Eros Vinyl

FOR FANTASY-INDUCING, STARE-AT-IT-ALL-DAY R-RATED MUSIC PACKAGING, THE CD JEWEL BOX CAN'T COMPETE WITH CLASSIC LARGE-FORMAT VINYL ALBUM COVERS

Whether it's a photo of October 1974 Playmate Ester Cordet slath­ered in sticky stuff for the Ohio Players' Honey or a pair of luscious lips shining for Wild Cherry, musicians have long used the appeal of erotic imagery to sell their songs of love, sex and killer hips. True, the height of risque album art was decades ago, and things don't bode well for the form in an era of digital downloads. But bands like the Black Crowes will often defy Walmart with alternate covers in small-press CD and vinyl runs—and who doesn't like that? Electric ladyland still exists; you just have to know where to look.

HONEY

'This is what I love about fertility rites—everybody gets laid!"