The best album covers in the history of world rock music
One of the oldest and most respected music magazines in the world, Britain's New Musical Express (NME) has compiled a list of the best album covers for the 21st century. The music itself and the musician's personality did not play any role in the choice - only the aesthetic component of the cover, only the artistic value. The result is a top of 22 albums, in which Kendrick Lamar and Bjork, Kanye West and David Bowie coexist in the most bizarre way.
1
Foals. Holy Fire album
2
Kendrick Lamar. Album To Pimp a Butterfly
3
The Streets. Album Original Pirate Material
4
Tame Impala. Album Currents
5
Run the Jewels. Album Run the Jewels 2
6
The Strokes. Album Is This It
7
Kanye West. Album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
By photographer George Kondo. Initially, the photo of Kanye West in the center of the cover was indeed erotic, but the censorship did not let him through. Then George began to "blur" the picture, providing the commission with an increasingly censored version. Thus, this cover makes it clear that the border, beyond which a "pornographic" photo turns into one that can be displayed on the shelf at Walmart without question.
8
David Bowie. Album The Next Day
9
Frank Ocean. Album Blonde
Photographer Wolfgang Tillmans. Initially, the photo of Frank Ocean was intended for Fantastic Man magazine, but Ocean himself banned the use of it and suggested using it as the basis for the cover of the new album.
10
Radiohead. Album Hail to the Thief
Written by Stanley Donwood, the designer who has worked on Radiohead's covers since The Bends. In order to immerse himself in the band's music, Stanley was always present at the recording of the album before doing the cover art for it.
11
Young Thug. Jeffery album
12
Blur. Album The Magic Whip
13
Interpol. Album Turn on the Bright Lights
14
Grimes. Album Visions
15
Lorde. Melodrama album
16
Gorillaz. Demon Days album
17
Kurt Vile. Album Wakin on a Pretty Daze
Posted by Steve Powers, street artist. For local graffiti artists, this place has become a kind of cult, and the number of drawings on the walls in the district has increased tenfold. Then one of the local residents erased Powers' drawing, as he believed that he attracted vandals, which he later regretted and even apologized for.
18
St. Vincent. Album St. Vincent
19
Björk. Volta album
20
Father John Misty. Album Pure Comedy
The author is Edward Steed, who previously became famous as a cartoonist in The New Yorker. Ironically, for an album titled Pure Comedy, he created his most emphatically non-humorous and apocalyptic work.
21
M.I.A. Album Kala
The author is another example of how a musician decides to create his album cover without any help. Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam, better known as M.I.A., designed everything herself, and the fact that she was on this list suggests that she was not mistaken.
22
Stormzy. Gang Signs & Prayer Album
For those who disagree with the resulting list or just want to plunge into something more familiar, but at the same time avant-garde, there are works by Storm Thorgerson, author of classic covers of Pink Floyd, Offspring, Black Sabbath, Styx, Shpongle, Muse and Pendulum.
The dinosaurs of the music scene realized that for good sales you need to somehow decorate your vinyl records ... As time went on, more and more attention was paid to this business, they had to create something new with an eye to the already created works, until everything was came to the conclusion that only a masterpiece can surpass the former work. This is how the industry approached the golden era of design, when it was possible to hope for success only if it was released. best covers of music albums. Internet music magazines definitely have an addiction to create all sorts of tops about everything in the world. We will also join them, because the theme of colorful design is really worth talking about. Moreover, such charts excite young hearts so much ... Do not be confused by the fact that the cover of only one contemporary album has got to the top, this is not proof that music is no longer a cake, explanations of this phenomenon will be given in the first reviewed album. The splash screen has changed, since Google adsense is still underage, and he cannot see naked aunts who are suffering to look at the old splash screen - here.
10. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky ("07)
Gone are the days when albums in monochrome colors attracted attention while on store shelves, gone are the days when a shocking or unusual pattern made us go to the checkout, clutching a new record in the palms of our hands, and the most interesting thing is that the days have passed when record stores were at least how many are needed. And at this moment you start to think: why is this all? Why create beautiful covers, an absolute rudiment of the digital world, few of us flipping through iTunes / Google Play in search of something new, opt for a pretty cover. But nevertheless, something still makes the musical image complete with a beautiful, attractive design - a kind of tip of an iceberg, allowing us to assume what is hidden under the water ... Wilco, an amazing group, worthy successors of Chris Rea's work, have picked up a magnificent cover, inextricably linked with music and lyrics, but not interpreting it directly "head-on", as is often the case.
9. Carly Simon - Playing Possum ("75)
It is difficult to say that this album blew up radio stations in its time, it is even more difficult to try to distinguish it musically from other works of Carly. In principle, all six of her early albums are equally good, so to speak, for the pop music lover of the 70s. In any case, this is much better than what gets into the running of today's radio. But unlike the music, which is quite outdated today, the cover went into the collection of amateur photographers (photoonanists, if you are so used to it), becoming there one of the standards of artistic photography. I am not very strong in the English slang for photo aesthetes, and in the Russian segment I could not find a discussion of this album, so I will tell you how I feel myself. Carly's pose on the album cover is ambiguous in many ways, she is on her knees, but at the same time, the expression on her face, a clenched fist and incomplete pose denies any submissiveness. The entire need for an erotic frivolity of the picture (and some stores refused to accept the album after the release) is emphasized by the edge of the backdrop, the photographer could not help but see that unplanned objects fall into the lens, which means that it is deliberately entering the frame here. Although pornographic images used to appear on album covers (groups consisting only of men), this was the first time when a singer-author appeared as an erotic image. And what happened next, we all know - four years later, Madonna happened. Whether consciously or not, the album (including the lyrics) reflected the emerging and decriminalized BDSM culture at that time.
8. Patti Smith - Horses ("75)
If you are a fan of modern punk rock, then an unpleasant surprise awaits you: this style was founded not by the clowns Green Day, The Offspring and Blink-182, but by Iggy Pop, The Velvet Underground and Patti Smith. The cover of the latter's debut album will be discussed. “I don’t know how to play, but I really want to” - the motto of punk rockers, originally laid down in the seventies by those who knew how to play, was also transferred to the cover: “I don’t know how to make a cool design, and I have no ideas, but I really want you to like it. " As a result, it was possible to capture that sincerity of a classic punk musician on the cover, without unnecessary embellishments, without strained pathos, without pretentious clothes.
7. Pixies - Surfer Rosa ("88)
Whatever your opinion on indie rock of the late 80s, early 90s in general, and the Pixies in particular, one thing is hard to disagree with: Surfer Rosa is one of the most important surrealist works in modern history. I would really like to talk in more detail about the music itself - yes, there is something to talk about, unlike the music of Nirvana, with all its vain attempts to copy the sound of this group, but this is outside the top. As you know, one of the easiest ways to achieve a surreal picture is to mix many chaotic images, achieve their harmonious arrangement, and voila, you are now an artist! In fact, everything turns out to be somewhat more complicated, and no matter how much you try to become an upstart surrealist, nothing will come of it, because history knows only one exception, when a mediocre poseur and artisan with a complete lack of imagination became a genius among pretentious connoisseurs and spiritually rich virgins Yes, yes, I mean you, Monsieur Salvador Dali. But let's go back to the cover: a symbolic image of hair in the form of the edges of torn wallpaper, elements of a scene, music, religion, a retouched highlight, a Spanish skirt, a slightly inflated Lombri, ideally emphasizing a naked chest (erotica, where can we go without it?) - a perfect image.
6. Rainbow - Rising ("76)
It is difficult to find the cover of any other group that reflects the content just as accurately: a crimson sunset, a storm, a group symbol, rocky cliffs, at the tops of which Gothic elements of architecture are guessed, and of course a fist that resolutely grabbed a rainbow. And if you have never listened to this album, and you see its cover now for the first time (they meet by their clothes, as they say), then you will be amazed at how perfectly the music matches the design.
