Band:           The Mamas & the Papas

Album:         If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears

Company:   Dunhill

Catalog:      DS-50006

Producer:    Lou Adler

Designer:    not listed

Artist:           not applicable

Photo:          Guy Webster

Release:      1966

Looking back at this album cover you have to laugh at mid-1960s sensibilities.  It's simply hard to believe that what was clearly intended as a humorous snapshot underscoring the 'carefree' relationship these four friends and musical partners shared would create a marketing uproar  forcing a major label to pull the offending cover off the market and replace it with a hastily updated cover.  Needless to say, that's exactly what happened. 

America's morale majority apparently found the original picture of a toilet offensive and a threat to the country's way of life.  With sales clearly at stake Ode Records' marketing department quickly reacted by slapping a discrete 'scroll' over the toilet (though you could still see the offending plumbing fixtures).  Even though the album had already sold millions of copies, the scroll had the added marketing benefit of allowing Ode to highlight the fact the parent album had already spun off three top-40 singles.  Still, American dignity was safely shielded.

There's actually a third 'boxed' variant of the cover that focuses on the four principals, essentially eliminating all of the peripheral bathroom photo.  Next time I see a good copy of this one I'll add it to the website.