A Brief History of Album Covers (new edition)


Book Description

In this era of Vinyl revival, celebrate some of the greatest covers of the last 70 years, such as the Beatles’ ‘Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ or Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’, alongside entertaining and informative text. This great little book will make an ideal gift for any music aficionado or art and design enthusiast.




Album Cover Album


Book Description

A stunningly designed review of the greatest album cover designs, spanning the classic period from the 1950s to the 1970s, Album Cover Album first hit the bestseller charts in 1977. This led to the release of six follow-up hits, inspired a host of imitations, and generated a long-playing sub-genre in art and design publishing. Album Cover Album is edited and compiled by two designers who were among the most innovative pioneers of the work that it celebrates. Storm Thorgerson's Hipgnosis earned world renown for the epic photo shoots and iconic designs that went so perfectly with the music of Pink Floyd. Meanwhile, Roger Dean's dreamscapes and unique typography became as much a part of the rock generation as the Yes albums they adorned. Album Cover Album features their selection of more than 600 sleeves in full color, and showcases the astonishing diversity and excellence of design that the medium produced in its first three decades. This new edition retains the lavish 12-inch format of the original and replays the ingeniously themed compositions of each page. The album is given a fresh spin by a new preface from Peter Gabriel and new forewords by Storm Thorgerson and John Wetton, plus a 21st-century typographic facelift. The result is a celebration of the enduring appeal of vinyl.




The Greatest Album Covers of All Time


Book Description

With the resurgence of vinyl going from strength to strength, album cover art is as important as it's ever been. This sumptuous book brings together 250 of the greatest album covers of all time and is arranged chronologically, beginning in 1956. Our judging panel, drawn from the great and the good of the music industry, has selected the final 275 entries, giving their reasons for selection to accompany the illustrations. From rock ‘n’ roll to pop, R&B to jazz, blues and even folk, some of the album covers included are obvious classics, while others will surprise readers and jog memories. The chosen entries might not necessarily be of a best-selling release, but they are important artistically, stylistically or culturally. This fascinating book forms a wonderful visual record of this popular art form, and is an essential read for music fans the world over.




Blue Note


Book Description

Music lovers have been attracted to the distinct style and sleek sound of jazz since its birth at the turn of the century. The album covers collected in this comprehensive volume under the well-known Blue Note record label embody classic design and pioneering typography. Two hundred color photographs of the album sleeves, an informative history of the Blue Note record company, and a portrait of Reid Miles, who designed nearly 500 album covers, capture the integrity of this distinctive record label. Sophisticated jazz connoisseurs and young listeners alike, as well as those with an interest in style and graphic design, will enjoy this exciting book of jazz memorabilia.




Art Sleeves


Book Description

Like a well-made playlist, the album covers in this volume combine to create a portrait of cool and culture desired by art, music, and record lovers alike. Art Sleeves is a time capsule of visual art and music culture as shown through the most important record covers designed by visual artists and graphic designers in the past forty years. This tightly curated collection of covers chosen includes works with significant cultural impact as well as collaborations that themselves created cultural fascination. The eclectic roster of visual artist-musician collaborations presented spans art and musical genres as well as generations, including Ryan McGinley for Sigur Rós, Kara Walker for Arto Lindsay, Peter Saville for Joy Division, Barbara Kruger for Growing Up Skipper, Jeff Koons for Lady Gaga, Tauba Auerbach for Glasser, and Stanley Donwood for Radiohead, to name a few. From postmodernist paintings and minimalism to collage and photography, as well as New Wave, emo, pop, and punk, the albums chosen present a bright and rich visual and cultural history. This inspiring volume celebrates this long creative tradition of visual artist-musician collaborations and, just like a perfect album, it will be treasured by art, music, and record lovers alike.




100 Best Album Covers


Book Description

Focuses on the stories behind 100 of the most memorable album covers in the history of rock and roll music, tracing the history of rock music and culture from Elvis to Blur. The collection has been personally selected by Storm Thorgerson, known for his work on Pink Floyd album covers.