5. The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper "s Lonely Hearts Club Band (" 67)
I cannot find an explanation for the amazing appeal of this cover, the impression always depends on the mood: this cover can appear in all its phantasmagoricity and absurdity, sometimes it can give the impression of a strange funeral, or it can seem like a picture of a cut of times. It is a pity that Mahatma Gandhi, Jesus Christ II ... well, you know who I mean, did not get on the cover. They would make the cover even more versatile. This work is an excellent example of when a group is tired of the frivolity of its perception, moves towards even greater frivolity, and by inverting public opinion, achieves a thoughtful, important and thoughtful attitude. After all, just growing beards a la Karl Marx and Leo Tolstoy, and talking about eternal topics, would be too unbeatable.
4. Bob Dylan - The Freewheelin "Bob Dylan (" 63)
This cover just envelopes with its warmth, what is there to beat around the bush - almost all of Bob Dylan's songs are warm, close, very close family. Wherever Dylan's record is launched, the imagination immediately draws a classic two-story America, an attractive South, a little Redneck central states. It's a little funny that on the cover of the album "... by himself", Bob is still not depicted alone. And what's even more amusing is that Bob Dylan is featured on the previous album, which took fifth place.
3. Led Zeppelin - In Through the out door ("79)
One could say that it was a revolution in design, but as you know, a revolution is when something changes, and everything else is so, attempts ... Therefore, we will call this case a wonderful precedent, which, unfortunately, no one later dared to repeat (as far as I I know, no one else has tried this, if not, correct me). Seven songs, six covers, a five-year-old son, four band members, three weeks of work, two words “Dear John ...”, one central personality depicted from different angles. Pastel, cigar wrapper paper, sepia. Even if we imagine that there is no music on the album, only by indirect facts you can get a huge story, we know who this man is, why he came to the absinthe bar, why he gets drunk, and we can even assume with which of the three women he is late at night from there will go away.
2. Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon ("73)
Whichever Pink Floyd album you choose, there will be many disagreements. We could be convinced of the inadequacy of some fans last year, when material previously unknown to the general public was released, recorded with Division Bell. The only good news is that most of the aggressive fans are still children, for the sake of unnecessary importance of their opinion, putting the year of birth in the column one thousand nine hundred and forty-eight. Personally, I think "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" is the best cover art in the history of the band. Once again I would like to draw your attention - this is not about music, but only about design! Endless hospital beds, clouding of mind, a deserted beach - this is a very depressing picture, and it is not difficult to imagine how Gilmore felt at that moment. Again, recalling that we are only talking about pictures, "The Wall" looks like the most boring cover, although many looking back at a musical masterpiece would choose it in this top. As a compromise - let the second place be taken by "Dark Side of the Moon", this is the choice of the majority in many polls, although I do not like it - there was an optical error in the image, one color is missing in the expansion, and indeed, the cover is not direct has nothing to do with the title and lyrics (how many more hidden messages fans have to find!). However, the ability to create an endless design by gluing the cover with a second design is truly amazing.
1. The Beatles - Abbey Road ("69)
Just look at all these people! In any weather and season, at any traffic density, regardless of the weekend, fans of this group non-stop make their own versions of this fantastic cover, and only night can interrupt this process, but even then not always - me several times went in at night, and watched those wishing to be photographed in the light of the flash. Oh, poor drivers! In addition to the well-known photo of the landmark, the cover also gave birth to several interesting stories, the American Paul Cole, wandering aimlessly down the street, and the owner of a Volkswagen parked on the left, whose license plates were stolen until the car was sold at auction, and white markings got their share of popularity on the road, filmed several times by fans for personal collections and auction sales.
The world of music covers is quirky and intricate. You can collect a whole hundred interesting and significant things. But when writing this material, I decided to be guided exclusively by my own opinion. Yes, this is subjective, but honest. I selected only those covers that impressed me at the time.
