THE COVER OF "STRANGE DAYS": CURIOSITIES AND ATMOSPHERE

 

When the Doors' second album arrived in stores on September 25, 1967, the front and back covers of the vinyl were striking in their originality. On the front, an unusual scene depicts six street performers in an alley, while on the back, two other figures from the same group pose alone.

The title of the LP and the group to which it belongs are pushed to the side. Visible, but certainly not in the foreground as one would expect. The tones are dark, brightened only by a few colorful details.

The result is due to the wishes of the band members, who gave the photographer two main instructions. The first was not to include the four musicians, as had instead been the case with the debut release ("The Doors," January 1967). The second instruction was to create a "Fellini-esque" atmosphere on the vinyl sleeve.

Both guidelines were duly followed, except for a poster attached to the two side walls of the alley where the four musicians can be recognized. The photographer and author of this famous photo is Joel Brodsky, who hired some performers and took pictures of them during a fake performance in an alley of New York (Manhattan).

Earlier, Brodsky had been the author of the Doors' first record’s cover and he would sign the exterior of many other important LPs of the time. These include Van Morrison's "Astral Weeks" in 1968, "The Stooges" by the group of the same name in 1969, and "The Soft Parade" by the Doors themselves, also in 1969.

The photo chosen for "Strange Days" also features two characters who were not part of the cast of professional performers. They are the juggler and the man playing the trumpet, both on the front cover of the record. The former is in fact a collaborator of the photographer, while the latter is a taxi driver invited (for a small fee) to join the photograph to complete it.

An improvisation that has since gone down in music history, confirming how sometimes unplanned elements add crucial details to the final result of a work.

In this way, "Strange Days" complements its great music with a striking and original external image; these two elements unite in the feeling conveyed by this great work of art.