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Our favourite album covers of 1974

These were the days at the very dawn of the punk era, when long hair was still de rigeur for rock stars, or maybe Bowie’s androgynous glam. Here are 10 album covers that sum up the music of 1974…

It’s strange to think that the cover of Roxy Music’s ‘Country Life’ was considered controversial, so much so that it was censored in some countries, yet the not-quite-topless image seems pretty tame today. Meanwhile, parents despaired when their teenaged sons took make-up tips from Kiss (the group released its first album that year), though the less than subtle approach to eyeliner no doubt helped cosmetic companies’ profits to soar. But if parents were worried by the likes of Bowie and Kiss, what were they going to make of punk, which was hovering on the horizon and about to put the spice back into teenage rebellion?