food, along with a more complete list on Album Whale.

Mongo Santamaria Stone Soul released 1969 on Columbia Records. Photography courtesy of the Columbia Records Photo Studio.

Wilbert Longmire Sunny Side Up released 1978 on Tappan Zee/ Columbia. Photography by Buddy Endress. Design by Paula Scher and John Berg.

Barbra Streisand ButterFly released 1974 on Columbia. Art Direction by Jon Peters. Photography by Carl Furuta.

Various Artists, One Night with Blue Note Preserved released 1985 on Blue Note. Design by Reid Miles. Accompanied by 4 other covers for each volume.

Daryl Hall & John Oates Whole Oats released 1972 on Atlantic. Art Direction and Design by Richard Mantel. Photography by John Paul Endress

Can Ege Bamyasi released 1972 on United Artists Records. Art Direction by Ingo Trauer and Richard J. Rudow.

Jimmy McGriff Red Beans released 1976 on Groove Merchant. Photography by Lee Marshall. Design by Ron Levine.

Bob James “H” released 1980 on Tappan Zee/ Columbia. Photography by Buddy Endress. Design by Paula Scher.

Guns N' Roses, The Spaghetti Incident? released 1993 on Geffen/ Uzi Suicide Records. Photography by Dennis Keeley. Art Direction and Design by Kevin Reagan, Slash and W. Axl Rose.

Willie Bobo, Juicy released 1967 on Verve. Photography by Rudy Legname. Design by Acy R. Lehman.

Ohio Players, Honey released 1975 on Mercury. Art Direction by Jim Ladwig. Design by Joe Kotleba. Photography by Richard Fegley.

The Velvet Underground & Nico debut album released 1967 on Verve. Artwork by Andy Warhol.

Gatefold from Jefferson Airplane, Volunteers released 1969 on RCA Victor. Design by Milton Burke. PB & J Photo by Little Herbie Green.

Bobby Valentin Se La Comió released 1969 on Fania Records. Photography & Design by Izzy Sanabria.

Johnny Ventura Y Su Combo Show, El Pingüino released 1973 on Mate. Artwork by Dagoberto "Drago" Fernandez.

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