Wal-Mart Tweaks Willie's Reggae
Wal-Mart Tweaks Willie's Reggae
By Sarah Hall
1 hour, 15 minutes ago
No, you're not smoking something--the cover of Willie Nelson's new reggae album comes in two separate versions: regular and Wal-Mart.
The cover art of Countryman, released Tuesday, features green marijuana leaves over a red and yellow background and looks similar to a large pack of rolling papers.
However, for those looking to snap up the CD at Wal-Mart's famously rolled back prices, the cover features a palm tree in place of the offending leaves, a change made by Universal Music Group Nashville out of deference to the retailing giant's strict guidelines with regards to lyrics and packaging.
"They're covering all the bases," Nelson commented to the AP.
Nelson's not the first artist to be edited by Wal-Mart. In the past, musicians have been asked to change lyrics in order to be stocked on the retailer's shelves, and Wal-Mart once refused to carry a Sheryl Crow album because it contained a song with lyrics about children killing each other with guns purchased at the store.
The retailer also pulled Prodigy's 1997 album, Fat of the Land, from shelves after deeming the lyrics to "Smack My Bitch Up" too offensive by its standards.
Despite the toned-down cover art, Wal-Mart shoppers can rest assured that the contents of Countryman remain unaltered.
The long-awaited album features reggae versions of Nelson songs including "Darkness on the Face of the Earth" and "One in a Row," as well as covers of Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder They Come" and "Sitting in Limbo."
SOURCE - http://news.yahoo.com/s/eo/20050712/en_music_eo/16920
By Sarah Hall
1 hour, 15 minutes ago
No, you're not smoking something--the cover of Willie Nelson's new reggae album comes in two separate versions: regular and Wal-Mart.
The cover art of Countryman, released Tuesday, features green marijuana leaves over a red and yellow background and looks similar to a large pack of rolling papers.
However, for those looking to snap up the CD at Wal-Mart's famously rolled back prices, the cover features a palm tree in place of the offending leaves, a change made by Universal Music Group Nashville out of deference to the retailing giant's strict guidelines with regards to lyrics and packaging.
"They're covering all the bases," Nelson commented to the AP.
Nelson's not the first artist to be edited by Wal-Mart. In the past, musicians have been asked to change lyrics in order to be stocked on the retailer's shelves, and Wal-Mart once refused to carry a Sheryl Crow album because it contained a song with lyrics about children killing each other with guns purchased at the store.
The retailer also pulled Prodigy's 1997 album, Fat of the Land, from shelves after deeming the lyrics to "Smack My Bitch Up" too offensive by its standards.
Despite the toned-down cover art, Wal-Mart shoppers can rest assured that the contents of Countryman remain unaltered.
The long-awaited album features reggae versions of Nelson songs including "Darkness on the Face of the Earth" and "One in a Row," as well as covers of Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder They Come" and "Sitting in Limbo."
SOURCE - http://news.yahoo.com/s/eo/20050712/en_music_eo/16920
posted by Black Krishna at 8:29 PM
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