To be honest, I hesitated for a few minutes when choosing a title shot. The fluctuations were between "The Beatles"And"Pink Floyd". Moreover, each of these groups has several albums with excellent design. I decided to limit myself and choose only one cover from one artist. As a result, I decided that “Animals"At"Pink Floyd»Deserves to be put first. A huge inflatable pig against the backdrop of a gloomy building is powerful. By the way, the pig was later used at concerts and flew away several times. And the power plant building eventually became a kind of attraction. The album was released in 1977.
In general, everything is clear about the title photo, but the cover below is “The Beatles» « Sgt. Pepper ͗ s Lonely Hearts Club Band". 1967 record.
FROM "King Crimson"I have a strange relationship. I have known the name of this group for a long time, but I only bothered to listen to them a couple of days ago! Liked it, although in places it's hard. I also remembered a joke from a friend that in fact it’s not hard to listen to metal, but this kind of music. I completely agree. The cover of the debut album “In the Court of the Crimson King". 1969 year.
That's funny. If the covers “The Beatles" or "Pink Floyd"I am well oriented, then"The Rolling Stones"Passed me somehow. I listened to several albums from them for informational purposes, but this whole thing did not fit my soul. And, nevertheless, the cover of this disc is firmly etched into my memory. Album "Tattoo You”Continues the list of records, the design of which I really like. Year 1981.
4
« Grateful Dead»A specific group. I have never met a person who strongly loved the work of these guys. I'm not a fan myself either. But one cover stuck in my memory. This is the album cover "Aoxomoxoa". Here's another interesting point, that on the back of the design you can find a little girl named Courtney Harrison. She's only 5 years old there. Later, the world will recognize this girl as Courtney Love. The album was released in 1969.
« Queen»A well-known team, even without listening to it purposefully it is difficult to avoid the knowledge of their hits. I have never been a fan of this band, but the cover of their second CD “Queen II"I somehow remember it. Perhaps because this is the image I've seen a lot on T-shirts. A disc with such a cover was released in 1974.
David Bowie is an interesting person. And he has a lot of interesting covers. I decided to opt for the 1974 album "Diamond Dogs". There was an embarrassment with the design of this album. Due to the fact that David was portrayed as a human dog with visible genitals, they did not want to distribute the album. As a result, the back of the record was retouched. And the original cover can cost more than a thousand dollars nonche.
"The Mamas and the Papas"and their album 1966 of the year "If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears"initially had lovely cover. In my opinion, of course. Some citizens were confused by the toilet. As a result, the album was released without him.
Elton John is certainly a dubious rock musician for many, but my conscience does not allow me not to mention the brilliant design of his 1975 album. "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy"Fantastically done. Whoever held this disc in his hands will understand what I am talking about. And he will definitely appreciate it. You can look at the spread there for a long time, although the album is not double.
On June 3, 1970, the album “Deep Purple in Rock". Since I am not writing about the contents of the albums, but only looking at the covers, we will omit the details of how he influenced the world of music. But his cover is beautiful too. The band has other interesting albums, but I decided to stop there. In my humble opinion, he is one of the most recognizable in design not only in a single group, but in general in the history of music.
At "Led Zeppelin" rich story. Including in terms of covers. Honestly, I was torn between three options. It was the same with “The Beatles"And with"Pink Floyd". There were people who knew how to competently approach the design of albums. And the same "The Rolling Stones»Besides the above-mentioned album, there were also several notable designs. But since I have driven myself into the frames, I will stay in them.
The band's debut and self-titled album was released in 1969. The design used a real photograph of the crash of the airship "Hindenburg".
I love the group "The Doors". But here's the curious thing. The musicians of the group appear on absolutely all album covers, with the exception of the 1967 disc “Strange Days».
Jim later spoke of the design as follows: "At least it's better than our filthy faces." Why the faces appeared on the rest of the covers is a mystery. By the way, photography is not a collage, but a staged shot of a circus performance. True, half of the people caught in the frame have nothing to do with the circus.
