11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
FASCINATING LOOK AT ART IN MUSIC, October 15, 2003
This valuable art and reference work contains a lengthy introduction by Dominy Hamilton exploring the history of vinyl record covers up to 1977 plus an appendix on how the job is done, from the design phase to the printing. It also includes short biographies on Storm Thorgerson, James Slattery, Roger Dean, Diana Korchien, Dominy Hamilton and Dave Howells.
The full colour reproductions of the record sleeves are divided into the following sections: 1. Jazz, 2. Psychedelia, 3. Recent Years (1967 - 1977), 4. Influence and Coincidence, 5. Miscellany - a section that includes examples of various packaging strategies, 6. Portfolios, which features the work of eight sleeve designers in the form of small individual portfolios and include Rick Griffin, John Kosh, John van Hamersveld, Pacific Eye and Ear, Rod Dyer, Hipgnosis, Roger Dean and John Pasche, and 7. Devices and Disguises, that deals with ingeneous alternatives from 1970 onwards and includes sleeves with extra flaps, covers imitating old singles, concert tickets, sleeves in the form of newspapers and covers with movable parts.
The index at the front of the book lists all the sleeve art inside, from Abba and Alice Cooper through Kansas and Three Dog Night to Neil Young, Frank Zappa and Zzebra. Some sleeves have a whole page for themselves, like Zappa's humorous Weasels Ripped My Flesh and Boz Scagg's Silk Degrees. My favorites, to list just a few, include Cheap Thrills by Big Brother And The Holding Company, Abraxas by Santana, Bowie's Pinups, Bowie's Aladdin Sane, Patti Smith's Horses, Lou Reed's Rock 'n Roll Animal, Captain Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica and Joni Mitchell's Blue.
This Album Cover Album is a fascinating look at art in music up to 1977, and also a valuable research and history guide.
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6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great to view great to learn, June 3, 1997
By A Customer
This book is a must. If you only like music or if you love the covers more than the music inside or if you are learning to design covers...Well, this book has it all. The covers are show by elements in commom, so you can judge by yourself about the criativity of the designers. Roger Deam is a famous artist well know by his covers and stages for the rock group Yes. But this does not interfere with the overall result. The guys did a fantastic job compiling all the covers in this book. There are rock covers, jazz covers, latim, dance, disco, and so on. All possible covers are there. Don't hesitate. Buy it now!
Alex Sab
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
classic, November 6, 2009
This review is from: Album Cover Album (Hardcover)
I have the first printing of this and it only goes to about 1977, and I am not sure if newer editions have added matertial.
But for what it is, the book is excellent. It is more interested in the cover art than the music itself. There is a page for Elvis and The Beatles and a section for classic jazz.
But there are also many interesting covers by little bands that you never heard of and probably will never hear. One cover of an album by a band named Fumble is a jar of handcream and a man's armpit. Who knows what the music sounds like, but the cover shows how 1970s sexuality made for interesting art. There are tons of illumminating covers like this.
And this can be helpful if you are looking for ideas to augment your collection: those strange unknown bands from the 70s that had a good track or two on albums that went straight to the cutout bin. If interested, records like this are availble somewhere. This book might be a good tool for DJs looking for obscure samples.
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