To Disco, with Love


Book Description

Over 250 Disco-era album covers-from sexy to silly, elegant to outrageous-that brings alive a time when fashion, politics, and sexuality all converged in harmony on the dance floor. Paging through To Disco, with Love is like catching Saturday Night Fever all over again. From Diana Ross and Donna Summer gazing fiercely from their chart topping albums to the Village People's trademark costumes and the Bee Gee's blinding white jumpsuits, To Disco celebrates the days when the dance floor ruled the world. Gathered together and presented chronologically, these striking covers tell the story of a moment in time when art and photography, music, and dance changed the world. We see a rapid evolution, from the early days when Disco's roots were firmly planted in Soul, Latin, and Jazz, all the way to the digital revolution of the 1980s. Like fleeting moments caught in the strobe, these covers vibrantly capture our takes on fashion and beauty, wealth and status, sex, race, and even God. As the hair gets bigger, bell bottoms wider, and platform shoes steeper, the vibrancy and energy of this moment in music history is brought back to vivid life. Accompanied by insightful, spirited descriptions that showcase the evolving trends in photography, illustration, and design, To Disco, with Love charts the history of the music and the industry during its groovy heyday.




Cover Story


Book Description

The second book by the esteemed journal Wax Poetics is a vivid exploration of an element of music culture that has withered with the advent of MP3s and digital downloading. Records possess a visual as well as an aural capacity for storytelling. The record cover - eye candy for the music lover - speaks a language rooted in the environment and era of the music itself.




The Art of the LP


Book Description

Sexy, provocative, playful, beautiful: from their earliest days, LP covers have been objects of art and fascination. This celebration of album artistry presents more than 350 of the best covers, and departs from the usual approach by organizing the images by visual theme. Many of us remember the iconic album-cover images that defined our collective and individual histories—such as the smoldering pinup girl on the Cars’Candy-O, the plaintive baby following a dollar bill through water on Nirvana’sNevermind, and Andy Warhol’s controversial zippered pants on the Rolling Stones’Sticky Fingers. From perennial classics to lesser-known gems, here is the LP art that shook, rattled, and rolled us through music’s early formative years. The thematic chapters include: Art:Ornette Coleman,Empty Foxhole; The Sex Pistols,Never Mind the Bollocks; Santana,Abraxas Death:Otis Redding,History of Otis Redding; Frank Zappa,Hot Rats; Ice Cube,Kill At Will; Metallica,Master of Puppets Drugs:The Beatles,Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band; The Monkees,Head; Thelonious Monk,Underground; Peter Tosh,Bush Doctor Ego:Frank Sinatra,No One Cares; Astrud Gilberto,Nothing Better To Do; Joni Mitchell,Clouds; LL Cool J,Mama Said Knock You Out; Bjork,Debut Escape:Johnny Cash,Orange Blossom Special; Bob Dylan,Freewheelin’; Peter Gabriel,1 (car) Identity:The Jackson 5,ABC; Pink Floyd,Dark Side of the Moon; Blondie,Parallel Lines Politics:Funkadelic,America Eats Its Young; Bruce Springsteen,Born in the USA Rock & Roll:Jerry Lee Lewis,Jerry Lee Lewis and His Pumping Piano; Clash,London Calling Sex:The Ohio Players,Honey; Robert Palmer,Double Fun; Pulp,This Is Hardcore Real World:The Allman Brothers,Brothers & Sisters; Bob Marley,Catch A Fire; Lucinda Williams,Car Wheels on a Gravel Road




1000 Record Covers


Book Description

Vinyl's back in style and in this selection of 1,000 of the most iconic record sleeves from the 60s to 90s, we recall why it's the biggest and best music format ever. Seminal artwork, memorable cover-sleeves, and long-lost classics all jostle for space in this virtual shelf of music history.