Nice And Sleevy: Andrew Liles' Favourite Album Covers | Page 14 of 14 | The Quietus

Baker's Dozen

Artists discuss the 13 records that shaped their lives

13. Black SabbathHeaven And Hell

Without question the finest album ever made is this 1980 classic. There is no argument about it; if you think otherwise, you are wrong. It also has the greatest cover.

It’s a wonderful sleeve: subtle, perfect and very funny. Angels having a cheeky fag and a little flutter. An afterlife of utopian perfection would in all reality be a very boring existence. Eternity without angst, infraction and disappointment? It’s not for me. I need a little bit of misery and futility, it makes life worth living. As Ronnie tells us on the album: "They say that life’s a carousel. Spinning fast, you’ve got to ride it well."

The cover is called ‘Smoking Angels’ by Lynn Curlee and is inspired (or stolen, depending on your interpretation) from a 1928 photograph of women having a fag break at a college pageant.

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