Hamerhack Posted February 23, 2008 Posted February 23, 2008 One thing about vinyl that was nice... album covers!They were large enough to get your attention in the record racks, and some had pretty cool artwork.As a kid, I used to sit and listen to albums and copy the artwork.Some of my All Time Favorites...Cream: Wheels of Fire, Double Album, Cool Silver/Black on the front, Psychedelic insideMagical Mystery Tour: A bunch of pages inside from the movie.Sgt Pepper: Fun to try to identify all the faces. My man W.C. Fields is there!Sticky Fingers: Andy Warhol's zipper designDid you ever buy an album from a band you weren't familiar with because the cover was cool?What are your favorites?
sonic1974 Posted February 23, 2008 Posted February 23, 2008 One thing about vinyl that was nice... album covers!They were large enough to get your attention in the record racks, and some had pretty cool artwork.As a kid, I used to sit and listen to albums and copy the artwork.Some of my All Time Favorites...Cream: Wheels of Fire, Double Album, Cool Silver/Black on the front, Psychedelic insideMagical Mystery Tour: A bunch of pages inside from the movie.Sgt Pepper: Fun to try to identify all the faces. My man W.C. Fields is there!Sticky Fingers: Andy Warhol's zipper designDid you ever buy an album from a band you weren't familiar with because the cover was cool?What are your favorites?Almost any Pink Floyd cover is classis. I particularly like the one for Animals, and Wish you Were Here, the one with the guys shaking hands and they're on fire.CD covers are another reason that CDs are my second choice.Worst cover ever: Beck Midnight Vultures! Ouch.
Willie G. Moseley Posted February 23, 2008 Posted February 23, 2008 While I was still in high school and college, there was the motion-picture on the Rolling Stones album (the Beatles were therein). There was also:Black Sabbath's first album (how come "Evil Woman" is on the cassette but not the CD?)Blue Cheer's VINCEBUS ERUPTUM (there was a promotional pull-out poster of them pre-release in EYE magazine...come to think of it, put them on the "ugliest band" first impression thread)Cream's DISRAELI GEARS (a day-glo collage), and FYI among other "chrome" albums besides WHEELS OF FIRE were LPs by the Silver Apples and If. Iron Butterfly: HEAVY (first album): A rock band in an Ozymandius-like setting. Very cool for 1967.Mott the Hoople (first album): An M. Escher illustrationSantana-ABRAXAS: another collageAny illustration by George Hunter's Globe Propaganda company from San Francisco, to include Quicksilver's HAPPY TRAILS, and first albums by the Charlatans and It's A Beautiful Day.The back side of the Bob Seger System's TAILS FOR LUCY BLUE: Nowadays I feel like a dirty old man for even thinking about it.-------------------------------------In the early '70s, I ran the TV, stereo and record depts. in a department store, and IMO that was the "era of the LP cover gimmick", and I could open 'em up, so the cover may have motivated me to at least give the LP a listen, even if I didn't have to buy. To wit:Mom's Apple Pie (alluded to in this discussion board earlier): produced by Terry Knight after he and Grand Funk parted ways. It actually came in a follow-up, non-X-rated cover as well. More dirty old man stuff.Blue Oyster Cult's SECRET TREATIES: Pencil-drawn Nazi allusions, including an ME-262 and slaughtered German ShepherdsRaspberries' first album: Scratch n' SniffARGUS: Wishbone AshYESSONGS: Yes------------------------Later stuff included a lotta Storm Thorgerson-designed stuff, to include Pink Floyd, Alan Parsons Project, coupla STYX albums.Sometimes I think the size of the illustration is indeed what I miss the most about LPs---trying to figure out who's who and what such-and-such means in collages or on Pink Floyd albums are exemplary, but it really represented a, er, "visual facet of music" that had nothing to do with videos, and that was intriguing and stimulating, at least for me. Will probably think of others later....and thanks for a stimulating thread idea in and of itself...at least, for me.
belgian Posted February 23, 2008 Posted February 23, 2008 Bought a lot of albums with covers from Roger Dean in the 70's. Even if I didn't liked some of the music, still had some cool artwork...
Submariner85 Posted February 23, 2008 Posted February 23, 2008 My Dad had these when I was in my early teens: Steppenwolf inside cover of "For Ladies Only" Cheech and Chong "Big Bambu" - It came with a big ass rolling paper.
princeofdarkness56 Posted February 23, 2008 Posted February 23, 2008 Alice Coopers Schools Out. Looked like my school desk from grammar school but what put it over the top was the record sleeve, which was a pair of ladies panties. How could any 16 year old all American boy say no to that.
Willie G. Moseley Posted February 23, 2008 Posted February 23, 2008 John Kay in a mid-'90s interview on the subject of the interior photo of FOR LADIES ONLY:"Ah, yes...the infamous 'Richard-mobile'. That photo was taken in front of Graumann's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard during a Sunday matinee. When people exited, some laughed, but some were taken aback. The L.A.P.D. descended on the vehicle like a plague of locusts, trying to bust the driver for some infraction, but he had everyting in order; even back-up lights. One policeman was really hassling the driver; the driver told the policeman: 'If you think this is interesting, you ought to see the garage I park it in!'"