In my opinion,Black Sabbath"The best artwork was on the album"Heaven and Hell"1980. By the way, this is the first album recorded after the departure of Ozzy Osbourne. Smoking angels are great. Such a picture makes these creatures very human.
Well. Let's go through my favorite punks. Well, or it would be more correct to say their predecessors. "The Stooges"With the album"Fun House"Were clearly ahead of their time. In 1970, very few people needed such music. But it's not about music, it's about decoration. In my opinion it is very successful. Iggy is captured in such a clear image. Either he is floating somewhere, or something is wrecking.
Along with Iggy during the same period, there was another great band that played something between rock and roll and what would later become punk rock. The debut album of the MC5 group calledKick Out The Jams”Was released in 1969. Naturally, he did not become commercially successful. But his cover is curious. Some crazy kaleidoscope of faces. With the release of the album, there was a scandal due to obscene language, but today, of course, everything is perceived as funny. Over the past almost half a century, the world of music has changed a lot.
In my opinion, one of the simplest and at the same time memorable covers was that of Andy Warhol's protege. The debut disc under the signboard "The Velvet Underground and Nico"Released in 1967, outwardly recognizable and catchy. Interestingly, in the first editions, a banana was pasted on an envelope, and under it one could find another banana, but already peeled and pink.
« RamonesAre considered one of the main punk rock groups. But I never loved them. For some reason they did not come. But the album cover "Rocket to Russia"I consider 1977 to be worthy of attention. Simple shot, but very recognizable.
And here's my favorite punk cover. Just and known... "Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols."1977 year. Today it is already a classic. The fashion for pins, tousled hair, ripped jeans and British flags became classics. All this was before “Sex Pistols”, But they were the ones who popularized this charitable work.
Joy Division with the album “Unknown Pleasures"1979, one of my main shocks at the time. True, I did not hold the record in my hands. I had an audio cassette rewritten from a record. I wonder if she really looked like that? The famous drawing, and it is really famous - people even make such tattoos for themselves until now, is an illustration from the astronomical encyclopedia. This is a graph of hundreds of radio pulses from the first discovered pulsar. Prior to its discovery, it was believed that these impulses could come from intelligent beings. It turned out not. The cosmos is much more cunning than people.
In general, a very symbolic cover. Interestingly, this is the only album that came out during the life of Ian Curtis. In 1980 he hanged himself, and the second album was released after his death. And then they released a bunch of other collections.
The group "Dead Kennedys»I only like the first album. By and large, they didn't have to release anything else. But the restless Jello Biafra has chopped up a bunch of other albums, compilations, and still don't understand why. I like the cover of the collection that came out in 1987. And the whole thing is called “Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death". Moreover, it is not just a collection of some of the best things. It is rather a compilation of previously unreleased tracks. Connoisseurs generally know. Well, we are interested in the cover here.
« The Exploited"Great group. I am not kidding. Of course, listening to them for a long time is boring, but if you look at the old videos, you can see what a serious energy rushing from these guys. As for me, this is one of the most important punk rock bands. Again, it was they who introduced the Iroquois and all sorts of skulls with them into fashion. They have a lot of good and iconic covers for me. But I decided to opt for the 1983 album artwork "Let’ s Start a War". Perhaps he laid the foundation for all these skeletons and Iroquois. For punk culture, this is undeniably a milestone.
It's just a stone's throw from punk rock to much heavier music. Although it is debatable which is harder. But it's not about music. Speech on the cover of 1986 of the group "Metallica». « Master of Puppets»Itself is a milestone in the history of music and naturally its design also takes a worthy place there.
« U 2 ”never attracted me as a group, but they definitely have one remarkable cover. Perhaps for many, the design of the 1991 album "Achtung Baby"Seems boring, but I personally like it. I suppose that the matter is in the similarity of the design of the album of our group "Nautilus Pompilius" and their album "Nagad".
