# The Lost Art of Album Cover Art



## bscott (Mar 3, 2008)

Back in the day of vinyl there were some pretty spectacular album covers. The art of creating album cover art to tell a story or reflect the content of an album or anything else for that matter was an industry in itself. 
Just think of Roger Dean and his album covers for Yes as one example.
Unfortunately this type of art does not lend itself to the miniature size of CD's and in many cases "cover art" has all but disappeared. 
Too bad.

Brian


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

It was worse in a dark period when cassettes outsold vinyl.
CD's give you more space than cassettes.

But I agree with your point.
I miss that.

I used to put album covers up on my wall as art.


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## Starbuck (Jun 15, 2007)

zontar said:


> It was worse in a dark period when cassettes outsold vinyl.
> CD's give you more space than cassettes.
> 
> But I agree with your point.
> ...


The Boston Pizza in Newmarket has some awesome Framed covers. Matted nicely with the album protruding. They look really sharp! My Fav Album Cover was for Zep IV. Remeber that one? when you held it to a mirror you got the image of the Black Dog?


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## Tarl (Feb 4, 2006)

Ahhhh......the good old days. Molly hatchet covers..........Uriah Heep stuff................the freaky top hat /moveable mouth guy on The Faces Oh lala.......remember that Alice Cooper album (Schools Out?) that came wrapped in red panties...or the Stones Sticky fingers with the zipper. I don't think they could do some of that stuff in our politically correct world these days. Strangely two I remember very clearly were Gary Pucket and the Union Gap, (I am a Civil War buff and I thought it was cool that they wore Union Infantry uniforms on the cover complete with muskets) and one by the Herb Albert and the Tijiuana Brass that had a girl on the cover, naked except in a huge pile of whipped cream. Back then it was pretty naughty stuff for my young mind.


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

Don't forgot the _suggested_ controversy album covers like Abbey Road.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Much missed and lamented.


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

Yup - I loved the whole "media package", photos, cutouts, booklets, lyric sheets, newspapers (Thick as a Brick), and yes - the panties.

The fact that my eyes aren't what they used to be doesn't help either when I'm trying to read the liner notes.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

I used to stuff LP covers with pictures,clippings, and articles. Displayed covers was great art, and something I still do sometimes. CD cases just aren't big enough for real art appreciation, and are all too often very difficult to read, though I love the ease of use.

I'm also not a fan of the plastic jewel boxes from an environmental perspective, though they sure are easy to use and offer good protection. There ought to be more cardboard cases.

Peace, Mooh.


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## RIFF WRATH (Jan 22, 2007)

just read somethin out of Europe...to do with Wikipedia and child pornography.............relating to a Scorpions album (virgin?)......naked picture of an adolescent girl ????????


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## keeperofthegood (Apr 30, 2008)

Ahh Frank Frazetta and the Brothers Hildebrandt. They have done some great contributions to culture with their art, especially reaching people through the medium of pulp literature and music. Though I usually say 23 Envelope is more an influence on me, especially in the minimal imaging.

I wish I know more of the artists that did other covers. RUSH's A Farewell to Kings cover is really awesome and spoke volumes to me then and now.

I do miss the large format of LP's. Having done art submissions (not selected yet but there is always hope) to indie bands for CD covers and inserts it is not an easy media to work in and the musitians themselves often do not always convey their wants, needs, or visions very well either. Some want images best seen at LP size but shrunk to CD it just looks bad. Others want something so painfuly oatmeal you wonder ...


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## gurianguy (Nov 20, 2007)

I miss the album cover art aspect as well. Two old faves of mine are Disraeli Gears and Exile On Main Street. They don't make them like that anymore. Come to think of it, they don't make music like that anymore either.

Craig


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

Yeah, there were some good ones. I always liked Roger Dean's stuff (most of the Yes albums, plus others like Budgie, Uriah Heap). Warhol's Sticky Fingers was great. And thank Jebus for those gatefold albums.... they were perfect for cleaning stems and seeds. :wave:


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## puckhead (Sep 8, 2008)

zontar said:


> I used to put album covers up on my wall as art.


I had these two on my wall


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## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

Hey guys if you want to see some real nice cover art came to Montreal at Musée d'art contemporain to take a look at Sympathy for the Devil:
http://www.macm.org/en/expositions/48.html


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## NB_Terry (Feb 2, 2006)

Anyone ever have these posters on their wall?


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Then again, there is some incredibly scary album _art_ out there:


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## leftysg (Mar 29, 2008)

*posters and such*

Just checked the threads and found this one. Saw the title and immediately thought of King Crimson, ITCOTCK and there it was on page 2! I had the Floyd posters too. Remember the ALICE bill from Billion Dollar Babies, the Alien artist's cover on Brain Salad Surgery, and of course the Roger Deanscapes. We used to sit in the basement and draw the album covers on rainy summer afternoons.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

NB_Terry said:


> Anyone ever have these posters on their wall?


You're kidding, right? Of course I did! Wish I had them in my studio now. Thanks for the stellar idea!

Peace, Mooh.


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## bscott (Mar 3, 2008)

Paul said:


> I've never done the album cover as wall art thing, but I used to have some pticture discs that I had framed.
> 
> A Farewell to Kings
> Permanent Waves
> ...



I still have a picture disk of Abbey Road in the cellophane wrapping. I tell my daughter that that will be her only inherutance as I plan on spending every last dime I have!!

Brian


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

NB_Terry said:


> Anyone ever have these posters on their wall?


Hey, it's my brother's room in high school!


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## devil6 (Feb 24, 2006)

I think there is still some great album artwork being put out by bands, Tools last three albums all had very unique designs, The Mars Volta have employed Storm Thurgeson(Pink Floyd, Yes, Zeppelin) on some of their albums, Sigur Ros had a cool album sleeve for their () album.

The size of the medium has forced bands and the artists they employ to adapt so it's not the same large canvas that they got to work with before and I do prefer to look at a vinyl cover but I don't think it's a lost art... maybe just a redirected art





zontar said:


> I used to put album covers up on my wall as art.


I have a bunch of album covers on my wall, they range from Hendrix, Zappa and Rush to Culture Club, Loverboy and Air Supply.




NB_Terry said:


> Anyone ever have these posters on their wall?


I don't have those but i've got a poster of the Ummagumma cover on my door


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## NB_Terry (Feb 2, 2006)

Thornley's 2004 cd cover is also by Storm. 












Storm Thorgerson’s image for the cover of Thornley’s 2004 record ‘Come Again’ is one of a series of twenty prints, each in an edition of twenty known as the 2020 Series. Storm explains for Hypergallery...sort of...

"We are not often inclined to do fantasy, preferring instead to mess around with reality (just a bit). I mean, you can’t really have a trap door in a beach, now can you? or stairs going down to the sky? except in fantasy land....I have no idea what it all means, but like much surreal fantasy it just felt engaging.

"Up? Down? Where do the stairs lead? Down into the earth or up into the sky? To darkness or to the light? Is it positive or is it negative? Is the figure coming or going?"


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