BONEDADYO Posted February 23, 2008 Posted February 23, 2008 Kiss-Rock & Roll OverOutloud- very cool cover, looked like a Marvel Comics cover. Pretty much unknown... It was a Nile Rodgers project
ecnal Posted February 23, 2008 Posted February 23, 2008 Iron Maiden covers by Derek Riggs.Jethro Tull has some good ones too, I think I remember buying Broadsword and the Beast as a kid based upon the cover. Also bought Some Enchanted Evening by BOC.Oh, the Heavy Metal soundtrack double album with the leather girl riding the bird thing with the big talons.
Guest pirateflynn Posted February 23, 2008 Posted February 23, 2008 Once again I have to throw Rubber Soul and Revolver out there. I'm also especially fond of the UK cover for Electric Ladyland.
JohnnyB Posted February 23, 2008 Posted February 23, 2008 Once again I have to throw Rubber Soul and Revolver out there. I'm also especially fond of the UK cover for Electric Ladyland. In that realm and era, I found the cover of Axis: Bold as Love intriguing and dangerous. Growing up in a conservative evangelical household, gazing intently at the Hindu themed cover of Axis: was a guilty pleasure. I must agree with you; the ink drawing on Revolver is classic. Oh, and I nominate The Cars self-titled and Candy-O.
BubbaVO Posted February 24, 2008 Posted February 24, 2008 +1 Rockn'Roll Over; Candy-OHow about the old Animal Magnetism cover?
Crwth145 Posted February 24, 2008 Posted February 24, 2008 I've always thought this one was pretty cool...
Brooks Posted February 24, 2008 Posted February 24, 2008 as a kid, i bought several albums because of their covers (iron maiden, motorhead).
Buzzy Fretts Posted February 24, 2008 Posted February 24, 2008 yeah, roger dean's artwork was great. I managed to see these as originals and was amazed that they were usually smaller than the 12 inch dimensions. most illustrators work larger to include more detail. ELP's Brain Salad disc. all those great pink floyd album designs (and so many more) were the output of a single design company hipgnosis. one wicked cool cover was the original Sticky Fingers art, with an actual zipper glued in place. an answer to that was the Black Crowes US flag bikini crotchshot for Amorica - I can't see it w/o feeling a little tickle in my nose. Nirvana's Nevermind was pretty cool too. Follow the money~!here's a cool link to a CD coverart blog.
Steve Haynie Posted February 24, 2008 Posted February 24, 2008 Alice Coopers Schools Out. Looked like my school desk from grammar school but what put it over the top was the record sleeve, which was a pair of ladies panties. How could any 16 year old all American boy say no to that.Absolutely! School's Out was designed to be an object instead of just an album cover. The Billion Dollar Babies album was a giant wallet.
Jason01 Posted February 25, 2008 Posted February 25, 2008 Tool's latest- 10,000 days is really cool. It folds out into a 3D stereoscopic picture show. Iron Maiden had really cool album covers, I'd sit and stare at them trying to find the triangle thing that was the artists signature.+1 on Molly Hatchet
Steve Haynie Posted February 25, 2008 Posted February 25, 2008 Molly Hatchet used Frank Frazetta paintings for their first three album covers. Frank Frazetta originally did not want his paintings used for album covers, but Nazareth was the first band to successfully negotiate a deal with Frazetta when they used one of his paintings as the cover of Expect No Mercy. That paved the way for Molly Hatchet. Frazetta's painting career took off when he started doing paperback book covers in the 1960's. It was supposed to be a job that did not pay much that he was told to avoid. Those covers made the books sell better and launched Frazetta into a higher level of recognition. It was good for everyone involved.
Willie G. Moseley Posted February 25, 2008 Posted February 25, 2008 Was there any connection between Frank Franzetta and Boris Vallejo, other than (perceived) similar styles? I remember the late great CREEM magazine dissing one of Molly Hatchet's covers REAL bad, on accounta the illustration showed singer Jimmy Farrar, who replaced Danny Joe Brown, to be a muscle-bound warrior when he was actually--to use the term CREEM used--a "tubbo". Stereotypical CREEM irreverence.
tomteriffic Posted February 25, 2008 Posted February 25, 2008 I bought the first Rush album just because of its cover. Another one that was given me and that I would have bought if I had seen it was an album by The Gentrys that had a cover that was obviously done by the same guy who did In The Court of The Crimson King. In fact, it looked like what you'd expect to see on the back side of it (if it hadn't been a wraparound illustration to begin with). Too bad that the Gentrys album was complete crap. I still have the cover, though.There was a group called Faust (or Faustus, I forget which) that put out an album of nothing but black vinyl in a black vinyl cover, no artwork, no text, no nothing. They followed that up with a completely clear set.Edit to add: At my first wedding, some old bandmates made us a wedding present of a monster doob rolled up in that Big Bambu paper. I don't remember a whole lot of that reception....
harry65 Posted February 25, 2008 Posted February 25, 2008 I've always thought this one was pretty cool... and maybe the greatest guitar album i've ever heard as well..........................
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