« Depeche Mode"And the album"Violator»Released in 1990 has a strict design. The cover was designed by Anton Corbijn. He also partially designed the previous disc “U 2 ".
Album of the group "Nirvana» « Nevermind”Hitting shelves in 1991 changed the world of music forever. In my opinion, this is generally one of the most famous covers in the world of music.
The boy who got on the cover of the artist today. And his name is Spencer Elden. By the way, this is not the only cover with his image. Already in the 2000s, a solo album of one of the participants was released with him "Skinny Puppy».
Album's cover "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness1995 may not have been the brightest in the history of rock music, but for me personally it is definitely important. This is a good album. And a beautiful picture is used in the decoration. Album of the group "The Smashing Pumpkins»Double. This is rare today.
The band's self-titled debut release “Rage Against The Machine"Was released in 1992. A real photograph of the self-immolation of a Buddhist monk was used in the decoration. The snapshot, of course, was known in itself long before the album was released. But still, in my opinion, this design deserves attention.
Marilyn Manson is a famous provocateur. Although, in general, if you listen to his albums and abstract from the lyrics, then he does not play anything so stunning. Well, that is how? I love his first albums. They are interesting. But if Manson had not had a penchant for shocking, it is not a fact that he would have become famous at all. I really love his videos. There are a lot of masterpieces. But with the design of the covers, in my opinion, things are so-so for him. The only exception is the album “Mechanical Animals»Released in 1998. By the way, from Manson, there is only a face on the cover. The chest during the installation was taken from one woman, and the hips from another. Behind real breasts, this is for Pi Orage.
The group "KoIn"I really like the 1998 album"Follow the Leader". Not only content, but also design. Perhaps because this animation is also present in the clips of the team.
Having almost written the material, I remembered another interesting cover. For me, Bruce Springsteen's 1984 album art is one of the United States. "Born in the U. S. A. " in my opinion, very recognizably made.
By the way, I read it with surprise that a scandal was connected even with this cover. Someone thought Bruce was peeing on an American flag. But in the end this case seemed to be hushed up, and it was with this design that the disc was released.
I will end the selection with the cover of the group "Lynyrd Skynyrd". Album "Street Survivors”Was released in 1977. At first glance, there is nothing of the sort in this cover. But three days after the album was released, the band went on tour and crashed in a plane crash. In addition to two pilots, the road manager of the group and three members of the team also died. The album was immediately re-released, but with a different design. Without any flames. For some reason, this story really impressed me.
Now, actually a little afterword about not included covers and moral foundations. At "Led Zeppelin"I originally wanted to choose a cover from"Houses of the Holy". But there are naked children. After some hesitation, I decided that someone might see pedophilia or child pornography here. For the same reason, there is no album in the collection “Virgin Killer"Groups"Scorpions". In general, I was very surprised that these guys did such a cover in 1976.
At "The Jimi Hendrix Expererience"There was an interesting idea with the cover"Electric Ladyland". Naked beautiful aunts. 19 pieces. But naturally, this design did not pass the censorship.
Good design was at “The Black Crowes"On the album"Amorica". But I decided to refrain from publishing.
In principle, you can safely make a separate selection of nudity. The cover of the “Pixies" on "Surfer Rosa". And the sameRoxy Music did not disdain such an approach.
Well, I will also mark separately the group “Pantera"With the album"Far Beyond Driven". Who needs those without me know what is depicted there. And, of course, I'll remember the bootleg "Dawn of the Black Hearts"Commands"Mayhem". Gloomy cover there.
In principle, other heavy groups also used corpses, dismembered bodies, bloodshed and other beauties in decoration, but you can't get through me with that. Well I worked as an orderly at one time and had seen enough of something. In the case of “Mayhem»Interestingly, the design used a photo of the band's vocalist's corpse after the suicide. For this activity, he used a shotgun. You yourself understand that I will not insert such a photo here for ethical reasons.
I was surprised by the lack of exciting covers of bands such as “Rammstein» « NIN"And"Tool". These guys have enough good videos, but none of the covers have sunk into my soul. Which is strange.
