Customer Reviews

Blue Note: Album Cover Art

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I have the two other editions of the Blue Note album covers (the ones that are the size of an album) and I love to look at them. The only problem is that they are a little too big to sit and flip through. The size of this book- "Blue Note: Album Cover Art" is perfect for flipping through. It looks small but packs a wonderful punch. I couldn't believe how many album covers were in this book. This book fits nicely on a coffee table or end table. If you are like me, you'll find yourself looking at it daily - in amazement of the style and class that embodies the Blue Note image.

Blue Note Records not only released Classic Albums but also had Classic Album Covers that covered so much more.the Book displays the many images&stylings.if you get a chance watch the special on Blue Note Records which goes into full depth about the Music,Artists,Owners of the Label&those Classic album covers. enjoy.

This compact book gives examples of some of the greatest album covers, to some of the finest albums, and now cds, issued by the label. It also makes a great guide for albums to check out, to see if they are still in print; which many of them are. Even for the out of print ones, it provides a nice collection for information purposes, and is reasonably priced. I look forward to finding and buying volume 2.

If you don't have the large two-volume Blue Note cover books settle for this compact version. Admittedly the reduced size does not quite have the impact of the originals (the two books were just a bit smaller than LP covers featured inside) but I don't think it lessens the impact of these great designs

Most of the work is by Reid Miles and over fifteen years he created about five hundred LP covers, frequently using the gutsy black and white photos of musicians taken by Francis Wolf. There are two stunning books of his work: The Blue Note Years: The Jazz Photography of Francis Wolff and Blue Note: Jazz Photography of Francis Wolff (they are actually different books). Many of these great photos have a black background because they were taken in the windowless studio of Blue Note's main recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder.

Considering that plenty of these cover designs are well over forty years old they still look fresh and dynamic. I think it is because they are really quite simple, a great photo, straightforward typography and perhaps Reid Miles secret: the clever use of space. Flick through the pages and cover after cover have empty areas, these helped to create the Blue Note look. Most LP covers were usually designed to avoid empty space, "fill that hole with the track titles" was no doubt a common cry in record company marketing departments.

This compact paperback is a lovely reminder of some wonderful work by a designer who created so much from so little.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

Great collection. If you're looking for inspiration in the use of color, type, layout, photography, or even illustration, you'll find it in these album covers. The designers of these covers really had a unique luxury, which was having a relatively large and fixed-size canvas, in which only a small amount of information needed to be conveyed, and they used it to great effect. The covers range in mood from cool to jubilant, but are always bold.

As a web designer, I see seeds of ideas for navigation, page layout and colorways.

My only complaint was the small size of the book - but I see from other reviews that there are similar full-size collections as well.

When the 12-inch LP was becoming the format for music buyers in the 1950s, and people started buying music more, covers became an integral part of the art being presented.

Atlantic, Blue Note, and soon, Impulse!: top labels made covers identifiable as their own. Blue Note in general toned down the colors, and made use of straight lines and straightforward photos.

These represented the Blue Note approach to jazz: if Impulse! used hot colors and sometimes abstract representations of artists to package their bold free jazz albums, Blue Note took subtle chances with tints and photo placement--like their hard-bop core style that was allowed to float into, subtly, into the ascending avant-gaurd

If you have gotten rid of your vinyl, or if you are new to jazz and want to get turned onto some great albums, get this book. Or buy a turntable and a good pair of walking shoes for locating the LPs

Gotta love those old LP covers. CDs took the "art" off the album packaging. Recommended to all who remember their vinyl days.

would it have been so hard to include an index of artists and album titles, maybe even catalog numbers?