Well, that's all. Thank you for attention. I hope it was interesting. And of course, I'm curious to know your opinion about the covers of foreign bands. Only a request! No need to insert any corpses from the covers into my comments. I already wrote that you will not impress me with this, but I will repeat it again, just in case. It is also not necessary to show explicit pornography. I am more interested in something beautiful and unusual. Even if it is poppy. For sim exactly everything.
Ever since Elvis Presley wiggled his hips, rock and roll has always been accompanied by notoriety. Provocative album covers have become another battleground for moralists and have had a huge impact on sales.
TheBeatles: Yesterday and today (1966)
This compilation for the American market was one of the first cases of outrageous covers. The photo of the musicians surrounded by dolls and pieces of meat seemed to be a parody of pop art. However, many retailers did not appreciate the humor and about 50 thousand copies were returned. The publishers quickly changed the design to a more relaxed one, and the record topped the Billboard charts.
TheJimi hendrix Experience: Electric ladyland (1968)
The original British edition of the legendary Jimi Hendrix featured as many as 19 naked women on the cover. Subsequently, she was changed when Hendrix personally expressed dissatisfaction with nudity and replaced her with his beloved.
John lennon & Yoko Ono: Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins (1968)
The shots for John and Yoko's avant-garde album were shot by the couple on their own using a delayed release camera. It is expected that the visual result of this work caused outrage, prompting distributors to sell the record in a special brown wrapper. Only 5,000 copies were released in the UK, so to speak, in its original form.
The rolling stones: Beggars banquet (1968)
The original "banned" cover of the classic Rolling Stones album featured a neglected toilet and graffiti. The label rejected this option and initially released a record with a white cover, made as an invitation card.
David bowie: Diamond dogs (1974)
If you unfold the cover of David Bowie's eighth studio album, you could see a star with dog harnesses. Actually, the artist's original message implied something from George Orwell and post-apocalyptic society, but the fatal genitals had to be glossed over until 1990, when EMI / Rykodisc released the CD.
20 years before The Clash used the same color combination, Elvis Presley knew how convincing a font with a combination of green and pink could be. The photo for the star's debut album was taken on July 31, 1955, during a concert in Tampa, Florida. The snapshot of a young artist, ready to conquer the world, instantly attracts attention, embodying the primordial power of raw rock and roll. And he prepares the unsuspecting America of the mid-50s for the youth cultural revolution even before the stylus touches vinyl. Two decades later, British punks The Clash used the same font for the cover of their landmark album London Calling.
On the recording of The Beatles' craziest album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, it took 50 thousand pounds, almost six months of work and 700 studio hours. For the cover, the musicians, dressed in bright uniforms, were photographed on March 30, 1967 against the background of cardboard figures of those celebrities whom they themselves considered important to themselves. The cover of Sergeant Pepper features Carl Gustav Jung, Edgar Poe, Bob Dylan, Oscar Wilde, Albert Einstein, Lewis Carroll, Aleister Crowley and others. On the reverse side of the envelope, for the first time in the history of recording, the lyrics of the album's songs were placed. The designer who created this miracle received a high honor: in June 2002, 70-year-old Peter Blake was knighted by Her Majesty.
The debut album of the gloomy American anti-hippies The Velvet Underground did not achieve commercial success, which did not prevent it from taking an honorable place among the most important records in the history of rock. According to legend, each owner of the coveted vinyl, who in 1969 heard this strange, dark and viscous music, founded his own group. The album cover features a huge yellow banana with the caption, "Slowly peel off and watch." It is the work of famed pop artist Andy Warhol, who was the manager and producer of The Velvet Underground. Earlier editions of the LP had a banana sticker attached to the envelope, revealing an image of a peeled banana printed on the envelope underneath.
Where do all the Beatles fans go after they get to London? Of course, to Abbey Road, the same one where the studio of the same name is located and which The Beatles move on the cover of their latest album, named the same - Abbey Road. The iconic photo session took place on a hot day on August 8, 1969. The photographer had ten minutes to take a picture: a section of a busy street was blocked by the police specifically for the musicians. To this day, passers-by adore walking in single file on the famous "zebra", unnerving London drivers. The parodies of the famous cover are simply countless. The most famous was made by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, walking across the road naked with socks put on the causal places.
Andy Warhol again! At a New York party in 1969, pop art guru casually hinted to The Rolling Stones' vocalist Mick Jagger that it would be great to put a real jeans zipper on the cover of another record. A year later, a crazy idea was implemented in the artwork for the Sticky Fingers album. The entire envelope was occupied by a photograph of a man's fly tightly fitting to the hips - with a real zipper that could be unfastened. Of course, problems arose with such a radical design: during transportation, lightning pressed into the album, scratching vinyl and records lying in a pile. In addition to the scandalous fly, for the first time the new logo of the group flaunted on the cover of the disc - a cheeky scarlet tongue sticking out.
The suite about birth, madness and time, The Dark Side Of The Moon, performed by British rock wizards Pink Floyd has long been a classic. The CD cover has forever entered the canon of modern design. The visionaries of the Hipgnosis studio placed a prism on it that refracts a light beam (and to simplify the design, the indigo color was deliberately removed from the spectrum). On the reverse, there is a prism that converges the spectrum (this does not happen in nature, but which cannot be done for the sake of heightening the effect!) In addition to a luxurious envelope, two posters were attached to the disc. One was printed with live pictures of the band, the other was a photo of the pyramids at Giza taken under a full moon. The Pink Floyd members insisted that the inclusion of posters in the design did not increase the price of the record.
Bob Marley's 1973 album Catch A Fire turned him and his band The Wailers into international stars. The envelope of the record also matched the name: the entire space of the cover was occupied by the image of a Zippo lighter. But that's not all. The top of the cardboard lighter flipped out like a real cigarette lighter, revealing the lighter itself. Of course, the production of such a cover was not cheap, because the two elements of the "lighter" had to be connected manually. Therefore, it was not possible to arrange the entire circulation of the disc in this way. Only the first 20 thousand copies were published in the lighter cover. Further reprints were packed in a regular envelope with a large portrait of Bob Marley smoking a huge joint.
Pink Floyd's tenth album is called Animals, that is, "Animals". The idea for the CD was designed by bassist Roger Waters. He drove past London's Battersea Power Station every day and suggested that she be featured on the cover. However, the building turned out to be small. The album was called Animals, so it was necessary to fit some animal into the envelope. An inflatable pig with a height of 10 meters was ordered. She was inflated with helium and launched into the sky above the station. Not the first time, but the right photo was taken. In one take, a pig flew to Kent and scared away a farmer's cows. The enraged farmer did not know he was involved in one of the most outstanding record covers in history!
Is there anything more punk than putting male genitals on an album cover? Nirvana did just that, though they were modeled on a child swimming in a pool. The controversial Nevermind album cover can be taken as an allegory for the pursuit of the almighty dollar, but in reality (according to Geffen Records art director Robert Fischer) it is just the result of Kurt Cobain's fascination with the documentary about the underwater birth. Every five years or so, the same boy (in 1991, four-month-old Spencer Elden) recreates the cover for posterity, and the Nevermind cover design has inspired countless parodies and tributes, including Homer Simpson.
For the cover of the seventh album, the heroes of Britpop Blur hired the mysterious (at the time) street artist Banksy, whose witty stencil works cover walls around the world from his native Bristol to Palestine and Los Angeles. For the Think Tank project, Banksy has painted a series of graffiti on the walls and doors of London that are slightly different from what the audience would normally expect of him. There are no provocative messages in these works, and their heroes are children and romantic couples. True, they all wear bulky diving helmets on their heads. True to his principles, Banksy did not take money for the work, but in 2007 the original cover was sold at auction for 75 thousand pounds.
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